The Message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 1:18–31)

Having been well-taught by my father, I used to paint houses to make a living. My dad taught me that the key to a long-lasting paint job was preparation. One could superficially cover serious cracks with Polyfilla, but unless there was serious digging below the surface, and treating the root of the problem, the crack would eventually reappear, often with greater damage.

Perhaps, along with tentmaking, Paul was also a painter, for when he addressed the problem of schism in the church of God in Corinth, he did not deal with it superficially. He knew that the situation required more than exhortational Polyfilla. The cracks needed to be attended deep below the surface.

As we are learning, when there are problems in a church, there is usually an underlying theological fault. So it was in Corinth.

The divisions did not merely concern persons (favoured preachers), for, as we proceed in our study of 1 Corinthians, we will become aware of several other schisms: lawsuits between church members; spouses causing schisms in their marriage; discrimination and hence division around the Lord’s Table; one-upmanship when it came to spiritual gifts; etc. These serious fissures, frictions, and fractures required more than a superficial and temporary solution; they required the radical power of the cross. As each member gazes at the Jesus Christ who was crucified on their behalf—riveted on him because of his cross work—harmony would prevail. This was Paul’s burden.

What was true for them applies equally to you and me. That is, as Paul writes in the text before us, the church of Jesus Christ must be shaped by the message of the cross. Its radical message equips us to live radically different from the culture. As Ciampa and Rosner observe, “The cross turns the world’s values upside down and effects the most radical of revolutions. This transformation is nothing less than the end of the world.” This is why Paul wrote to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). That is radical. And it is to be the norm for the Christian church member. Yet such a cruciform calling is, lamentably, often not the case in the lives of many who claim the name of Christ. And therefore equally lamentable is that local churches are often shaped more by the culture than by the cross. The result is a loss of both holiness and harmony. That is, the church becomes what we might call “Corinthianised” and the message of the cross is eclipsed by the world. What the church of Corinth needed—and we continually need the same—was to be centred on the message of the cross. Each member must be in tune with Christ crucified. This will bring about holy harmony. As Tozer wrote, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” It is towards this end that we need to spend time reflecting on the message of the cross of Christ. Paul explains this in 1:18–31, which we will consider under three broad headings:

1. The Message of the Cross: It’s Power (vv. 18–25)
2. The Message of the Cross: It’s Proof (vv. 26–29)
3. The Message of the Cross: It’s Purpose (vv. 30–31)

Let’s dig into the text together.

The Message of the Cross: Its Power

In vv. 18–25, we discover the power of the cross’s message:

For the word of the cross is folly 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,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

 

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and 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 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

(1 Corinthians 1:18–25)

According to these verses, the cross’s power is displayed in at least two ways.

Powerful to Deliver

Paul reminds the church in Corinth of the power of the message of the cross to deliver, rescue, and save them. Those who know they need to be rescued—who know they need to be delivered from peril and saved from everlasting condemnation—revel in that which those who do not see their need, esteem as nonsense: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (v. 18).

The word “folly” could be translated “absurdity.” The phrase “us who are being saved” captures the full scope of salvation, that is, past, present, and future. We are positionally forever justified yet increasingly sanctified and glorified (see Matthew 1:21). This is the power and the enduring message of the cross. Forgetting this message, which we are far too easily prone to do, is the sure pathway to the folly of pride.

The cross humbles us by informing us that we are great sinners who are “perishing,” a word that implies destruction, uselessness, and ruin. The message of the cross is that we are cursed in our sin but that another was cursed in our place to bless us with forgiveness and reconciliation so that we can be new people. The cross informs us that we are a complete mess because we are ruined by our sin. And to the world, of course, that just sounds absurd. “Surely we are not that bad! Sure, we might not be perfect, but cursed? Condemned by God? Never!” The unbelieving world considers the message that someone would need to die such a death in our place—the very thought of substitution—insulting. Unbelievers demand to be right on their own terms, for they determine their own wellbeing. “I can figure out how to live without God, thank you very much!”

However, for those for whom Jesus Christ was crucified, his humiliation on our behalf will have a humbling effect upon us, producing ongoing salvation.

As we gaze on Christ crucified for us (Galatians 3:1), the values of the world lose their hold as we contemplate our great deliverance from what damned us. And this equips us in our quest to be Christlike. Therefore the Christian is motivated to pray, “Jesus, keep me near the cross.”

The Christian is not only saved from sinful behaviours and actions, but from sinful beliefs and actions. This, at least in this context, was Paul’s concern for the church in Corinth. They seem to have been embarrassed by the offence of the cross. They were therefore rejecting the cruciform life, seemingly ashamed of the gospel (see Romans 1:16). It showed in their fleshly divisions. It showed in their exalting the messenger rather than exulting the message and the one to whom the message points.

When we domesticate the cross, attempting to sanitise its message that man is radically sinful and needs God’s appointed Saviour, we are merely a religious club no different from unbelievers. This has implications for how you behave in the workplace, how you behave as you drive, how you embrace your singleness, how you treat your neighbours, how you respond to your physical and financial afflictions, how you love your husband or wife, how you treat your children or your parents, and how you treat your fellow church members. Which was Paul’s point! The Corinthians were behaving as if they had never considered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

Powerful to Divide

The message of the cross has great power to divide:

For the word of the cross is folly 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,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

 

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and 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 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

(1 Corinthians 1:18–25)

Thiselton writes, “Two worlds confront each other at the foot of the cross, with diametrically opposing expectations and claims to knowledge…. The affront of the cross brings self-reliance to nothing and turns attention wholly to Christ.” The Corinthians needed to remember this. It was expected that the church would experience a great division from the world, not within the church!

It appears that the church in Corinth forgot that cruciform message and its resulting life was antithetical to the world. Or perhaps, they were ashamed that it was.

The word “cross” is not merely a synonym for “death.” Of course, Christ as crucified means that he died, but it is the way he died that seems like folly to the unbeliever. We have so sentimentalised the cross, surrounding it with roses, that we fail to understand the shame that was attached to this form of capital punishment. Jackman helps us to understand the cultural context when he writes,

It is sometimes hard for us to realize just how offensive the cross was within first century culture. Such a shameful and barbaric form of death was suitable for the lowest strata of humanity, so that any association with a victim of crucifixion was socially completely unacceptable. To suggest that such a reject could be a divine person was absurd, and to attempt to found a new religion based on such a belief was utter foolishness.

If they thought they could attract the world with a worldly mindset, they clearly did not grasp the uncrossable chasm between the church and the world. Paul makes it clear that the message of the cross—the gospel—divides humanity—absolutely. There is no neutrality. The message of the cross is either absurd and to be anathematised, or it is amazing and to be adored. There is no middle ground. Paul makes this clear in v. 18: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The cross—the ultimate symbol of shame, rejection, and humiliation—informs us what it means to follow Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:22–25). Therefore, what folly it is to try and popularise those who proclaim it! What folly to try and make its message popular. It would be like trying to make a hangman’s noose—or Hiroshima!—attractive. No, the message of the cross divides the world between those who see beyond its gore to the grace of God and those who only see its gore. The cross is both the great leveller and the great divider of humanity.

A seeker-sensitive approach to the church is folly. God never meant for the cross to be attractive to those who are perishing. Rather, he desires unbelievers to see how awful it is precisely because of how awful sin is. Ironically, yet expectantly, when the church becomes ashamed of the message of the cross, she unites with the world while dividing the church.

In vv. 19–25, Paul expounds and expands on what he just wrote, driving home the complete incompatibility of a self-centred and a cross-centred mindset and lifestyle. As he quotes Isaiah 29:14, we learn that God actively displays his contempt and rejection of any means of self-salvation, that is the wisdom of the world. (Incidentally, observe that, both through Isaiah and Paul, God was rebuking the worldly wisdom of his people!)

The cross of Christ, we can say, makes a clear division between the spiritually “haves” and the spiritually “have nots.” And lest any of the “haves” be tempted to arrogance (which seems to be a real problem in Corinth), Paul makes clear is that this salvation is entirely of the Lord. The cross divides humanity and it destroys pride. It divides humanity between the humble and the haughty.

God rhetorically shames the wisdom of the world in its attempts to flourish apart from God’s wisdom. The only hope for humanity is in the cross work of Jesus Christ. This is true, not only when it comes to being justified (accepted) before God, but equally so with all man-centred attempts to right the wrongs in the world relying on our own wisdom.

Having pastored for a very long time, I attest that all counselling failures are due to following the wisdom of the world. For that reason, I find it a waste of time to counsel those who are hardened against the wisdom of God. It is an act of folly to do so. Verse 20 should be written on a large banner over political debating platforms. It should also be remembered as you log on to Meta, YouTube, Instagram, or whatever your preferred social media platform. God has so ordered the world that crossless wisdom will falter and fail. God has determined that only a message deemed folly and failure will prove wise and successful in the end (v. 21).

Paul emphasises this by pointing out that “Jews require a sign.” Specifically, the Jews of Paul’s day sought a worldly sign of political conquest by the Messiah, and thus a crucified Messiah is offensive (Matthew 12:38–39; 16:1–4). They “stumble” over this (v. 22). On the other hand, the Greeks/Gentiles sought self-salvation through their own wisdom and religious ideas. They equally deemed the message of the cross to be “folly.” Thankfully, however, not all were perishing, for God had called both Jews and Gentiles to experience the power of the cross, thereby appreciating the wisdom of God (v. 24). It is wonderful how God outsmarts the wisdom of the “wise” and how he overpowers the “strong” (v. 25). It such a mismatch that Paul notes that God’s “foolishness” outsmarts the world’s wisdom, and God’s “weakness” overpowers the world’s strength (v. 25).

In short, the message of the cross divides humanity. The cross of Christ proclaims that everyone is “united” in being more sinful than we can even imagine and that everyone is hopeless to save themselves. But the division arises in our response to the remedy for this condition. Those who see that they are loved more than they could ever imagine humble themselves, trusting the crucified Saviour, identifying as his disciple. The response to this good news divides the world. And since Christians should be on the same page about this, there should be no division in the church. Sadly this is not always the case. We should listen to Paul’s rebuke. In light of the message of the cross, which is deemed nonsense to the world, why are you imitating the world? Why are you imbibing its values and its estimation of what is important? Why are you identifying with the world’s categories of importance? Why are you fracturing the body of Christ just like the fracturing of the body politic? My brothers and sisters, examine yourself in the light of the message of the cross and then you will see the deceitful, superficial, and empty folly of self-exaltation.

The Message of the Cross: Its Proof

In vv. 26–29, Paul points to the Corinthian church as proof of what he has argued. “Church of God in Corinth,” Paul is saying, “You are Exhibit A of what I have just written. Look around: Generally speaking, you are not super-educated, well-positioned in society, or well-connected to the rich and powerful, and yet God has set you apart. God is saving you while shaming others. God has chosen to make you, whom the world considers nobodies, somebodies. So think and behave like it. Think and behave as chosen by God not as those not chosen by God.”

A Called People

By the message of the cross, the Corinthians were a called people: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 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; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are” (vv. 26–28).

Paul reminded the Corinthians saints of God’s powerful grace, thereby humbling them, by his repetitive use of “calling” (v. 26) and “chose” (vv. 27–28). He was referring to God effectually calling them to himself. He was referring to God’s electing love. And they had historical, as well as biblical, frame of reference for this.

You’ll remember God’s words to Paul when he ministered in Corinth: “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.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9–11).

Chloe had her people (v. 11) and God had his people! His people belonged to his predestined household. Before the foundation of the world he chose his people and the proof was in that he effectively called them out of the world into his church (Ephesians 1:4–5). Paul leaves no room for doubt about who gets the credit. He leaves no room for doubt over the power of the message of the cross. The Corinthian church is the proof!

Brothers and sisters, our corporate worship is proof of the power of the message of the cross. We are as common as dirt (see Genesis 2:7), yet we are alive to God, regenerated, redeemed, and renewed. We are diverse when it comes to education, heritage, standard of living, giftedness, etc., and yet we are on the same page as we sing, pray, listen, and worship. This is because God, by his grace, chose us and then effectively called us to himself and to each other. That fact alone is enough to heal any schism.

If you question the power of the cross to save sinners, simply look around. The cross will never lose its power to do so.

A Counter-Cultural People

Not only does the message of the cross produce called people; it also produces counter-cultural people: “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (v. 29).

Unarguably, those whom God has chosen and consequently called to salvation by the power of the cross are counter-cultural. We no longer belong to this age. A major difference is that we do not boast in ourselves (v. 29). Pride is always ugly and always perilous, but perhaps never more so than in the life of a Christian. Christians are to be marked by humility, not hubris. This is a huge emphasis of Paul as he addresses various divisions in this church. Love, as he will tell us in chapter 13 does not envy or boast, nor is it not arrogant (13:4). How could it? The cross of Jesus Christ brings us to our knees.

When we see our own sinfulness, judgementalism is dealt a mortal blow. One upmanship is slain. Worldly values of importance are discerned as empty. The message of the cross transforms sinners into humbled saints, which is extremely counter-cultural!

Brothers and sisters, we have nothing in ourselves in which to boast. We are no longer perishing but are rather being saved by the power of God. So as we face each day Coram Deo (before the face of God), we do so humbly, acknowledging that, though we are far worse sinners than we ever imagined, by God’s sovereign choice, we are also far more loved than we ever could have imagined (Keller). The cross of Jesus Christ assigns that value to us. It is all of God. May our disposition display the message of the cross.

The Message of the Cross: Its Purpose

This thought has been introduced in verse 29 but in these final verses, quoting from Jeremiah 9:13–14, Paul makes clear the purpose of the message of the cross and, by implication, the nonsense behind the schisms over personalities (and over all other kinds of things) in the church in Corinth: “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (vv. 30–31).

To Display the Goodness/Grace of God

Paul emphasises that salvation through the message of the cross is by the monergistic power of God. The message of the cross—of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection—is designed and enacted by the all-powerful God. The Almighty triune God is the source of our salvation.

Paul writes that it is “because of [from] him” that those called are “in Christ Jesus” and, by this union, we who were fools now are recipients of “wisdom from God.” What does this wisdom look like? Is it the wisdom of the world boasting in self and seeking to justify self?

No. Rather, this wisdom from God is “righteousness” (forgiven—we have a right standing before God), “sanctification” (flourishing—we have a right position in this world, set apart), and “redemption” (free—we have a right relationship with the world). Paul calls this God’s wisdom, which is personified in God’s crucified Son, Jesus Christ.

Paul is saying that, though at one time they were nobodies in this world, now, by God’s grace in Christ, who was crucified, they are the only ones fit for this world. Actually, fit for a whole new world. What goodness! What grace!

The message of the cross produces people who are fit to live well in this world and who are good for this world. The wisdom of the cross produces those who are wise, not fools. It produces those who let their lights shine before men, thereby bringing glory to God in heaven, which brings us to the last verse.

To Declare the Glory of God

Finally, and ultimately, the message of the cross serves to declare the glory of God. Those who, by God’s grace, have experienced the power of the cross have no desire to boast in themselves but rather only to boast in the Lord who saved them. Those chosen and called by God have the disposition to give all glory to God for the great things he has done. The Corinthians were doing the opposite. Enamoured with worldly wisdom, they exalted that which was flashy and popular and attractive to the glory of man, not to God. They needed to do better. As do we.

Soli Deo Gloria—to God alone be the glory—is to be the motive of all we do and say. Having experienced the grace and the glory of God in the message of the cross, we are to declare and display the glory of God. We are to give honour to whom honour is due (Romans 13:7), beginning with all honour to God. Let us therefore be grateful for the servants the Lord uses in our lives—but keep that man hidden behind the cross.

In late December, my wife had some oesophageal tests carried out in theatre at the Donald Gordon Hospital, where I had been hospitalised for several months. Her doctor was my gastrointestinal physician: John Devar.

After Jill was wheeled to theatre, I made my way down the hall to get coffee. As I turned the corner, I met Dr Devar as he was heading in the opposite direction. We greeted each other and, with big smiles, embraced in a happy hug. He asked how I was doing and was visibly happy to know I was well. He then went to assist my wife.

I don’t suppose every patient hugs their doctor, but to me, and I think to him, it just seems the natural thing to do. I love that man. My family loves that man. He carefully and compassionately and caringly used his abilities to save my life. He did far more than he needed to do, treating me with kindness far more than I deserved. (One evening when I was in hospital after a long day of various tests and scans, I asked if it was okay to eat something. It was way past mealtime. He asked, “What are you hungry for?” When I answered toasted cheese, he personally to the coffee shop to bring me a toasted cheese sandwich and coffee. I was humbled!)

I will never forget him. I will always be indebted to him. And, when I can, I will point those who need such a great physician to him.

A couple of weeks after Jill’s procedures, we met with him for a follow up. In the course of the meeting, he told me that he is treating several people with a similar illness as mine. One particular patient had been in hospital for a couple of months and was emotionally struggling. He asked, assuming he could get the patient’s permission, if I would be willing to visit this man, pray with him, and share my story. Of course, I am more than happy to do so. I told Dr Devar he should never hesitate to do so. After all, unlike doctors, I do house calls!

You see, I have a story of life, a story of healing, a story of hope, which can be of help to others. A day does not pass without being mindful and grateful for God’s grace in putting me under the care of a great physician. But as marvellous as was that miracle, I have an even greater story of God’s greater grace through his appointed and ultimate Great Physician who has saved me, not merely from sickness, but rather from my sins. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ and his cross, I am blameless before God, completely whole, having been sanctified by his blood. And his great and gracious work is to shape every aspect of my life. I am to live a cruciform life—a life shaped by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A crucified Messiah through his cruciform message has made me, among other things, a cruciform messenger. And, as in the physical realm, I don’t take credit for the work of another. Rather, I point to another. This is what Paul has done in the passage we have considered, thereby confronting us with a choice: Will you—and will we—embrace this message of the cross and therefore embrace a manner of life shaped by this grace? In other words, will we choose Christ and the way of wisdom and eternal life or will we reject him choosing the way of the fool with its eternal condemnation? In a far more important way than with physical health, this is a matter of eternal life, or eternal death. Repent and believe on the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN