Scripture Passage

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Sermon Audio

Message Text

I know that this is a very busy time for many high school students.  You have exams coming up, assignments due, and the stress levels are high.  I pray that peace may be upon as you get through this very busy month.  I hope that today’s message and Word will speak to you today as you carry on with your studies.

Our Divided World

On Friday we saw the inauguration of the new president of the United States.  This marked the end of the Obama era.  Most of you have only known Barack Obama as the president.  Not many of you would remember the previous president – George W Bush – and what things were like during his time as president.

When Obama first ran for president in 2008, America was seen as greatly divided.  In addition to that, there was a huge financial crisis that almost plunged the whole economy into a great depression.  Many jobs were lost.  

Obama ran on a wave of hope and optimism.  He was seen as someone who could unite people.  Much of the country flocked to his vision of hope, especially young people.  They were mesmerized by his charisma and his ability speak to their aspirations.  Here was a young, eloquent person who really might change the world!

At rallies around the country, huge crowds would come.  Ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand people, showing up just to hear this electrifying man speak! It felt like the crowds we see in the gospels coming to hear Jesus speak.  His inauguration shattered records for turnout.

People were tired of pessimism and division, and were ready for a healer and uniter to do his work of doing that.

The reality, as it turns out, was vastly different.  As the new president takes his place, we find society and the world more divided than ever.

Many young people have seen the reality of power, and how entrenched interests refuse to bend easily.  Many young people became disillusioned by the greed and self-interest of those in power.  

In many ways, I feel bad for your generation.  You’ve grown up in fragmented world that doesn’t present a unified vision for the world.  You’ve grown up under the power of money and big corporations.  I believe that money and power have almost completely saturated and dominated society, and it seeps into every aspect of life now.

With all the self-interest, violence and just the huge scale of problems, many people have given up hope of changing things and turned inward to focus on themselves.  It’s become an extremely self-centred world, and this has been fuelled by big money corporations that keep trying to sell things and keep the focus on satisfying our material desires.

YOLO has become the mantra for people – you only live once!  So therefore do everything you want to do.  But does this really lead to happiness?

In this world we live in, how can we live a good and fulfilling life?

Divisions in Corinth

In today’s passage, we see a community that is deeply divided.  The apostle Paul, who is the author in this letter, states his reason for writing this letter:

“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.  For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you.” (1:10)

There were quarrels among the people.  These divisions were based on allegiance to different leaders.  People were divided into different camps, based on who they claimed to follow. I suspect that there power dynamics at play too.  

So imagine if you will a room that is divided into different groups, with each group talking only amongst themselves, and looking suspiciously at other groups.  This is what was going on in the community at Corinth.

Paul talks about baptism.  Whoever baptized people could claim loyalty and allegiance.  Think about it: baptism at the time meant your initiation into the faith and community.  At our Hi-C retreats you all like to do initiation.  For us, that symbolizes a welcome into our community.  

Baptism could confer power and authority on that figure.  If you baptized someone, that person would feel a loyalty to you. The more people you baptized, the more power and authority you would have in that community.

But Paul is saying that he was not sent to baptize, but rather to proclaim the good news.  This was his purpose.  And the good news here was the message of the cross of Christ.  

Here’s a key verse for today:

“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.” (1:17)

There are 2 things I want to emphasize here:

1. The message about the cross of Christ
2. Why use of eloquent wisdom would empty the cross of Christ

1. What is the cross of Christ?  

The cross is where Jesus was hung and crucified.  Crucifixion was a punishment given by the Roman Empire.  It was given to make an example of what people should not do.  It was the ultimate humiliation, shame and punishment.

This is how Jesus died.  Alone and rejected by the world.

Jesus died on the cross out of his obedience to God’s will.  Jesus lived a life of righteousness, justice, love and obedience to God’s will.  He loved those on the margins; he healed the sick, and he spoke out against those who oppressed others.  His life came to be seen as a threat to the established order.  And so he suffered the ultimate consequence of living such a life: death.

The cross for us symbolizes the ultimate earthly consequence of living this kind of righteous and just life: death and rejection by the world.  

Evil and sin in this world is just too great to live a truly righteous, just and God-connected life.  Many people in this world think that “hey, if I just live a good, moral life, then I’m living a good life”.  My response to that is that this is a very naive and self-centred way of looking at life in this world.  It ignores the reality of evil in this world.  

Anyone who really tries to live a truly good life and undo the evil of this world will be killed by it.  And this is what happened to Jesus.  The cross therefore symbolizes a God-centred, rather than I-centred, approach to living life. And the reality that living such a God-centred, just and righteous life will lead to death and rejection by the world.

2. Why “eloquent wisdom” empties the power of the cross

Paul stated something interesting: he came to proclaim the gospel, “not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.”

Why would eloquent wisdom empty the cross of its power?  What’s wrong with eloquent wisdom, and isn’t that a good thing, to proclaim the good news with it?

Corinth was a Greek city.  What was the virtue most valued by Greek society?  It was wisdom. All the famous philosophers of the day emphasized the importance of wisdom. It was assumed that anything worthy of being taken seriously would be expressed with such eloquent wisdom.

But paradoxically, what the Greeks considered as a virtue would empty the cross of its power.  What’s going on here?

In Paul’s day and age, “eloquent wisdom” is what was considered credible and respectable.  To be credible and respectable places the focuses on us: it’s what I do, what I accomplish, how I present myself, how I distinguish myself.  It’s a complete I-centred approach.  

It is this very I-centred focus that takes the power away from the cross.

Remember, Jesus lived a very God-centred approach.  And this God-centred approach led to death on the cross.  So this very I-centred focus empties the power from the cross, because it takes the focus away from God.

The Power of the Cross

But the next question to ask is: but where does the power come from?  If Jesus just died, where’s the power in that?

My friends, here is the basis of our faith: Jesus was rejected by the world and died.  The world rejected the embodiment of God’s will that Jesus represented.  Jesus was God’s will made real in the flesh.  The evil and sin of this world was too great that we killed God.  This is what we mean when we say that “Jesus died for our sins”.  So the world seems to have won.  But that’s not the end of the story. God raised Jesus from the dead with the resurrection.  The resurrection is what ultimately gives the cross its power.  Jesus conquered death.  Even though the world killed him, it could not defeat him.  

When we accept what God had done, then God makes us a new creation in Christ.  Our old selves pass away and we are raised anew as a new creation!

This is the good news, my friends. The good news is that God has already done the work for us. God, through Jesus, loved the world and died for it and because of it. God raised up Jesus and conquered death.

In a world where all the pressure is on us: for us to study hard, for us to try to change the world, for us to become accomplished and distinguished – God has shown us a new way to live life.  One where we simply accept and trust what God has done for us.  

And this is why Paul says: “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.” (1:18)

To those who choose to live an I-centred life – which is most of the world – this message is foolishness.  Why would we choose to live a life that leads to death and rejection?  That’s so foolish!

But to us who are being saved, the message of the cross is the power of God.  It is the power that gives us hope, that gives us new life, that gives us the strength to carry on even when life is difficult and hard.  

This is the hope we have when we look at our divided world.  And it is when we live life with the power of the cross that we can overcome divisions.

When we are a new creation, we live life confidently, with faith, and we are not easily shaken by the challenges that come our way.  

Isn’t this a truly exciting way to live life and a vision to have?

So my friends, as you go back and study hard for your exams and work hard on all your other things, keep God in your mind.  God has already done the work by raising Jesus from the dead.  God has already offered us new life.  It is up to us to simply respond with a thankful heart and ask God to lead us in our daily lives.
May the power of God be with you this week and in the month to come.