Toward Unity in the Cross
Unity in the church must be grounded in truth, by the cross of Christ, and for the glory of God.
Introduction
Background
Unity is Grounded in Convictions, not Personalities
Note the Antithesis between Human Wisdom and Gospel Preaching
Unity is preceded by God’s wisdom shown at the cross
The word of the cross is μωρία to the perishing ones, but on the other hand, to us who are being saved, the word of the cross is the power of God.
Conversely, to all those who are lost 1:18 and esp. to the gentiles vs. 23, the Christian preaching of a Savior who died a slave’s death on the cross was μ.
Three men in two ethnic groups: Jews & Greeks
ποῦ σοφός
The wisdom of the world contrasts with divine wisdom
It does not rest on human calculations about signs of the times, nor upon manipulative devices which entice belief, nor does it rest on self-defeating strategies to master life by techniques of human wisdom. God’s manifestation of power and wisdom operates on a different basis, namely, the way of love which accepts the constraints imposed by the human condition or plight and the prior divine act of promise, and becomes effective and operative (has power) in God’s own way, for it corresponds with God’s own nature as revealed in Christ and in the cross. Any version of the gospel which substitutes a message of personal success for the cross is a manipulative counterfeit.