Pour Contempt on All My Pride

Text:

1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5 (ESV) — 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Intro:

What is the power of the cross that Paul mentions in v. 17?

(v. 18) - Word of the cross: folly to those perishing (Theme)

1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) — 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Dominique Wilkins (Nine-time NBA all-star)

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV) — 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

“For it is true, that this world is like a theatre, in which the Lord presents to us a clear manifestation of his glory, and yet, notwithstanding that we have such a spectacle placed before our eyes, we are stone-blind, not because the manifestation is furnished obscurely, but because we are alienated in mind, (Col. 1:21,)” — Calvin

The flesh suppresses glory: John 3:19–21 (ESV) — 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Man, elevated above the over creatures, producers of music and art and essays and governments, is so arrogant as to think that he can figure salvation out on his own.

(vv.19-21) - In the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:19–21(ESV) — 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

Matthew 11:25 (ESV) — 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

v.25 -- For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

God is not on a scale of wisdom or foolishness, the text means that what we see as foolishness in the gospel at first (the weakness and the strangeness) turns out to be the unimaginable wisdom of God.

(vv.22-25) - Jews seek signs and Greeks wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified - a stumbling block and folly

1 Corinthians 1:22–25 (ESV) — 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Jews abhorred the gospel - it was weak a stumbling block

Greek: μωρία (foolishness) -- Root of english “moron”

“Alexamenos’s God” — The donkey on the cross

Have you ever mocked something because you were threatened by it? — Two rules of atheism: 1)there is no god 2) I hate him.

“Paul wanted the message that he preached to be a clear window to the gospel, and not a gaudy, rhetorical mural about the gospel. He wanted the Corinthians to be able to look through what he was saying, and did not want them to stare at what he was saying.” — Wilson, Douglas.

Never try to hide the “weakness” or “foolishness” of the gospel. Never try to present a cross-less Christ.

Victorinus’s testimony in Augustine’s Confessions - He wasn’t ashamed of me

(vv.26-31) - Considering our calling - God’s choice - no boasting

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (ESV) — 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

It’s Many, not Any

Galatians 6:14 (ESV) — 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Jeremiah 9:23 (ESV) — 23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,

What happens if we do boast in our flesh? It’s as if we are the ones despising the cross, minimizing God’s grace — which is why Paul decided to know nothing among you except Christ crucified.

Colossians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

(1 Cor. 2:1-5) - Paul’s example

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (ESV) — 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

2 Corinthians 10:10 (ESV) — 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” — there was disdain for Paul’s plain speech.

Paul had reasoned with the wisest Greeks, He had argued with the sharpest in the synagogues, and had brought the gospel to pagans who had never read the scriptures. The gospel comes in power and truth, not cleverness, eloquence, or wisdom.

Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians Chapter 2

and in comparison with which everything else must be “counted as dung.” (Phil. 3:8.)

Application:

Romans 1:16 (ESV) — 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Conclusion:

J. Gresham Mechen Story:

“The reality of an atonement for sin depends altogether upon the New Testament presentation of the Person of Christ. And even the hymn" dealing with the Cross which we sing in Church can be placed in an ascending scale according as they are based upon a lower or a higher view of Jesus' Person. At the very bottom of the scale is that familiar hymn:

Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee! E'en though it be a cross That raiseth me.

That is a perfectly good hymn. It means that our trials may be a discipline to bring us nearer to God. The thought is not opposed to Christianity; it is found in the New Testament. But many persons have the impression, because the word "cross" is found in the hymn, that there is something specifically Christian about it, and that it has something to do with the gospel. This impression is entirely false. In reality, the cross that is spoken of is not the Cross of Christ, but our own cross; the verse simply means that our own crosses or trials may be a means to bring us nearer to God. It is a perfectly good thought, but certainly it is not the gospel. One can only be sorry that the people on the Titanic could not find a better hymn to use in the last solemn hour of their lives. But there is another hymn in the hymn-book:

In the cross of Christ I glory, Towering o'er the wrecks of time; All the light of sacred story Gathers round its head sublime.

That is certainly better. It is here not our own crosses but the Cross of Christ, the actual event that took place on Calvary, that is spoken of, and that event is celebrated as the center of all history. Certainly the Christian man can sing that hymn. But one misses even there the full Christian sense of the meaning of the Cross; the Cross is celebrated, but it is not understood.

It is well, therefore, that there is another hymn (In The Cross of Christ) in our hymn-book:

When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

There at length are heard the accents of true Christian feeling--"the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died." When we come to see that it was no mere man who suffered on Calvary but the Lord of Glory, then we shall be willing to say that one drop of the precious blood of Jesus is of more value, for our own salvation and for the hope of society, than all the rivers of blood that have flowed upon the battlefields of history.

God’s power made perfect in weakness — 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (ESV) — 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There are only two kinds of people: those who see the cross as foolish and those who see it as the power of God unto salvation.

This breaking of a man, this humility, isn’t the crushing of our spirit–it’s the crushing of our pride. When the cross of Christ is upheld, pride turns its head, not able to look at the vulgarity, the lowness, and the folly. But at the cross, where the Prince of glory died — when I pour contempt on all my pride — is when I behold the wisdom and power of of the cross, and am delighted to be in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”