Read 1 Corinthians 1:10-31 here

Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 here

As you know, we have begun looking at the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth.  A couple of weeks ago, we talked about some of the background information to the letter, some of which will inform our passage today.  And last week, we looked at the greeting – the salutation and the thanksgiving.  And we talked about how Paul seems to assume some of the issues in the church that he will address, and how he lays a foundation based on God’s sovereignty and grace.  So today, we will begin looking at the “meat” of the letter. 

Again, the New Testament letters are generally thought of as occasional – that is, they are occasioned by something – and this certainly seems to be the case for 1 Corinthians.  There are a number of issues which Paul addresses and we see a major one in our passage today.  Paul says: 

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² 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.”

1 Corinthians 1: 10-12

Last week, we introduced the idea – taken from NT scholar, Gordon Fee – that the division that Paul is addressing here, broadly speaking, is primarily that between the church and himself.  Now we are going to examine this a little more, but for our purposes at the moment, the question we want to ask is, “what is the nature of the division?”  Or, “what is the nature of the quarrels?”  Again, it is possible that the division is purely by virtue of the claimed leaders (Paul, Apollos, Cephas, etc.), but we might then assume that those leaders are chosen or preferred on the basis of their teaching or theology. 

Now as a bit of an aside (though not completely), part of Fee’s argument is that throughout the letter, there doesn’t seem to be any identification of particular “factions,” against whom or for whom Paul is writing.  He doesn’t seem to say, at any point, that this particular leader is wrong or that particular leader is right.  Rather, Paul seems to be speaking to the entire congregation throughout the letter.  However, this doesn’t necessarily negate the possibility (or likelihood) that there are some within the congregation who identify with particular leaders such as Apollos or Peter.  But again, this brings us back to “why do they identify with Apollos or Peter?” and what is Paul’s charge or argument against this? 

So, to this division, or regarding people’s preferences for certain leaders or teachings (as against the true gospel), Paul’s essential thesis or argument is found in v. 17.  Paul says that the person who baptized you is not important.  Rather, the message of the gospel is important: 

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1: 17

And it’s this relationship between wisdom and the gospel on which Paul focuses.  To review this middle section of our passage, Paul goes on to say:

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. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ 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? ²¹ 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. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ 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. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ 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. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1: 18-31

Now the thrust of these verses is I hope readily apparent.  It’s one that we’ve discussed numerous times before and seen numerous times in scripture.  That is, the gospel (that is, the good news) of Jesus, the cross of Christ, the way that God brings about the redemption of creation, does not make sense according to the ways of the world.  The fact that Jesus conquered His enemy – defeated sin and death – was not by might, not by power, not by ingenuity or cleverness, but by His death. 

We want to place this in the context of what we know about the Corinthians.  Remember, we said that Corinth was a city of great renown and great wealth.  People came from all over the world and brought with them their cultures, expectations, and presuppositions.  And we also know that the church in Corinth likely reflected this diversity. 

We won’t get into the details, but one such element in Corinthian culture was (likely) carried over from its Greek roots – and that is the love of wisdom (Sophia).  Indeed, when we think about ancient Greece, one of the things we know is that it is the birthplace of western philosophy.  Now one element of that Greek philosophy was the love of rhetoric – by which we mean (in short) the practice and study of effective speaking and argument.  Someone who was well-schooled in, and skilled at, rhetoric was someone who would have been considered wise. 

And this might be precisely the sort of thing that Paul is addressing when he says: 

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?

1 Corinthians 1: 20

Moreover, Paul knows that the Jewish contingent in the church would also have their own set of expectations.  Paul says: 

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom…

1 Corinthians 1: 22

And it’s in response to these worldly expectations (by which, I mean these sorts of worldviews), that Paul says: 

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. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

1 Corinthians 1: 18-19

And…

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.

1 Corinthians 1: 21

And…

²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

1 Corinthians 1: 23-25

So, with this theology established, Paul goes on to say (vv. 26-31) that the Corinthians themselves are evidence of God’s way of working.  Essentially, he says, if God were going to choose impressive specimens, would He have chosen you?  And this brings us to the final paragraph in our passage today: 

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. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

In other words, Paul is saying that he may not have the “eloquence or human wisdom” that the Corinthians value so much – so much, indeed that they equate it with the true revelation of God.  Rather, Paul revels in his own weakness so that the message and power of God can be revealed to and in the church. 

And, if we follow Fee here, this seems to be the division that Paul is addressing.  If we recall some of what we talked about last week, and if we can anticipate some of what we see later in the letter, Paul is asserting his authority as an apostle of the gospel of Christ, precisely because the Corinthians seem to be enamored with things that have little or nothing to do with the gospel of Christ.  We might infer that the Corinthians did not find Paul impressive enough because of a lack of rhetoric or Greek wisdom; and later, we might also infer that the Corinthians did not find Paul “spiritual” enough because of a lack of miraculous signs or demonstration of spiritual gifts (and perhaps this is alluded to in v. 22 when Paul says, “Jews demand signs…”). 

And so, when someone or something more impressive, more spectacular, more interesting even, comes along, the Corinthians found themselves enthralled, choosing to follow that more alluring gospel.  And it is against this that Paul seems to be speaking.  Instead, says Paul, recall and return to that simple, humble, and mysterious gospel that Paul is preaching.  Seek instead, the weakness and wisdom of Christ. 

Now we have spoken about this theme – that the gospel of Christ confounds the wisdom and expectation of the world – numerous times.  So I feel like I don’t need to go into further depth about it.  But I would remind you that this is a temptation to which we are still profoundly susceptible.  The specific things that Paul brings up here – wisdom and signs (though ‘sign’ only in passing here) – are still very much part of our world, part of our culture, and part of our expectations. 

Coming from a post-Enlightenment framework, we still very much lean towards a gospel message that has to fit our rationalist sensibilities.  The work of systematic theology, apologetics, and etc. are all important, necessary, and helpful endeavours.  But the tendency to feel like we can (or need to) “prove” God eliminates the reliance on faith, reducing it to a human endeavour (and achievement).  And we need to recognize the extent to which this is a western tendency (though not exclusively, of course).  Other cultures, and indeed the pre-Enlightenment west, are much more comfortable with mystery.  Perhaps we also need to become more comfortable with that which we cannot control, and do not understand.  Perhaps we need to remember that God’s ways are not our ways, and that God’s wisdom is higher than our own. 

But of course, in our culture, a predilection for reason isn’t the only characteristic.  At least in part as a reaction to the scientific-rationalism of the west, many have moved away from (or attempt to) our Enlightenment foundations towards a postmodern worldview.  Though related perhaps only tangentially, one such inclination is towards the spiritual or mystical. 

And we seek signs or manifestations to prove God’s presence and His favour in our lives.  We “know” that God is with us because of the miraculous and unexpected.  And of course, God does work miraculously and unexpectedly.  God does bless people with signs and wonders and healing.  God does empower in ways beyond our understanding or explanation.  But God doesn’t only do that.  God continues to be present and to work in the mundane, the every day, sometimes in silence, and always in the steady walk of faithfulness of God’s people.  A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign…

And there are many other ways, many other qualifications, we look for to “prove” God’s presence or His favour.  In our culture (and many others), we might assume that the largest church must be the most blessed church.  We follow charismatic leaders instead of humble leaders.  We seek programs instead of personhood.  We are drawn to halos instead of humanity. 

And again, I want to remind us that none of these things are wrong per se (I think).  All churches emerge out of the cultures in which they are located.  All Christianity is a reflection of the cultures in which we live.  But what I want to remind us of, especially in this season of Lent, as we walk towards Easter, is that the God that we serve, the God that we worship, the God that we follow is the God who died on the cross. 

So, as Lent is traditionally a season of reflection and repentance, I’d ask that we take time to think about the God that we want vs. the God who is there; to think about the gospel that we are hoping for vs. the gospel that saves.  And once again, this is not a call to examine other Christians, to accuse other believers of getting it wrong; but an encouragement to each of us examine ourselves.  For we are all inclined to take our eyes off of Jesus, the crucified Lord, for the sake of the latest shiny bauble. 

So this, most of all, is the thing I’d ask that we each think about this season of Lent.  That the life that we long for, the promise that we cling to, the salvation that we rest in, the resurrection of Easter is made possible because of one who died for us.