FOOLISH WISDOM-I—1Corinthians 1:18(:18--2:5)
Previously in the first chapter of 1Corinthians, we’ve examined...
‘Our PRINCIPLE ASSETS’—1Cor. 1:1-9
A Principle Asset of the Christian Church is...
1. APPROPRIATE APOSTLES(:1)
2. SANCTIFIED SAINTS(:2)
3. GOD’s GRACE & PEACE(:3)
4. GOD’s ENRICHMENT(:4-7a)
5. A CARRYING CONFIRMATION(:7b-9)
AND we’ve examined the Church’s ...
‘FREEDOM From DIVISION’—1Cor. 1:10-17
Freedom from division thrives in A Unified Christian...
1. UNITY(:10-12)
2. MINDSET(:12-13)
3. PURPOSE(:14-17)
Attention:
2 Timely Misinterpretations:
1. At the beginning of our worship service, I am charged with welcoming people from the pulpit. I also make the morning announcements & make mention of additions to the prayer list. Every Sunday morning the prayer list is compiled from all the prayer concerns brought up in each of the Sunday School classes.
The new additions are then written on a sheet of paper & placed on the pulpit for me to announce. I announce them without elaboration as to the detailed need. And I don’t usually see the list until I step up to the pulpit.
This morning I read out loud the two new additions to the prayer list faithfully recorded in front of me. Underneath the two new names was written in different handwriting, ‘Brotherhood.’ Our ‘Brotherhood’ of Christian men was scheduled to meet Tuesday evening, & I hadn’t heard of any concerns. So I thought adding our ‘Brotherhood’ was a little odd, but I announced it anyway without elaboration. Then underneath ‘Brotherhood’ was written in the same handwriting, ‘Mike Cook.’ So I announced that we need to add ‘Mike Cook’ to the prayer list. I didn’t know a ‘Mike Cook’ but that is not unusual. And I knew someone would fill-me-in after the service. Right after the announcement, I noticed that the congregation was buzzing about something, but I didn’t know what.
What I had done was completely misinterpret the written note! There should have been a separate note, for an intended reminder during the announcement time, but instead it got written on the prayer list. What the note intended, was that I should announce that the ‘Brotherhood’ were meeting, & that Brother ‘Mike’ was going to ‘Cook’ the meal!
*A timely misinterpretation!
(2.) Also, during Sunday morning worship, we set aside a time where the church receives the tithes & offerings of our members. I usually sit on the front row, while the ushers, walk the aisles & ‘pass the plate’ among the congregation.
Unanticipatedly, I had forgotten that this morning was ‘pay day’ for me(I get paid every few weeks during each month). The treasurer as usual, had simply handed me the check before the service began. I folded the check & put it into the left front pocket of my shirt, where I usually carry my tithe check for the church.
When the offering time arrived, & the ushers had turned to the congregation with their offering plates, I caught the eye of the usher, reached in the left front pocket of my shirt & unintentionally placed my paycheck in the offering plate!
A couple seconds after I had done it, I realized what I had done & stopped the usher, reached into the offering plate, & retrieved the paycheck.
As soon as I was in the pulpit, I had to laughingly explain what I had done. I made sure that everyone knew that I was NOT taking money out of the offering plate! I further explained that I am entirely ‘hands off’ when it comes to the money received by the church!
*A timely misinterpretation!
Likewise, ‘God’s wisdom’, can be mis-interpreted!
Need:
The apostle Paul related that the wisdom in the Cross-work of Christ, was seen as foolishness by those who were perishing.
The wisdom of the Cross can be misinterpreted.
By What means is the wisdom of the Cross interpreted?
9 means of interpreting the wisdom of the Cross.
The title ‘Foolish Wisdom’ is intentionally indefinite & convoluted. If something is foolish, can it be described as wisdom? And if something is wisdom, can it be described as foolish?
1—Foolish Wisdom is interpreted thru...
The MESSAGE Of The CROSS(:18)
Explanation:(:18)
: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.”
There is a “message”(logov) declared thru “the Cross.”
“Message/Word”(See :17—“Words/Speech”)—logov—Noun Nominative Sing. Masc.—1) of speech--1a) A word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea, 1b) What someone has said, 1c) Discourse, 1d) Doctrine, teaching, 1e) Anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative, 1f) Matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law, 1g) The thing spoken of or talked about.
“The message of the Cross” includes, encompasses, & comprises what God’s people call ‘The Good News’ or ‘the Gospel’!
•Technically, ‘Gospel’ is an old British/English word meaning ‘good news.’
*BUT in order to understand the NEED & PURPOSE for ‘the Good News’, we FIRST have to understand what might be called ‘the BAD NEWS’, ‘the sad news’, ‘the damning news’, or ‘the worst news.’
‘The BAD NEWS'....
*The ‘BAD NEWS’ is that everybody of every era—past, present & future—all humanity is born into sin & so they live controlled by their personal sin(Rom. 3:23).
Rom. 3:23—“for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God,”
•The word ‘SIN’ is used to describe a person’s devising &/or doing that which satisfies their own self-desire. And choosing self-desire over God’s desire obviously OFFENDS God!
So by-&-large, all of us live in a world that is given over to sin’s control. Every human being(all people), has inherited Adam’s sin(Rom. 5:12).
Rom. 5:12—“...through one man[Adam] sin entered the world, & death through sin, & thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”
So all humans are all part of the same family in that spiritual sense. Every person sins, so unless something is done to remove the sin, every person can be characterized as a sinner &/or as sinful.
*For every person, a continuing commitment to their sin & it’s sinfulness ‘earns’ them spiritual wages(Rom. 6:23).
And all works of sin are ultimately rewarded or paid in the same way—sin & it’s sinfulness earns & is rewarded with ‘death’ for the one who sins(Rom. 6:23).
Rom. 6:23—“For the wages of sin is death,...”
That earned ‘death’ of a sinner is eternally binding. That is, once a person physically dies, & they enter into an eternity of ‘death’, then there is absolutely no escape from it from that point!
*Eternal death is eternally meted out in a place called Hell. Hell is an utterly horrific place for all people who continually make the CONSCIOUS choice to live apart from, separate from, or without the living, loving, compassionate God.
•Those who are bound for hell, can be sincerely religious, or sincerely irreligious, or sincerely anywhere in-between. They may think of themselves as ‘good people’, & ‘civilly speaking’ they may be accepted as such by others—Not intentionally harming anyone, Helping their fellow man, Being a ‘good’ husband or wife, or Being ‘good’ parents, Patriots, Serving in the military for the cause of their country’s protection, etc..
But none of those personal acts of what each person may consider ‘goodness’, can free them from hell!
‘The GOOD NEWS'....
*HOWEVER, “the message of the Cross” is the ONLY COUNTERPART to the ‘bad news.’
•And that counterpart is ‘The GOOD NEWS’! Hallelujah!
•And one of the ‘Good’ parts of that ‘Good News’, is in the fact that SALVATION From HELL(the bad news) is AVAILABLE to all people, who are bound for hell!
•The ‘GOOD NEWS’ is that God has provided a SINGULAR WAY for any person who is willing, so that they can AVOID an eternity in hell! That Singular way of avoiding eternity in hell, is called ‘salvation.’ And that salvation only comes to a person by faith in Christ Jesus!
•That singular way of ‘salvation’ is tied to a person’s ‘CHOICE.’ So that every person, every individual, who wishes to avoid hell, CAN actively avoid it.
God has ordained that every person who wishes to avoid hell, must make a conscious, willing, choice to personally receive the salvation that God offers in Jesus.!
Jn. 1:10-13—“He[Jesus] was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
It is necessary for every person, & God ever sharply encourages it, to act on that responsibility of consciously choosing God’s solution, in order to be free from their current course toward the eternity of hell.
God has made everyone & everyone’s circumstances so that we can choose to trust Him. We CAN choose to trust Him over self-trust. We CAN choose to trust Him above satisfying our own wants. And we CAN choose to trust Him above trusting our own abilities. All self-trust is trust in sin & sinfulness.
Mat. 16:24-26—“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, & take up his cross, & follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, & loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Salvation from hell, is centered in & comes by Jesus Christ alone.
*And THAT salvation by Jesus Christ alone, absolutely requires “the cross.” “The Cross” is where your sin was paid for completely!
“The message of the Cross” concerns every person globally.
“The message of the Cross” concerns people of ALL—classes, cultures, creeds, geographical locations, languages, genders, heights, weights, colors, shapes, ugliness, good looking, etc.
“The message of the Cross” is intended for ALL people, because....
“The message of the Cross” categorizes all people into just two groups.
“The message of the Cross” is that indisputably, God has always & will always ‘recognize’ ONLY TWO categories of people thruout the ages & thruout all history(past/present/future)...
•“The message of the Cross” concerns people “who are 1)PERISHING.”
AND...
•“The message of the Cross” concerns people “who are being 2)SAVED.”
:18a—“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,...”
A.—The “PERISHING”
This Gospel(‘Good News’/“message of the Cross”) is utter “foolishness” to “those who are” in an active state of “perishing.”
•That is, NO ONE who actively lives in a state of constant rejection of the true “message of the cross”, is accepted as being among those who are in the process of “being saved” from hell. However there is abundant Scriptural evidence to assure us that absolutely EVERYONE who has NOT drawn their last breath on this earth, has POTENTIAL to be “saved”!
•Those who suppose “the message of the cross” to be mere “foolishness”, suppose that they can “save” themselves by their own effort or merit! However, just the opposite is true. NO ONE can be “saved” EXCEPT by their accepting God’s grace thru Jesus Christ! God extends the offer of His ‘graciousness’ to all the undeserving.
•Eph. 2:8-9—“For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
“Perishing/Perish”(See :19)—apollumi—Present Middle/Passive Participle - Dative Plural Masc.—1) To destroy—1a) To put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin, 1b) Render useless, 1c) To kill, 1d) To declare that one must be put to death, 1e) metaph. To devote or give over to eternal misery in hell, 1f) To perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed; 2) To destroy—2a) To lose. Strong—To destroy fully,(reflexively--To perish, or lose), literally or figuratively.?From—apo—“Off,” i.e. Away(from something near), in various senses(of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative); a primary particle.—& the base of—oleyrov—Ruin, i.e. death, punishment; From--a primary ollumi—To destroy; a prolonged form.
:18b—“...but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
B.—The “SAVED”
In contrast to those “perishing”, there are those “who are being saved.”
These people(including Paul & Sosthenes) “being saved”, trust in their heart-of-hearts that the very “power of God” is continually being represented, presented, & expressed in & thru “the message of the cross.”
Jn. 3:3, 5-7—“Jesus answered & said to him[Nicodemus], “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”.....“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water & the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, & that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Those “saved”, those ‘born again’, have chosen & are in a present continual process of “being saved”, just as the “perishing” choose to exist within a present process of continuing lostness.
The only thing that differentiates the two, is being born again by choice, as a result of personally accepting of Jesus as your Savior!
“Saved”(See :21)—swzw—Present Passive Participle - Dative Plural Masc.—1) To save, keep safe & sound, to rescue from danger or destruction—1a) one(from injury or peril)—1a1) To save a suffering one(from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health—1b1) To preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue, 1b) To save in the technical biblical sense—1b1) negatively—1b1a) To deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment, 1b1b) To save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance. Strong—To save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively); from a primary swv(contraction for obsolete saov "safe").
That God wants all people to be among those “being saved” is very plain(1Tim. 2:4). Yet God also knows that as a result of man’s having been created with freewill, not all will choose to trust Christ Jesus or “the message of the Cross”! Instead, those who refuse Christ, prefer to continue trusting in their own instincts & physical eyesight.
Though a person may be born again & certain of their salvation, there is a STILL FUTURE aspect to that salvation in Christ. And those “being saved” always live in anticipation of that future fulfillment.
•One day in our future, the certainty of salvation we now experience, will reach its ultimate fruition! We will be SAVED COMPLETELY—soul, spirit, & body! We do not experience that completeness now, because physical death still reigns. But one day death will not reign!
•1 Cor. 15:20-26—“But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule & all authority & power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.”
Hosea 13:14—YHWH God says,—“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
Rev. 20:14-15—“Then Death & Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
2Tim. 1:8-10—“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel,”
*A FURTHER aspect of “the message of the Cross”.>.>.>.>.>.>.>
*A FURTHER aspect of “the message of the Cross” is that God’s people know with certainty their ultimate destination is heaven with God, thru Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ’s Cross-work. And that certainty effects & colors EVERY aspect of their life while here on earth!
Once you are saved, you NO LONGER live in the downward pull of an uncertain future!
Your future in heaven is settled, in your being born again, so you now live your life on this earth, by means of the guidance & direction of the Holy Spirit, Who now lives within you! The indwelling Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee of our future salvation!(Eph. 1:13-14)
•Eph. 1:13-14—“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
••And FYI—You don’t need to ‘speak in tongues’ to prove the Holy Spirit is present in you!(1Cor. 12:6-11)
Once you live in the certainty of your “being saved”, every day, all day, you experience “the power of God”! The tug of the world & of the flesh are lessened! You are free in Christ Jesus by faith in Him!
•And that comes out in your ‘thinking’, & the things you speak of, the things of importance to you.
•The certainty of your salvation comes out in the way you pattern & organize your life.
•Gathering with the Church in Jesus’ name becomes important to you, & becomes a priority instead of a drudgery.
•Ministering in the name of Jesus takes precedence over serving yourself.
•Suddenly the job you’ve had for years takes on new meaning.
•Maybe you lose interest in what you’re currently doing for a living, because the Holy Spirit is directing you in other areas.(as is my testimony!)
•Your ‘work ethic’ changes for the better, no matter what you do.
•Your marriage takes on new meaning. You have a new respect for God’s design for marriage, & want to honor Him in it.
•Overall, you become more compassionate & giving.
•The way you relate to your children takes on new meaning. You want them to know Jesus too!
Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera!
Argumentation:
*Jn. 3:14-21—““And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
2Cor. 4:1-4—“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing[apollumi], whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”
Jn. 8:12—“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
*Gal. 6:14—“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, & I to the world.”
*Php. 3:1-14—“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, & have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, & count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ & be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him & the power of His resurrection, & the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind & reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
*Isa. 53:4-6, 8, 11, 12—:4—“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, & afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”..... :8—“...He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”..... :11—“...By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities...... :12—“...And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”
*1Pet. 2:24-25—“who Himself[Christ] bore our sins in His own body on the tree[Deut. 21:22-23], that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed[Isa. 53:5]. For you were like sheep going astray[Isa. 53:6], but have now returned to the Shepherd & Overseer of your souls.”
Col. 2:13—“And you, being dead in your trespasses & the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”
Illustration:
Those Poor Alligators!
At the zoo one day when a woman began frantically running around the alligator habitat. She was holding her head in both hands desperate as to what to do.
Screaming hysterically, she ran up to a man who was wearing a T-shirt with a Christian message on it. She yelled out, “Help me, help me sir, my mother-in-law fell into the alligator habitat!”
Knowing there was little he could do to help, he immediately began looking for zoo employees, or policemen, or firemen, or EMTs, or anyone associated with public safety to help the poor woman.
The woman looked at him funny & said “No, No sir, help is already on the way. I want you to pray for those poor alligators!”
In the MESSAGE there is real power!
Application:
?Do YOU properly interpret The MESSAGE Of The CROSS for yourself & others?
?Are you a competent interpreter of Foolish Wisdom?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
!!Remember to pray for ‘the Brotherhood’ & ‘Mike Cook’!!
Likewise, ‘God’s wisdom’, can be mis-interpreted!
&—
!!Remember to place the ‘correct check’ in the offering plate!!
Likewise, ‘God’s wisdom’, can be mis-interpreted!
Action:
Foolish Wisdom is interpreted thru...
1. The MESSAGE Of The CROSS(:18)
Pt# 1 only! presented 11/17/2024am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
