Analysis Of Paul's 1 Corinthians

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The human race relies heavily on interpersonal connections for understanding the world around them. In the thousands of years of human existence, this fact has not changed. Humans are incredibly social creatures. This fact, however, does not negate the presence of divisions between groups of people, who often reside in a close community. These divisions keep humans from uniting under a single cause because of the constructs that we have formed to maintain divisions based in power, identity, and education, among others. Yet, in the time in which Paul was writing, he called for unity under a common purpose, through Christ Jesus. Paul’s urging for unity and abandonment of the power of earthly wisdom, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, appeals to the faults …show more content…

He opens it by reminding the Corinthians of the promise made through Christ Jesus on the cross; “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18). Paul uses this extreme contrast to blatantly show how the foolishness of the earthly wisdoms around them. In a way, it elevates the presences of divine wisdom for believers, even when believers stray. He continues to point to how foolish this dependence and overconfidence in earthly wisdom is for the Corinthians by posing questions for them to consider. It seems to function as this build up for his ultimate point;
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Cor

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