The Message of the Cross is indeed mere folly to those who are in the path to Ruin, but to us who are in the path of Salvation it is the very power of God.

We are proclaiming Christ crucified!-to the Jews an obstacle, to the Gentiles mere folly,

A material man will not accept what the Spirit of God offers. It seems mere folly to him, and he cannot understand it, because it takes spiritual insight to see its true value.

Brothers, I couldn't talk to you as spiritual people but as worldly people, as mere infants in the Messiah.

You are still worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]?

For when one says, "I belong to Paul's party," and another, "I belong to Apollos' party," are you not acting as mere human creatures?

Then what is Apollos? Or what is Paul? Mere servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave each of us his task.

For this world's wisdom is mere nonsense to God. For the Scripture says, "He who catches the wise with their own cunning,"

So then, no more boasting about mere mortals! For everything belongs to you,

We, for Christ's sake, are labeled as "foolish"; you, as Christians, are men of shrewd intelligence. We are mere weaklings: you are strong. You are in high repute: we are outcasts.

when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.

Now about food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge [concerning this]. Knowledge [alone] makes [people self-righteously] arrogant, but love [that unselfishly seeks the best for others] builds up and encourages others to grow [in wisdom].

Now mere food will not bring us any nearer to God; if we abstain we do not lose anything, and if we eat we do not gain anything.

What I am proud of is not the mere preaching of the gospel; that I am constrained to do. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Though I speak in the 'tongues' of men, or even of angels, yet have not Love, I have become mere echoing brass, or a clanging cymbal!

If I should dole out everything I have for charity, and give my body up to torture in mere boasting pride, but have no love, I get from it no good at all.

Brothers, do not be children in the sphere of intelligence; in evil be mere infants, but be mature in your intelligence.

and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is a mere delusion; you are still under the penalty of your sins.

Ah, if in this life we have nothing but a mere hope in Christ, we are of all men to be pitied most!

And when you sow, you sow not the body that will be, but a mere grain-perhaps of wheat, or something else.

I do not want to see you right now in a mere stop-over visit, for later I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits me.