Daily Word

For the Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:22-25. Paul identifies precisely what the world finds offensive (we preach Christ crucified) about the gospel. Possibly these words also reflect the reason for Paul’s opposition to the gospel before his conversion. The thought that the messiah (God’s anointed) had been hanged on a tree and had come under divine curse was intolerable to many Jews. God’s wisdom and power (Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God) are not abstract forces but personal qualities that manifest themselves fully in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is interesting to me that today it appears that it is the “believers” who chase after signs, and challenge one another with the wisdom of God in regards to what the word means. We’ve gotten so busy in our attempt to manufacture the qualities of God within the church that we’ve become blinded to the lost and dying world around us. The power of the gospel has become insignificant in our own eyes before it ever reaches theirs. Today, take some time to mediate on the power of the gospel…then go forth and apply it!