I guess most of us would like to be thought of as wise, wouldn’t we? In our contemporary culture we describe someone as ‘wise’ if they are well-educated, experienced or simply have a good dose of common sense. But that’s not quite how people in the Greek city of Corinth defined wisdom 2,000 years ago. For residents of that cosmopolitan city, a wise person was someone who was articulate, persuasive and eloquent. Someone skilled in the art of rhetoric who could deploy a philosophically persuasive argument.
But are the contemporary or Corinthian definitions of wisdom really correct? From God’s perspective, what does a truly wise person do, or think, or say? You may remember that a few years ago we had a sermon series in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Proverbs gives us God’s definition of what true wisdom looks like in daily life. It describes how a wise person views their relationships, uses their money, goes about their work and so on. It gives a very pragmatic, practical account of wisdom. But today, and over the next month, we’re looking at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. A letter written by the apostle to the young church in Corinth – a church that he himself had founded on his second missionary journey (as described in Acts 18). And in the opening chapter of this letter we learn what a spiritually wise person looks like. In particular, Paul tells us that a wise person believes in Christ crucified – because he alone can save us and unite us. And secondly, Paul adds that a wise person will also proclaim Christ crucified, confident in the power of the Gospel to change lives.
Let’s look at both of these ‘pearls’ of wisdom in turn…
Believe in Christ crucified…because he alone can save us and unite us!
Have you ever been called foolish, or even stupid? It hurts doesn’t it. Depending on the circumstances, those words instinctively make us want to defend ourselves, apologise, change our mind or conform.
The apostle Paul certainly knew what it felt like to be called foolish. In fact its an experience that almost all the early Christians had, including those in Corinth. Right from the start, the Christian faith has always been criticised by its enemies as ridiculous and wrong – as a foolish faith that should be jettisoned at the first opportunity. In Corinth it was mocked by unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. Today, Christian doctrines are described as deluded by atheists, while our deepest ethical convictions are derided by our contemporary culture.
In particular, Christian beliefs about Jesus’ crucifixion have consistently attracted scorn from people who consider themselves ‘civilised’ and ‘wise’. Both in Paul’s day and our own, the Christian understanding of Good Friday has always provoked derision and disbelief. The doctrine that Christ was crucified as a sacrifice for our sins – the belief that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our guilt before God – has regularly been rejected as offensive, or scandalous – or even simply blasphemous.
But in the face of such opposition, Paul encourages Christians to stand firm. As he writes in verse 18 today: “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”. And in verse 21 he adds that: “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe”.
You see, Paul knew that the message of the cross appeared foolish to non-Christian Gentiles and Jews. The idea of an executed Messiah or a suffering Lord was something they ‘stumbled over’ – a great paradox they just couldn’t get their heads around. The idea of a crucified Christ sounded as nonsensical as an inflatable dartboard or a concrete parachute! But having met with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul personally knew that’s God’s wisdom is far greater than worldly wisdom. Since meeting Christ face-to-face, Paul had come to understand that his crucifixion was the only way that the demands of divine justice and mercy could both be met. Only through Jesus’ sacrificial death could God simultaneously condemn sin and forgive sinners. Far from being foolish, the cross of Christ was a stroke of genius, an act of divine wisdom and grace. So if we are wise in God’s eyes, we will take the apostle Paul’s advice and put our faith in Christ crucified. Someone who’s spiritually astute will believe that Jesus’ death has indeed restored their relationship with God.
But the message of Christ crucified does more than this. Because as well as saving us, it unites us. The Christian Church has always been a mixed bag of individuals. Young and old, rich and poor, black and white, educated and uneducated – upper, middle and working class – you name it. And in such a multinational, multiethnic, intergenerational community there will always be potential for disunity and division. That was certainly the case in the church at Corinth. The evidence in this letter suggests that this was a church that contained both affluent and poor Christians. Believers who were influential, alongside those who were on the margins of society. Some who were converts from paganism, alongside others who may have come to Christian faith from a Jewish background. Verses 10 to 12 of our reading today make clear that this socio-economic diversity was leading to divisions and quarrels within this young church. Camps and cliques were forming, with some claiming to be following Paul, others Apollos, others Cephas and yet others Christ.
What they – and we – needed to remember is that it is our common faith that unites us. We are one family in Christ Jesus. So long as churches keep their focus on Christ crucified, they will remain united. They will be like spokes converging on the Hub of a wheel, connected and effective in all they do.
Its no accident that our own church’s new vision statement is to be “focused on Christ and united in faith”:
- nothing else can ensure our unity in our diversity
- nothing else can ensure that we are as one in our mission to our community.
So before all else, let us look on one another this year as brothers and sisters in Christ – whatever our social background, political persuasion or personality type, we are all saved by the same crucified Saviour – we are all subjects of the same risen Lord. Believe in Christ crucified, because he alone can save us and unite us.
Proclaim Christ crucified…confident in the power of God to touch hearts and transform lives!
Have you have ever tried to share your faith with a friend, a colleague or a neighbour? Have you ever spoken to a non-Christian about Jesus? How did it feel? Perhaps you felt nervous or tongue-tied, unsure exactly what to say? Or perhaps you felt frightened about the reaction you would receive – perhaps you feared that your words about Jesus would be rejected or ridiculed. Or maybe you were concerned the questions your declaration of faith might prompt – perhaps you were anxious that you would not be able to answer tricky questions about the problem of evil, the existence of God or the trustworthiness of the Bible, for example?
The good news is that if we are ever fearful about sharing our faith, we’re in good company – because the apostle Paul felt the same way! Listen again to the first few verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 2: “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.”
You see, Paul had no confidence in his own abilities. As he says in verse 17 of our passage, he wasn’t eloquent, he wasn’t skilled in rhetoric and ‘wise’ in the eyes of the world. All he could do was boldly and bravely proclaim Christ crucified, trusting in the power of God to touch people’s hearts with the message of the Gospel.
I don’t know about you, but that comes as a huge relief! Thankfully, God doesn’t expect us to be great public speakers or gifted orators. All God wants from Christians is the courage to tell non-Christians about Christ. To tell people who Jesus is and what he’s accomplished for us at the cross.
How people respond to this Gospel message is then between them and God. We can’t force people into Christian faith – our responsibility is to simply share it with them and pray that God’s Spirit will apply it to their hearts. That was certainly what Paul had seen God do in Corinth. Listen to verse 4 of chapter 2: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”
It seems that God had taken Paul’s preaching and hammered it home in the hearts and minds of people in Corinth. God had taken Paul’s faltering words about Jesus and given them great power. Power to convict individuals of their sin and bring them to repentance and faith in Christ. The Christians in Corinth had only to look at themselves to see that God had been powerfully at work in their city. His Spirit had totally transformed their lives and created a new church out of nothing.
I hope like me you long to see God grow his church here in Ashton Hayes. I hope you are anxious to see non-Christian family and friends come to faith in Jesus. If so, then follow Paul’s wise example – proclaim Christ crucified, and pray that God’s Spirit will powerfully apply your words to your hearers hearts and minds.
So as I finish this morning, what does a spiritually wise person look like? Well in 1 Corinthians Paul has provided us with our answer, hasn’t he?
• A wise person believes in Christ crucified, for he alone can save us and unite us.
• And a wise person proclaims Christ crucified, confident in the power of God to touch our hearers’ hearts and transform their lives.
May God help us to be just that sort of wise person this year!