Study Desk

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.

But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

For, "Who can know the Lord 's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?" But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you still aren't ready,

for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world?

The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.

For we are both God's workers. And you are God's field. You are God's building.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, "He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness."

So don't boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—

As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point.

So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?