The Ultimate Oxymoron Part 2 1 Cor 1:26- 2:5
Worldly Wisdom exalts Human Understanding, and human understanding seeks to find human reasons why we are worthy of salvation. [Human Ability, Human Choice] We have begun an exposition of the longest letter that Paul wrote to any church, 1 Corinthians. What Romans is to Christian Thinking, 1 Corinthians is to Christian Living. Or we could say, that Romans deals mainly with Justification, and 1 Corinthians deals mainly with Sanctification. I'm not saying there isn't any theology in this letter, nor am I saying that there is nothing practical in Romans. But the bulk of Paul's focus in this letter, is on how the church must live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation! After being taught for close to 5 years, 2 years from him, and nearly 3 years from others, on how the church should think & live, these Corinthians were still holding onto their personal opinions and private interpretations. After all the time that was put into this church, these Christians were either still infants in their behavior, or they were outright worldly.
There was a spiritual stronghold in this church. If one were to read through both letters to Corinth, one might get the sense that Paul suspects that the problem is not just human, but that there is an underlying opposition from the devil, whom Paul calls 'the god of this world'. He brings Satan up 6 times when writing to them. The world [20x], & the flesh [17x], are both influenced by the devil [6x] and all 3 contribute to the battle that a Gospel centered church must contend with. Here, the fallen wisdom of men and demons was intruding itself into the purity and simplicity of the Message that God uses to turn the world upside down and right side up. Mixing human wisdom & the world's philosophy and standards is always the natural tendency for people to do when the Gospel is brought to them. Why? Because man, by nature, is self centered. But the Gospel is Christ Centered, The Word of the Cross is not the word of men, it is the Word of God! It is not the world's unholy wisdom. It is God's Holy wisdom! because it is the Gospel of God, the Gospel that belongs to God. So, Paul begins his letter by hitting them right between the eyes with the crux of the matter, that it is a Cross centered message, and it doesn't mix with the wisdom of this world. And he illustrates that in 3 ways, 1- It Isn't the Message of the Gospel Call ...vs.17-25 [we looked at that last week]; 2- It Isn't the Method of God at All ...vs.26-31; & 3- It Isn't the Means of the Apostle Paul ...vs.2:1-5. This morning, we look at those last 2.
Paul has just finished telling them that even though most Jews and Greeks rejected the message as either a stumbling block or foolishness, still there were some who embraced it as the power of God. This is God's pattern, to do the very thing that confounds human wisdom. So, why would they think that they could mix man's wisdom with God's Message? God deliberately empowers what appears to be nonsense to the human mind. God does not help those who help themselves! He saves those who realize they can't help themselves, who don't trust in themselves, but in the man of God's own choosing! All those who have embraced that Man, have embraced the power of God, and in that recognition have agreed that “the foolishness of God is far wiser than men, and the weakness of God is far stronger than men.” 1Co 1:25 So, to make his point Paul illustrates, in them, what he had just said. God doesn't save through human wisdom and lofty rhetoric, and he doesn't save by popular vote or status or ability. Human wisdom was not evident in the Gospel Call, because the Gospel Call is from God, and so...
II. It Isn't the Method of God at All ...vs.26-31
God's ways are not our ways. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God's ways higher than our ways and God's thoughts than our thoughts.” Isa 55:9 The Free Agency of Human decisions, wrought through natural wisdom isn't evident in the decisions that God makes concerning salvation. Paul tells us in Eph 1:11 that we were predestined and saved “according to the purpose of him who works ...all things according to the counsel of His will” Paul writes that human wisdom wasn't evident in Our Calling ...v. 26 or in God's Choosing ...vs.27-30 and that should result in Wise Boasting ...v. 31 First, was human wisdom involved in...
A. Our Calling ...v. 26
“For consider your calling, brothers? What is Paul referring to here in v.26? ring to the work of God in calling them to himself 'out of darkness into light', out of death into life. He is illustrating what he told them in verses 22–24: “For Jews demand signs & Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “For consider your calling, brothers? You see the Cross as “those who are called”- who, in wonder and amazement, see the Cross as “the power of God and the wisdom of God!” v.24 God gave you ears to hear! This is the kind of call that creates what it commands! This call is the work of God that opens our eyes to see Christ as true & wise, powerful & beautiful and so compelling that we receive him for salvation.
So, God’s call is his life-giving command to 'Come forth!' Paul will write a 2nd letter to these Christians, where he will describe the New Creation in our Salvation as analogous to the way God created the universe, ex nihilo, out of nothing! Listen to his words in 2Co 4:6-7 “For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” He goes on to say that, “we have this treasure in ...jars of clay”! And what does it show us? Paul says, “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God ...and not to us!” Its God's doing, not ours. We are responsible for our sin, but God is responsible for our salvation! The Guilt is ours, but the Glory is His! That sounds foolish & irrational to human wisdom. If we are responsible for our sin, then we must have some responsibility in our salvation! Sorry, that may seem reasonable, but it is not Biblical! Yet, isn't this contrary to our natural way of thinking? Yes, because all we understand is what our human pride can merit. Even our good decision was prompted by the Spirit of God, who gave you the life to believe! If you are a believer today, that is how you got saved! God called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. This was a Clarion Call! This call was effective. It produced in you what it commanded.
God doesn't call who we would call, does he? [King of the Hill] Paul makes that clear in the remainder of v.26. He reminds them of their former status“not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” The ground is level at the foot of the Cross! Paul addresses what were known as the three claims to aristocracy sophoi (wise philosophers), dunatoi (men of dignity and power), & eugeneis (men of noble or high birth). Culture, Power, Birth still the big 3 today! Today's church falls into this tendency. We parade athletic heroes, movie stars, music greats as great trophies of Grace!These are the standards of the flesh, and God doesn't work that way. No, instead we see that God glorifies himself ...by setting aside human power to magnify His own power! ...By setting aside human wisdom to magnify His own Wisdom! ...By setting aside human honor to magnify His own Honor! So, human wisdom wasn't evident in God's Calling and human wisdom wasn't evident in...
B. God's Choosing ...vs.27-30
“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, And why did God do that? v.29 tells us “so that ...no human being might boast in the presence of God.” So, that human pride would be obliterated. Even what would appear to be our wise choices have nothing to do with where we have been placed The only other place this word “choose” is used in Paul is Eph 1:4–5: “[God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” So what Paul is saying in 1 Cor 1:27–28 is that before we were made, God saw us in our sin and our rebellion, and he graciously set his favor on us owing to nothing in ourselves. Paul calls it in Rom 11:5 the “election of grace.” This electing love is absolutely unconditional. We were not yet created. And we know that he foresaw us as undeserving when he chose us, because the blessing of our election had to come “through Jesus Christ” Eph 1:4–7. We needed a redeemer in his eyes when he chose us. So be amazed! If you are believer in Jesus, God has loved you from before the world and chose you for his own possession—with all the biblical benefits and all the biblical affections that implies. Don't wrestle with God's love for you and that love is drenched in these verses. God loved us by calling us. God loved us by choosing us. And in v. 30, God loved us by placing us into union with Christ. “And because of him[God, the Father] you are ...in Christ Jesus'. Union with Christ is Paul's favorite topic in his letters. It is the source of all our benefits, including the 4 things mentioned in the rest of this verse . Because you are in Christ, you have ...wisdom from God, you have ...righteousness you have ...sanctification and you have been ...redeemed! [Perfect standing! Pure & Set Apart! A Purchased Slave!] “Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is your story, this is your song!” “because of God's electing Grace ...you are ...in Christ Jesus!”
Did you decide: Where you would be born? When you would be born? Who your parents would be? I could go on and on about the things you didn't decide, all being factors as to why you are, today, a lover of Christ. “You love Him, because He first loved you.” Receive that Biblical Truth today! Otherwise, if you have anything to do with it you have something of which to boast about. Will you end up in heaven, because you made the right decision while so & so made the wrong decision? If you made a right decision, it was by God's Grace which was given to you. People say, “I humbly received the gift! There is no boasting in receiving a gift!” No, its not that simple, because much is required in receiving that gift. It's your life for His! You must consider the cost of being His disciple, as Jesus said! And that kind of decision does not come from the natural man. It comes from the Spirit of God! Otherwise, you have something to boast about. In ch. 4, Paul will ask, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” 1Co 4:7 Paul says that our boasting must be...
Wise Boasting ...v. 31
So, Paul alludes to the prophet Jeremiah in v.31,“as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, ...boast in the Lord." Paul is reminding them that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” referencing Jer 9 here, where the prophet chided the people for their national pride. "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." Jer 9:23-24
III. Reason 3- It Isn't the Means of the Apostle Paul ...vs.2:1-5.
In vs. 1-2, Paul explains How he didn't come and in vs. 3-5, he explains How he did come. If you recall, when Paul 1st arrived in Corinth, he was not, initially, well received. He had just left Athens, where for the most part, he was not very well received. The abundance of human opinion, evident in the obvious desire of Athenians to hear a new and fancy philosophy had showed Paul in a glaring way, that human philosophy was at odds with the Truth of Christ. So, when Paul arrived in Corinth, he was tired of dealing with the rhetoric and wisdom of Athens. He went to the synagogue, where he also wasn't well received by his own countrymen, his fellow Jews, who couldn't get past the oxymoron of a Crucified Messiah, & a Cursed King. And he didn't seem to do any better among the Corinthian Greeks either. So, here in vs.1&2, he reminds them of
A. How he didn't come ...vs.1-2
Paul's ways and his words were not conventional or conveyed with the popular methods of his day. He writes in v.1“And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God, with lofty speech or wisdom”. The word 'testimony' is 'martyrion'- the testimony or witness of God [Now, instead of 'martyrion' some of the earlier manuscripts say 'musterion' 'the mystery of God', which seems to fit the context better. In fact, in v.7, Paul will mention the impartation of this mystery that was hidden from the ages but is now being revealed] So, he says, “I didn't bring you this 'mystery' or 'witness' “with lofty speech or wisdom. “I brought it in plain ordinary street speech. No bells & whistles. And no nonsense!” The Philosophers were all talk and no action.
Paul, the preacher brought to them, the simple, plain, unadulterated 'Word of the Cross'. He tells them in v.2, “For I decided to know ...nothing among you ...except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The Eternal Plan of God was the center of Paul's world. To him, it was a Crossroad for the 2 ways that men could travel. There is a road that leads to life and there is a road that leads to death, and every time a person hears the message of Christ Crucified, that message is calling them to repent and believe folow the way that leads to life. The cross perpetually stands between these 2 very different roads. You cannot travel on both roads, because their destinations are polar opposites.
It appears that, for the most part, that message was seen by them as foolishness, because we get the impression from Luke that most people, initially, in Corinth opposed him, not just the Jews. In fact, the threat of bodily harm, must have been very great and real, because he desired to leave Corinth, early on. Luke documents for us in Acts 18, that Jesus, Himself, appeared to him one night in a vision and told him, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." So, he listened to the Lord, and he wasn't silent. Yet, he didn't come using the rhetoric of his day. Then, he tells them...
B. How he did come ...vs.3-5
3-5 And I was with you in ...weakness and in ...fear and much ...trembling” According to A.T. Robertson, this is “a common feeling of the most effective preachers. Cool complacency is not the mood of the finest preaching.” he says. 4 and my ...speech and my ...message were not in
...plausible ...enticing ...persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” Why? “so that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
So, in a sense, Paul is saying “As it was with you, brothers, to whom I conveyed God’s call, so it was with myself who conveyed it; you were not wise nor mighty according to flesh, and I came to you as one w/out wisdom or strength”. So, the proclamation, the people, and the preacher matched each other for folly and feebleness! Yet, we are told: Be bold "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Yet, Paul trembles as he undertakes to preach the gospel, and I also tremble at the awful responsibility of ministering the Word to this church. Is it because, I, along with Paul, lack faith? Yes, that's part of it. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. But there is another reason why pastors tremble. During this age in which the sinfulness of the human heart is evident, even among God's people, and in which the temptation to self-sufficiency is relentless, God has appointed that his preachers tremble with a profound sense of insufficiency so that we will never forget that it is God's power & not man's wisdom which creates & sustains saving faith.
Closing
We saw last week that God's Choice in the ...Speech that Redeemed goes against human wisdom. This morning we saw that God's Choice in the ...Sinners that Received goes against all Human wisdom, and God's Choice in the ...Shepherds that Reproved goes against all human wisdom. And this is very consistent with God's Choice in the ...Savior that's Reproached. It goes against all human wisdom! For it is written, “...He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”Isa 53:2 The most beautiful Man that has ever graced the world with his presence was not attractive according to that world's wisdom and standards. Instead,“ He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Yet, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isa 53:3-5 The Cross is the weakness of God The Cross... is the Victory of Failure[another oxymoron]- His victory wrought for our failure! Our sin is all we contribute to our salvation!
So, this morning, what is the Ultimate Oxymoron? A Boasting Sinner! Paul said in Gal 6:14 “far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” How can any sinner or church boast in anything but the Cross of Christ? What do churches today boast about? Churches boast in many things, the most beautiful building, the largest congregation, the most targeted seeker friendly programs, the most elaborate VBS, the best music ministry, the most dynamic preaching, etc, etc... What should churches boast about? Churches should boast that, “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And we love that old cross where the dearest and best, For a world of lost sinners was slain. So we'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till our trophies, at last we lay down, We will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown.” It should be the center of all that thrills us. That is what Paul focused on, and God blessed it tremendously. He will still bless that tremendously today. May that be our focus here. Lets pray.
Worldly Wisdom exalts Human Understanding, and human understanding seeks to find human reasons why we are worthy of salvation. [Human Ability, Human Choice] We have begun an exposition of the longest letter that Paul wrote to any church, 1 Corinthians. What Romans is to Christian Thinking, 1 Corinthians is to Christian Living. Or we could say, that Romans deals mainly with Justification, and 1 Corinthians deals mainly with Sanctification. I'm not saying there isn't any theology in this letter, nor am I saying that there is nothing practical in Romans. But the bulk of Paul's focus in this letter, is on how the church must live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation! After being taught for close to 5 years, 2 years from him, and nearly 3 years from others, on how the church should think & live, these Corinthians were still holding onto their personal opinions and private interpretations. After all the time that was put into this church, these Christians were either still infants in their behavior, or they were outright worldly.
There was a spiritual stronghold in this church. If one were to read through both letters to Corinth, one might get the sense that Paul suspects that the problem is not just human, but that there is an underlying opposition from the devil, whom Paul calls 'the god of this world'. He brings Satan up 6 times when writing to them. The world [20x], & the flesh [17x], are both influenced by the devil [6x] and all 3 contribute to the battle that a Gospel centered church must contend with. Here, the fallen wisdom of men and demons was intruding itself into the purity and simplicity of the Message that God uses to turn the world upside down and right side up. Mixing human wisdom & the world's philosophy and standards is always the natural tendency for people to do when the Gospel is brought to them. Why? Because man, by nature, is self centered. But the Gospel is Christ Centered, The Word of the Cross is not the word of men, it is the Word of God! It is not the world's unholy wisdom. It is God's Holy wisdom! because it is the Gospel of God, the Gospel that belongs to God. So, Paul begins his letter by hitting them right between the eyes with the crux of the matter, that it is a Cross centered message, and it doesn't mix with the wisdom of this world. And he illustrates that in 3 ways, 1- It Isn't the Message of the Gospel Call ...vs.17-25 [we looked at that last week]; 2- It Isn't the Method of God at All ...vs.26-31; & 3- It Isn't the Means of the Apostle Paul ...vs.2:1-5. This morning, we look at those last 2.
Paul has just finished telling them that even though most Jews and Greeks rejected the message as either a stumbling block or foolishness, still there were some who embraced it as the power of God. This is God's pattern, to do the very thing that confounds human wisdom. So, why would they think that they could mix man's wisdom with God's Message? God deliberately empowers what appears to be nonsense to the human mind. God does not help those who help themselves! He saves those who realize they can't help themselves, who don't trust in themselves, but in the man of God's own choosing! All those who have embraced that Man, have embraced the power of God, and in that recognition have agreed that “the foolishness of God is far wiser than men, and the weakness of God is far stronger than men.” 1Co 1:25 So, to make his point Paul illustrates, in them, what he had just said. God doesn't save through human wisdom and lofty rhetoric, and he doesn't save by popular vote or status or ability. Human wisdom was not evident in the Gospel Call, because the Gospel Call is from God, and so...
II. It Isn't the Method of God at All ...vs.26-31
God's ways are not our ways. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God's ways higher than our ways and God's thoughts than our thoughts.” Isa 55:9 The Free Agency of Human decisions, wrought through natural wisdom isn't evident in the decisions that God makes concerning salvation. Paul tells us in Eph 1:11 that we were predestined and saved “according to the purpose of him who works ...all things according to the counsel of His will” Paul writes that human wisdom wasn't evident in Our Calling ...v. 26 or in God's Choosing ...vs.27-30 and that should result in Wise Boasting ...v. 31 First, was human wisdom involved in...
A. Our Calling ...v. 26
“For consider your calling, brothers? What is Paul referring to here in v.26? ring to the work of God in calling them to himself 'out of darkness into light', out of death into life. He is illustrating what he told them in verses 22–24: “For Jews demand signs & Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “For consider your calling, brothers? You see the Cross as “those who are called”- who, in wonder and amazement, see the Cross as “the power of God and the wisdom of God!” v.24 God gave you ears to hear! This is the kind of call that creates what it commands! This call is the work of God that opens our eyes to see Christ as true & wise, powerful & beautiful and so compelling that we receive him for salvation.
So, God’s call is his life-giving command to 'Come forth!' Paul will write a 2nd letter to these Christians, where he will describe the New Creation in our Salvation as analogous to the way God created the universe, ex nihilo, out of nothing! Listen to his words in 2Co 4:6-7 “For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” He goes on to say that, “we have this treasure in ...jars of clay”! And what does it show us? Paul says, “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God ...and not to us!” Its God's doing, not ours. We are responsible for our sin, but God is responsible for our salvation! The Guilt is ours, but the Glory is His! That sounds foolish & irrational to human wisdom. If we are responsible for our sin, then we must have some responsibility in our salvation! Sorry, that may seem reasonable, but it is not Biblical! Yet, isn't this contrary to our natural way of thinking? Yes, because all we understand is what our human pride can merit. Even our good decision was prompted by the Spirit of God, who gave you the life to believe! If you are a believer today, that is how you got saved! God called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. This was a Clarion Call! This call was effective. It produced in you what it commanded.
God doesn't call who we would call, does he? [King of the Hill] Paul makes that clear in the remainder of v.26. He reminds them of their former status“not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth” The ground is level at the foot of the Cross! Paul addresses what were known as the three claims to aristocracy sophoi (wise philosophers), dunatoi (men of dignity and power), & eugeneis (men of noble or high birth). Culture, Power, Birth still the big 3 today! Today's church falls into this tendency. We parade athletic heroes, movie stars, music greats as great trophies of Grace!These are the standards of the flesh, and God doesn't work that way. No, instead we see that God glorifies himself ...by setting aside human power to magnify His own power! ...By setting aside human wisdom to magnify His own Wisdom! ...By setting aside human honor to magnify His own Honor! So, human wisdom wasn't evident in God's Calling and human wisdom wasn't evident in...
B. God's Choosing ...vs.27-30
“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, And why did God do that? v.29 tells us “so that ...no human being might boast in the presence of God.” So, that human pride would be obliterated. Even what would appear to be our wise choices have nothing to do with where we have been placed The only other place this word “choose” is used in Paul is Eph 1:4–5: “[God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” So what Paul is saying in 1 Cor 1:27–28 is that before we were made, God saw us in our sin and our rebellion, and he graciously set his favor on us owing to nothing in ourselves. Paul calls it in Rom 11:5 the “election of grace.” This electing love is absolutely unconditional. We were not yet created. And we know that he foresaw us as undeserving when he chose us, because the blessing of our election had to come “through Jesus Christ” Eph 1:4–7. We needed a redeemer in his eyes when he chose us. So be amazed! If you are believer in Jesus, God has loved you from before the world and chose you for his own possession—with all the biblical benefits and all the biblical affections that implies. Don't wrestle with God's love for you and that love is drenched in these verses. God loved us by calling us. God loved us by choosing us. And in v. 30, God loved us by placing us into union with Christ. “And because of him[God, the Father] you are ...in Christ Jesus'. Union with Christ is Paul's favorite topic in his letters. It is the source of all our benefits, including the 4 things mentioned in the rest of this verse . Because you are in Christ, you have ...wisdom from God, you have ...righteousness you have ...sanctification and you have been ...redeemed! [Perfect standing! Pure & Set Apart! A Purchased Slave!] “Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is your story, this is your song!” “because of God's electing Grace ...you are ...in Christ Jesus!”
Did you decide: Where you would be born? When you would be born? Who your parents would be? I could go on and on about the things you didn't decide, all being factors as to why you are, today, a lover of Christ. “You love Him, because He first loved you.” Receive that Biblical Truth today! Otherwise, if you have anything to do with it you have something of which to boast about. Will you end up in heaven, because you made the right decision while so & so made the wrong decision? If you made a right decision, it was by God's Grace which was given to you. People say, “I humbly received the gift! There is no boasting in receiving a gift!” No, its not that simple, because much is required in receiving that gift. It's your life for His! You must consider the cost of being His disciple, as Jesus said! And that kind of decision does not come from the natural man. It comes from the Spirit of God! Otherwise, you have something to boast about. In ch. 4, Paul will ask, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” 1Co 4:7 Paul says that our boasting must be...
Wise Boasting ...v. 31
So, Paul alludes to the prophet Jeremiah in v.31,“as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, ...boast in the Lord." Paul is reminding them that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” referencing Jer 9 here, where the prophet chided the people for their national pride. "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." Jer 9:23-24
III. Reason 3- It Isn't the Means of the Apostle Paul ...vs.2:1-5.
In vs. 1-2, Paul explains How he didn't come and in vs. 3-5, he explains How he did come. If you recall, when Paul 1st arrived in Corinth, he was not, initially, well received. He had just left Athens, where for the most part, he was not very well received. The abundance of human opinion, evident in the obvious desire of Athenians to hear a new and fancy philosophy had showed Paul in a glaring way, that human philosophy was at odds with the Truth of Christ. So, when Paul arrived in Corinth, he was tired of dealing with the rhetoric and wisdom of Athens. He went to the synagogue, where he also wasn't well received by his own countrymen, his fellow Jews, who couldn't get past the oxymoron of a Crucified Messiah, & a Cursed King. And he didn't seem to do any better among the Corinthian Greeks either. So, here in vs.1&2, he reminds them of
A. How he didn't come ...vs.1-2
Paul's ways and his words were not conventional or conveyed with the popular methods of his day. He writes in v.1“And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God, with lofty speech or wisdom”. The word 'testimony' is 'martyrion'- the testimony or witness of God [Now, instead of 'martyrion' some of the earlier manuscripts say 'musterion' 'the mystery of God', which seems to fit the context better. In fact, in v.7, Paul will mention the impartation of this mystery that was hidden from the ages but is now being revealed] So, he says, “I didn't bring you this 'mystery' or 'witness' “with lofty speech or wisdom. “I brought it in plain ordinary street speech. No bells & whistles. And no nonsense!” The Philosophers were all talk and no action.
Paul, the preacher brought to them, the simple, plain, unadulterated 'Word of the Cross'. He tells them in v.2, “For I decided to know ...nothing among you ...except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The Eternal Plan of God was the center of Paul's world. To him, it was a Crossroad for the 2 ways that men could travel. There is a road that leads to life and there is a road that leads to death, and every time a person hears the message of Christ Crucified, that message is calling them to repent and believe folow the way that leads to life. The cross perpetually stands between these 2 very different roads. You cannot travel on both roads, because their destinations are polar opposites.
It appears that, for the most part, that message was seen by them as foolishness, because we get the impression from Luke that most people, initially, in Corinth opposed him, not just the Jews. In fact, the threat of bodily harm, must have been very great and real, because he desired to leave Corinth, early on. Luke documents for us in Acts 18, that Jesus, Himself, appeared to him one night in a vision and told him, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." So, he listened to the Lord, and he wasn't silent. Yet, he didn't come using the rhetoric of his day. Then, he tells them...
B. How he did come ...vs.3-5
3-5 And I was with you in ...weakness and in ...fear and much ...trembling” According to A.T. Robertson, this is “a common feeling of the most effective preachers. Cool complacency is not the mood of the finest preaching.” he says. 4 and my ...speech and my ...message were not in
...plausible ...enticing ...persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” Why? “so that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
So, in a sense, Paul is saying “As it was with you, brothers, to whom I conveyed God’s call, so it was with myself who conveyed it; you were not wise nor mighty according to flesh, and I came to you as one w/out wisdom or strength”. So, the proclamation, the people, and the preacher matched each other for folly and feebleness! Yet, we are told: Be bold "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Yet, Paul trembles as he undertakes to preach the gospel, and I also tremble at the awful responsibility of ministering the Word to this church. Is it because, I, along with Paul, lack faith? Yes, that's part of it. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. But there is another reason why pastors tremble. During this age in which the sinfulness of the human heart is evident, even among God's people, and in which the temptation to self-sufficiency is relentless, God has appointed that his preachers tremble with a profound sense of insufficiency so that we will never forget that it is God's power & not man's wisdom which creates & sustains saving faith.
Closing
We saw last week that God's Choice in the ...Speech that Redeemed goes against human wisdom. This morning we saw that God's Choice in the ...Sinners that Received goes against all Human wisdom, and God's Choice in the ...Shepherds that Reproved goes against all human wisdom. And this is very consistent with God's Choice in the ...Savior that's Reproached. It goes against all human wisdom! For it is written, “...He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.”Isa 53:2 The most beautiful Man that has ever graced the world with his presence was not attractive according to that world's wisdom and standards. Instead,“ He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Yet, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isa 53:3-5 The Cross is the weakness of God The Cross... is the Victory of Failure[another oxymoron]- His victory wrought for our failure! Our sin is all we contribute to our salvation!
So, this morning, what is the Ultimate Oxymoron? A Boasting Sinner! Paul said in Gal 6:14 “far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” How can any sinner or church boast in anything but the Cross of Christ? What do churches today boast about? Churches boast in many things, the most beautiful building, the largest congregation, the most targeted seeker friendly programs, the most elaborate VBS, the best music ministry, the most dynamic preaching, etc, etc... What should churches boast about? Churches should boast that, “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And we love that old cross where the dearest and best, For a world of lost sinners was slain. So we'll cherish the old rugged cross, Till our trophies, at last we lay down, We will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it someday for a crown.” It should be the center of all that thrills us. That is what Paul focused on, and God blessed it tremendously. He will still bless that tremendously today. May that be our focus here. Lets pray.