The church has been plagued by divisions, with groups taking sides and pledging their support for various leaders.
• This competitive and partisan spirit was tearing the church apart. They pride themselves on men and not on Christ.
• They were boasting in human wisdom, eloquence and influence, and not in Christ and what Christ has done for them.
• Paul sought to direct their attention back to Christ. We are to pledge our allegiance to the Lord and stay focused on Christ.
Pride in human achievements led Paul to the talk about human wisdom.
• Last week we read in 1:17 Paul said that he “preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1:17b)
• From here onwards until the end of chapter 2 we see him talking about human wisdom. The word wisdom appears many times.
• Paul contrasted the wisdom of men with the wisdom of God, and highlights to the Corinthians the folly of exalting human wisdom.
1 Cor 1:18-25
18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” [Isaiah 29:14]
20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Don’t exalt human wisdom. We did not come to believe “the word of the cross” or the message of the cross because we have been very wise.
• It was not human wisdom that led us to salvation but the power and wisdom of God.
• To many people the message of the cross is foolish, Paul says.
• For those who believed, it is the power of God for a changed life. It is not because of our wisdom or effort, therefore there is nothing for us to boast about.
God showed wisdom in saving the world through the cross where Jesus died. Many failed to see this, including the Jews and Greeks.
• FOR JEWS DEMAND SIGNS (1:22). They wanted to see miraculous signs to believe, despite the words of the prophets.
• This was how Jesus answered them when they asked for it - Matt 12:39-41.
“39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Jesus referred to himself as the sign. The clearest and only sign of God’s salvation is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• But this message of the crucified Messiah was a “stumbling block” to the Jews. It was an “offence” to them.
• They expected a deliverer of a different kind. They misread Christ’s deliverance as a political one, from the clutches of the Romans and not from sin.
• How could they put faith in the son of a carpenter from Nazareth who died the shameful death of a common criminal?
Paul knew such a sentiment himself. He was previously a fanatical Jew who was appalled by the idea of a crucified Christ.
• He persecuted the church before being confronted by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Now he preaches Christ crucified!
What about the Greeks? GREEKS SEEK WISDOM (1:22).
• Their culture values the pursuit of wisdom usually expressed in highly academic and philosophical terms. They loved knowledge.
• We read in Acts 17 that the philosophers would gather in a place called Areopagus and share their knowledge and philosophy.
• When Paul was in Athens, the Greeks invited him there because they were fascinated by what he had to say. Acts 17:20-21 “20For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
For the non-Jewish world, the cross was “foolishness” to them. Only criminals died on crosses. They could not see how the cross can provide salvation for our souls.
• Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of criminals, so how could such a one be considered a Saviour?
To the Romans and the Greeks, they do not know of any deity that has to suffer and even die for men.
• The idea of being saved through the work of a crucified man was foolish, and yet this was the “foolishness” that Paul was preaching.
• 1:21 “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
• Through human wisdom, we will never be able to find God or know God.
Students in one of Albert Einstein’s classes were saying they had decided that there was no God. Einstein asked them to consider, how much of all the knowledge in the world they had amongst themselves collectively, as a class.
The students discussed it for a while and decided they had 5% of all human knowledge amongst themselves.
Einstein thought that their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: “Is it possible that God exists in the 95% that you don’t know?”
1:21b “… God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” That was what happened.
• The Jews regarded it as an offence, the Greeks considered it foolish, “But we preach Christ crucified…” (1:23) Paradoxical and absurd to their ears.
• Christ, the Anointed One, being crucified! That’s the truth! Paul experienced it and now preaches it. Jesus Christ died for our sin.
1:24-25 “…but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
• God’s smallest, least important thought is more worthwhile than the wisest idea of man. Even His seemingly minute power is immeasurably greater and more effective than the mightiest acts of man.
• God, at His most “foolish and weakest”, like at the cross, was infinitely wiser and more powerful than anything that man can conceive or accomplish.
• For those who are Christians today, I think you know what this means. Our lives have been transformed by the sacrifice of Jesus.
Someone said that God’s wisdom is not man’s wisdom multiplied to the highest degree, which is correct. It is a wisdom of a different order altogether.
• Isaiah 55:8-9 “8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
• His thoughts are UNLIKE ours, heaven is UNLIKE earth. They cannot be compared.
For those who have believed Christ, we know that the Gospel saved us. It is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
• Human sin was dwelt with at the cross. We were set free from the bondage to sin.
• Herein lies the power of God because no human power can change the heart of man.
• The cross of Christ destroyed sin and made us holy. We are made righteous to live right. God has given us a new heart and a new spirit, in the words of Ezekiel (36:26).
The “foolishness” of the message of the cross turned out to be God’s wisdom.
• This suffering, humiliated, dying man became our Saviour! Jesus died for sinners. God is both just and the justifier of those who believe in Him.
• Sin was punished, the penalty was paid, justice was upheld, and yet love was shown and sinners were saved.
• We can find no fault in this. God is loving and forgiving, and yet righteous and just.
Can human wisdom comes up with this?
• 1:20 “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
• Human wisdom did not get us to where we are today. This is the work of God.
Paul borrowed the line from Isaiah to make his point –
Isaiah 29:14 19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and
the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (1:19)
• The Assyrians were about to attack Judah and Isaiah warned the people not to turn to Egypt for help. Put your trust in God and not a foreign power.
• The Lord states it clearly to them in Isaiah 30:1-2 1“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”
• But Judah chose to trust their wisdom and plan. Their wisdom and discernment failed them, as their history tells us.
• NIV translation of 1:19: “the intelligence of the intelligent” – even the intelligence of the intelligent cannot save them.
Paul applied this to the current situation with the Gospel.
• Can a man be saved by his wisdom, or the wisdom of God, which looks like foolishness to us?
• The Lord says, “Trust me and what I have done for you. Believe the message of the cross (the Gospel) and be saved.”
• There is no room for human pride. There is no room for human wisdom.
You see, despite all the advancements in human civilisation over the centuries, in science, technology and medicine, we did not change the condition of the human heart, the problem of sin.
• Little has changed to the evil we see around us. It might even be worst. We see hatred, violence, racism, injustice and evil of all kinds.
• We are blessed with many new gadgets in life because of the advancements in knowledge; many things seem to have “improved” – the convenience of life - but not so for the condition of the human heart.
• We are self-centred, selfish and self-absorbed. We will still lie, fight, steal and kill to achieve our ends.
Paul said, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1:20c).
• Why then are you exalting human wisdom and achievements? Why divide over who is the better leader?
• Why glory over men when we did nothing to save ourselves? If we truly understand the message of the cross, we will praise God and not men.
We preach Christ crucified!
A story is told of a church that has a sign at the front wall saying, "We Preach Christ Crucified". But over the years, vines begin to grow over the signboard. After some years, the word “crucified” was covered, leaving “We Preach Christ.”
And then a few more years later, the vines covered the other word, “Christ”. The church sign now says, “We Preach”.
We must not let that happen. We do not just preach. What are we preaching?
• Health and wealth, prosperity and success, morality, politics, social issues, charitable causes?
• And we don’t just “preach Christ” per se, because we can stray too, and end up preaching Christ as a good example to follow, trying to be morally good and upright.
• End up preaching good morals and conduct and earning our way to heaven.
We PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED (1:23). That’s our message. He is not just our good example; He is our Saviour!
• We preach the Gospel that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died and rose again for our sin. He is our only Saviour and there is no other.
• Apart from faith in the crucified Christ, we are forever lost in our sin.
• Jesus paid it all. We have to look to Him and be saved. It has already been done. The ball is in our court. We have to repent and believe Christ.
The message of the Gospel is the only message that saves.
• It destroys human sin and cuts down human pride.
• It reveals the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Paul said in 1 Cor 2:2 “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, we celebrate the Gospel, the message of the cross. We are changed today because of the cross. It is a display of your power and your wisdom.
We exalt the Name of Jesus and preach Christ crucified. Lord, help us centre around lives around you. Let us be a people united because we boast only in you.
We pray for those who are thinking of the choice they need to make. Grant them understanding and conviction, and help them see the light. Reach out to them, Lord and save them.
Thank You for this time. We pray all this in Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can hear/view the audio sermon with slides at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdj9H2M_-U
You can access all our earlier sermons at https://tinyurl.com/KTCC-EnglishService
