Devotional 14 October 2025

October 14, 2025 • Steve Torres

1 Corinthians 1:20.jpg

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-20, ESV)

The cross stands as the great reversal of human expectation. The world sees defeat, humiliation, and weakness, yet those who believe see the very power and wisdom of God. Paul’s words strike at the heart of Corinthian pride, where eloquence and intellect were prized above all. To them, a crucified Messiah was absurd. But God designed salvation precisely through what the world despises, so that no one may boast before Him (1 Cor 1:29).

This has always been God’s pattern. Isaiah declared that the Lord would “destroy the wisdom of the wise” (Isa 29:14). Human reason cannot grasp divine truth apart from revelation. What philosophers sought through debate and scribes through learning, God revealed through the apparent folly of a cross. As Jesus Himself said, the Father hides these things “from the wise and understanding and reveals them to little children” (Matt 11:25).

In the gospel, worldly categories collapse. The power of God is displayed in weakness (2 Cor 12:9); the wisdom of God is revealed in what seems foolish (1 Cor 1:25). True unity is born here, at the place where every boast is silenced. The cross is not an argument to be won but a reality to be believed. It humbles the proud, comforts the lowly, and binds together all who confess that Christ crucified is Lord. To live in this wisdom is to live in unity. The world divides by status, intellect, and achievement, but the church stands level at the foot of the cross, glorying only in the Lord (Jer 9:23-24; 1 Cor 1:31).