1 Corinthians: God's People Must Be United and Growing in Holiness
1 Corinthians 1:10-31[1] As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, January 15th, 2012
10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.
12 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.
16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For 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.
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
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?
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.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Message: Let us boast only in the one who saved us.
There are some key words to consider here, words that help us grasp this passage rightly.
Division: cleft, rent, which speaks metaphorically of a split or division in the church.
Quarreling: contention, strife, wrangling
Foolishness: that of God and that of men.
So what is it that divides this church? It is the raising men and the lowering Christ.
What they were seeing: worldly wisdom and human greatness.
Worldly wisdom. The wisdom of the world had, as it does us, mesmerized these people. The Greek culture surrounded these people, with its ancient history, mythology, and philosophy. Consider how you might feel, students, when you listen to a well-educated, respected professor expound on the wisdom of natural selection when you believe God made all things after their own kind. Stone temples that still stand were around these people, and the church was meeting in homes of poor people. They heard of wise visiting philosophers who expounded on morals, ethics, and politics. They walked among apparently happy people who had the morals of street hounds and seemed to succeed at everything. So what did they grab on to?
Human greatness. Speaking skills. "Oh, I know that Socrates is a great speaker, but have you heard Apollos, our pastor? That guy can BRING it!" Respected leaders. "Paul is an international leader of the church, one of its founders. So they made these baptism connections, and sought to exalt mere men as super-stars that could maybe offer a taste of legitimacy to their church.
What they were feeling: the disdain, and sneers of the world.
In AD 178 the philosopher Celsus mocked Christians as he wrote, "Let no cultured person draw near, none wise and none sensible, for all that kind of thing we count evil. But if any man is ignorant, if any man is wanting in sense and culture, if anybody is a fool, let him come boldly [to become a Christian]… We see them in their own houses, wool dresses, cobblers, the worst, the vulgarest, the most uneducated persons… They are like swarms of bats or ants creeping out of their nest, or frogs holding a symposium around a swamp, or worms convening in mud."
No one enjoys being sneered at. Apparently these church members were going through the same thing. They may have thought that if they had a highly respected, well-spoken, intelligent leader they could tie their wagon to, which would help to legitimize their beliefs in front of the world. I bet they FELT the need to lessen the sting of the world's scorn. Paul teaches here that this is NOT the way out for a church. They were seeing worldly wisdom and human greatness.
What they were missing: the temporal nature of worldly wisdom.
19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
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?
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.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
Their own folly and humility.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
The wisdom and power of God.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
You see both God's wisdom and power were displayed through what the world called foolishness – the cross. The world can't make sense of the most powerful, wise, and righteous being in existence humbling himself to suffer and die for the foolish, weak, and non-impressive people of this world. Christ is rightly exalted when all men are seen as they rightly are; sinners in need of God's grace.
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Let us realize that God is wise, and his foolishness (tongue in cheek) is better than the wisdom of men. All that we have in Christ far outweighs what we might miss from men!
Let pastors hear Paul – never maximize yourself, lest Christ be minimized in the church.
What they were boasting in: men, and their connection to their skilled, respected leaders.
What they SHOULD have been boasting in: The wisdom and the power of God, revealed to us in His Son, through whom His everlasting love and grace comes to us.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
Let us boast only in the one who saved us.
[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.
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