Key Verse 1:18
“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.”
Today we begin the first chapter of a new study in the book of 1 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church he had established there, where he taught the Word of God for a year and a half, as described in Acts chapter 18. Because Paul spent a lot of time with the Corinthians, he came to understand them very well. As a cultural center of the Roman Empire, Corinthian architecture was the most elegant in the Greco-Roman world and its society was also the most decadent. As a commercial center, Corinth was an international city, where people from many different backgrounds of class, ethnicity, culture, and economic class mingled together. Being close to Athens, the center of philosophy, Corinthians followed different charismatic leaders who competed for attention. Corinth was also the religious center of the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of passion. Corinth was a city of corruption, and its name became synonymous with immorality. In many ways it is easy to see how Corinthian culture was very similar to ours. Therefore, the study of Corinthians is particularly relevant to us. May God bless us to receive his word through this study.
First, God gives hope to a weak church (1-9)
Paul opens this letter, stating his identity as an apostle of Christ Jesus. In the general sense, an apostle is one who is “sent out” to serve God, which is characteristic of all Christians. In the narrower sense, the apostles were limited to about 15 men who were chosen by Jesus to establish the church and write the New Testament. Paul emphasizes this authority as he addresses the controversial problems in the church of Corinth. Paul also sends greetings from Sosthenes, a synagogue ruler who came to faith in Christ during a time of persecution. Paul wrote this letter in response to a report from some of the Corinthians that there was division in the church. Given the background I described, it is not surprising that there was a problem with division in the Christian community there. One of the causes of this division may have been that some Christians wanted to stay pure from the corrupted culture, while others were more concerned about blending into the culture in order to share the gospel. There were other causes for division as well, including human pride and competition in leadership. Through this letter, Paul offers hope that divisions can be resolved through the power of the cross of Christ.
In Paul’s greeting, he addresses the Christians in Corinth as those who are “sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.” With a sense of unity, Paul also includes “all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours” (2). It is a paradox that the Corinthians, who were imperfect, were also those who were sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy. Throughout the next sixteen chapters, Paul gives many corrections for their unholy behavior. However, he begins the letter with the encouragement that they are already sanctified in Christ. Sanctification is the process of becoming holy; to sanctify literally means to set apart. When we come to faith in the gospel of Jesus, God declares us to be holy. But we are still practically unholy. It takes time for designated holiness to become actual holiness. The Corinthians had so many sinful problems that they may have become discouraged. This is why Paul begins the letter with the encouragement of what God is doing to make them holy. Let’s read verses 4-9 together,”I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” In addition to holiness, God enriches all Christians with spiritual gifts, especially enrichment in speaking and understanding the Word of God. Most importantly, the gift of salvation that Jesus gives us includes everything we need to live the victorious Christian life. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” It seems impossible that the unholy Corinthians could become holy. It was difficult to recognize their giftedness when they had so many problems. But Paul did not simply write a letter to tell them to have better behavior. Rather, he appealed to the status they already had in Christ, as a reason for putting their faith into action. Since God is faithful, we can be sure that all the problems in the church community will be straightened out eventually. Paul emphasized the fact that they were established and enriched by God and set apart for his glory. With this foundation, there was a purpose to sort out all of their practical problems and issues.
Second, Gospel unity in a divided community (10-17)
Let’s read verses 10-13 together, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” The Corinthians’ main problem was division in the church. Some within the Corinthian church informed Paul of the problem and asked for help. They were divided over many issues such as food, marriage, and church politics. For example, instead of forgiving, they were suing their Christian brothers and sisters in the secular courts. One of the main things that caused division in the Corinthian church was their view of leadership. The Corinthians' pride had led them to value outward appearance and eloquence over the genuine work of the Spirit. In ancient Greece, philosophers were the leaders of different competing schools of thought.
The Corinthians liked to follow charismatic speakers who were skilled in dramatic performance. They put their preferences above the unity of the church. So the Corinthian church was split into factions. Some claimed that they followed Paul, who was the famous apostle to the Gentiles. Some favored Apollos, who was known as a skilled orator. Some favored Cephas, otherwise known as Peter, who was especially inclined to minister to the Jews. Some even claimed that they were a private inner circle of Christ. But Paul pointed out that Christ cannot be divided. In fact, Paul, Apollos, and Cephas were all friends and were all under the authority of Christ. We should never exalt human leaders above Christ. Our covenant of grace through Jesus’ crucifixion and baptism are with Jesus only, not with any human leader. There is no extra merit in being baptized by a famous pastor. There is unity in the gospel because there is one God, one Savior, one Bible, and one family of God. Sectarianism and division continues to be a problem in the church today because competition is the default of the sinful nature. Many divisions in the church have been caused when people exalt leaders above God. There can be preferences for different styles of ministry and differences of opinion in disputable matters, but we should not exaggerate these differences until they divide the church. God calls us to have unity with all Christians who profess Christ as Savior and the Bible as the Word of God. Paul stresses this unity throughout the book of 1 Corinthians.
Third, The cross of Christ is God’s wisdom and power (18-31)
Let’s read verses 22-25 together, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” The Jews were people of action. They were known for their meticulous religious rituals. They were looking for a Messiah who would conquer the Roman Empire with political power. They wanted the message of the Gospel to be authorized with powerful miracles, like when Moses crossed the Red Sea or when Elijah had a showdown with the idolatrous prophets of Baal. But Jesus said that a wicked and adulterous generation seeks miraculous signs. It is natural that we want God to show us signs of guidance or confirmation. But human pride tries to subject God to meet our standard of expectation and put God under the control of our demands and wishes, as if he owes us to prove himself. The Greeks were people of philosophy. They developed intellectual pursuits like Stoicism, which is a belief in emotional restraint, and Epicureanism, which is an appreciation for material pleasures. The Greeks looked for wisdom. However, human wisdom does not glorify God. Human wisdom does not even seek the truth. In the Book of Acts, the Athenians had itching ears to hear the latest trends in theoretical ideas. They loved to discuss ideas that were fashionable. But they did not have absolute truth to give their lives meaning and security. The thing that both Jews and Greeks have in common is that they seek human strength and wisdom with a proud attitude toward God. Their exaltation of human leaders above God is an expression of this. Human strength and wisdom ignore the sin problem and ignore God.
The gospel looks weak to those like the Jews who want human power, and the gospel looks foolish to those like the Greeks who want a fashionable intellectual wisdom. The Greek word for “foolishness”, which is "moria" is the origin of our English word “moron”. So the world thinks that Christians are morons. God sent the gospel message of the cross of Jesus as a means of salvation from our sins. From a human point of view, the message of the cross looks nonsensical. It appears to be as contradictory as respectful blasphemy or friendly murder or healthy junk food. How can the eternal God die? If God is almighty, why does he show himself through the weakness of the cross? If God is holy, why does he identify himself with a symbol of shame? Verse 25 says, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” Human wisdom and strength focus on man, but God chose to work through what appears weak and foolish, so that he would be glorified through it. Jesus gave up his power and glory in heaven and became a human being, subjecting himself to weakness and humility, and ultimately dying on the cross to bear the punishment of our sins.
Then he rose again defeating the power of sin and death. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains this paradox; it says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” More simply, God became humble in order to save proud people. The gospel is the wisdom and power of God, but we have to be humble in order to accept it. Otherwise we only try to boast in ourselves. Let’s read verses 26-29 together, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” Proud people of the world do not know God. The stronger and wiser we become, the more we ignore God. God chose weak people so that he could reveal his strength. Paul himself may have been one of the few Christians who was wise and influential by human standards before he met Christ. But most of us have testimonies of how we came to know God when we were weak and foolish. I remember my time of greatest need for God was when I was on academic probation. I needed God’s wisdom when I was weak and confused. The puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, wrote an hour-long sermon just based on this verse entitled: “God Glorified in Man's Dependence”. When we break out of the false impression that we are strong and wise and see our need to depend on God, then we can receive the message of the cross. The cross of Christ appears weak and foolish, but is really God’s wisdom and strength.
Through today’s study, we learned that there is true power, wisdom, and unity in the message of the cross of Jesus. In our human pride, we try to exalt human leaders to the level of God, but this only leads to division. In our human wisdom, we ignore our need for God and try to save ourselves. But God revealed himself to weak and foolish people in a way that appeared weak and foolish. Through the cross, we can see our true need for God, and we can boast in God rather than in ourselves.
