Welcome to the second episode in our study of 1 Corinthians. What an amazing, interesting and very practical book this is. Some of Paul’s letters are more about theology and doctrine but this book is about the practicalities.

Recap and Background

There are big problems in the church in Corinth, as we found out in the last episode. Paul spent 18 months there. He is now in Turkey, or Asia Minor, and a group of people from Chloe’s household (chapter 1:11) have come to see him. They have brought him a letter and have discussed many problems taking place in the church with him. Paul is very concerned about this church. It is wonderful that he is so concerned and that he doesn’t just dismiss the church because it is a weak or divided church. Paul’s heart is love for the body of Christ, whether it is strong or weak.

We can see from what we discussed in the last episode, that the main problem was concerning church leadership; something had gone badly wrong. We don’t know the names of the local church leaders; they are never formally named in this book. We do know that they weren’t being followed, and the church was divided. This always brings a lot of pain and difficulty when this happens. Maybe you have had this experience, or even you are experiencing it now - this book is here to help you.

Paul doesn’t dwell on the problems. His focus, as he speaks to the Corinthians in this letter, is to bring them back to the primary message, back to the gospel and reminds them of the foundation of their life. This letter is very remarkable because at the beginning of the letter, in the second half of chapter 1 and in the first few verses of chapter 2, he talks a lot about the death of Jesus and what it means - the crucifixion, the cross. Then in chapter 15, at the end of the letter, he talks a lot about the resurrection of Jesus and what that means. In between those two great statements, you have many chapters filled with complex problems, issues, difficulties that need solving. On either side, you’ve got the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. Without those two things, everything would fall down. It is like the books on the bookshelf in my office. I have a small number of books and at one end is a little bookend and another at the other end. If I take one of these small devices down all the books immediately fall down. We fall down as Christians if we take our focus off the fact that what draws us together is greater than what divides us. What draws us together, and this is what Paul is emphasising here, is the fact that every single person in the Corinthian church has been saved in exactly the same way. They have the same relationship with God and the same status before God. Whether they are old or young, male or female, rich or poor, slave or free, Greek or Jew - it doesn’t make any difference. One of our tendencies when we have a problem in church is to focus on the problem and think about it, talk about it and discuss it with our friends; it becomes the central focus. Paul says despite these problems, remember what draws you together.

The Simple Gospel v Powerful Language

“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. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached, to save those who believe. Jews demand 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 human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, NIV

This is a very powerful and well-known passage. Paul says here that he is going to avoid a certain way of preaching - the fancy language of the Greeks. They had a habit of wanting to speak in especially powerful ways in their public debates and in their political discussions, to overwhelm people with the power of language. But Paul said, ‘I am not going to do that. I am going to take the simple route. I am going to present Jesus Christ and what he did for them.’

Public speaking is hugely admired in many different countries. Many people who end up as political leaders, or even as dictators, do so because they are very persuasive when they speak in public. In the Christian media online, there are many powerful personalities who speak very persuasively: they touch your emotions; they speak about your personal needs; and they offer simple solutions. We can be very persuaded. Sometimes this leads to tragedy. You can start giving your money to a preacher online in the hope that you are going to get a spiritual or material benefit or hope that you might get a miracle, and then nothing really happens. Even in the church, we can be convinced by powerful personalities and incredibly skillful use of words. But Paul says we must be very careful not to be persuaded by these things, because sometimes the things that people teach are not actually true.

The Foolishness of the Cross

Paul’s focus was always on the exact message about Jesus Christ, rather than his own power to manipulate people, to control, or persuade them of things. He trusted the message very deeply. What was that message? He describes it as the ‘foolishness of the cross’. Those who are perishing think we are fools, stupid, mistaken or lacking in intelligence to believe in the message of Jesus Christ. One reason was that in Paul’s day, if you said that somebody had been crucified, that was a sign of the utmost shame. Crucifixion was not only a terrible punishment, but also something that citizens who had formal citizenship in Greek and Roman cities were never punished with. They weren’t allowed to be punished with crucifixion if they were going to be executed. It was too shameful. To mention that Jesus was crucified, was immediately a problem to people because crucifixion was associated with rebellion - trying to overthrow the local government or raise a rebellion against the Roman authorities - serious criminality. Crucifixion was public and terrible. The Romans placed their crosses in public places deliberately so that many people could see the person dying. They made the process of dying as long as possible. The person was naked, humiliated, crying out in agony, struggling to breathe with great pain in their hands and their feet where they were nailed to the cross. To see somebody crucified was a common experience for citizens in places like Corinth and it was the most shameful thing you could possibly imagine. The family of someone who was crucified might be rejected by their community. It is not surprising that Paul says that it sounds like foolishness to people. How can God allow his son to die on a cross? In the modern world, we don’t see crucifixions with our eyes. We have golden crosses in churches and silver crosses around our necks - nothing wrong with those. For us, it is a symbol. But the real cross was a bitter instrument of torture for the most rejected people in society. Yet Paul said that God used crucifixion to do a miracle for you. It was such an extraordinary message that many people rejected it. But Paul explained that in Jesus dying on the cross, he was taking our sins upon himself so that we didn’t have to die and be rejected by God on the day of judgment. The interesting thing about the message of Christianity, the gospel message, is that it is both very foolish in a worldly sense, and at the same time extraordinarily powerful when you believe it. It makes so much sense if you feel that you are separated from God and are responsible for your sins, and if you feel that sense of guilt - that sense of unease inside - you can easily relate to the fact that Jesus loved us so much that he paid an incredibly harsh price for you. For Paul, Christians are excited to think about the cross of Jesus, but those outside are confused and find it astonishing that anyone should believe such a thing. Paul didn’t hesitate to present this message, even though it looked so strange because he trusted not in himself, but in the power of the Holy Spirit coming. The Holy Spirit comes and makes it real for people, miraculously, as the preacher preaches. Paul had that experience countless times, so he is quite happy to carry on preaching.

Signs and Wisdom

He says in verse 22, “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom.” Some people, like the Jewish people in those days, say I will believe in God if he does a miracle for me. ‘My brother is very ill; if God can heal my brother, I’ll follow him the rest of my life.’ People look for miraculous signs to convince them of the reality of God. There are millions of people in extreme need in our world today - lacking in good housing, or facing illnesses for which they can’t get any medical help. Many of you will know people like that in your communities in different countries around the world. It is very understandable that they are looking for a sign. They are looking for a miracle.

Other people, like the Greeks in Corinth, were looking for wisdom. What does Paul mean by wisdom? Wisdom - how to lead a good life. This is very often what Western people are looking for these days. ‘How do I deal with my stress? How do I deal with a complicated life? I need meditation. I need some kind of therapy, some kind of way of managing my life in my time.’ Greeks look for wisdom. Some people look for wisdom today; God give me a way to run my life so I can feel calmer, so I feel better in myself. Paul is saying that in the ancient world, people were looking for miracles or a way to live a better life and that is exactly what people are looking for today in any country in the world. ‘How do I resolve my relationship problems? How do I resolve my financial problems? How do I resolve my emotional problems?’ ‘I need wisdom; maybe Christianity is going to give me a bit of wisdom’. Some people say, ‘I need a miracle; my life is so bad; there is something so serious.’

But Paul says, “but we preach Christ crucified,” verse 23, “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Paul says that Christianity is not going to give you a quick answer of how to manage your life better. Christianity may not give you the miracle that you so desperately want, but Christianity is going to give you something bigger than those things, which is a completely fresh start. It is going to give you the power to deal with the sin and the guilt that lies at the bottom of all these other issues that you have, that you are struggling with. It is going to give you a relationship with God and the ability to be transformed as a person. Paul preached that message. Whenever Paul preached this message, he got hostile responses. In the synagogue in Corinth, conflict developed between Paul and the Jewish worshippers there because they were saying, ‘Paul, we need a divine sign. That is what we need. We don’t want all this teaching you are bringing about Jesus being crucified. We want a sign.’ Eventually, he left the synagogue because he couldn’t carry on speaking there anymore because they kept contradicting him. They didn’t agree with him. Paul was not worried, though, if some people rejected the message; he was always looking for the people who were going to accept the message.

Paul’s Vision from God

When he was in Corinth, he had a vision one night while he was preaching this message. Some people were saying, ‘We want a sign; we want wisdom. This isn’t making any sense. We don’t like your message.’ In the vision, the Lord spoke to Paul with these words. Acts 18:9. ”Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Paul kept preaching, and those many people had not yet all come to believe - there were still more people to believe.

The Gospel for the Poor

“Brothers and sisters, 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. God 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. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’”.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31, NIV

Paul makes the important point here at the beginning - most believers tend to be poor. That was the situation in the Early Church. Not many wealthy, influential people became believers. Some did, and they were very important in the church. But most of the people who followed the gospel were just ordinary people who simply understood the message and followed it. The same is true today. If we look at the Church around the whole world, we will find in richer countries there are less believers and in poorer countries where the gospel spreads, it will often spread very, quickly through rural communities, small towns, villages, farming districts and remote areas, as people follow Christ.

God very often uses the poorer people to shame the richer people who don’t have faith. People who have been rejected are often the people who form the foundation of the church. An example from Jesus’ own ministry would be Matthew, the tax collector, who was called by Jesus as he was walking along the road. He saw Matthew and his friends in the tax collectors stand and called Matthew saying, ‘Come and follow me.’ Matthew decided to follow Jesus. Shortly after that, Matthew had a party, and he called together all the tax collectors in the community. He said, ‘Come and meet Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.’ These people were rejected; they were the outsiders, but Jesus came among them. With Jesus, we find the poorer people in village communities are open to his message time and time again.

Righteous, Holy, Redeemed

At the end of this passage, we have three words that describe the new relationship we have with God.

Firstly, in verse 30. Jesus has become our ‘righteousness’. This is a word that I discussed in detail in the Collection on the book of Romans. Please go there if you want to find out more about this word. Righteousness basically means that our status has been changed. In the past, we were enemies of God; now we are friends of God. We are close to him, whereas before we were far away from him. If you are a believer, you have been given righteousness, a right standing with God. It is like having a completely new set of clothes, like arriving at somebody’s house and needing to take off all your dirty work clothes - torn and old – and being given a fresh set of clothes. Righteousness has been given to us.

‘Holiness’ has been given to us. Holiness is like being washed in a bath or a shower when your body is very dirty, and then you become completely clean again. God sees you as clean when you are a believer. That is the power of the cross. Some Christians really struggle to believe that this is true, but that is what Paul says. Occasionally we sin and we need to repent of that sin. We need to turn away from that particular sin. But the reality is that God sees us as holy, acceptable to him, and purified by Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, we are ‘redeemed’. We experience redemption. That means in the terms of the ancient Roman and Greek worlds, like being freed from slavery. It has been estimated that about one third of the population of Corinth were slaves. Redemption is talking about slavery. Physical slavery was there before their eyes. They could see it every single day. If you wanted to go and buy slaves, there was a market, and you literally went to the market with your money and looked around the different slaves and decided what kind of slaves you needed to work in your household. Those slaves would be handcuffed or tied and have very few clothes and possessions. They would have no status. If you were a kind person, you could buy a person out of slavery and then set them free. That in a sense, is what Paul is saying that Jesus did. He brought you out of slavery - got rid of your handcuffs; got rid of your old clothes; got rid of all the dirt on your body: got rid of all the shame in your life and made you a member of God’s family.

Paul’s Weakness

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. 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 and with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, NIV

When Paul came to Corinth, he said he was very weak and very vulnerable. Why was that? He was on his own; he was tired, and he had been travelling for many months. It was only a few months before that he had been imprisoned and beaten in Philippi. He had been forced to leave three cities under pressure and risk of death. He honestly says, ‘I came in weakness, in fear and trembling.’ What did he fear? He feared the same thing would happen to him in Corinth. There had been arguments; there had been conflict. People would start trying to beat him or kill him or get him out of the city. He was afraid but he decided to keep preaching about Jesus, ‘trusting in the demonstration of the Spirit’s power.’ Verse 4. Sometimes through Paul, miracles took place when he prayed for the sick but the other great miracle that took place was that as Paul preached, the Holy Spirit spoke to people, and they believed. They came to understand the gospel and they were saved. Paul kept his preaching simple.

Reflections

As we come to the end of this episode, there is an exciting challenge. In the church, we must keep the gospel message right at the centre of everything. It is very easy to talk about many other topics - social issues, political issues, personal issues. Those are important but the gospel is the foundation. Paul knew that people couldn’t believe unless someone preached; they needed to hear the message which he clearly says in Romans 10. Even though he felt very vulnerable, he kept preaching. We, as individuals, still need to keep sharing our faith regularly with whoever we can, whatever opportunity we have. For those of us who are leaders, it is important that we keep the message of Jesus at the centre of what the church does so people can frequently hear it, and then they can respond and be saved.

We come to the end of this second episode, and it is exciting to know that despite the problems in Corinth, Paul was focussed on the foundation, which was Jesus Christ and his message. That is the foundation of your life if you are a believer, of your church and that is the foundation we need to maintain. If you listen to this episode and you think you have never sincerely believed in Jesus Christ, can I encourage you to take that step of faith even today, as you finish listening to this episode. I have explained the gospel to you. I have explained how central it is, and you have an opportunity now to respond. Thank you everyone for listening.