"For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge" (1:4)

My Note: When we ask God for guidance, He provides us with incredible knowledge and the capability to share that knowledge through speech.

"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed" (1:7)

My Note: Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift, but I've never done it. I don't believe Christians have to do this in order to be saved. Yet does this verse mean we are all able to speak in tongues, and that we should utilize this spiritual gift? I'm still trying to understand what this verse means.

"I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought"
(1:10)

My Note: This reminds me of the Christian denominations of today. Jesus wants us to resolve our differences in order to be unified under Him. This verse can really be applied to our current times.

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." (1:17)

My Note: God does not want our own human knowledge to interfere when we share the Good News of Jesus. Our own knowledge dilutes our purpose as Christians. Different denominations need to overcome their differences in theology or spiritual practices in order to focus on bringing others to God.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1:18)

My Note: What does the word perishing mean in this verse? The dictionary definition of perish is "to suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way." Yet this doesn't seem to make sense in this verse. People probably aren't perishing in a physical sense (like dying). But if people were suddenly dying spiritually, wouldn't God's Word be a great cure? I'll have to research this.

After research:

I think Paul was trying to explain that people who are spiritually perishing have already rejected God's Word and believe it is foolish. Makes more sense now.

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1:25)

My Note: Yet God is never foolish. I wonder why Paul wrote this. Perhaps he is trying to explain that IF God were to have a bit of foolishness or weakness, His wisdom and strength would still be great than any human. Still seems odd though.

After more research:

I was correct. Paul suggested that IF God had any weakness or foolishness, it would still be superior to the strength and wisdom of humans.

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1:26-27)

My Note: Many of Jesus's disciples were not wealthy, wise, or necessarily influential people. Jesus Himself was not wealthy and was homeless. Yet Jesus and His disciples made a major impact on the world, healing the sick, giving to the poor, casting out demons, and spreading the Word of God throughout the world. The people who were considered wise, wealthy, and influential according to human standards were trying to halt this beneficial progress. These "wise" people killed Jesus and most of the disciples. Simply because a person is wise, wealthy, or influential does not mean that they are superior to people that the world deems as poor, foolish, and non-influential. God is above the world, which is why He raises up the weak people of the world to shame the strong. The world's definitions are meaningless to God, as they should be to us.

Conclusion:

This first chapter mostly explained the folly of human knowledge. Human knowledge is meaningless to God. This knowledge impairs our ability to spread the Word of God, has been used to counter the spread of the Word of God, and is overall not incredibly useful to God.

The disciples did not have much human knowledge. Instead, they let their knowledge come from God. This allowed them to heavily impact the world through Christ. What if we prevented our own knowledge from controlling how we spread the Word of God? What if Christians did not worry about how smart they were, or how well they could defend their faith. I believe lots could be accomplished.

Overall, our knowledge should come from God, not ourselves. We do not need to be smart according to human standards to follow God. Instead, we need to open ourselves up to receive God's gift of His knowledge.

Thank you for reading this long chapter. If you have questions, things you would like to add, etc, please comment! I'd love to read your thoughts and views about the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. See you next chapter!

Love and Peace,
Arkada