21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles
Line 21 – Explicitly says the world did not know the Christ of Paul’s revelation. But God is please to reveal Christ to the world via Paul.
Line 22 – Jews demand Signs?!? I mean, count the hundreds of miracles in the gospels – count the miracles that occur at his crucifixion…. the dead left their tombs. Paul knows the lack of miracles would be a stumbling block to the Jews. So, miraculous signs with Jesus that the Jews would have witnessed.
Line 23- To preach something that is to be believed means it is an article of faith and not a historical fact.
Paul talks about Christ as a hidden wisdom, a revealed wisdom, but never as a living God who blessed believes alive in his very own ministry. Even his resurrection has to be portrayed and not recounted for his followers. Galatians 3. 3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a] 4 Have you experienced[b] so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[c] – And you guessed it, it has to be believed, just because, not because Paul has access to historical data.
In Paul’s own writings and not the fictions of Acts half a century later, why is Paul trying to convince people that a historical event, like the crucifixion of Christ, is revealed knowledge and not something learned from man?
Why do you think Paul thinks Christ crucified is a foolish preaching? The last thing I would call foolish is God’s revelation.
“by your believing what you heard? ” People have to believe it. Not know it as a recent historical event. Why would Paul not tell people to ask all the eyewitnesses who witnessed the miracles and resurrections to confirm what he preaches about the historical event of Jesus being resurrected?
Roger Mills
Article URL : http://paulproblem.faithweb.com/pauls_misuse_ot.htm