Scripture Passage
Sermon Text
Cross as to the power of God
How much do you know about today’s text supporting right foolishness power wisdom Greek Gentiles Jewish? And how much do you know about the Creek yet church to each apostle? Paul wrote this letter 2000 years ago. We have scholars there, you know, to see you from today’s text. What is the important image you can get as Peter read the whole text today for us? Yes, the cross, the cross, the main subject of today’s text. And let me ask you the last question. Thank you for your patience. What seems to be the issue of this text? You can be so many, right? It can be so many, but I want to take this one particular angle and share the message with you today. verse 18 says for the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us, what is saved, it is the power of God. As you can see, there are two different groups of people. Paul is addressing to one group is perishing because they considered the cross as foolishness. The other group is not perishing, but being saved because they consider the cross as to the power of God, because we heard about this passage here and there. So often we are so familiar with the cross itself. We do have to think about the scandalous aspect of the cross anymore.
What does the Cross truly mean?
What was the cross originally in once the similar, the punishment from the Roman empire superpower at the time, the cross was the thesis of power, the power of the Roman empire to crush those regardless, opponents and threats. It was indeed the sign of defeat and shame and can we truly say the cross is the power of God? What is going on in that cross? I was intrigued by the fact that apostle Paul addressed this passage to the church. He established, there were people in the church who would consider the cross as foolishness and all that. Before we investigate further, let’s look closely at the culture and the spirit of the city of Corinth. Corinth has validated New York. When you go to a New York Manhattan, fascinating lot of people, Corey was a Seaport situated at the border of Arcadia, which is nowadays Greece. Let’s see the pain because of this geographical kind of advantage. The city had Booming economy the population at a pause time, they had 200,000 people and it was, they, there were 14,000 theaters in that city. And there were so many trade clubs and voluntary organizations and Christians incorrect thought themselves as one of these social clubs, because a lot of trades, the city was known for its sexual immorality. The Greek word for creating your girl is Corinthia zesta and he became a work of prostitute. The society was filled with a ruthless and competitive spirit. New Testament scholar with Arrington said public boasting and self-promotion was considered as an art form. Now you get the picture, right? Because of the trend of the times, the Creek and church were not immune to and because of the culture and the spirit of the society, the corinthian church became vulnerable to the extent that their foundation as the church was attacked as a pastor call with urgent concern for his church, you have to write this letter to the Corinthian church. When he wrote this letter to his, the church, he didn’t know that it will become, it will become a Bible, part of the Bible. When we look at acts of chapter 18, there’s a record that Paul established this church in current, administer them for one a year within the first Corinthians, the book of first Corinthians, the word for church in Greek, which is ekklesia appears 22 times. What does it mean? It tells us how much Paul wanting to educate his congregation. What church is all about and what the community is all about it. Mostly what the cross of Jesus Christ is all about what was going on in the mind of those who viewed the cross as foolishness.
Blinded by our own lust
They think they are wise and they need to prove they are wise with boasting and self-promotion. And when such people gather in a group, what will happen, divisions and conflicts, no wonder we can trace such divisions in the book of the First Creek. It’s the same book, the same text today’s text. For example, in chapter one, verse 12 says this. What I mean is that each of you says, I belong to Paul. I belong to a policy. I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ. It shows that there were divisions in the Corinthian church. Paul as Cephas. We can understand that, but there was a group called Christ. What this tells us is that certain people out of their own interests, wanting to use the names, the leaders well-known names to maximize their interests in the church, just like they would do in any social clubs, perhaps Paul or Apollos or Cephas did not know their needs were used by these groups. I don’t know. Another example can be found in chapter 12, where Paul explained the church as the body of Christ. Remember that the background of this metaphor is also the divisions in the church. Those were strong and honorable by the standard of the world, mistreated the weaker and less honorable members in the church. As we see from this evidence, we know that there were divisions and conflicts among the church members. And the main reason behind this is the sub promoting and competitive spirit for certain people who thought they were wiser. And they had all the rights to display their wisdom and wealth, whatever they can most would, but they didn’t know. They became so blinding, blinded by their own lust. Those who think they are wiser and view themselves higher than anybody else will be drifted away from God. This is a spiritual condition. They are all, but they did not know that today’s verse 21 says this for, since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom. They will cut off from God. They were drifted away from God. As we started enrollments a few weeks ago, the vanity of people’s thinking is the beginning of destruction. Romans one 21 days, but though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened.
Creation of new humanity for the Cross
In other words, they want it to become a God themselves without knowing that’s the fast track to isolation and death. The one that they view the cross as foolishness, then who are the people who viewed the cross as God’s wisdom and God’s power to take understand that secret mystery of Christ. The cross one thing we can say is that they were not the people who boasted about their wisdom and their status. According to the worldly standard, Jesus once said, let’s sit up pure in heart for, they will see, I would say a blessing on the pure in heart for, they will see the cross as the wisdom of God and the power of God because of their status in the society was not in the sector, but in the margin, they may understand the power of God and the wisdom of God in the prostate Mave, because where there is a need of God, God will be there for them, but I don’t think they would praise God for the cross through which they became, what they want wanting to be. Even the may have such desire to become greater and all that. As soon as they encounter the cross, as soon as they went through the cross, the power of God and the wisdom of God, there’ll be no more of such desire to become greater, but the standard of the world, we need to understand the true power cross in the cross and through the cross, people will be transformed, not from a, to B, nor from B to a, not the reversal of both sides and be all kinds of people and all kinds of things of the world, surrendered to god in the cross. This is how the wisdom of God and part of work through the promise. God created new humanity for the cross. And thus the cross is God’s power and God’s Vista the silence, all the noisy boasting of the world. And it compasses everything under the cross.
God’s Calling
God called everyone in United in the cross. How marvelous God’s wisdom was when we looked closely at the latter part of today’s text, we will see more clearly how our God works with his power and his person. God calls, God chooses with this powering, with this wisdom, God calls, not only one particular group, but everybody to form a church verse 24 says, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, verse 26 says to consider your own call brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many more powerful, not many nobler, and verse 27 says, 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. And lastly, verse 28 says, God chose what is low and despised in the world. We come to church, not accidentally. The fact that we are here today is God’s calling and gossip shoes, cowards show the world how wise his wisdom is and how great his power is through this church. You and me only when we humbly surrender to God’s calling and God’s choosing, then our eyes will be open and see the gospel that is filled with wisdom and power. We’ll be able to see a confess that the cross is not foolishness, but the power of God, remember the story. The prodigal son and gospel of Luke, the product itself was spent all this money living with the pigs, but he realized he was in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. And does he repented just like him? We will see Jesus who comes to us when we are hitting rock bottom of our life. That’s what we see through it, across what we see Jesus who comes to us when we are helpless and we are in a struggle. That’s what we see through the cross. We will see Jesus who left the heavenly throne to be with us. That realization happens when we see the cross, look at the painting by rampant. It is called the return of the prodigal son, the love of the parents, the most foolish of all, but the greatest love above all.
Reuniting with God through the Cross
Jesus is grace or some, not by the wisdom of the world, but embraced us in his heart. And we say, finally, home, nothing will matter to us anymore. The power and wisdom of this world will not. Yes, we will have to live in this world, but now with a different identity in Christ and things that happen hidden now revealed to us because of our new identity in the cross. Jesus once said in Matthew 11:25, I thank you, father, for the vote of having another because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have we build them to influence what will be our spiritual blessings of the class. We become one with ourselves and one with God through the cross, that is what the cross is doing. The cross reconciles us to God and unites us. Now we have peace with ourselves before our hearts were torn apart by the fear and the parity by the blood of the cross, we weren’t healed at BK or through the cross. We have access to God and we enter into the state of unity and intimacy with God and foremost, because of this unity with God, we are able to reach out to others in the community with the ministry of unity.
Spreading God’s Grace using the Cross
As reverend Kim said last Friday, this is the spiritual principle. And I said to you a month ago in the Sunday sermon, that is the spiritual principle. One must have solid, solitude to a time of God alone. Hearing the voice from God. You are. I’ve been loving, having an intimate relationship with God. His solitude will be able to go out to the community and serve one. Another Henry now said the intimate relationship with God would create a community. And that’s what the cross of Christ does to us. And to this community where we have peace and unity with God is solitude. You, we will have peace and unity with others in this community. As you all know, by now, we are learning the book of Romans every Friday. It has been a true blessing for all of us. And I thank God for his Vista and power that happened so visible through the lecture from reverend Kim and the serving hearts from KSM’s men’s group we witness the unity of the church through the power of the cross and my friends. It is our turn to reach out to those who are alone and who I need of God’s grace. The cross of Christ will reach out to those who are in need in need of God’s grace. And God will use us as his tool to unite God’s people.
Today’s international woman’s day with electing heart, with the lightened existence, look around those who can be in a vulnerable situation. And when we do even little thing, but justice and peace, that’s what the cross does through us. A few Yia studying away from home, where we remember them and take a moment to pray for them. That is what the cross is doing through this community. As we are in the season of lent, I encourage all of you to think seriously about your own spiritual journey. Remember you’re called and chosen by every member, what God did to us through the cross. Unless we have the solitude with God and breakfast alleviation with God, we won’t be able to reach out and have you need to with one another, there’s the cross foolishness to you or the power of God and wisdom of God and god to give you the strength to love the rugged cross and surrender to the power and wisdom of God revealed in the cross, put down your wisdom and power, but to surrender, surrender to God, God will correct you. Peace. You need to, how to carry your own cross to Jesus Christ.
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