Resource Detail

Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God

1 Corinthians 1:1-2:16

Key Verse 1:23, 24

Read 1:1-9. What does this passage tell us about the purpose of God’s calling for the members of the church [in Corinth]? What did God provide for the church [then and also today] so that it could fulfill this purpose of calling? 

Read verses 10-12 and think about the appeal to “be perfectly united in mind and thought”. Paul appealed “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What does “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” indicate about the way in which different people can be united in mind and in thought? 

Read 13-19 and think about the meaning of the following expressions: a) lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power; and b) the message of the cross…is the power of God. In what respect is the cross of Jesus God’s “power”? How is this power related to the Apostle’s appeal to be united in the Lord? 

Read 1:20-31. In verse 23 Paul says he preaches Christ crucified, for to him, Christ represents not only God’s power but also God’s wisdom. In verse 30 Paul says God’s wisdom (i.e., Jesus Christ) consists of: a) righteousness; b) holiness; and c) redemption. How are the three related to one another? 

Read 2:1-16. In this passage the word “Spirit: is repeated. What do the following expressions tell us about the work of the Spirit?: a) my message and my preaching were…with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power; b) God has revealed it (God’s secret wisdom) to us by his Spirit; c) no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God; d) the Spirit who is from God; e) we speak in words taught by the Spirit; and f) the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. 

Christ the Power of God

(The Inner Workings of the Power of Resurrection)

1 Corinthians 1:1-2:16

Key Verse 1:24

But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Today we would like to study the second lecture of our subject, the resurrected life of a believer, based on 1 Corinthians 1-2, under the subtitle, "The Inner Workings of the Power of Resurrection." The reason for this subtitle is that unlike Job in the book of Job (we studied Job's resurrection faith last Sunday), not all believers think that the power of the resurrection really works. We Americans believe in what works, for as you try to buy something the first thing you ask is, "Does this work?" If it does not you forget about it. 

Unfortunately, the saints in the church of Corinth thought that the power of the resurrection found in Jesus wasn’t working. In the first place, they did not know how it works. Noting their problem, the Apostle Paul wrote them two long epistles - which are now known as First and Second Corinthians. [Actually, from this point on we will study these epistles, provided that before the Spring Conference we study First Corinthians only in two lectures, for First Corinthians is reducible to one point, that is, the hope of resurrection. For this reason, The Apostle Paul talk about the power of God at the outset of his epistle, and towards the end he dedicates chapter 15 exclusively to the resurrection of the saints. We will study 1 Corinthians chapter 1-2 today and chapter 15 next Sunday. After the spring conference we will cover 2 Corinthians.]

Let us think about how the power of the resurrection works. Of course we will also think about why to some people it works so powerfully, but conversely why it does not to many others. There are three things to consider:

First, the resurrection will not occur to anyone who does not live up to the standards set by God.  

(1) 1Corinthians consists of 16 chapters. At the outset of the epistle Paul lays out the standards that the Corinthian brothers and sisters must live up to. Then at the end of the epistle Paul talks about victory through Jesus Christ, that is, his resurrected life. 

(2) Paul did this knowing that the Corinthians were operating under a wrong idea, that is, that they thought that they could live liberally, doing whatever they wanted to do, even living like pigs, yet still expecting that simply because they kept attending church worship they would be saved. 

(3) In order to clear up this sort of misconception, Paul sets forth the standards set by God—from the outset of his epistles. What are the standards? Four Bible verses stand out to answer the question: 

Verse 2: To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours.

Verse 8: He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 9: God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Verse 10: I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Say, "Be holy" [here, holy refers to God's perfection, particularly in morality]; say also, "Be blameless" [the word blameless means the state in which one is free from faults, flaws, or any defects, so that he is sound, solid, stable, and steady in character, just to name a few qualities of a man who can be described as blameless]; and now say, "Be perfectly united in mind and thought." 

Remember that Paul did not set these standards, God did. Consistent with this truth, in the Old Testament Scriptures the Lord God said to the Israelites: "Be holy because I am holy" (Lev 11:44,45; 19:2). When Jesus came he said the same thing to his disciples, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

What is truly mind-boggling is that God wants us to be perfect (morally, ethically, spiritually) not only as an individual but as a community of people! He wants "everyone" to be as perfect as he is prefect! By the way, what does “everyone” mean? Everyone means everyone: young, old, senior people, junior people, new-comers, old comers, clergy and laity, shepherds and sheep, missionaries and non-missionaries. It does not matter who you are, how old you are, or how long you have studied the Bible. As long as you are a human being, God's call to you is to be holy, so that the fellowship with God the Father through Jesus Christ might be possible. Otherwise the relationship is not going to work. The bucket cannot hold water for the resurrected life, for it is life in the eternal presence of God. If anyone wants to see the power of the resurrection working and desires to see it working more fully than ever, one must first consider the standards the Lord God has set up. 

Second, God came up with the means by which we can fulfill the purpose of his calling, that is, to attain to the perfect standards the Lord God has set up.

Suppose that there are two persons in a room: Mr. Rich and Mr. Poor. Suppose Mr. Poor knows that Mr. Rich is really rich. So he asks Mr. Rich to lend him money, perhaps at a sub-prime rate. But Mr. Rich is unwilling. But Mr. Rich has an idea of how to help Mr. Poor. So he says, "Hey, Mr. Poor. I know what your problem is: you are a lazy sluggard. Go and find a job and work." Will this work? Most likely it may not.  A better way to help the man could be to say, "At my company there is a job opening; it does not require that much job skill; if you are willing, you may wish to submit an application. Are you interested?" 

The same wisdom goes between a mother and a boy. When he goes out and plays in a sandbox he will get dirty. Then what does mom do? She takes his dirty clothes off, gives him a nice shower, and gives him fresh clothes.

In fact this is what God the Father has been doing for his children in each generation. In the passage the Apostle Paul says that this is what the Father did for the Corinthians. Specifically, what did God do? We can classify God's perfect means into seven categories:  

* Sanctification (2) - In verse 2 Paul says that they have already been "sanctified" by Jesus Christ [Sanctify = anoint, bless, or purify].

* Grace and peace (3) - Verse 3 talks about "grace and peace" given to you [here grace refers to the cancellation of debts, billions of them; peace refers to the environment in which one can find rest for life].

* Enrichment through spiritual gifts (4,7) - Verse 4 says, "his grace has been given to you in Christ Jesus; in him you have been enriched in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge." [The word "enrich" means "made rich." The phrase "in every way" denotes the three dimensions of man's existence, that is, one's spirit, soul, and body. You cannot say you are rich just because you have much money in your bank account; in fact, money is the least important factor to make you rich. Just think about Mr. Pharaoh in Egypt or the Roman Emperor Nero in Rome. Materially, they were rich, but in God’s eyes they were real paupers.] Verse 7 says, "You do not lack any spiritual gift" [here mainly gift means the Holy Spirit and we will think about the richness of the Spirit of God in a minute].

* The name of Jesus (10) - In verse 10 Paul appeals to them to be united in the name of Jesus Christ. [Here the "name" refers to the identity of Jesus. This is a like a rich person giving a poor person the rich man's User ID and  password to open the front gate that leads to Mr. Rich’s Royal Ranch, so that the poor person would have free access to the Ranch and enjoy all the benefits the ranch has to offer.]

* Gospel (17) - Verse 17 says, "We preach the gospel". [Here gospel means good news of great joy, especially the joy of salvation.]

* The message of the cross [i.e., Christ crucified] (18, 23) - Verse 18 talks about the "message of the cross." Then in verse 23 Paul mentions "Christ crucified". This refers to the kind of sacrifice (or investment) the Lord made for you and me, that is, he gave his one and only Son Jesus, for he loved us even to the point of shedding the blood of his son. Note here that the cross is a plus sign; it consists of a vertical line and a horizontal line; these two lines refer to the links we have been given - the link with God the Father, and the link with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. The link with God the Father is the source of life, and the link with fellow believers in the Lord is source of joy. In UBF, for example, I have a link with brothers and sisters in all seven continents.]

* The power of God and wisdom of God (24) - Finally, in verses 24 and 30, Paul says that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This power is the power of salvation (Romans 1:16-17); the wisdom refers to three important badges of God's approval, which are absolutely necessary for our life in the eternal presence of God: 1) righteousness; 2) holiness; and 3) redemption.

The subcategory No. 7 (Jesus Christ = God's power + God's wisdom) sums up God's provision. God put all of his provisions in a box called Jesus Christ. God's power and God's wisdom are related to one another, for God's power is designed to produce God's wisdom. In this way in Jesus God has provided us with all we need for [a resurrected] life, that is God's righteousness, holiness, and redemption. To some these three concepts are not clear, so let us talk about them a little bit. 

Righteousness is a relational term. It denotes one's right relationship with God and with his neighbor. It asks whether or not you are right with God and with men. In order for you to be righteous, you must first be right with God, and then with men. Stop a man and ask him a question, "Is it right for a man to marry another man?" Some people might ponder for a while and say, “Oh, it is okay.” But see what God says in the Bible. 

We already talked about holiness a little bit, for it refers to God's perfection in all aspects of his character, especially moral perfection. Hebrews 12:14 says that holiness is the key of keys to a kingdom life, for it says: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

Redemption is rich in meanings. But mainly it refers to a change of status (or a position if you will) of a saved soul. Before redemption, the Israelites in Egypt lived as a slave nation. So prior to their redemption, their status was that of a slave. They were no better than [in fact worse than] a bunch of pigs in a pig farm. After redemption they received a brand new position that came with brand new titles: a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a chosen people standing above all nations. What a change of status?! Think about Ruth in the book of Ruth. Imagine a poor Gentile widow, a Moabite woman [Remember Moab is the son born of incest between Lot and his first daughter] getting married to gentle Boaz and thereby earning a position in the family line of the Savior of the world! These examples prefigured the reality to come, that is, a believer's relationship with Jesus Christ. You and I, simply because of our faith in the Lord, came to earn the most blessed position called the Bride to Jesus our Spiritual Husband. 

One day I saw Bill Gates and his wife Melinda come out in front of the news media to sign a check donating a large sum of money ($1.25 billion) to the Bill and Melinda Foundation. I also read a story of how Ms. Melinda came to meet Bill Gates and marry him. Reading the article I said to myself, "Wow, she got a good catch." But when you think about it, we Christians are billion times luckier than Ms. Melinda French. Why? Jesus is a billion times more powerful than Bill Gates. In fact, because becoming a child of God is such a powerful privilege, the Apostle John says in John 1:12, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Here "right" comes with "power." Say “right”! Say "power"! Here the right includes the right to inherit the perfected world in a resurrected body as the Lord comes again. 

Third, God makes the power of resurrection to work only when we follow the way God designed it to work. 

In Chapter 2 Paul explains the reason why the Corinthian saints still remained in their sins, and therefore failed to taste the power of God working in them. There are two points for us to consider: the first is positive, and second is negative. 

No. 1 What (or who) makes God's power to work in us? 

We already know the answer: it is the Holy Spirit who works within us. It is he who makes things happen. He makes us wise for salvation through faith in the Lord. Paul explains this truth by describing where the Spirit is from and what he is doing. Verse 10 says, "God has revealed it [God's secret wisdom, i.e., Christ] to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." Verse 11, "[N]o one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." Verse 12 states, "The Spirit who is from God." Verse 13 says, "[Paul spoke] in words taught by the Spirit." In verse 14, Paul emphatically says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God..."

No. 2 What prevents God's power to be in operation? 

In today's passage the Apostle Paul gives out the impediments to the Spirit of God working. Expressions vary but we can classify them into three categories: relying on human wisdom, miracle seeking, and trusting in human strength. 

a) Human wisdom 

In the passage Paul expresses it in different ways: human wisdom (1:17; 2:13); the wisdom of the wise (1:19a); intelligence of the intelligent (19b) [such as scholars or philosophers of this age in v. 20]; wisdom of the world (20); man's wisdom (1:25; 2:5); eloquence [it refers to the ability to talk beautifully] or superior wisdom (2:1); wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age (2:6); and wisdom of this world (3:19). [Verse 19 reads, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate”. Then in verse 20 Paul says, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Here “destroy” or “frustrate” means God has made them ineffective as a means of salvation; so if you relied upon them, you are going to be thoroughly frustrated.]

b) A miracle seeking tendency

Paul says that this is applicable mainly to the Jews, but it does not mean that Gentile believers are free from this problem. In 1:22 Paul says that Jews demand miracles. Then in verse 23 Paul says that Christ crucified became a stumbling block to the Jews, because of their demand for miracles. One of the problems Paul has in mind here is the tendency to improve man's external conditions rather than his internal conditions. Jews, for example, demanded Jesus to prove that he is the messiah by setting aside the Roman Rule and establishing Israel as a political super power nation. But Jesus died helplessly on a tree. They did not like this Jesus. So they rejected Jesus. We make the same mistake in approaching the Holy Spirit. He starts working only when we repent and turn to Christ.

c) Trusting in human strength 

In 1:25 Paul says that the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. In 2:3 Paul says, "I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling." Paul's point is that as long as we rely on our own strength, we cannot experience the power of the Holy Spirit working. It is like a man trying to start a car with the wrong key in the ignition. Speaking of the same truth, Paul says, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2Co 12:10). He also said, "Be strong in the Lord." 

Hiding at the root of all three impediments is the problem called "human pride." What then is the remedy to this problem? 1Co 1:31 offers a solution: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 

One word: Christ the power of God and wisdom of God