Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.11UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.08UNLIKELY
Fear
0.12UNLIKELY
Joy
0.62LIKELY
Sadness
0.18UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.66LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.36UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.87LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.63LIKELY
Extraversion
0.13UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.33UNLIKELY
Emotional Range
0.66LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
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}
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:
APPLY::
REPEAT BIG IDEA
The gospel ALONE is the power to save!
May I boast in the cross
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9