The Word of the Cross

Transcript

GRM 803
7/28/2002
The Word of the Cross
1 Corinthians 1:1-2:14
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to the book of 1 Corinthians 1. So, if you would turn there in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1. Then when you get there, I'm going to ask you to put a marker at that spot and we're going to back up before the book of Romans to the book of Acts 18. As I've done on other occasions. After we have looked at the account of Paul establishing a church on his travels in the book of Acts, then we've looked into a letter or letters he has written back to those churches on a later date, and I want to do that with you in the letter to the Corinthians.

The church at Corinth was established in Acts 18. For such a major event there's relatively little material recorded on the details in Acts 18. Basically, Paul comes to Corinth from Athens. There he meets a dear couple who will become a part of his life. Who will even put their lives in danger for him, Aquilla and Priscilla. He stays with them and works at his trade that they also share as tentmakers. During the day through the week, he's working on the Sabbath Day as is his practice. He goes to the synagogue and reasons with the Jews, showing them from the Old Testament Scripture that Jesus of Nazareth is the prophesied Christ, the Messiah of Israel. The result of his preaching is that the Jews are stirred to animosity, and they begin to reject the cross more openly. They blaspheme against Christ. Paul leaves his synagogue ministry and goes next door to the house of a Roman who had been worshipper of the God of Israel and evidently had responded in faith to the Gospel and Paul begins to have the center of his proclamation of the Gospel to house of Tysius Justice, a man who may be the Gaius referred to in the letters to the Corinthians. A Roman man would have had three names. Here we have two Tysius Justice. He may have been Gaius Tysius Justice. Since Paul is meeting in his home. His ministry centers in his home and later in writing to the Corinthians he refers to the fact that the church at Corinth meets in the house of Gaius. They may be the same individuals, but we can't say for sure.

Now he has a ministry that is not only to Jews but also to Greeks. As a result of his ministry the leader of the synagogue Christus is converted. God appears to Paul in a dream or a vision and tells him not to be afraid any longer in verse 9, "I am with you. God's protection will be upon him for I have many people in this city." God sovereignly has determined that many people in the city of Corinth will come to believe in Him and the church at Corinth evidently grows to be of some size relatively quickly. Because we'll see when Paul writes back a few years later, it is large enough to have multiple divisions and that would indicate at least there are a significant number of people. The Lord said I have many people in this city and we know that would mean that many people are going to be saved. Then the rest of the account is taken up with the Paul's appearance before the Roman proconsul Galio who validates Paul's privilege to proclaim the Gospel in the city of Corinth.

Turn over to the book of 1 Corinthians. We have great appreciation for the church at Corinth because two large letters in the New Testament are written to the church at Corinth. The first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and the second epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. I just want to overview some material from the opening chapters with you since there Paul makes reference to his ministry in Corinth to remind us of the style of ministry of the apostle Paul. This will be review for many of you, but we are reminded what it was like for Paul when he went to that very cosmopolitan city. Corinth was a center of wealth and commerce. It was an intellectual center, and it was a center of immorality and openly practiced sexual sins. Drunkenness, debauchery. They did a play in biblical times. Anyone who was representing someone from the city of Corinth was always shown drunk because that was just the characteristic of the city. It was a big city in every way. It had the opportunities, and it had the problems.

Paul came and was privileged of God to establish a great church at Corinth and then the Spirit of God directed him to write two letters. The first letter to the Corinthians really is about the doctrine of sanctification. How shall we now live who have been saved by the grace of God. Many problems, many difficulties are dealt with as Paul applies the truth of God to situations of life. Both first and second Corinthians become very practical letters and they are very essential to the life of the Church today.

You come to 1 Corinthians . . . Little bit of a time setting. Paul wrote the letter to the Corinthians about 55 AD which is about 3 years after his ministry in Corinth. We have a church that is 3-4 years old as Paul writes back to them. He spent 18 months remember in the city of Corinth. He writes this letter on his third missionary journey and he writes from the city of Ephesus. You find this material in 1 Corinthians 16. Indicates that he is in Ephesus when he writes. That was the major city that he focused on in his third missionary journey. Corinth was the city he focused on his first missionary journey. He writes back for a variety of reasons. The key one is to correct problems in the church, to deal with divisions that had developed, to answer questions that had been written to him. He begins with general greetings and then an introduction. It's packed with foundational theologies. Let's just overview this. Remind ourselves that this was written to a church that is 3 or 4 years old. He assumes that they'll understand and grasp these great truths.

He writes, "Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." The sovereignty of God pervades what Paul has to say. If you do not understand that God is sovereign, that Jesus Christ is Lord, then your problems are going to be insolvable. My role as an apostle is by divine appointment, divine call. "And I'm joined by Sosthenes our brother." Now in Acts 18 there was a man who was also a leader in the synagogue at Corinth who was beaten after Paul appeared before the judgment seat of Gallio and his name was Sosthenes. There's difference of opinion since Sosthenes was a rather common name at this time. But I assume that this is another leader in the synagogue who was saved along with Crispus and thus was beaten before the judgment seat of Galio.

Now he is a brother of Paul and evidently doing some traveling with Paul and is joined in the greeting even though he's not a co-author of the letter. The writing to the church of God which is at Corinth. Major problem in these opening chapters is going to be the problem of divisions. First thing to be established. This is not Paul the apostle's church. Not anybody else's church. This is the church of God which is at Corinth. It belongs to him as he writes . . . as is recorded of his comments in Acts 20. It was purchased with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. It's the church of God. The church that belongs to God. But the universal Church and the whole Church of Jesus Christ comprised of believers everywhere belongs to God, but this is the manifestation and presence of that Church in Corinth.

"Writing to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus." Simply a way of saying they've been set apart, the word "to sanctify." Same basic word as the word "saint." That comes up next. Same basic word in Greek as "holy." Root meaning of this word is to be set apart. Someone is holy when they are set apart from sin. They've been sanctified. set apart. Someone is holy when they are set apart from sin. They've been sanctified, set apart from sin to God. They are saints, those that God has set apart for Himself. They are sanctified in Christ Jesus. When a person believes in Christ, they are set apart by God for Himself. They are saints, holy ones, by calling. This is the effective efficacious call of God. He has called them. You see He is the initiator. This is His work; His church and He called its members together. They are saints by calling.

"And they are joined with all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus." "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Those who have been called by God will respond calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and receiving his salvation. He is the Lord of all, all those who have called upon Him.

Gaius asks God's grace and peace be given to them for their daily life. Now we move in what would be called. Those are the greetings, the entrance of the letter. Now you have an introduction or a preface to the letter in verses 4 to 9. What he does here is offer his thanks to God and remind them of what God did to establish them as a church. Establish in their minds the work of God. "I thank my God always concerning you." I don't know if I would have written that of a church like Corinth that was one headache after another to the apostle Paul. He has to defend his reputation. He has to defend his apostleship. He has to defend his doctrine. He has to rebuke them for sin. He starts out the letter under the inspiration of the Spirit, "I thank my God always concerning you." Why? Because you're perfect. Because you're not a headache to me. Because you give me no problems. No. What does he say? "For the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus. No matter what the problems. No matter what the difficulties. God's grace was bestowed upon you. You are trophies of His grace. I rejoice. I thank God for you. You are a result of the work of His grace, a work in progress to be sure. But God's grace has been bestowed.

You know, sometimes it's good for us just to stop and consider. We get frustrated. We get upset. We get distracted with the little things. The big thing is God has done a marvelous work of grace in the life of every one of His children, everyone who is a saint by calling. That's something we can thank God for. Lord, I'm frustrated they are not more than they are. I'm frustrated that they fail to be what they should be in every area. But Lord, I never tire of thanking you for the grace that has worked in them to make them what they are. He is thankful for that grace. That grace is given in Christ Jesus. There's no experiencing God's salvation grace apart from Christ Jesus.

"In everything you were enriched in Him." We will find that those who have experienced the grace of God, that it made them part of the church of God, set them apart for God, made them saints. This same grace in salvation has made every provision for them to lead their daily lives now as God's children and it's the same grace that guarantees that someday they will be confirmed, blameless in God's presence. It is a complete grace, a fully sufficient grace. The problems that are existent in the church at Corinth, the problems that will yet arise, are not because the Corinthians don't have everything they need. It's not that they haven't been sufficiently supplied by God in His grace. It's rather an unwillingness to avail themselves of all that provision.

You will note, "That in everything you were enriched in Him." Now he's going to talk about spiritual gifts that will become a major section in this letter in chapter 12, 13, 14. "In all speech, in all knowledge even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you." He believes that the truth of the Gospel . . . The testimony concerning Christ is the Gospel and that Gospel was confirmed in them. Paul really doesn't doubt their salvation and he writes to them as believers. He says the Gospel was confirmed in your heart and the Gospel is the testimony concerning Christ. "So that you were not lacking in any gift." Every gift necessary for the church of God in Corinth to function had been bestowed upon it. That's a great encouragement. You know we have everything necessary for life in godliness as Peter wrote. We have all the gifts necessary for this church to be everything that God wants it to be. The sad thing we are often like the church at Corinth. We are not everything we ought to be. But God's provision had been abundant and sufficient and complete for the church at Corinth. You come behind. You are not lacking in any gift. Now that's God's provision for them in the present. Their salvation in the past. Their present provision in that practical aspect of sanctification as we refer to it. Now we look to that ultimate end.

"You are not lacking in any gift awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." We are serving and functioning here as his Body as we await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Who shall confirm you to the end blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus." Now that's a remarkable statement. If you have been a believer very long, you are probably at least generally familiar with the content of the letters of Paul to the Corinthians. It just thrills my heart to read at the beginning of this letter that the Spirit of God directs him to write, "that you will be confirmed blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." This church that's become proverbial in churches for churches with problems. Oh, the Corinthian church. Yes, they were divided over this. Oh, the Corinthian church. Yes, they had problems over that. They hassled Paul; you know what? In the presence of the Lord Jesus on that day as Colossians 1:22 says He will present us before the glory of His Father holy and blameless and without spot. Remarkable.

So past, present and future the grace of God is sufficient and has provided and is our guarantee. Look at verse 9, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." This all depends on God's faithfulness. How can He say this is going to happen to the Corinthians. Because of their faithfulness? Read the letter. Their faithfulness. You know why? God is faithful. It is through God they were called into fellowship with His Son. You see, God is sovereign, and His work will not be frustrated. Philippians 1:6, "He who has begun a good work in you will continued to bring it to perfection until the day of Christ Jesus." We have a sovereign God at work. Everything's put in perspective by that. When you're called into fellowship with Jesus Christ that's not just that relationship of harmony. We sometimes talk about fellowship more in the context of a feeling, a harmonious feeling. We have been brought into a relationship of harmony with Christ of course but it is more than just a feeling of a relationship. We'll use sometimes, well, we're out of fellowship with someone. Meaning there's not good harmony in our relationship. What he's talking about here with the word fellowship is more it's basic root meaning. The word "fellowship" coinonia means to "share in common." We have been called to share in common in the life of Christ in His righteousness, in His sanctification, in His very character. Whereas Peter says we have become partakers of the divine nature. It is God's intention that His purposes in calling us in Christ, to make us part of Christ, in His Body, the Church, will reach its culmination when we are presented blameless.

Now with that as a foundation, all that theology packed in to just the introduction to the book, Paul turns to address some problems. In the opening chapters of this book, the problems are divisions. He says, "Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree." Literally, you all say the same thing. There ought to be agreement, harmony, in your relationship with one another. "There be no divisions among you.” You made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. You see how many times he's emphasized here you all agree, you say the same things, there be no divisions, you be made complete, the same mind, the same judgment. Well, Paul, why would you think that there's not unity and harmony in our church. Because Chloe told on you. I wonder if Chloe's family was sitting there in the church at Corinth. Imagine what it would be like if here we are gathered as the church this morning and I said, "We have a letter from Paul. Let me read it." You get to this point. "There's divisions. Chloe's family told me." Every eye looks over. What right did they have to tell Paul that? Maybe they were on vacation when this letter was read.

I've been told by Chloe's family there are quarrels among you. I mean this. You want to know what I mean when I say there's divisions and there's quarrels? Some are saying I am of Paul, others, I am of Apollos, others, I am of Cephas. There are even the super spiritual party that says I am of Christ. That even becomes its own division because they are not doing this to unify the Body, that we all belong to Christ, they are doing this to exalt themselves. We are of the Christ party, and the church is fractured into divisions around personalities and people.

Paul picks up on that, I am of Christ. With all these other divisions let me ask another division, let me ask a question. "Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? You weren't baptized in the name of Paul, were you?" You see, somehow the church gets started and here it's only 3 or 4 years old and already it's adrift from its theological moorings. What does the doctrine of the church being the Church of God, the Body of Christ with Christ as its head, mean? How can you have all these division in the Body when you have one Christ who died for us? Paul said who were you baptized in the name of? You weren't baptized in identification with Paul. You were baptized in identification with Christ.

Then he goes on to say he didn't make a practice of baptizing. At Corinth he baptized a few people: Crispus, Gaius (verse 14). That may be the Gaius who's called Ticious Justice back in Acts 18. He said he purposely didn't baptize people because the danger was Paul was such a powerful influence. As he brought the Gospel and taught the foundational doctrine in the church. He did everything. Pretty soon it would be everybody would be identifying with Paul. You know, I was not only saved through the ministry of Paul, and I sat at his feet and was taught, I was baptized by him. Wait a minute. No, no. Paul says he didn't make a practice of baptizing. He mentions Crispus, Gaius and he says I also baptized the household of Stephanas and you know, I can't remember if I baptized anyone else because it just doesn't matter.

"For Christ," verse 17, "did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel." Christ didn't send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel. Now if baptism is necessary for salvation, it is inconceivable. Paul went anywhere and preached the Gospel but didn't baptize people. I mean how's he going to get saved. He arrives at Corinth alone and begins to preach the Gospel. People couldn't get saved if he didn't baptize them. Christ didn't send me to baptize. There's a place for baptism but it's not to get you saved. You note baptism was practiced. There's no consideration here that the people in the church at Corinth didn't get baptized. I mean, that's a given. Who baptized you doesn't matter. Because whoever did the physical act of baptizing you was just doing that in your public identification with Christ, not the person doing the physical baptism. They are irrelevant is this point.

Christ sent me to preach the Gospel. He's going into doing an elaboration on the preaching of the Gospel and we've been through this a number of times, but I want to walk through again because this is at the heart of what made Paul's ministry effective. If Paul would come to this city, this week, we know exactly what he would do and exactly what he would not do, exactly how he would proceed to bring the Gospel and reach this city for Christ and what he would not do. The first thing he says here is "Christ sent me to preach the Gospel not in cleverness of speech." Literally, not in wisdom of wisdom. He's going to tell us in a moment that the Jews love power. They like signs. They like a demonstration of the miraculous. The Greeks loved wisdom. They admired wisdom, the intellect, that person who could think on his feet, who could argue and reason and win the debate. Paul said Christ did not send me to preach the Gospel in wisdom of speech.

Now note the last part of this. "That the cross of Christ should not be made void." The word translated "void" means "to be emptied." Paul says if he had preached the Gospel, now note he is saying he wouldn't preach the Gospel, but if he had preached the Gospel in the wisdom of men, took men's wisdom and dressed up the Gospel to make it more appealing to the Corinthians who loved wisdom, he would have emptied the Gospel of any impact. It would have been null and void. That's very crucial because we have to be careful. We think we're going to help the Gospel be more effective by putting it in this context, dressing it up this way to appeal to the intellectual. What we really do is cancel its effectiveness. Paul says when I came to Corinth, the city that admired wisdom, that was drawn to the intelligentsia, who admired those who could prove their point, used the wisdom of the world to make a point . . . Paul says I didn't do it. I didn't dress the Gospel up in man's wisdom because I didn't want to empty it of its impact. We have to be careful. We can fill our churches with a Gospel that devoid of substance and life-changing power.

"For the Word of the cross . . ." Now he's going to go on to explain why he did this. You cannot make the Gospel pleasing, interesting and attractive to the unbeliever. Do you understand this? You cannot make the Gospel of Jesus Christ pleasing, interesting and attractive to the unbeliever. That's Paul's point. Look how he goes on. "For the Word of the cross." That's the message of the cross. The speaking and teaching and preaching of the truth that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. "The Word of the cross is those who are perishing foolishness." Now when we try to help God out by taking the message, He has given to save souls which is a message of foolishness as the world sees it. We are going to make our additions to make it more attractive, we're back to verse 17. We have made it void. We have emptied it of its power.

"But to us who are being saved it is the power of God." The only people who recognize the Gospel for what it is are those who are being saved, those who are coming to believe it. Picture here is not only of people who are in the process of perishing and the people who are in the process of being saved, but it's form of structure indicates that group that is perishing, individuals on their way. Those who are on their way to perishing, they think the Gospel is foolishness. Those who are being saved by God's grace recognize this is the power of God and this is God's plan to take what is foolishness in the sight of men and make it His wisdom for salvation. God says and quotes from the Old Testament, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. The cleverness of the clever I will set aside. That's God speaking. Why? The cleverest person, the wisest person, the person with the greatest intellect, the person who is able to win every debate, you know what? He is not able to devise a plan that can save. With all the wisdom of the world. With the greatest minds of the world, they are not able to develop a plan of salvation. Who they come up with ideas that people will believe, but they cannot provide salvation.

What God has done is destroyed the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness because He's taken what the world sees as foolish and that is what will save a soul. Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" They have nothing to offer as regard salvation. I'm not saying you can't learn something about mathematics, you can't learn something about the internal combustion engine that you don't find that’s pertinent . . . But there's nothing regarding salvation and a life of godliness that you don't find anywhere but in the Word of God.

"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God." Now I want this fixed in our mind. This is God's plan. This is God's wisdom. "That the world through its wisdom will not come to know God." Now that puts us in an embarrassing and awkward position. I like the world to think of me as rather intelligent person. To look up to me, respect me and even though they disagree with me, admire me, my convictions are well thought through and I'm able to present what I believe intelligently and so on. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with presently what you believe intelligently but you are not going to win the admiration of the world. Because God in His wisdom has determined that the world in its wisdom will not come to know Him. But the last part of verse 21, "God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."

It would come down to a basic plan. The proclamation of the message. We're not talking just about the style of the message of giving out the message like I'm preaching. But the giving out of the message, the proclaiming of the message, that telling of the message, that's what God is pleased to us to saved. Note what He says, He's pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. We are stuck. We're boxed in. If we want people to be genuinely saved, all we can do is present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and look like fools. That's why Paul will later write to the Corinthians, "And I'm well pleased to be a fool for Christ's sake." There's just no mixing it up. We want to put it together in a package and do it in a way that we get the best of both worlds. We have the admiration of the world, and we have the salvation of God. We've put it together. But you do not have the salvation of a person apart from the foolishness of the Gospel in its simplicity.

"The Jews ask for signs, the Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified." I know what the Jews want. I know what the Greeks are seeking. It doesn't matter. We preach Christ crucified. To the Jews this message is a stumbling block. The Jews couldn't get over a crucified Christ. When you present them a Messiah that had died on the cross, that was a stumbling block. They just fell over every time. They couldn't get beyond that. You think, look, if we're ever going to reach the Jews, we are going to have to get that stumbling block out of the way; and you can't. It's not like Paul didn't know what was offending the Jews. The preaching of the cross is offensive to those who are perishing. He knew what offended the Jews. He just had no liberty to take it away. To the Greeks, the Gentiles, it's foolishness. We get the English word "moron." Just carried it over from Greek for the word translated "foolishness" here. It's stupidity. For Greeks and other Gentiles, they look at the preaching of the Gospel. You can only be saved from your sin and forgiven if you will believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin and you trust. That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I have my religion, my beliefs and on we go.

Paul knew all that. Note that. Paul knew all that. He wasn't going to devise a service geared toward those who were looking for signs. He could have. He had the power to do miracles as an apostle. He was a great intellect by anyone's evaluation. He doesn't come to Corinth to think well, that's what we are going to do. We are going to begin to reach people where they are. Demonstrate the intellectual credibility of Christianity. Demonstrate that Christianity is better thought out . . . And on it goes. No, we are going to preach the cross.

"To those who are called." So, you have the contrast. To the Jews it's a stumbling block. To the Gentiles who don't believe it's foolishness. "But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." You know what? The Gospel always works on the elect. I better be very careful when I decide that's not good enough. Could we fill this auditorium three or four times if we made some adjustments and made our service more appealing? We alter the message a little bit to make it the kind of thing the world is looking for? Maybe so. What would we have? To the elect the Gospel is the power of God for salvation. To the non-elect, to those who are not called, it will not work. Do I want to fill this place multiple times so people will think more highly of me? Paul wrote to Timothy and said, "I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they might come to the salvation that they might come to the salvation in Christ." We become so enamored with the approval of the world, with what the world calls success, that we've been willing to alter the message. That's the whole point of verse 25, "The foolishness of God is wiser than men, the weakness of God is stronger than men." How are you going to come up with something as an alternative to what God does? Do you think you are more intelligent than God? Do you think you're stronger than God?

We have so much material being produced today that belongs in the garbage can. It's being devoured in the evangelical church as though something new has been found. We put the Gospel in this context, and we devise something that is appealing to people. We took a survey, found out what they want, and now we give them what they want. We put the Gospel in that context, and you're back up to verse 17. You made it void. I'm not saying you don't get decisions. I'm saying salvation occurs when the Gospel is preached in its purity. When you put the Gospel and mix it with men's ideas, you cancel its effectiveness.

"Consider your calling, brethren." Paul can be very blunt. He's like me. I want to stop. Everybody look around. See who's sitting next to you. You've got an object lesson that God's saving the stupid, undesirable people of this city. Look at verse 26, "Consider . . ." I don't like it. Everybody's looking at me. "Consider your calling, brethren." Look around. "There weren't many wise." The Greeks want wisdom, but you know what? The Gospel came at Corinth not many of the wise, the intelligent, those people that are admired for that, are included.

"Not many mighty, not many noble." You don't get many of the powerful people. You don't get the nobility, the well-respected. You know the biggest problem for these people is? Pride. Here we've said we have a message that the world looks at as foolishness and I have to humble myself, proud and arrogant man that I am, and bow before the living God and say I have no hope. All my wisdom, all my power, all my money and it's worthless. I need your salvation, the salvation that only the Son of God could provide by His death on the cross. Just like Jesus said, it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Oh, my pride. I will go through so much for that. I will give up heaven for my pride.

Look at the church at Corinth. So, you realize that that church there was basically average people. "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world” so it’s not only His message is foolish, but He has chosen the people that are not the wise the mighty and the noble. It's not our plan. We look for celebrities to get saved. We look for prominent, influential people to get saved, the Rock star, the athlete, because why? Well, because of who they are. That will make a difference. We see we're back; we're going to help God out. Praise God for the testimony that some prominent people have. But let's face it. Look around. Those aren't the people that God's using.

"God has chosen." Three times in the next two verses, twice in verse 27, once verse 28. You ought to underline or highlight "God has chosen," "God has chosen," "God has chosen." We are either going to do it God's way or we're not. But if we're not, we’re not we're not going to have God's blessing. "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. The base things and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God." You know why you're saved and someone of prominent of influence who would be a lot more respected than you is not? Because God's chosen the base, the despised, the weak, the foolish. You know why? When you share the Gospel, when I share the Gospel, and somebody gets saved who else could get the glory but God. Stop and think about it. That should encourage us and remind us. We say, oh, I can't share the Gospel. I couldn't tell them about . . . you know . . . I couldn't do that. Why? I'm not anybody. They wouldn't respect me. You're not going there to be respected. You're going there to pass on a message. Yeah, but I don't think they would think I'm intelligent enough. Well, you're not going there to impress them with how intelligent you are. You are going there to pass on a message. Well, we don't travel in the same social circles so I . . . Wait a minute, wait a minute, you are not there to get social acceptability. You're there to pass on a message. All our excuses dissolve. God has chosen the base, the foolish, the despised, the nobodies, to bring the power of His Gospel to shatter the world's thinking and bring the elect to their knees. When all is said and done, God gets the glory.

What am I going to say when I get to heaven and say oh, Lord, I could have shared the Gospel. You know, Lord, it just wasn't me. I didn't know enough people. I didn't have enough influence and I was the lowest person on the totem pole. Well, what's that got to do with anything. That's exactly the kind of people that save. Why do you think I saved you? Do think God couldn’t save somebody big and powerful and important. What do we do when someone important gets saved? The first thing we say oh boy, think of the influence they'll have as though because they're big and important people will get saved. We quickly forget our beginning theology. It's the foolish things, the despised things.

"By His doing you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom." We come and understand what true wisdom is. We've talked about we're foolish in the sight of the world. Jesus Christ is our wisdom, and He is the One in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. That wisdom we're talking about here is in the realm of righteousness, sanctification and redemption. The Scripture indicates that these three things elaborate the wisdom we're talking about. How do you get righteousness before God, sanctification, redemption?

"Let Him who boasts, boast in the Lord. When I came to you, brethren . . ." So here we are. Paul taking us back. He's traveling to the city of Corinth. What's going through his mind? "I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God." Why do you think Paul would be more able to share the Gospel in this city than you or me? You know all I did was go and tell simple people the message of the cross. I didn't come with superiority of speech or wisdom. "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." You know what Paul's thinking as he comes to Corinth? Lord, by Your grace keep me focused. I know this is an intellectual center. I know the Greeks admire and exalt wisdom. I know that these people are enthralled with not only wisdom but wealth, money and the pleasures of the world and its sensuality. My mind is made up. I will preach Christ alone and I preach Him crucified. Not pulling the punch. We're not just going to talk about Jesus the miracle worker, Jesus, the One who walked in Galilee and think about Him. Maybe we'll do a follow-up. No, it’s Jesus Christ in one condition - crucified. That's all I have to say.

He says, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling." We talked about this when we talked about Acts 18. The Corinthians could be evidently an intimidating people because when he writes back from Ephesus when he writes this letter, he tells them in chapter 6, "Be careful with Timothy. He's coming to you and be sure he's with you without any fear." He uses the same word that he uses of himself here. I was with you in fear. Corinth could be the intimidating place. We think, Oh boy, our city . . . What would you think if we said, "All right. Want you to get out and start reaching the city." Oh, I can't do it. Oh, you're not saved. Of course, I'm saved. You say you're saved but you don't know the message of the Gospel that Christ was crucified to pay . . . Well, I know that. Well, then get out there and reach the city. Oh, I couldn't do that. All of a sudden, we're going in circles, why? Well, I'm not able to do that. Why? Let's repeat this again. Do you know that Christ was crucified to pay the penalty for your sin? Yes. You can only be saved by believing in Him? Yes. Get out there and reach the city. I can't do that. Well, I'm afraid, so what. Paul was too. I'm too weak, so what. Paul was too. I'm trembling. Look at me. It's all right. Paul was too. The church of Corinth is a result of that ministry. Why? God gets the glory. He took a weak, trembling instrument and brought a church that is still a testimony through the letters written to it.

"My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." We want the admiration of the world. We are to be vessel through whom the power of God works in bringing salvation. Paul said I gave all the wisdom of the world. I threw it overboard. All his learning, all his training . . . I'm narrowed down. I've got the Gospel. I've got the message of a crucified Savior.

Why? Verse 5, "That your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." We're back to that concern. You don't want to empty the Gospel of its power, it's effectiveness. You know what? If you put the Gospel in the context of persuasive words of wisdom, dress it up to make it like the world would like it, you'll end up with people whose faith is in the wisdom of man, not the power of God. You'll end up with people that have been dressed up like Christians but have never been saved. This is a serious matter. I fear we're filling our churches with people we're happy to have dressed up as Christians. Because we have placed our message of the Gospel and so dressed it up and fixed it up with our wisdom that they like it and their faith ends up being in the wisdom of men, not in the power of God. Yet we do speak wisdom.

Verse 6, "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age.” You understand the wisdom of this age, and the wisest men of this age and the rulers of this age, are in the process of passing off the scene.

"We speak God's wisdom in a mystery, hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory." Don't think God is changing His plan. He's not changing His message. He's not changing His methods. The message is Christ crucified. The method is preach Christ crucified. There is no change in the message. There is no change in the method. Proclaim a crucified Christ period. Don't dress it up with world wisdom. Don't dress it up with your ideas. Proclaim Christ crucified.

I was talking with a science professor from the university one time a couple years ago, a lunch that he had requested. I get all these things. You don't believe the first chapters of Genesis, do you? Well, you know that's not really the most important thing. The know what the most important thing we have to talk about is? How are you going to deal with your sin and know what you can go to heaven. I'm going to tell you what the Bible says God has done to provide a Savior. You really believe that there was a Flood and Noah built an ark. I said, well, you know whether I believe that or not is not the real issue we have at hand right now. The real issue we have right now is Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. You are without hope apart from believing in Him. I can’t talk science with him. I know the Bible is right. I know Genesis is right, but I spend all this time trying to prove to him the opening chapters of Genesis are scientific. What has happened? Nothing. Because he needs to hear about Christ crucified to get to heaven. The issue is not whether he believes in the universal Flood or not. Although there was a universal Flood. The real issue is what? I don't want to get sidetracked. If any of you are stupid like me, know enough. We're just going to talk about Christ crucified. That's all I know anything about. It's all I need to know anything about. We speak God's wisdom and God's not changing. It's predestined before the ages to our glory; there's no change. This is it.

He goes on to say you can't find this wisdom, as we wrap it up, in any other way but by revelation. "'Things which eye has not seen, ear has not heard," verse 9, "which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.' For to us God revealed them through the Spirit." The rulers of this age didn't understand it. The wisest men of the world did not understand it. God revealed it by His Spirit. That's why you can't argue with them, you can't reason with them, you can't impress them with your intelligence. The Spirit of God must do a work in the heart. My part in this is by God's grace to be the instrument that brings the message. The message is you are a sinner, lost and without hope, but there is a Savior who died to pay the penalty for sin, Jesus Christ the Son of God. If you will believe in Him, you will be saved. If not, you will stand to be judged to condemned to hell. I can present that in three minutes. I can talk about it for 30 minutes. That's the message, Christ crucified. It's a matter of revelation.

"Who among men knows the things of a man but the Spirit." Only the Spirit of God can reveal it. You can't find it from the outside. You don't know what I'm thinking right now. I'm having a thought. Wonder what it is. You don't know unless I tell you. The Spirit within me knows. I was thinking, I think I'll have a piece of cantaloupe. How in the world would you know I just thought I'll think I have a piece of cantaloupe? The only one who knew was the Spirit within me. That's the way men and women are about the knowledge of. They think they know. The only revelation you come to know God is through the revelation of His Spirit.

Verse 12, "We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God." "And these are things we speak," verse 14, "A natural man [a man without the Spirit of God] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God." You note that. The man without the Spirit of God, apart from the work of the Spirit of God, does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness to Him. He cannot understand them. They are spiritually appraised." So how am I going to argue him, reason him, intellectually convince him. He cannot understand. It will take divine revelation. The intervention of the Spirit of God in his heart and life. The Spirit of God intervenes in a life through the Word of God. Because I present the Gospel does that guarantee they'll be saved? No. But it is a guarantee they cannot be saved apart from the Word of God for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If you are going to share the Gospel with a friend or family member or someone you come in contact with today, I can't tell you they'll be saved but I can tell you they will never be saved if someone doesn't tell them the message of Christ crucified.

So here the apostle Paul comes to the city of Corinth. What was it like? He just came with singleness of purpose. I made up my mind to know nothing. Meaning, know nothing. Meaning, I am going to act this is the only thing I know. This is all I have to talk about - Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God had many people in that city, many that He had called and so would respond to the message and would believe and be saved and a mighty church is established. Even with all its problems, the testimony of that church, the impact of that church, through the letters written to it, continues right down to us today. We want to impact our city. By the grace of God as the city of Corinth was impacted. If God could send Paul, there and a mighty work was done. Think if . . . Look around and see. If everyone here goes out and says I'm going to talk about Jesus Christ crucified and trust by the grace of God, the Spirit of God will use that to bring the power of salvation to many hearts. I trust it will be so and that we will grow and mature spiritually and by God's grace numerically as new ones come to trust Him. Let's pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for Your mighty grace. Your grace that is more than sufficient, Your grace that has made every provision for our life. Lord, You have saved. It was Your grace that has made provision for our life and functioning as Your people as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that time when we will be presented blameless in the presence of Your glory. What a marvelous salvation. What a marvelous message. What a powerful Gospel. Lord, may we be a people committed to the beauty of this message, instruments that you use for Your purposes in these days. We pray in Christ's name, amen.