Ministry of Grace Church

but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Truth to Learn

Preach the “foolish message” and watch God’s power at work.

Behind the Words

The word “called” is translated from the plural form of klētos, a noun which literally means “the called ones.” It refers to those who have been invited to come or to go somewhere.

“Power” is from the Greek word dunamis, from which we get our English word dynamite. It refers to “the authority or power to do something.” It has a different meaning than ischus, which stresses the ability, whereas dunamis emphasizes the accomplishment. So, we can see dunamis as “power in action” or “demonstrated power,” as opposed to “potential power.”

Meaning Explained

In this first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Christians in the church in Corinth, he is primarily addressing the divisions that had sprung-up in the church. Part of the reason that these divisions had occurred is because the members of the church were more connected to the world system than they were to God.

Even by the secular standards of the day, Corinth was considered one of the most morally corrupt cities of its time. In fact, it was so well known for its wickedness, that its name became synonymous with moral depravity, wickedness, and drunkenness. Unfortunately, the Christians in Corinth had great difficulty in separating themselves from all the worldly muck that surrounded them. This worldliness even influenced the type of people that the Corinthian Christians looked up to. As a result, Paul has been instructing them (and us) how foolish the wisdom of this world is compared to God’s wisdom. In the previous two verses Paul pointed out that the Greeks and Jews alike sought after power and influence for themselves, while being unable to understand the true wisdom and power of the gospel message.

But, he now goes on to say, to those of us who have been called out of the world and into the body of Christ, the simplicity of the good news demonstrates both God’s power at work and the greatness of His wisdom. Paul was not afraid to stand up to the greatest minds of the day and present the simple gospel message as he had already done in Athens (see Acts 17:18-33). Neither was Paul ashamed of the gospel message as he told the believers in Rome:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

According to what Paul is teaching in today’s verse, the wisdom and power of the gospel is not understood except by those who have been called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ as he said back in verse nine.

Application

Unless you have been given the gift of evangelism, you are probably like me and don’t find it easy to be a witness of God’s saving grace to those around you; however, that doesn’t excuse us from sharing the message. It’s not up to us to save people; only God can do that. But it is up to us to share this simple wisdom even to those who think it is foolishness. It’s up to God to then use the good news and to make those who are called understand His wisdom and power.