King James Bible
"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Paul emphatically rejects boasting in anything except Christ's crucifixion, contrasting with the Judaizers who gloried in circumcision and law-keeping. The cross represents both shame and triumph—a paradox that defines Paul's entire value system and identity. Through Christ's cross, the world's systems of power, prestige, and approval have lost their hold on Paul. The crucifixion metaphor indicates a complete death to worldly values, rendering them powerless to attract or control him. The relationship is reciprocal—just as Paul sees the world as dead, so the world views him as irrelevant or foolish. This mutual crucifixion creates a radical separation between Paul's Christ-centered life and society's expectations.