1 Corinthians 1:21 (YLT)

Passage

for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 1:19 for it hath been written, `I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nought;'

1 Corinthians 1:20 where <FI>is<Fi> the wise? where the scribe? where a disputer of this age? did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world?

1 Corinthians 1:21 for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.

1 Corinthians 1:22 Since also Jews ask a sign, and Greeks seek wisdom,

1 Corinthians 1:23 also we--we preach Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a stumbling-block, and to Greeks foolishness,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "seeing", "wisdom", "through", "knew", and "please". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "seeing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "where FI is Fi the wise where..." into verse 22's "Since also Jews ask a sign and...", so "world" and "seeing" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "seeing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.