So Lena, why does Paul begin with praising God?

It's because Paul himself had personally experienced God's comfort in his suffering and his tribulation.

And obviously in verse 13 here actually says, blessed be the God of peace.

be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And also here actually starting with blessing God.

What it means is that when we bless God, it doesn't mean that, you know, we cannot actually give anything back to God, but actually, you know, we acknowledge the fact that God is a giver.

you know, of, you know, salutary things and stuff.

So what is he teaching us here, Alina?

So Lena, why did Paul place so much importance on eyewitnesses for the resurrection?

Okay, so first we're going to go to the first Corinthians chapter 15, verse 6 says, Here it says, after that he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

So this verse tells us that this resurrection, this event was a real historical event that was witnessed by so many people.

And so Paul emphasized witnesses to Jesus' resurrection because it was central to the gospel message that he preached.

And it also, you know, established credibility that, like, especially in the ancient world, eyewitnesses' testimony carried major weight.

and also, and the resurrection validated Jesus' identity we already talked about, and He, Him being the true Messiah and the Son of God.

And Paul also, also wanted his believers to understand that the resurrection and our Christianity is built upon truth and not myths or legends.

Selina, what's it talking about with the firstfruits?

In what ways can elaborate discourses and human wisdom obscure the message of the cross?

Here Paul saw divisions arose partly from eloquent leaders.

And there are several ways that, you know, human wisdom or reasoning can obscure the message of the cross.

So first it might shift, you know, our focus from God to human wisdom.

And also it, if we emphasize as a human wisdom, and it may actually fit into our own logic and thus, you know, make it philosophically respectable and turn it into another philosophy, as I mentioned earlier.

And also it elevates human wisdom above God's divine power and also encourages intellectual pride, you know, rather than humility.

So the cross humbles us because it shows us that salvation comes through God's grace.

How do the repeated references to foolishness in that verse help us to understand that it is foolishness?