Paul And The Cross

“Paul and The Cross” 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

1. The “preaching of the cross” was the distinctive message of the Apostle Paul.

• The Cross for the Apostle was (The Center of the Gospel) The Main thing

• The Cross to Paul was to be lived out every day a cross life, The Cross solves humanities great problem, The Cross should be proclaimed as simple as possible.

• Paul was a very intellectual man but he knew nothing but the cross. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ,” says Paul, “and him crucified” (v. 2).

2. The Apostle Paul lived a Crucified Life

• Paul did not Preach with wisdom or eloquence 21When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God, He didn’t use fancy or even persuasive words but used the power of the Spirit

• Paul preached a Crucified Life (Jesus) He was a crucified man! Only a crucified man can preach the crucified word.

• Paul He had no confidence in himself. He did not rely on himself. Weakness, fear, trembling, being void of self-confidence, considering oneself as totally useless—these are the characteristics of a crucified man. He said, "I am crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20)

• Paul was Perhaps the first to tell others “Come and Die” instead of Detrick Bonheoffer He said, "I die daily" (1 Cor. 15:31). Paul says, “For me to live is Christ for me to die is gain”. Only a dead Paul could preach a word on crucifixion.

• If Paul had not died, the life of the Lord could not have flowed out from him. It is easy to preach the cross, but it is not easy to preach it as a crucified man. “Walk in those shoes”

3. Paul Preached The Cross resolves a Great Problem for humanity

• The Cross resolved the Sin Problem They had no understanding that Christ’s death on the cross was the means by which God had solved the problem of sin.Christ’s death on the cross solved the problem of sin, was revealed through the Apostle Paul alone.

• Peter said, He “bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness”

• Galatians says, He gave himself for our sins to set us free (Galatians 1:4).

• Colossians says God reconciled all things to himself through Jesus, “by making peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:20).

• Looking toward his own death, Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).

4. The Cross for Paul should be proclaimed simply and plainly

• The Corinthians were sophisticated people, and the apostle Paul knew it. They were residents of a Roman city in Greece that was cosmopolitan, intellectual and prosperous.

• When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom” , “I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (v. 3).

• The message is: Christ crucified and risen.

• This message may appear dumb and stupid to many, “but to us … it is the power of God” (1:18).

• The method is: to live as though the message is true. Which it is.

• God gives us the cross which is the hinge-point of history. It points to Jesus Christ, crucified and raised.

• It reminds us that forgiveness is in the blood of Christ.

• It is an unmistakable symbol of incredible sacrificial love.

• The sacrificial death of Jesus is part of the eternal wisdom of God, and his gifts of forgiveness and eternal life are available to everyone who believes.

• Paul and His Cross lives the Crucified Life, Paul and His Cross resolves Humanity great problem sin,

• Paul believes the Cross should be proclaimed simply and plainly?