Preaching The Cross (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)
Rev. William L. Barron, February 7, 2021Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Paul referenced using a particular approach in his preaching. He did not use lofty speech; he preached the cross. Yet he did not "leave" Jesus on the cross; he preached the death and the resurrection. Paul points us to the inspired Word of God and the Holy Spirit who comes to us and recalls to us the things of God. Paul came to the Corinthians in the power of the Holy Spirit. He exhorted them to belief in the promise of God. The cross is a symbol of execution; Jesus' death was necessary. We are not, however, to idolize or worship the symbol of the cross. The power of God is in His Spirit. The cross shows us the depths of God's love, and also the depth of our sin. Our sin leads to His death, and our response should be gratitude. The world asks, "What good is the death of a man? This is a folly!" The world is driven toward more education, more money, and getting rid of competition. Jesus didn't fit the world's mold. They called for His crucifixion and would not repent. Control is the goal of the world; the way of the cross is a mystery. We are not to follow the self-centered world; we are to follow the other-centered way of the cross. This is something the natural man cannot understand. We must ask ourselves, "Do I stand for Christ?" We must admit our sinfulness. We are tempted to think that grace doesn't seem to be enough. We are pressured to comply with worldly wisdom. The profound meaning is that Christ came to save sinners. Our message is that Jesus Christ died for us. We must let others see our response to this in our lives, even though this might bring us hardship. We must stand for the truth if we are going to stand at all.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « You Can't Outgive God | None | The Ministry Of Spiritual Warfare » |
1 Corinthians 2 (Listen)
2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
(ESV)