The Foolishness of God

Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:18-25
    
    Paul muses on the gospel Jesus sent him to preach, which he describes as “Christ crucified”(1:23, 2:2).  “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”(1 Cor 1:18).  This remarkable message—of a promised Savior who instead of delivering, dies for his people—is viewed in different ways by different people.  “Those who are perishing” see it as ridiculous, while “to us who are being saved” it looks like God’s mighty hand is behind it.  Paul insists that God anticipated these different reactions and is using them to humble the “wise” (1 Cor 1:19-20).  “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the follow of what we preach to save those who believe”(1 Cor 1:21).  All their learning and thinking did not get them closer to God, so God chose something “foolish” to reach them.

    “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”(1 Cor 1:22-24).  Expectations matter.  Jews demand signs—majestic proofs of God’s presence and working.  They find in the cross something decidedly less majestic than the great signs of Moses.  Greeks seek wisdom—brilliant insight into the nature of life and the world.  They find in the cross something harsh, brutal, and gruesome.  But those with eyes to see—and a heart humble enough to reconsider their expectations—find in the cross both power and wisdom.  Only God could achieve such a thing:  “for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men”(1 Cor 1:25).

    Even today, the unbelieving world looks at Jesus’ atoning death as foolishness.  It is not scientific enough—not aggressive enough—not modern enough.  Believers must embrace the fact that we see in the cross something that others do not see (often because they feel they are too “wise” for such “foolishness”).  Yet even God’s “foolishness” is wiser than men.

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One Thing to Think About:   In what ways do I struggle with the message of the cross?

One Thing to Pray For:  Strength to withstand the opposition of those who ridicule the gospel
 

Christ Did Not Send Me to Baptize

Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:14-17
    
    The divided allegiances in the Corinthian church stem from an improper elevation of men (“I follow Paul” and “I follow Apollos”). Paul asks, “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”(1 Cor 1:13).  The obvious answer is no, yet he is making the connection between baptism and the one we subsequently follow.  Why be baptized into Christ and then follow Paul?  “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius”(1 Cor 1:14).  This is an odd statement because it sounds as if Paul wants to limit the number of people baptized.  The reason Paul is thankful that he baptized so few is not because baptism is problematic, but “so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name”(1 Cor 1:15).  He then seems to be racking his brain to remember who else he baptized in Corinth:  “I did baptize also the household of Stephanas.  Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else”(1 Cor 1:16).  

    Why all this discussion of baptism?  Paul has a point to make:  “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”(1 Cor 1:17).   Paul is not saying that Jesus doesn’t want him to baptize people or that baptism is unimportant.  His point is about who performs the physical act of baptism.  Paul’s mission is to preach the gospel, pointing people to Jesus and reconciling them to God.  Gospel preaching does not leave people as followers of men, but of Jesus.  When people respond to that gospel, it doesn’t matter who baptizes them—yet without the gospel being preached, all the baptisms in the world mean nothing.  This is Paul’s true purpose.

    It is a mistake to think that Paul is denigrating baptism with this statement.  After all, Paul teaches people to be baptized (Gal 3:27, Col 2:12) and was baptized himself (Acts 22:16).  He is correcting the mentality that the people who teach and baptize are of special importance.  What matters is Jesus who died to make salvation possible, in whom we believe, and into whom we are baptized.  

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One Thing to Think About:   Do I tend to think of certain people as more important than they are?

One Thing to Pray For:  Faith in the power of the gospel of Jesus

United

Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:10-13
    
    After his brief introduction, Paul launches into the problems in the Corinthian church.  “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment”(1 Cor 1:10).  Jesus longs for unity among his people (John 17:21-26) and Paul urges the Corinthians to live out this divine desire by thinking in the same way.  “United in the same mind and the same judgment” does not mean that we agree on every issue, but that we have the same earnest desire to follow Jesus, not man.  

    “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.  What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ’”(1 Cor 1:11-12).  The “quarreling” shows that these differences of opinion are significant and hold the potential to permanently divide the brothers.  It is hard to pinpoint precisely what “I follow Paul” and “I follow Apollos” imply, but the allegiance seems to go beyond a preference for one man’s preaching over another.  What may begin as preference easily slides into exclusive loyalty, wrecking the spirit of teamwork that should characterize all Christian service.  No man deserves such allegiance.  “Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”(1 Cor 1:13).  Only Jesus saves, so only Jesus should be followed.

     The applications here are manifold.  All Christians must remember that only Jesus was crucified for us and we were baptized in the name of Jesus.  This means that only Jesus deserves our spiritual loyalty.  Many denominations have begun--separating believers from one another--on the basis of one man’s interpretations and theological musings.  Modern American churches often center around a charismatic preacher who draws people to himself and his idiosyncratic way of presenting the gospel.  We still tend to gravitate toward people who like who and what we like.  All of these situations demand careful thought in light of God’s will “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

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One Thing to Think About:   How am I contributing to unity—or division—right where I am?

One Thing to Pray For:  A sense of teamwork with other Christians
 

Blameless in the Day of Christ

Reading:  1 Corinthians 1:1-9
    
    Paul has deep concern for the Corinthian church and the series of problems among them, but we would not guess it from his warm words of introduction here.  Despite their flaws, he still sees them as “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called to be saints”(1 Cor 1:1).  He insists that “I give thanks to my God always for you”(1 Cor 1:4) for their acceptance of the gospel (1 Cor 1:6) and the way God has supplied them with all sorts of gifts (1 Cor 1:5, 7).  Even when they tax or disappoint us, our brethren are worth celebrating.

    Yet Paul also wants to direct the Corinthians’ attention away from themselves and toward the goodness of the God they trust.  “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge”(1 Cor 1:4-5).  God has given and given, again and again.  The Corinthians, as we will see, are overly focused on their own gifts and status; Paul turns their focus back to the giver of the gifts (see 1 Cor 4:7).  He is also confident that the God who has so richly blessed them “will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”(1 Cor 1:8-9).  “Sustain” here is the same word as “confirmed” in v. 6; just as the spiritual gifts they have confirm the gospel, so God himself will confirm that the Corinthians are his, all the way to the end when Jesus returns.  “God is faithful”; he will not fail them.

    Biblical authors often reason from how Jesus will find us when he returns:  pure and blameless (Phil 1:10), confident (1 John 4:17) or shrinking in shame (1 John 2:28).  Paul here assures the Corinthians that God is faithful to keep them “guiltless” or “blameless” in that day.  He is not saying that it doesn’t matter how they live (this letter will contain a lot that they need to urgently correct), but that God is fully capable to forgive and deliver those who remain tender to his word, willing to repent and obey him.  If we want to be found blameless, we put our trust in a faithful God rather than our own fickle works.

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One Thing to Think About:   How will Jesus find me when he returns?

One Thing to Pray For:  A deeper confidence in God’s goodness and faithfulness
 

Warn Him as a Brother

Reading:  2 Thessalonians 3:13-18
    
    Paul wants the Thessalonians to respond to the unruly, idle brothers among them by excluding them from the Christian community.  He wants them to “keep away from” such people (2 Thess 3:6) and not support them in their laziness (2 Thess 3:10) and to “take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed”(2 Thess 3:14).  We cannot sit idly by while disorderly people take advantage of others, spread discord in the church, and ruin our reputation in the community (see 1 Thess 4:12).  There is also the deeper problem that such people are repeatedly flouting express apostolic commands (1 Thess 4:11-12, 2 Thess 3:6, 12, 14); this is not a new problem in Thessalonica.  By keeping our distance from such people, there is hope that they will be “ashamed” of their behavior and prompted to change.  

    But there is a tone that is important when such steps are necessary.  “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother”(2 Thess 3:15).  This is not an action borne of anger or annoyance.  We do not recategorize them as enemies instead of friends.  We warn them like we would our brothers—with deep concern and strong love.  “Warn him as a brother” also indicates that Paul does not want us to refuse to talk to such people.  We care about our brother and want him to change and our speech should reflect that.  Meanwhile, in this climate of disappointment and challenging relationships, Paul wants them not to lose sight of their goal:  “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good”(2 Thess 3:13).

    Love must be tough.  When a brother or sister is consistently not living as they should, we may have to challenge them, correct them, or even remove ourselves from them.  Yet we are not simply trying to hurt them.  We are willing to have hard conversations, risk offending them, and patiently wait for change.  “Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”

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One Thing to Think About:   Why does the tone with which we speak and act matter so much?

One Thing to Pray For:  That I not grow weary in doing good