These verses form something of an excursus on the wisdom of God and the spiritual discernment of Christians, although the discussion is symmetrically similar to 1:18–25. In these verses, however, Paul seems to be describing reality from God’s point of view. To avoid misunderstanding Paul’s thought in these lines one must recall that he designated his message “the word of the cross.” Paul would tell about the cross, and he would explicate its meaning. Clearly, Paul interprets the saving significance of the cross throughout his letters by applying the meaning of the cross to the lives of his readers. The cross was not merely something that once happened to Jesus; it was an event that continues to give new shape and meaning to those who hear and believe the gospel. Paul declares that by the m…