West Loop Church UBF

1 Corinthians 2:2 "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

At the beginning of 2010, I wanted a key verse to help me deeply realize the practical impacts of the gospel in my  life, family and ministry. As I prayed, I was moved by 1 Corinthians 2:2. In October, I attended a Desiring God conference called: Think: The Life of the Mind & the Love of God. One of the speakers, Tullian Tchividjian (cha-vi-jin) gave a message titled "Giving Thought to Gospel 'Math': Why Jesus + Nothing = Everything." Immediately, I saw connection to my key verse. Paul had the same math formula in this verse. So let us look at the gospel formula in detail. First, Jesus is the coefficient, second, Jesus + nothing=Everything. May God bless you to deeply understand and apply this formula in your daily life.

First, Jesus is the Coefficient.

The first part of the formula is Jesus! In math language, he is the coefficient, which is defined as a numerical or constant quantity placed before a variable. I want to give a brief background on why Paul made the statement in verse 2. The pronoun "you"  is referring to the Corinthian Church. As we studied, the Corinthian church was a messed up church. Instead of bringing the gospel to the culture, they brought the culture into the church. They brought bar fights, immoral behavior, lawsuits, jealousy, and competition into the church.

How could Paul help such people? He could have laid down the hammer of the law and say "shape up or ship out!" Paul could have resorted to manipulation; he could have used tears, fear and guilt to make them behave. How do you make someone turn from a licentious or rebellious lifestyle and obey freely and joyful? That is a very hard question to answer.

According to Paul, what they really needed was to know the gospel. The gospel is simply stated in five words, "Jesus Christ and him crucified." This one statement clearly reveals God's radical and unconditional acceptance of sinners.  It is one sided grace that can only change a sinner's heart. At our Easter conference, I caught a new perspective of the gospel. Especially the title "God died." We learn it is sin that separates our love relationship with God and others. Sin brings death and destruction. Because of our sins, we broke God’s heart. Sin cannot be ignored, it must be paid for. A few months ago, my daughter lightly hit a cab driver's car. A small piece of his bumper was chipped off. But he would not leave until I came and paid him. How much more we have dented and crushed God's heart because of our sins. God has to be angry at sins because he is good. He had to do something with sinners because God is just. What does God do? On the cross, God died and absorbed the punishment we fully deserved. It is like a judge who finds you guilty of a crime and sentences you to death, but decides to take your place instead. It is as if you owed a million dollars to a creditor, but the creditor decided to absorb the debt and suffers the loss himself.

To Paul, the Corinthian Church did not need more rules. Rather, they needed to hear less about what they need to do for God and hear more about what God has done for them. In the movie "Saving Private Ryan", an elderly Ryan stands before the grave stone of Captain Jack Miller who died to rescue him from the Nazis. Ryan turns to his wife to ask if he has been a good man and  thus worthy of Captain Miller and other soldiers. Captain Jack Miller is a shadow of Christ who gave his life to rescue us from sin. Paul also experience God's saving grace. He was bent on evil and plotted to destroy Christians. One day, he tasted this amazing grace. He was transformed by the radical and unconditional acceptance for sinners. Jesus and his grace became Paul's coefficient in life. When we remember what God has done for us, we can only respond with thanksgiving and joy.

Second, Jesus + Nothing=Everything.

According to Verse 2, Paul said I resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ. In other words, he is saying "Jesus + nothing=Everything" When we realize what Christ has done for us, it changes our perspective in life. He becomes our source of life, love, happiness, peace and hope. He becomes the source of our identity and meaning.

The reality is this is really hard to practice! In our minds, we say, "Sure I believe in Jesus, but I'd be happier if I had this or that..." Practically, we live with the formula “Jesus + something = everything” That "something" is an idol.  We are strongly tempted to tie our identity our worth on the idols of  human approval, health, finances, material possessions and personal accomplishments. We say, "If I get that job, or buy that house, or find the love of my life, then I'll be happy." That idol becomes the ultimate thing. John Calvin said the "The human heart is a factory of idols. Every one of us is, from his mother's womb, expert in inventing idols." If we don't have a tangible one, we invent one. Tullian explained the value we place on an idol. He said, "What is the one thing or the main thing that, if you lost it or had to part with it, would devastate you? Who or what are you depending on most to make you feel that life is worth living? If it's anything other than Jesus, it's your idol."

The corporations spends billions and billions of dollars to convince you need something else to make you happy and content. You need faster internet speed, the latest gadget, you need a 3-D HDTV,  a new look, the new house, the new job, etc. There is nothing wrong with these things. God gave us these things for our enjoyment. But if these things can become dangerous when they become the ultimate thing. It become destructive, when it becomes the source of our happiness and identity. We are in a major economic recession because we buy many "somethings" we can't afford, thus contributing to our personal and national debt. It is endless!

It is easy to look at non-Christians and say they have a problem with idols and overlook our own hearts.  We say "look at that guy, his idol is  his BMW, his idol is the money, the Bears, the bulls are his idol." But even Christians make idols.  Sometimes our idols become even good things such as our children, recognition for the things we do at church, our knowledge, etc. I knew one Christian who was proud she went to Church every Sunday. As a result, she looked down on those who didn't. When I honestly searched my heart, I found my heart is cluttered with functional idols. There are the idols of my wife, my children, my job, my music, sports. I have the idol of human approval and praise.

You can't get rid of an idol in your heart, you can only replace it. Only the Holy Spirit can help us replace it with Christ. When Christ becomes the source of our worship, it liberates us from trying to prove ourselves. When we think we have done enough, we become proud. When we think we didn't do enough, we despair. But that all changes, when we realize what Christ has done for us. When we discover that Jesus became weak for me, I am free to be weak. Because Jesus won the ultimate victory for me, I am free to lose. It is only when you are free to lose that you are to live with unbounded courage, risk and sacrifice. You don’t need to say the last word, you don’t need to curse the person who cut you off the road. Some people are slaves to all kinds of addictions, but when one discovers the beauty of Christ and his love, sin loses it grip on their lives. When we deeply realize God who loves us and accepts us, we are no longer slaves of people's approval. The gospel is truly liberating! I have a good friend who is renowned in his field and a well established scientist. But his drive for success caused him to fall into a nervous breakdown. Only after discovering the gospel formula did he find peace in his soul.

Whenever we have a math problem, we apply a formula to solve the equation. But what about life's pressing issues? It is not easy to find answers.  According to gospel math, in Jesus we have everything we need.  If Jesus is the main coefficient in life we discover the solution everything. I pray God may bless you to discover for yourself the beauty of the gospel in your daily life.

Resource: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/giving-thought-to-gospel-math-why-jesus-nothing-everything