1 Corinthians 1:18–31

I think about how God chose what the world considered foolish—the foolishness of the cross—to confound the wise. And then I think about how He has used people throughout Scripture whom the world might have considered foolish, weak, insignificant, or even beyond hope.

We know that God uses people whom others might overlook, just as He chose what the world deemed the foolishness of the cross to reveal His wisdom and power.

Think about Moses.

Moses killed an Egyptian and fled. Yet God called him back to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Moses had been raised in Pharaoh’s household and, according to Acts 7:22, was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

He had an education and opportunities that many others did not have. Yet it wasn’t his education that delivered the Israelites. It was God working through him.

Then think about Joseph.

Joseph had dreams that God would eventually bring to fulfillment. Yet he ended up in a pit because of his own brothers, who sold him into slavery.

He was taken into Egypt, served in Potiphar’s house, was falsely accused, and ended up in prison.

But that wasn’t the end of Joseph’s story.

God was with him, even in prison. Eventually, Joseph was brought before Pharaoh, and God gave him the understanding to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.

The man who had been betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and imprisoned was raised to a position of authority in Egypt.

Who would have imagined that?

Then we have the Samaritan woman.

Jesus met her at a well. She had had five husbands, and the man she was then with was not her husband. We don’t know all the circumstances of her life, but Jesus knew her story.

He spoke to her about living water, water that would satisfy a thirst that an earthly well never could.

And in that encounter, she came to recognize something extraordinary about the man speaking to her.

She went back to her community and declared that she had met a man who told her all that she ever did.

And many Samaritans believed because of her testimony.

Think about that!

A woman whose life Jesus knew completely became someone who went back and told others about Him.

The foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

Then there is one of my favorite accounts in Scripture, the man from the country of the Gadarenes who lived among the tombs, possessed by many unclean spirits.

When Jesus asked his name, the answer came, “My name is Legion: for we are many.”

Think about that. This man was tormented by many unclean spirits. He cried out day and night, cutting himself with stones. People had tried to bind him with chains, but he broke them.

Yet when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him.

All those unclean spirits could not prevent Jesus from delivering that man!

Can you imagine how people must have looked at this man?

How many had already counted him out?

Yet Mark 5:6 tells us that when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him.

And the unclean spirit cried out, asking what it had to do with Jesus, the Son of the Most High God.

Even in that terrible condition, this man ran toward Jesus. And those unclean spirits could not prevent Jesus from delivering him.

Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out, and they entered a herd of swine that rushed down a steep place into the sea and drowned.

When the people came to see what had happened, they found the man who had been possessed by Legion sitting, clothed, and in his right mind.

And they were afraid.

They couldn’t understand what had happened. The swine were gone, and the man whom they had known in such a terrible condition was now sitting peacefully before them.

They asked Jesus to leave their region.

We know the loss of the swine was significant, although Scripture doesn’t tell us that financial loss was the specific reason they wanted Jesus to leave.

But what strikes me most is what happened next.

The man wanted to go with Jesus.

Yet Jesus told him to go home to his friends and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him and how He had compassion on him.

And that man went throughout Decapolis proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.

The man who had once cried out among the tombs was now proclaiming the compassion of Jesus Christ!

The man who had been bound was now free.

The man who had been living among the dead had been restored.

And the man whom others had feared was now telling people what Jesus had done for him.

All of this happened before Jesus went to Calvary. Yet it already revealed the power and authority of the One who would give His life upon that cross.

What the world could not accomplish through chains, restraints, or human strength, Jesus accomplished through His authority.

Then we have Peter.

A fisherman. An ordinary man. Not someone known for the formal religious education or standing of the leaders of his day.

In Acts 4:13, the religious authorities perceived that Peter and John were unlearned and ordinary men. Yet they marveled at their boldness and recognized that they had been with Jesus.

And think about Peter on the Day of Pentecost!

The Holy Ghost was poured out upon those gathered together, and Peter stood up and preached Jesus Christ to the multitude.

The fisherman was now proclaiming the gospel!

And about three thousand souls gladly received the word and were baptized that day.

Who would have looked at that fisherman before he met Jesus and imagined the work God would do through him?

Then there is Paul.

Paul, who once persecuted the church, causing believers to be imprisoned.

Paul, who stood there consenting to Stephen’s death as Stephen was stoned.

Paul, who believed he was doing what was right, even while persecuting those who followed Jesus Christ.

He had been educated under Gamaliel, according to Acts 22:3. He possessed religious knowledge and zeal.

But all that knowledge did not mean he understood what God was doing through Jesus Christ.

He thought he was defending the Lord, yet he was persecuting the very people who belonged to Him.

Then, on the road to Damascus, a light from heaven shone around him.

And Jesus spoke.

“Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”

Saul asked who was speaking to him.

“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.”

For three days Saul was without sight. Then, through the ministry of Ananias, his sight was restored.

But something far greater than his physical sight had changed.

Saul came to recognize that the Jesus whose followers he had persecuted was indeed the Lord.

The man who had once sought to imprison believers would eventually suffer imprisonment himself for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The man who once opposed the name of Jesus would proclaim Him.

The foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The weak things to confound the mighty.

And this brings me to something I think about when I look at the world around us today.

What if Paul lived in our time?

If someone committed acts like those Saul participated in before his conversion, we would expect the authorities to investigate, arrest, and potentially prosecute that person.

And rightly so, because persecution, violence, and imprisonment are serious matters.

We cannot know exactly how a modern court would have handled Saul’s circumstances, but we can recognize the seriousness of his actions.

Yet God confronted Saul, showed him mercy, and changed the direction of his life.

His past did not suddenly become acceptable because God later used him.

Paul himself acknowledged what he had done. He called himself the chief of sinners and spoke about the mercy and longsuffering of Jesus Christ.

His transformation did not erase the truth about his past.

It revealed the power of God’s mercy.

And I wonder how many people today we have already counted out.

Would people have allowed someone like Peter, an ordinary fisherman without the formal standing of the religious leaders, to stand before their great gatherings and preach?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But God used him.

Today, I see people who have come out of addiction and alcoholism sharing their testimonies and leading others toward Jesus Christ.

I see people whose lives were once filled with dysfunction, chaos, brokenness, and chains, now sharing what God has done in their lives.

What some people see as a messy past, God can turn into a testimony of His mercy.

What some see as ruins, God can bring beauty out of.

Beauty for ashes.

And now those same people may be reaching back to help others who are still struggling.

They know what it feels like to be bound.

They know what it feels like to be lost.

They know what it feels like to believe that there is no way out.

And when they experience the mercy of God, they want others to know that there is hope in Jesus Christ.

Only our God can do that!

And then I think about Judah.

Judah, who thought his encounter with Tamar was hidden, only to discover that she was pregnant with his twins.

Yet when we look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ, we find Judah, Tamar, and their son Perez.

Think about that!

God’s redemptive purpose was not defeated by the failures of men.

Then think about Mary and Joseph, who had to flee to Egypt with the child Jesus because Herod wanted to destroy Him.

Herod thought he could stop what God was doing.

But God’s purpose could not be defeated.

And all of this brings me back to the cross.

The foolishness of the cross.

What some people today simply cannot seem to believe or accept as reality.

Some believe that those of us who trust in Jesus Christ are weak. That we need some kind of fantasy to make it through this life. That our faith is nothing more than a fairy tale.

Yet Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18:

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

What the world may consider foolishness is the very message through which God reveals His saving power.

And the beauty of it is that salvation is not reserved for the educated, the wealthy, the respected, or those whose lives appear to have always been in order.

The addict can find freedom in Christ.

The alcoholic can find hope and begin a new life.

The prisoner can encounter the mercy of God, even while still behind bars.

The person struggling with mental illness is not beyond God’s love, compassion, or care. We should never confuse mental illness with demon possession, and seeking appropriate treatment does not mean someone lacks faith.

The homeless person is not forgotten by God.

The person whose life has fallen apart is not automatically beyond restoration.

And neither is the person who believes they have always lived a good life beyond the need for God’s mercy.

Because we all need Him.

The rich need Him.

The poor need Him.

The educated need Him.

The uneducated need Him.

The person who has spent years in prison needs Him.

And the person who has never stepped inside a jail cell needs Him.

The person who has struggled with addiction needs Him.

And the person who has never touched alcohol or drugs needs Him.

Even the person who believes they have never done anything terribly wrong needs the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

That is what makes the message of the cross so powerful.

None of us can boast in our own goodness, our own wisdom, our own strength, or our own efforts.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:29:

“That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

And in verse 31:

“That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

Think about that.

It isn’t about how educated we are, how much money we have, how respected we are, or whether our past looks better than someone else’s.

It’s about Jesus Christ.

His mercy.

His grace.

His power.

His salvation.

And I keep thinking about the people around us.

Who is the next Paul?

Who is the next Peter?

Who have we deemed a lost cause who may be the very person God uses to bring someone else the message they need to hear?

Who might be the next Joseph, sitting in a place where no one can imagine what God has planned?

Who might be someone whose testimony helps another person find hope in Jesus Christ?

We don’t know.

And that is why we need to be careful about counting people out.

I’m not saying that every person who has struggled will become a preacher or that every person who claims to have changed has truly changed. We must still recognize the importance of repentance, accountability, and the fruit of a changed life.

But we cannot look at someone’s past and declare that God is finished with them.

Don’t count out the drunk.

Don’t count out the addict.

Don’t count out the homeless person.

Don’t count out the person struggling with mental illness.

Don’t count out the prisoner.

They may just be the person who shares the testimony you need to hear.

They may be the one who understands your struggle because they have walked through something similar.

They may be the one who helps point you toward the cross.

And perhaps, while we are looking at everything wrong in someone else’s life, we need to remember how desperately we ourselves need the mercy of God.

Because in our weaknesses, we all need Him.

Even the one who thinks they’ve never messed up.

Don’t count them out.

Only our God can do that.

Biblical study notes and additional Scriptures

What does “confound” mean in 1 Corinthians 1:27?

The KJV uses the word confound in the statement that God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

The Greek verb is καταισχύνω (kataischynō), meaning to put to shame, disgrace, or expose as inadequate.

In this context, Paul is teaching that God overturns human boasting and exposes the inadequacy of worldly wisdom and power through His saving work in Jesus Christ.

It does not simply mean confusing intelligent people. Nor does it mean that ignorance is a virtue, that every poor person is righteous, or that every wealthy or educated person is spiritually blind.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:26 that “not many” wise, mighty, or noble are called—not that none are.

The message is that salvation does not depend upon human status, accomplishments, wisdom, or strength.

Additional Scriptures for study

  • 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 — The message of the cross, God’s wisdom, and the reason no flesh can boast.
  • Jeremiah 9:23–24 — The wise must not glory in wisdom, the mighty in might, or the rich in riches; our glory is in knowing the Lord.
  • 1 Timothy 1:12–16 — Paul’s acknowledgment of his former persecution and the mercy he received.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:6–7 — God’s treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellency of the power belongs to Him.
  • 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — God comforts us so that we may comfort others in their troubles.
  • Isaiah 61:1–3 — Good news to the afflicted, liberty, comfort, and beauty for ashes.
  • Acts 4:13 — The authorities recognized Peter and John as ordinary men who had been with Jesus.
  • Mark 5:1–20 — Jesus delivers the man living among the tombs and sends him to testify.
  • John 4:1–42 — Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman, whose testimony brings others to hear Him.
  • Genesis 37; 39–41 — Joseph’s betrayal, imprisonment, and rise to authority in Egypt.
  • Genesis 38; Matthew 1:3 — Judah, Tamar, Perez, and the genealogy of Jesus.
  • Romans 3:23–24 — All have sinned, and justification is by God’s grace through Christ.
  • Ephesians 2:8–10 — Salvation by grace through faith, not by works, so no one can boast.

The heart of this message: God’s mercy does not excuse wrongdoing, and no one’s past automatically guarantees a particular calling. But neither human reputation nor worldly status determines who is worthy of God’s grace. We all stand in need of Jesus Christ.

“He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” — 1 Corinthians 1:31 (KJV)