Sermon Tone Analysis

*1 Corinthians 1:17-19…* For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

18 For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

 

*Commentary*

            Paul makes it clear what his mission is as a preacher of God’s righteousness in verse 17.

He was to proclaim the “gospel” (literally, “the good news”).

He was to do this without “cleverness of speech” (literally “wise words”).

In other words, his proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ was not to be in scholarly academic presentations that are simply meant to impress the minds of learned and unlearned men.

Such presentations may sway one’s mind but not one’s heart.

In attempting to use “wise words” to present the basic gospel of Jesus Christ Paul says that this in itself would “void the cross of Christ.”

It’s a simple proclamation of good news, and any attempt to “scholarize” it weakens it.

Verse 18 explains what Paul means.

He says that the message of the cross (Jesus Christ dying on the cross to save mankind from the wrath of God brought on by our sin at birth) is a message of foolishness.

The Greek word for “foolishness” is literally “/moros/” from whence we get “moron” – denoting a silly, stupid, or idiotic person.

That’s what the message of the cross is “to those who are perishing.”

This phrase is literally “those who are being destroyed.”

The tense of the verb is present, and the Greek adds the nuance of a /continuing/ state of being destroyed.

Those who reject the good news of Jesus who died for the sins of the world are not fully dead, they are in the process of being destroyed – of suffering eternal loss.

This process is all about their rejection of the Christ on the cross.

Contrasting those who are “being destroyed” because of their rejection of the cross are those in the latter half of verse 18 “who are being saved.”

Paul includes himself in this group, but it’s noteworthy that they were not fully saved according to the tense of the verb.

They are /being/ saved – they are in the process of the phenomenon.

Those who are being saved are those who are called to believe (1:24) and who do in fact believe (1:21).

They are not fully saved in the sense that being saved is an ongoing process that finds its ultimate fulfillment when Christ brings them home into their eternal state with him.

Till that future time occurs, existing saints, those who have already placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, are “being saved.”

As the message of the cross is “foolishness,” or “moronic” to those who reject Christ, to those saints who are undergoing a continual salvation of their souls, the message of the cross is literally the “power of God.” “Power” is /dunamis/, the Greek word from whence we get “dynamite.”

Verse 19 is Paul’s authoritative text for this message.

He quotes Isaiah 29:14.

The Isaiah passage is a stern warning to Israel that they are not to attempt to match wits with God, and Paul sees this passage as having its fulfillment in the cross of Christ – foolishness to the lost.

*Food for Thought*

            The message of the cross of Christ is simple.

Mankind is born sinful despite the fact that our world teaches us how “good” mankind inherently is.

We’re born with a need for forgiveness even as we come out of our mother’s womb.

God’s wrath on sinful man had to be satisfied for Him to be true, so He meted that wrath out on Himself – on His Son Jesus Christ.

God provided forgiveness at the cross, and though the message is simple, it is foolish to many.

Just the thought that people are evil is foolishness to most, but to those of us who have placed our faith in Christ, it is powerful, and we continually undergo the change that God’s power gave us at the cross.

*1 Corinthians 1:20-21…* Where is the wise man?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

*Commentary*

            Paul’s rhetoric in verse 20 continues his thought from verse 19 where he quotes Isaiah 29:14… “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

Now he says, “Where is the wise man.”

It’s as if Paul is sarcastically asking, “In view of God’s wisdom where is man’s”?

The “wise man” likely refers to the Greek philosophers and thinkers of the day.

Paul asks, “Where is the scribe”?

Scribes were rabbis, teachers of the Law in Israel, and he is clearly comparing those Israel held in high esteem – Jewish rabbis – and who the rest of the world held in high esteem – Greek thinkers.

The third question Paul asks is, “Where is the debater of this age”?

The “debaters” here is a general term for philosophers, and Paul adds “of this age” only to the final group, though it is likely a reference to all three groups.

The basic point here is to summon those who are thought to be wise.

Where are they?

Bring them on so as to match wits with the Almighty Creator God who is the only true Wise One.

It is this Wise One who sent His Son to die on the cross – a message of foolishness to those who don’t believe.

Verse 21 is introduced with “for,” and this stands as an explanation to what Paul is saying about human wisdom.

The “world” here is personified, and it represents all those who hold the cross of Christ in contempt.

Mankind never comes to know God through his search for wisdom because in his search he discounts the cross of Christ as stupidity.

The “world” rejects Christ, and verse 21 says that God was “well-pleased” through the foolishness of the message of Christ to save those who believe.

Simply put, Paul says that God uses the “foolish” message of the cross to bring true wisdom.

When this foolish message is preached it saves those who believe, not those who scoff.

It’s not the preaching per se that saves those who believe, it’s the message preached.

Those who “believe” are not those who simply adhere to the historical truth of the cross of Christ; it includes only those who put their whole trust in Christ through a faithful following of his teachings as representative that their belief is indeed true and real.

*Food for Thought*

            The world we live in today is filled with what it deems as wisdom.

But this kind of “wisdom” owes itself to human self-sufficiency.

God is not impressed with human self-sufficiency, and He has turned the tables on what man thinks is wise.

Mankind believes that he can do anything.

He believes he can create other humans.

He believes that good behavior will buy him eternity.

He believes that technological breakthroughs and medical advances prove that he is “good” and “wise.”

God, however, has turned the tables on man.

That wisdom is foolish in God’s eyes, but true wisdom comes from the exact thing that the world believes is foolish: /the cross of Jesus Christ/.

Wisdom that stems from that is wisdom indeed.

All else is foolishness.

Man left to himself cannot and will not find God.

Dr. Gordon Fee says, “A God discovered by human wisdom will be both a projection of human fallenness and a source of human pride, and this constitutes the worship of the creature rather than the Creator.

The gods of the ‘wise’ are seldom gracious to the undeserving, and they tend to make considerable demands on the ability of people to understand them; hence, they become gods only for the elite and ‘deserving.’”

In the end, both eternal salvation and true wisdom come only through belief in Jesus Christ crucified for the sins of the world.

That’s true wisdom.

*1 Cor.

1:22-25… *For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

*Commentary*

            In the OT God performed many signs for the Jews.

He gave Abraham the sign of circumcision (Gen.

17), He gave King Ahaz the sign of the virgin with child (Isa.

7), and He stretched the boundaries of a day to show King Hezekiah he would live another 15 years (Isa.

38).

Of course the Exodus from Egypt in 1446 BC was a great sign to the Jews that God was leading them.

This one act is referred to numerous times in the scriptures to remind the Jews of God’s power and love for them.

As such, the Jews were accustomed to signs from God. Paul makes mention of this in verse 22 above when he says that Jews ask for signs.

This need for signs reflects their own messianic expectations.

They wanted a sign from the Messiah that he was indeed the Christ.

The Jews believed they had God figured out.

He would grant them a sign; He would perform some great spectacle just like the Exodus from Egypt, only greater.

The Greeks, on the other hand, sought for wisdom.

The Greek historian Herodotus said, “All Greeks were zealous for every kind of learning.”

The Greeks were accustomed to great advances in technology, education, and civilization.

Because of their own advances they abandoned their own pagan gods in favor of gaining wisdom.

Their God was Reason, and what they deemed as reasonable was of the highest order in their idolatrous minds.

Verse 23 presents a sharp contrast between what God is and what Jews and Greeks believed about Him.

Paul, speaking for saints, says, “We preach Christ crucified.”