1 Corinthians 1.18-2.5

Exegetical Idea: Paul wanted the Corinthians to see that the message of the cross was not foolish as the world believed it was, but that it was the power of God for salvation.

Theological Idea: The message of the cross is not foolish as the world believes it is, but it is the power of God for salvation.

Preaching Idea: The cross appears to be foolishness to those who haven’t understood its message.

Notes:

I.        Introduction

A.      Let me take a moment to remind you about where we are and where we are going.

1.       Our series through 1 Corinthians: Becoming One in Jesus Christ

2.       I have the advantage in my study and preparation to have a clear view of where we’ve been and what is coming next.

3.       Let me encourage you to be using those recommendations on how to get the most out of a sermon series.

B.      At the end of our passage last week Paul spoke to his readers about his calling in Jesus Christ.

C.     As he continues his letter to the Corinthians, Paul offers his readers three essential truths about the message of the cross.

D.     [Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-2:5]

II.      The message of the cross will either be rejected as foolish or received by faith. (vv. 18-25)

A.      The message of the cross appears foolish to the world. (v. 18, 23)

1.       Paul knew that the idea of a crucified Christ was absurd to the non-Christian world.

i.         A crucified Messiah would have been an offensive concept to the Jews.

ii.       A failed religious leader would have been ridiculous to success oriented Gentiles.

2.       How does a crucified Christ appear to the world today?

i.         Does the cross seem like an irrelevant matter of ancient history?

ii.       Does the cross seem like an unnecessary act for a world that is basically good?

iii.      Does the cross seem offensive in a world that desires to be tolerant of all ideas?

iv.     Does the cross seem like a foolish myth embraced by those who are too weak to do life on their own.

3.       Paul also knew that a church living among a society that saw the cross as foolish might shy away from the cross and turn its eyes to other things.

i.         The Corinthians were already beginning to divide into groups that associated themselves with certain church leaders.

ii.       This internal division was leading to quarrelling and dissention among the body.

iii.      The only dividing line that Paul recognized was between those who embraced the cross and those who rejected it.

4.       The only thing to do was to show these believers that only thing that was truly foolish was to reject God’s act of mercy and grace that is at the heart of the message of the cross.

B.      The world seeks to live by its own wisdom.

1.       In the Greco-Roman culture of Paul’s day wisdom was something everyone desired.

i.         Wisdom wasn’t necessarily about being intelligent; it was about knowing how to live life.

ii.       We hold the same value today, we just want to live our lives the best we can.

iii.      Paul didn’t have an issue with wanting to live life well; the issue was with how the world went about choosing how to live.

2.       The world customizes its own world-view. (v. 20)

i.         A world-view can be thought of as the lens through which a person looks at the world that determines how they understand the way things are.

ii.       So many of us may say that we have a Christian world-view because we look at the world through the lens our faith in Jesus Christ and what God has revealed to us in Scripture.

iii.      The problem is that many go the other direction by first determining what they think the world should look like, and then customizing a lens that will provide them with that image.

iv.     The danger is that such an image doesn’t really reflect reality.

3.       The world also customizes its own god. (v. 22)

i.         Some seek a god that is a divine wish granter. (v. 22a)

(a)     Paul says that the Jews demanded miraculous signs.

(b)     Their attitude was one of “If I like what I see, then I may believe.”

(c)     Such a person needs God to meet certain predetermined conditions first.

(d)     This helps us to understand why many people today continue to shop for the right faith.

ii.       Others seek the god of self-sufficiency. (v. 22b)

(a)     Paul says that the Greeks looked for wisdom.

(b)     The Greek mindset was wisdom should lead to greater independence.

(c)     The idea of placing trust in someone else was a liability; even the gods could not be fully trusted.

(d)     So wisdom should be able to provide the right pathway to independence and success.

(e)     Illustration: I think the Greeks in Paul’s day would have loved the NY Times best-sellers list filled with books on how to be a success.

4.       All of this would be fine if the world’s wisdom was at all reliable.

i.         Illustration: The old car that will get you around town, but unwise to go on long trips.

C.     The world’s wisdom can’t compete with the message of the cross.

1.       The world’s wisdom is powerless to achieve knowledge of God. (v. 21)

i.         Paul tells us that God actually prevents human beings from coming to know him through wisdom.

ii.       Imagine our arrogance if we could boast that we’ve mastered all knowledge of God.

iii.      We would think we could keep God in our back pocket and pull Him out when we needed something from Him.

iv.     Illustration: My “MDiv” only confirmed how little I actually know about God.

2.       The world’s wisdom is powerless to save people from their sins.

i.         No amount of human wisdom will ever be able to solve the problem of human sin.

ii.       Our sin has put us at an unbridgeable distance from a holy God.

iii.      The problem is not a lack of knowhow or information so our human wisdom has nothing to contribute to the solution.

iv.     The problem is a spiritual one; we are incapable of removing our own sin.

v.       Like the account of those who lived in Babel in Genesis 11, we will never be able to create a way back into heaven on our own.

vi.     The solution to human sin has to originate on the side of God.

D.     The message of the cross has drawn a line in the sand forcing each one of us to decide which side we will choose to take.

1.       Those who embrace the world’s wisdom and reject the message of the cross as foolish will perish. (v. 18a)

2.       Those who respond to the call of God and receive the message of the cross faith will be saved. (v. 18b)

III.    The message of the cross is good news for nobodies. (vv. 26-31)

A.      Most people will go through life as a “nobody”. (v. 26)

1.       Paul asked his readers to think about their lives at the point when called them to faith.

i.         He reminded them that at the time none of them were particularly special as far as the world was concerned.

ii.       Few if any of them would have been called geniuses.

iii.      Hardly any would have been thought of as influential people.

iv.     Barely any one there would have been able to claim they were from an important family line.

v.       Paul wasn’t saying these things to be cruel, but to make the point that as far as the world was concerned, most if not all of them, were considered “nobodies”.

2.       The same is true for almost any group of people.

i.         Most of us will never be considered famous as far as the world is concerned.

ii.       None of us will probably ever be known as a household name.

iii.      I doubt any of us will have our stories written about in biographies after we die.

3.       The good news is that none of that matters to God when it comes to the message of the cross.

B.      God calls people to be saved based on his choice and not based on any human standard. (v. 27-29)

1.       Illustration: What if God’s act salvation was run like the NFL draft?

2.       Paul even seems to suggest that God goes out of his way to call “nobodies” to faith.

i.         God chooses people that the world would throw back.

ii.       God chooses people who appear to be foolish, weak, lowly, and despised according to the worlds standards.

3.       Why does God choose “nobodies”?

i.         First, Paul says that he does so “to shame the wise…, to shame the strong…, and to nullify the things that are.”

(a)     The word shame might make us uncomfortable, but we need to understand what Paul means so that we can understand what God is doing.

(b)     Paul is not saying that God does this so that certain people would feel ashamed of themselves.

(c)     What God is doing is an act of judgment to show the one’s who thing they are “somebody” according to the world’s standards that such things are of no advantage in the kingdom of God.

ii.       Second, and closely related with the last point, Paul says that God chooses “nobodies” so that no one can boast in themselves before God.

(a)     Some may wonder if Paul is suggesting that God avoids saving those who appear significant according to the world’s standards.

(b)     The answer is obviously no. We run into the same problem if we start to say “God prefers me because I’m a nobody.”

(c)     God’s saves by grace alone; nothing of ours is brought to the table.

(d)     The point is that those who tend to boast in themselves are generally those who find they have no need for God, and see the message of the cross as foolish.

C.     Those who are in Christ can boast in what God has done. (vv. 30-31)

1.       Christians need to remember, as Paul says, that “it is because of him that [we] are in Christ Jesus.”

i.         All that God has done for us is by His grace alone.

ii.       None of us can say, “I sought God” or “I choose to come to God”

iii.      Paul makes it clear that it was God who called us to believe, it was God who chose us out of the world, and it was God who offered us forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

iv.     Paul wants his readers to understand that they dare not take any credit for what God has done in their lives; they were “nobodies” until God stepped in to make them somebody.

2.       But what can a believer say about himself once God brings that person to faith in Christ?

i.         First, we can say that Christ has become wisdom from God for us.

(a)     The wisdom that we lack as sinful men and women has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

(b)     Wisdom is more than just knowing the teachings of Christ, although that’s a good start.

(c)     We have the wisdom to please God and to know him more because of who we are in Christ Jesus.

(d)     As I grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ, I grow in the wisdom to live as God desires for my life.

(e)     If I neglect my relationship with Christ, I will find that I will lack the wisdom to please God.

ii.       Second, we can say that in Christ, God has secured for us righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

(a)     None of these things belong to us apart from being in Christ.

(b)     Illustration: Cedarfen became ours to enjoy but not mine to own.

(c)     We can not boast for ourselves about what doesn’t belong to us.

3.       Paul reminds the believers that when they boast, and boasting is permissible, that they boast in the Lord. (v. 31)

D.     In sharing these essential truths of the message of the cross, Paul ends on a more personal note.

IV.    The message of the cross is the only message worth preaching. (vv. 1-5)

A.      Paul revealed a bit of his own story as it related to the ministry in Corinth.

1.       He recognized that unlike many of the highly polished speakers of the day, his message as he preached to them did not appear as eloquent. (v. 1)

i.         Clearly Paul wasn’t saying that he was a poor speaker, or that he was less well trained in the art of public speaking.

ii.       The evidence from his sermons recorded in Acts, or from the way he wrote in his letters shows us that he was one who knew the power of words.

2.       Paul’s point was that when he preached, he wanted all the focus to be on what he was saying, and as little as possible on himself as a speaker.

i.         Paul was so convinced that this was right that he says he “resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (v. 2)

ii.       All that mattered to Paul was that people were hearing the Word of God and were continually being pointed to the cross.

3.       Paul’s model is an excellent one for those of us who have been called to preach.

i.         This doesn’t mean that every sermon is about the cross, or that every message is a gospel message.

ii.       It does however mean that every sermon should hold true because of the gospel and the message of the cross.

iii.      For example, a sermon on the 10 commandments wouldn’t make sense without the cross.

iv.     Without the cross the 10 commandments is just another set of rules to live by so that we can keep an ordered society.

v.       But in the light of the cross we are reminded that apart from Christ we can do nothing.

vi.     In light of the cross we realize that God gave us a way back to him through Christ because we failed to live up to his holy law.

vii.    In light of the cross we are reminded that Christ gave us his Holy Spirit to enable us to live a holy life as reflected in those commandments.

4.       We preach Christ crucified because, as Paul says, it is the testimony of God.

i.         Everything else would be preaching that is based on human wisdom and you are better off visiting a Barnes and Noble or your local library to get that.

B.      Paul also recognized that the message of the cross was the only message worth preaching because it rests upon God’s power and not human persuasion.

1.       Let me let you in on a preacher’s secret this morning.

i.         Every preacher finds himself asking “What do I need to convince my people of this week?”

ii.       Maybe some of us who haven’t been preaching as long say it more than others, but I would be willing to bet that almost every preacher says that once in a while.

2.       Paul may be the exception to that rule.

i.         Look what Paul says about his own preaching in the last two verses. (vv. 4-5)

ii.       As I studied this week the Lord reminded me that as a preacher my role is to be a herald and not the Holy Spirit.

iii.      The Holy Spirit is the only person who has been assigned the job of convincing people of the truth.

iv.     God reminded me through the words of one author this week, “The herald’s task is not to create a persuasive message at all, but to convey effectively the already articulated message of another.”

3.       Again the whole reason Paul says this is because no human preacher has the power to take God’s Words and create transformation in the life of a believer.

4.       So as we close this morning I wonder if you will make a deal with me.

i.         First, I will make a commitment to doing all that I can to be God’s herald and to convey effectively what I believe God is saying to all of us in His Word.

ii.       I will continue to make this my top priority as your pastor because without it there will be no means for the Spirit to bring transformation in our lives.

iii.      Your side of the deal is this, you tell me how the Holy Spirit may be speaking to you through God’s Word.

iv.     I of course appreciate it when people thank me for giving the sermon, but at the risk of sounding unappreciative I have to say yes, it’s my job.

v.       What I want to hear from you is what you heard that tugged at your heart, or made you think, or even made you uncomfortable.

vi.     More than likely what you are hearing isn’t some clever idea of mine, but the Holy Spirit communicating with your spirit some truth that needs to take root.

5.       We preach Christ crucified with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

V.      Conclusion

A.      For many people in our world, the message of the cross sounds like foolishness.

1.       Many find the message of the cross unappealing, irrelevant, or even offensive.

2.       The message of the cross is so unlike many of the messages people are hearing in our world today.

B.      Paul has offered us his readers these three essential truths about the message of the cross so that we might keep the cross at the center of all that we are as Christian believers and as his body on earth, the church.

1.       Each of us needs to be reminded about the response that needs made to the message of the cross, and that our response in faith leads to eternal life.

2.       We need to hear again that the message of the cross is good news for “nobodies” like us, that God loved us so much that He would give His son for those the world considers to be nothing.

3.       We need to know that the message of the cross is the only message worth preaching because it is the only message through which the Holy Spirit is at work.

C.     Take these essential truths with you this morning and take some time to reflect on the message of the cross.