"A Superiority Complex" {Part 1}

1 Corinthians 1:17–2:16 ESV

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 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. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 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? 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. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 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. 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; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Recap of the first 3 weeks…peeling back the layers of the onion of the Corinthian conflict & division.

“I follow...”

Think about football - we are passionate fans. We are convinced - no matter the record - that our team is better! We have a word for that - “superior.” We see this sense of superiority in many places - racially, etc.

AND WHERE THERE IS SUPERIORITY, THERE IS, NATURALLY - INFERIORITY.

So, the root of the problem is self-centeredness....WHAT FUELS IT?

A sense of superiority is the fuel of self-centeredness.

Back to Corinth - our way of thinking, doing things, etc. is superior to yours.

<APPLY TO OUR CONTEXT>

So, here, as Paul continues to address this issue in the church, it comes across as if he’s moving off topic…but he’s not. What he’s actually going to do, here, is masterful! He is directing their attention to the superiority complex of the Jews & Greeks (Gentiles) - unbelievers - who think Christianity is ridiculous and that it is inferior to their way of thinking and life. Ultimately, though, he is doing this (as we’ll see over the next week) to shine the light on THEIR OWN sense of superiority and the root of the division!

Here’s what Paul is doing - he is juxtaposing the wisdom of man with the wisdom of God in order to show the Corinthians this truth (and for us):

The wisdom of God is - in every way - SUPERIOR to the wisdom of man and, therefore, removes all possibility of PRIDE we could have in OURSELVES.

Let’s unpack this:

The Wisdom of God in the CROSS.

{1:17-25}

Paul tells us, here, that God’s means of salvation makes absolutely no sense to the wisdom of man!

The Jews found the idea of God’s Messiah being crucified on a Roman cross OFFENSIVE & REPULSIVE.

The Greeks found the idea of a deity being subjected to pain and death ABSURD.

The message of the gospel that centered around a cross made NO SENSE to them!

But to those being saved…it is the power of God!

The only reason I am SAVED is because God chose the cross!

The cross is the only means by which we can be saved!

The Wisdom of God in His CALLING.

{1:26-2:5}

Just think about Jesus’s 12 guys - guys that the world ignored!

A. WHO he calls (1:26-28):

The unqualified, the unattractive, the ordinary, the sinful, the dirty, the ones who don’t have it figured out - the low and the downtrodden. We’re rebels, we’re criminals and violators and transgressors against God’s law! Not one single person deserves it!

B. WHY he calls (1:29-31):

To prove HIS power - so that no human being can boast. Jesus is COMPLETE! HE is wisdom from God, He is our righteousness, He is our sanctification, He is our redemption. NOT ONE OF US DESERVES!

B. WHY he calls:

C. HOW he calls (2:1-5):

C. HOW he calls:

C. HOW he calls:

Through the simplicity of gospel preaching!

Charles Hodge - “The gospel is so simple a child can understand it and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.”

You don’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops, keep a checklist, work off your bad sins and earn God’s favor - no! It’s almost TOO simple - grace through faith!

The only reason I am WORTHY is because God chose to call me!

I didn’t go seeking after Jesus - he came seeking after me! Again, he didn’t choose to call me based on any qualifications or characteristics I possess. There is nothing good in me. God takes the initiative in salvation. He FIRST loved us!

The Wisdom of God in the COUNSELOR.

{2:6-16}

John 16:8 ESV

And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

No matter how educated or learned we may be, we don’t “reason” or “discover” or “figure” our way out to God....God REVEALS Himself, reveals His gospel to us through the Holy Spirit!

THERE IS NO SAVING KNOWLEDGE APART FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT! You are not saved unless the Spirit reveals the truth of the gospel to you and you believe in faith!

The only reason I UNDERSTAND is because God chose to reveal it to me!

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:17 ESV

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 16:

APPLY::

REPEAT BIG IDEA

The gospel ALONE is the power to save!

Romans 1:16 ESV

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.

May I boast in the cross

2 Corinthians 11:30 ESV

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Galatians 6:14 ESV

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.