Reflections from 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5 for Preachers and Teachers

Richard Hays offers the following six reflections from 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5 for preachers and teachers.


1. Paul’s message focuses on the cross.
2. Paul’s message confronts human boasting.
3. The meaning of “wisdom” is controlled by “Christ crucified.”
4. The word of the cross creates a countercultural world for those who are called.
5. The social composition of the church should be a sign of God’s election of the foolish, the weak, the low and despised.
6. The Old Testament texts in 1 Corinthians 1:19 and 1:31 are heard as God’s word addressed directly to the Christian community.

Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, Interpretation (Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1997), 37–39.