Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5.
Introduction
This passage instructs us about what is the foundational truth of the true Christian church. The true church must be Christ-centred and Cross-centred. This means it must stand upon, and declare, nothing that does not conform to “Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
Two ways to live
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:18-23).
The word “world” in our text refers to the society we live in and the human beings we have to interact with. Humanity is on a crusade to find eternal satisfaction through philosophy, religion and mystical wisdom. Paul describes two types of people here.
1. The Greeks
The Greeks had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. It did not matter what it entailed just as long they gained it. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The gods they worshipped were the personification of the wisdom they had accumulated over the centuries. Their gods were the figment of their own imagination, and by becoming pantheistic they had excluded the only true God. “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you” (Acts 17:22-23).
2. The Jews
The Jews demanded displays of power to prove that something was true or not. This characteristic had been with them ever since they were freed from Egypt. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40). They might have been closer to God than the Gentile nations around them, but their search for signs and wonders led them away from God.
Can we not see the same thing going on both in the church and the world today? Believers find it hard to accept what the Scriptures plainly teach, but will travel to the ends of the earth to hear new revelations and so-called miracles from charlatans posing as ministers of Christ. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). God did not operate according to the Greek or Jewish model when He revealed to man the only way of salvation. Instead of a display of power, or reams of mystical reasoning, He sent a Person. No one, either Greek or Jew, could have come up with this way of redemption. To the true believer, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is not an unfortunate end to a promising life, but the very foundation of the Christian message. The sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son on Calvary’s cross is the most powerful display of God’s wisdom the world has ever, or will ever, know.
How we can tell if a church is cross-centred
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Basically Paul is telling us to look at who make up the Body of Christ. These people have not sought to earn a place in Heaven through human wisdom, power or knowledge, but have come to God through the cross. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). They came heavy-hearted but empty-handed to receive from Him the greatest gift of all. These people do not glory in learning or signs, but in the God who saved their souls through the blood of Christ.
What is in their hearts is preached by their lips. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Paul spoke of Christ rather than human wisdom; he preached the cross not signs and wonders. He was weak, but ministered under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. At the very heart of his message was the cross of Christ. Today we have congregations following men, seeking signs, and eager for revelations, but few who humbly stand upon God’s perfect word.
Conclusion
Our personal gifts, learning or charisma matters nothing to God, in fact, He has never been impressed by them. He is pleased with those who, in true faith, follow Christ and preach salvation through His blood. This is the only place true power can be found. It is the only message that delivers souls from sin and Hell. It is the message the cross-centred Christian church has always taught.
© 17/6/2008