End Times and Current Events

General Category => Bible Study => Topic started by: theBIBLICALdude on December 23, 2010, 11:36:28 pm



Title: 1 Corinthians 1:21
Post by: theBIBLICALdude on December 23, 2010, 11:36:28 pm
taken from
http://matthew18twenty.com/viewtopic.php?f=193&t=306

1 Corinthians 1:21
by tBd » 20 Oct 2010 19:38

1 Cor 1:21 "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

So what we have here in this short single verse is a book of information. We have the process of salvation, the method of getting the gospel to the lost and God's reasoning behind doing such. In my studies I came across this and decided that it would be a good verse to reflect on so let's open our scripture and begin with defining what is being preached in the verse and that would be the gospel, or otherwise known as the gospel of Christ.

We can look in 1 Cor 15:1-4 and get a clear definition of what the gospel is. By looking ther we read simply that the gospel is the message of Christ's death for our sins(vs 3), and the he was buried and rose again on the 3rd day(vs 4). That is the most accurate and yet simplest definition of the gospel and that is what is being spoken of in 1 Cor 1:21.

Going back to the main verse we read that the world by wisdom knew not God, which is a true statement as seen in Romans 1:20-21

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Without excuse? Yes even nature testifies of a creator and everyone I believe has a basic understanding that God exists but because of them being dead in their sins and depraved in the heart they ignore God, they do not will and they dont seek to follow him. Look at Galatians 3:22, which shows that at one time we were all under sin, and most still are and to the people of this world that are lost the things of God at foolishness to their ears (Acts 17:18 ; 1 Cor 1:23) nor can they understand the things if the spirit because the things of God are revealed through the spirit which an unsaved person is without (1Cor 2:14).

However because it pleased God that by preaching the gospel those that believe find salvation from God (1 Cor 1:21; 1 Cor 15:14; Rom 10:17; Rom 1:16; Eph 1:13), and the the message of salvation to those who believe is delivered by preaching the word (Rom 10:14; Tit 1:3), and it is also part of the commission handed out by Christ (Mar 16:15).

Now there are those that pervert the Gospel of Christ and add in extra rules or extra doctrines if men saying that God has an "A" list and that only those whom he wanted to save will be saved, or that God looked up throughout time to see who would be saved and that is who is on the saved list, mostly doctirine that spawned from Darby and Calvin and of the misuse of verses mainly John 6:44 (which i may add supports depravity but not at the extent of God only chosing some, rather God uses the Gospel to draw all to him) but we have to reconcile the scriptures because they do not contradict each other unless man forces them to. And nowhere in the gospel do we find any such teaching but what we do find is clearly stated in John 3:16 and that is God so loved the WORLD that he gave us his son and WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH would not perish but have everlasting life. Folks it doesn't get any plainer than that, and that by looking at the few passages that I listed here tonigt we can see that

• man is in sin, and the things of God are foolishness to him until God opens his heart
• it pleased God by preaching to save those that believe the gospel
• the gospel is the power unto salvation to those that believe
• the gospel is Christ dead, buried, and resurrected

In Christ,
tbd, matthew18twenty.com