Sermon Tone Analysis

As we make our way through the book of 1 Corinthians, there are a lot of words we could use to describe what we encounter in these words of Paul.

Teaching…correction…encouragement…exhortation…

But I think if I had to pick one word to describe what I think we find in this letter it would be this:

Wisdom.

I believe there is just so much wisdom in this particular book of the Bible.

That’s why I think it’s worth spending extended time on it as we think about the future of our church.

And in fact, Paul uses the word wisdom a lot in today’s reading.

15 times in our reading today Paul uses a variation of the word, “wisdom” or “wise.”

The Greek word at the root of each of the 15 occurrences is the word “Sophos,” from which we get words like “sophistication” and “philosophy.”

It’s also were we get the name “Sophia.”

It’s a word that denotes cleverness and intelligence and insight.

And at first glance it may seem odd that Paul focuses so much on wisdom at this point in the letter.

If you remember from last week, Paul dives right in with the Corinthians and names the reason for his letter: he’s been hearing things about the church in Corinth that disturb him.

That worry him.

And he’s writing to correct their false understandings and answer their questions.

And at the top of the things Paul is worried about is the division he’s been hearing about in the Corinthian church.

He’s heard how they are dividing into camps and not working together, how the different ministry silos that are becoming entrenched in Corinth are splitting the church and destroying their effectiveness.

He’s heard how the people of Corinth have aligned themselves with different teachers, each claiming to be following the one, true path.

So having brought up division and unity as one of his main themes, at first it may seem odd that he launches into a discussion of wisdom.

But in fact, he knows exactly what he’s doing.

In fact, you could say he’s being very…wise.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve mentioned that one of the reasons I think this is a great book to study is that it reflects so much of our own situation in the 21st century church.

There may be 2000 years and a lot of miles separating us from the church of Corinth, but we’re very much the same.

Like them, we exist in a largely secular…at times even pagan society that is more and more distrustful of and disinterested in the Christian faith.

Like them, we are struggling to understand what it means to be the church in a world that is chaotic and frustrating and fearful.

Especially post-pandemic.

And like them, we in the church can be prone to patterns of behavior that can be self-destructive.

Especially when things are tough.

I’ve been around enough churches going through difficult times to know that when a church is struggling, they often look for something to hold on to, something that provides an anchor in the midst of the storm.

Something that seems to give an answer to the problems they’re facing.

We do that in our own lives, don’t we?

And so often, the things we reach out for…are actually...not the things we need.

That’s what’s happening in Corinth.

In the face of huge challenges and overwhelming opposition in the culture, they are desperate to find a way for their church to grow and thrive.

It’s an admirable desire, isn’t it?

To want your church to grow and have an impact in your community?

But the problem is that the Corinthians have a completely wrong idea about what will make that happen.

They think it’s all about personality.

And they are so desperate to get it right that they are now defining themselves by the personalities of their leaders.

It is a one of the cardinal sins of the modern church as well, and unfortunately you see it all the time.

When a congregation becomes more about the pastor than the gospel, there’s a problem.

So many churches in the States and around the world have imploded in recent years because they became little more than personality cults.

As I said last week, it’s idolatry.

So what Paul does, in this section about wisdom, is this:

He calls the church back to what is of first importance.

“For Christ did not send me to baptize,” he writes, “but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Paul goes so far as to say that, “You know what?

Wisdom and eloquence…they’re nothing in the long run.

You can have the most amazing preacher in the world with the most amazing sermons and talks, but that’s not the key to being the church.”

They key, he says, is the gospel.

Specifically....the cross of Christ.

It’s at the cross, Paul says, that the church finds the power it needs to grow and thrive and make an impact in the world.

First importance.

And there is nothing of more importance than the cross.

It is our fixed point.

Our true north.

There is no sermon, no teaching, no Christian book, no group, no ministry, no program, nothing at all…

…that defines us as the church in the way the cross defines us.

It sits at the very center of who we are, and we forget that at our peril.

We are people of the cross.

In other words…we are people who draw their sense of identity and mission and calling and purpose and community from the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Jesus laid down his life for us, and in that act we see the love of God displayed.

And it’s that sacrificial love that compels us and binds us together and empowers us to be the people we are called to be.

And it’s that same sacrificial love that forms the heart of our message to the world.

But as Shakespeare would say, “there’s the rub.”

Because as Paul goes on to say, that message of the cross…it’s not a popular one.

He points out that the “message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.”

Other translations use the words “nonsense” or even “silliness.”

I love how The Voice translation puts it:

“For people who are stumbling toward ruin, the message of the cross is nothing but a tall tale for fools by a fool.”

In Paul’s time the two main audiences he was probably thinking of would have been the Jews and the Greeks, and he’s 100% right here.

For a Jewish person, the idea that someone who died on a cross could be the savior of the world was foolishness, because according to the Old Testament Law, such a death was a sign of God’s curse.

And for the Greeks, with their focus on thought and reason and rationality, how in the world then could the execution of a Jewish carpenter have any bearing at all on life and death and truth and meaning?

The cross would have been complete foolishness to them.

Nothing’s really changed in 2000 years, has it?

In fact, I would argue that this Greek way of thinking is exactly what we find in our culture today.

People want explanations and facts and scientific proof, and the message of the cross seems so bizarre to a culture so consumed by that pursuit.

To them it’s weird stuff.

Nonsense, silliness, a tall tale for fools by a fool.

They see it as complete and utter foolishness.

And what is our temptation in the midst of this kind of response?

The temptation is to do whatever we can to make it palatable, to make it attractive.

And if we’re not careful, we end up watering down the message of the gospel.

Now let me be perfectly clear here.

What I’m talking about is different from making the message of the cross understandable and accessible and relatable.

That is our calling.

It’s part of being hospitable and welcoming to those with questions.

What I’m talking about, and what I think Paul’s words speak to as well, is the temptation to make Christianity about something OTHER than the death and resurrection of Jesus.

As one author put it:

“The church in every century has had to resist, sometimes not too successfully, the temptation to try to ‘augment the gospel.’”

I think that’s true.

We try to impress people with our wisdom, with our cultural savvy, with our practical, “5 steps to a successful life” approach to faith.

And Paul reminds us—that is not the gospel.

That’s not the good news.

The good news is that God loves you, and out of that love he sent Jesus to earth.

And out of that same love, Jesus was willing to die on a cross for you, for me.

And out of that same love, the cross of Jesus offers a way for us to know God as we were designed to know him: intimately, passionately, eternally…if we are willing to put our faith and trust in Him.

Paul says that message is God’s power for us: that’s where we find the power to change lives and hearts, the power to burn through our idols and our divisions, the power to fill us with awe in the light of his mercy, joy, and love.

It’s the other stuff, Paul says, that’s foolishness.

“So then, where does that leave the wise? or the scholars?