Christ Crucified
Notes
Transcript
Text 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 “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. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 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. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Here, Paul is saying that the image of a crucified God is foolishness to Greeks since the cross was Roman capital punishment. He is saying that it is a stumbling block (skandalon) to the Jews since the Messiah was hoped to be their liberator from Rome.
Isn’t it incredible that the open arms of Christ at the cross are ready to receive both the oppressed and the oppressor.
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
If you’re looking for some other fountain from which to drink in the Christian faith, look instead to the cross of Christ.
Why the Cross is the center of the Christian faith
It is the better, once-for-all sacrifice to which the Levitical system pointed.
It is the center of Christology
The Incarnation is the bridge to the Christian faith
The Resurrection is the ground or reason for the Christian faith
The Ascension is the power of the Christian faith
The Second Coming is the hope of the Christian faith
But the crucifixion is the center of the Christian faith
To be a member of the church and to read the bible without Christ crucified at the foundation is to have:
“A sky without a sun, a compass without a needle, a clock without hands, a lamp without oil. Beware of a religion without the cross.”
“Without Christ crucified in its pulpits, a church is little better than body without breath, a well without water, a barren fig tree, a sleeping watchman, a silent trumpet, a lighthouse without fire, a false comfort to the lost, a hotbed for formalism, a joy to the devil, and an offense to God” - J.C Ryle
“The crucifixion is the touchstone of Christian authenticity, the unique feature by which everything else, including the resurrection, is given its true significance. The resurrection is not a set piece. It is not an isolated demonstration of divine dazzlement. It is not to be detached from its abhorrent first act. The resurrection is, precisely, the vindication of a man who was crucified. Without the cross at the center of the Christian proclamation, the Jesus story can be treated as just another story about a charismatic spiritual figure. It is the crucifixion that marks out Christianity as something definitively different in the history of religion. — Fleming Rutledge
In an interview with Parade magazine, the musician Elton John said, “I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.”One of the easiest ways to commit the sin of idolatry is to remake God in our image. For culture’s view of God, see Parade magazine. For an accurate view of God, see the Bible. -Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell, “Seeing God How We Want Him to Be,”
Christ’s intercession is still mediating and advocating for us in heaven (Hebrews 7), and He continues to be pictured as the Lamb in the throne room of heaven (Rev 4-5).
Peter’s sifting
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
This is the great exchange (“double imputation”)
Application: Let’s pray for one another that God would give us courage to share the message of the cross