1 Corinthians 1:18-25

The Message of the Cross

Open your Bible to…

Gal. 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Pray

Intro

√ Intro

In our study last week we found that the first order of business for the Apostle Paul to correct the many problems at Corinth was to give instructions regarding how to dismantle the divisions within the Church.

His solution was simple!

To remind the believers that they had nothing to boast about because all of them were sinners saved by Grace!

That is, Paul wanted them to always remember that their salvation was totally dependant upon the work of Jesus and therefore they had nothing to boast about…

…and that their unity would be restored when they humbly admitted that they were all equal in Christ.

√ The message of the Cross

Well, in our text this morning Paul drives that point home by reminding the Corinthians that the simple message of the Cross is where they’ll find and maintain unity.

That’s because the message of the Cross crucifies the self-centered pride of human beings.

One can’t look at the brutal picture of the Cross and find anything praiseworthy of Mankind.

Rather, the Cross stands for all time as a symbol of Man’s failure and God’s unfathomable love!

So, let’s look at the Message of the Cross, how different people respond to it…

…and how it brings unity in the Church.

Ap. We’re still not comfortable with the Cross

A recent poll done here in the US found that a growing number of Americans have no religious affiliation at all…

…rather, many people today are creating their own individual spirituality.

Sort of an eclectic mix of religion, mysticism, and spiritual practices borrowed from any and every spiritual tradition.

These people treat the knowledge of God as if they were shopping at a spiritual Boutique where they can pick and chose what is true for them.

Guess what gets left out every time!

The Cross!

That’s because the unredeemed person doesn’t like the Cross because it’s a slap in the face of modern humanism which likes to pretend that we’re all okay!

The Cross reminds us that we’re not okay.

That we’re powerless in our own strength and wisdom to save ourselves from the sin that holds us captive.

Christian, don’t leave out the message of the Cross!

It is the power of God to save everyone who admits their need for a Savior.

While it may not fit into our modern or post-modern philosophy Paul’s letter before us reminds us that it didn’t fit in with 1^st Century human wisdom either…

…but that’s not any reason to neglect God’s simple message of the Cross because it’s God’s solution to all of Man’s problems!

The Message of the Cross (vs. 18-21)

1Cor. 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1Cor. 1:19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

1Cor. 1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1Cor. 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

√ The message of the Cross

From an unredeemed human stand point the message of the Cross is both offensive, and ridiculous, thus Paul writes in vs. 18…

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The reason of course is that the Roman method of execution was a brutal and bloody affair.

A person who was crucified was stripped naked, nailed or tied to a cross and then left to die a slow humiliating painful death to exposure or suffocation.

Death by crucifixion was so painful that a new word was created to describe it…

“Excruciating” ~ literally, “out of the cross”

So, polite people in the 1^st Century didn’t speak of crucifixion or the Cross, thus the unbelievers revulsion to the idea that salvation would come through the Cross.

Ex. Dinner conversation

Over dinner you wouldn’t ask a your new in-laws…

“So, what’s your opinion on the death penalty, do you prefer hanging, firing squad, the electric chair, gas chamber or death by lethal injection?”

You wouldn’t do that because people don’t like to talk about death…

…especially a violent bloody death.

The point is that people who have not experienced the power of the Cross in their lives can’t see any logic at all in the death of Jesus on the Cross.

So they reject the message of the Cross and seek to find God by their own path.

That’s tragic because the Cross is God’s only plan for redemption.

The Cross was necessary because on it both justice was satisfied and love was demonstrated.

God is perfect in His Nature and cannot by definition to anything that is contrary to His Nature, nor that would violate His Nature.

For example, God is Truth therefore He cannot lie!

God is just.

Part of God’s Nature is that He is perfectly just. That is, He must judge all that is unholy.

So, for every sin committed by human beings a just punishment is due.

But, God is also love!

He loves mankind and desires that we be restored to fellowship with Him but our sin keeps us from Him.

So, at the Cross…

Justice is satisfied because Jesus’ perfect sacrifice paid the debt our sin created.

But, love is also demonstrated because God Himself in the Person of His Son took the punishment we were due!

That’s why the Cross was necessary! It provided the means for our salvation without compromising the perfect and holy Nature of God who is both just and loving!

Ap. Invading the Church

Unfortunately there are people in the Church today who question the Cross and God’s motive for sending Jesus there. One such person is Brian McLaren, author of “A generous orthodoxy” who writes that the Cross amounts to…

“Cosmic child abuse”

For all of Brian’s education I’d suggest that he’s dead wrong regarding the Cross.

While we may not understand God’s wisdom and plan we must view the Cross by what we do know about God and that is His perfect love.

The point is that we’re called to trust that God’s wisdom and plans are always superior to Man’s…

…even if they don’t make sense from a human perspective.

And that’s exactly why Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14 here in vs. 19…

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Paul’s point is that God’s thoughts, plans and means of accomplishing His will are always superior to Man’s ways even if they don’t make sense to us.

Ex. God’s ways

Just a quick review of how God works reveals that while His ways may defy, and even be contrary to, human wisdom they are always smarter!

Conquering Jericho

Sending David to fight Goliath

Sending a praise team to battle the Moabites & Ammonites.

Sending Peter to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles!

So it is with the Cross! What looked like a bloody and humiliating defeat for God and a victory for Satan as Jesus hung on the Cross turned out to be the greatest victory in the greatest war of all time!

1Cor. 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

1Cor. 2:8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The message of the Cross then is as Paul writes in vs. 18…

“the power of God”

To save all those who put their trust in the work of Jesus on the Cross.

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” ~ vs. 21

So, to experience the forgiveness of our sins, the cleansing of our conscience, and the joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit…

…we must accept and embrace the message of the Cross!

Ap. The message of the Cross

Paul knew the power of the Cross personally because his life was radically changed by it!

From a zealous misguided persecutor of the Church who was willing to kill in the Name of God…

…to a humble servant who was willing to be killed for preaching the message of the Cross.

Paul found freedom from guilt, condemnation, and sin at the Cross.

He experienced the love and the power of God as he never could through human tradition and the keeping of the Law.

Best of all he found assurance that he was accepted by God and that his eternity was secure in the finished work of the Cross.

Have you experienced that power?

Bring your sin, the temptation you face, your depression, marriage problems, alcoholism, whatever it is that you’re powerless to change…

…to the Cross and ask Jesus to fix it for you!

We’re a church full of people who have experienced the miraculous power of God in our lives because we trusted in the message of the Cross!

The Human Response to the Cross (vs. 22-25)

1Cor. 1:22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

1Cor. 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

1Cor. 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1Cor. 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

√ The human response to the Cross

As Paul and the other disciples carried the message of the Cross throughout the Roman Empire they were met by three different responses from the people the preached to…

Some stumbled at the message of the Cross ~ vs. 23a

Some laughed at the message of the Cross ~ vs. 23b

Some believed the message of the Cross ~ vs. 24

I’d like to suggest that we meet the same three basic responses today so it would be good for us to get a hold of Paul’s wisdom here regarding sharing the message of the Cross.

1) Some stumbled at the message of the Cross ~ vs. 22-23a

In every city that Paul preached the Cross he always began with the Jews, usually sharing Christ with them at the local synagogue.

And, in every city Paul found that while some of the Jews believed his message most rejected it!

Why? Because…

“For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block…” ~ vs. 22-23a

The prevailing attitude of the Jewish people was that they wanted a miraculous sign to confirm the message Paul preached.

Look at their history and you’ll find that it’s filled with miraculous signs, from their deliverance from Egypt to the mighty works of the prophets like Elijah and Elisha!

That’s why we find the Jews continuously asking Jesus for a sign from heaven and why they rejected the message of the Cross.

Because when they heard the message of the Cross they didn’t see God’s wisdom and power…

…all they could see was weakness.

In their minds they couldn’t understand how anyone could place their trust in an unemployed carpenter from Nazareth who died a shameful death as a criminal!

They were looking for a king like David who would deliver them from the cruel oppression of Rome with the same kind of miracles by which David slew Goliath.

So they stumbled at the message of the Cross.

Ap. The power of the Cross

I think the mistake of those who stumble at the Cross is that they perceive it as weakness and don’t understand true strength.

That is, strength is not always best measured by a display of might or power.

There are times when the greatest display of strength is to chose not to use one’s power and might so as to accomplish a greater good.

Ex. Jim Elliot and his friends

They had the power to protect themselves from the tribal warriors who attacked them because they had brought a gun with them.

If they had used their guns they would have kept their lives by using their greater power against the men with spears.

But they recognized that killing the Waodani men would destroy any hope of communicating the love of Jesus to the tribe.

So, they demonstrated their strength by not using their superior power/might to defend themselves.

Laying down their lives seemed like a weakness to the Waodani at first but later led them to recognize that these men were stronger because they were willing to die to save them!

That’s the power we see at the Cross!

It wasn’t a demonstration of God’s weakness…

…rather it was a display of His strength to not use His power to destroy the people who pinned Him to the Cross.

So, some stumbled at the Cross because they couldn’t see the strength in it.

2) Some laughed at the message of the Cross ~ vs. 22 & 23b

Others rejected Paul’s message because the whole idea of death, resurrection and salvation seemed ludicrous according to their philosophy…

“…Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” ~ vs. 22b & 23

For example read the account in Acts 17 and you’ll find that the Greek philosophers in Athens literally laughed and mocked the message of the Cross!

To be sure the ancient Greeks have made great contributions to the world in the field of logic and reason.

So their problem wasn’t that they lacked the intellect to grasp Paul’s message…

…rather, their problem and the reason that they laughed at the message of the Cross is that they had elevated their intellect to the point that they were blind to any truth that didn’t fit their philosophical worldview.

Ex. Greek philosophy

They were materialists and saw the body as a hindrance to the soul and therefore looked forward to being rid of it at death.

So the idea of a bodily resurrection wasn’t appealing at all because they didn’t want to rematerialize after death!

What they didn’t realize was that the resurrection that God has planned for His children isn’t back into these corrupt bodies…

…it’s a resurrection into a new spiritual body! (we’ll get to that in chapter 15!)

So, the Greek’s laughed at the message of the Cross.

Ap. Some laugh today

We still find people today like the ancient Greeks who are very smart people, but who reject the message of the Cross and even God’s existence because it doesn’t fit with their worldview…

Richard Dawkins ~ atheist and author of “The God Delusion”…

“Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed on purpose”.

The obvious question then is why is it so hard to acknowledge the possibility of a Designer?

Francis Crick ~ co-discover of the structure of the DNA molecule…

“Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed, but rather evolved.”

That is, don’t let the facts lead you away from our philosophical worldview that doesn’t leave room for a Designer.

George Wald ~ Nobel Prize for physiology…

“One has only to contemplate the magnitude of this task (the origin of life) to concede spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. Yet here we are, as a result. I believe in spontaneous generation.”

That is he acknowledges that true science has long ago proved that spontaneous generation cannot happen (meat to maggots)…

…but he believes in it anyway because he doesn’t like the alternative worldview.

Ap. Know the truth!

Each of the men mentioned above are gifted intellects, smarter than I could ever hope to be!

Yet, like the Greeks that mocked Paul’s preaching in Athens they have turned away from the truth because they have elevated their intellect to the point that they are blinded to any truth that doesn’t fit their philosophical worldview.

Friends, you don’t have to turn off your brain to believe in the message of the Cross.

God isn’t afraid of our questions or challenged by our intellect.

Be smart enough to follow the facts where they lead and you’ll discover that we need the message of the Cross because while it may seem foolish it is as Paul writes…

“the foolishness of God is wiser than men…” ~ vs. 25

3) Some believed the message of the Cross ~ vs. 24

Finally, some who heard Paul’s preaching believed in the message of the Cross, look at vs. 24…

“but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

In every city that Paul preached he found some, Jews who looked for signs, and Greeks who were drawn to wisdom…

…that grasped the powerful heavenly sign and the profound wisdom of the Cross!

Those people joyfully accepted the Gospel truth that they were helpless sinners who could only be saved by the sacrifice of a perfect God-Man.

The moment they did they experienced the power of the Cross in their own lives and discovered the rich beauty of the simple Gospel message.

Close

√ The message of the Cross

The Corinthians were divided because of their selfish pride and boasting.

Paul knew that if he could just get them back to the foot of the Cross that their foolish pride would be undone and that unity would be restored.

The Cross of Christ reminds us how foolish our boasting is and that we’re called by Jesus into joyful fellowship with Him and with one another.