What Does 1 Corinthians 1:18 Mean in the King James?
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The same word of the cross is heard as folly in one present trajectory and encountered as God’s power in another: perishing or being delivered.
THE MEANING
The message of the cross meets you now as either foolishness or God’s power. The Greek describes both those who are perishing and those who are being delivered in the present, placing two living trajectories side by side. Here, God’s power is the force of being brought out of loss.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a message which sounds foolish must be powerless; the verse names that same message as God’s power to those being delivered.
THE ROOT
σωζομένοις
sōzomenois
GROWS FROM
σῴζω
sōzō
Deliver, rescue, bring into safety.
“saved” in this verse is sōzomenois. The Greek form describes those who are being delivered now. Its word family names both deliverance and the deliverer, so God’s power appears here as an ongoing bringing out.
ALSO GROWS
sōtēria: Deliverance, rescue
σωτηρία
This noun names the act or result of being brought out, echoing the verse’s present movement.
sōtēr: Deliverer, rescuer
σωτήρ
This branch names the one who delivers, giving the verse’s power a personal expression.
ἀπολλυμένοις
apollymenois
GROWS FROM
ἀπόλλυμι
apollymi
Perish, destroy, or lose; the word family carries the sense of loss or ruin.
“perish” in this verse is apollymenois. The Greek form describes those who are perishing now, alongside those who are being delivered now. The verse sets two present trajectories beside one another rather than describing two completed states.
ALSO GROWS
apōleia: Loss, destruction, ruin
ἀπώλεια
This noun makes the loss carried by the root explicit, deepening what ‘perish’ holds in the verse.
apolōlos: Lost, one who has perished
ἀπολωλός
Luke uses this form for what is lost and sought; it lets ‘perishing’ also be heard as losing the way.
λόγος
logos
GROWS FROM
λέγω
legō
Say, tell, or express; λόγος is a word, account, or message.
“preaching” in this verse is logos. The phrase is the word of the cross: λόγος keeps the message itself in view alongside its public proclamation. The verse then shows what that message becomes in those who hear it.
ALSO GROWS
legō: Say, speak, tell
λέγω
This verb carries the spoken-word sense within the message of the cross.
logizomai: Reckon, account, consider
λογίζομαι
This related word shows the family can also name an account or reckoning, adding depth to λόγος as a formed message.
THE PATTERN
What appears rejected, weak, or lost can become the place where life and power emerge.
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.THE THREAD
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.The same Greek word for power, δύναμις (dynamis), appears in both verses. Verse 18 names the cross as God’s power to those being delivered; verse 24 names Christ as that power.
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