Don't Empty the Cross of It's Power

1 Corinthians  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  28:41
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Our Scripture text this morning is taken from:
1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
May God now add His blessing to the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

A Party Spirit Can Tear a Church Apart

The church of Corinth was being torn apart by a party spirit. Some chose to identify themselves with the “Party of Paul” and others chose to identify themselves with the “Party of Apollos” and still others chose to identify themselves with the “Party of Peter”. The irony here is there was no division between these three men as we will clearly see as we continue our study of 1 Corinthians, these divisions were entirely the fault of the Corinthians themselves.
Nor were these divisions because there was a difference in their theology. There is no hint in the New Testament that were was a “Pauline Theology” or a “Petrine Theology” or a “Apollosian Theology”. In the closing chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul expressly says they preach the same theology:
1 Corinthians 15:11 ESV
Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
One only needs to briefly look at church history to see many examples of churches being torn apart by a party spirit. This past year and this new year promise to be particularly challenging in this area because of COVID-19 and the political divisions of our nation. Churches are splitting, church leaders are resigning or even committing suicide out of frustration and congregants are lapsing into apostacy out of disgust at what they see.
What was the cause then and what is the cause now of such division? It is the invasion of worldly values and wisdom into the church.

The Invasion of Worldly Values and Wisdom into the Church

As hinted at in our text and will become more clear as we continue our study of 1 Corinthians, the source of division was the Corinthian’s love for rhetorical skill and institutional status. Paul had the institutional status and Apollos had the rhetorical skill. Greek and Roman society highly valued rhetorical skill and wisdom. By all accounts Apollos was a highly educated and dynamic speaker. He was just the type of speaker the beautiful people, the rich people and the powerful people of their society wanted to associate with.
Paul on the other hand was not. Although he was highly educated and was a skilled writer, his speaking skills were unimpressive and by many accounts he was described as physically ugly. He did have one thing going for him according to the standards of secular society at that time, he had institutional authority. He was an apostle and Apollos was not. As a result the church in Corinth started drifting into two different camps; the “Paul Party” and the “Apollos Party.”
With such division, it did not take long for a third party to arise; the “Peter Party.” Although Peter, was not highly educated like Paul and Apollos, being a member of the inner circle of Christ’s original apostles gave him even more institutional authority than Paul. Moreover, the gospel accounts give us the impression that Peter was a man of action and leader of men; a characteristic that was also highly valued in secular society.
All this was unnecessary, because in the church there should be only one party, the “Party of Christ”. This fourth party listed by Paul in vs. 12, is a rhetorical jab into his readers hearts, we know this is so because in the very next sentence Paul asks:
1 Corinthians 1:13 ESV
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
He uses himself as an example in vs. 12-17, because he does not want to drag Apollos and Peter into this shameful division. Paul is basically saying, “You want proof there is only one party, The Christ Party, then look at me and my ministry!”
When we look at the church today, it is certainly not hard to find examples of personality cults within the church. The Evangelical Church is dominated by big names, big conferences and big books. Although some of these big name preachers are at fault, it is more often the case, as it was in Corinth, that this cult-like party spirit is more the fault of their followers. We too value the well groomed, the well spoken and well connected over the ordinary and unimpressive.
So, what is the big deal you ask? Some like Apollos’ preaching style, other prefer Paul’s and still other’s prefer Peter’s. How often have we heard someone used the excuse for leaving a doctrinally solid church for another by saying, “I prefer pastor “x”, his preaching feeds me”? The problem is this, division empties the cross of its power.

Don’t Empty the Cross of It’s Power

Paul specifically says in vs. 9, that he rejected the rhetorical style that was popular in the secular world because it emptied the cross of its power. We will look at these verses in more detail next week, but for now listen carefully to what Paul has to say about “emptying the cross of its power”.
1 Corinthians 1:18–25 ESV
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.
What makes using the world’s wisdom and methods so incompatible with the gospel? It is because if a person uses worldly wisdom they are using wisdom that will always led to unbelief! Worldly wisdom is not neutral; it is by nature opposed to God and the things of God. Moreover, the church does not need to use the world’s wisdom and methods to complete its mission. The gospel has within itself the power to save those whom God has chosen for salvation. This is why Paul opens this letter by focusing us on God’s sovereign call and grace.
Paul is saying in these verses is this: there is a correspondence between the method we use and the message itself. For decades now, churches have been relying on marketing techniques for reaching others with the gospel. It is called “church marketing”. Paul tells us flat out that he was aware of what the marketing surveys of his time were saying, “Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,” but he purposely chose to stick to the simple message of the gospel. The marketing surveys told him this method would be a failure, Jews would see the message of the cross as a stumbling block and Gentiles would see it as crazy, but Paul knew that in the message of the cross there was power!
Earlier in my sermon, I mentioned the divisions that are arising within the church in America over COVID-19 and our political unrest. May I humbly suggest that this is caused by allowing worldly wisdom into the church. Our nation, and consequently the church, are facing two deadly threats: COVID-19 and government tyranny. The only way to battle both these dangers is through the power of the cross. Here is what I mean, according to Romans 13, the only power government has is power of “the sword”. Coercion does not have the power to create a good and loving people that cares for others and protects liberty. Our foundering fathers understood this. For example, John Adams once said: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people”. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
This is why the church is called not only to be “saints” (vs. 2), but “into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:9 ESV
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fellowship, koinoia in the Greek, speaks of the union we have with Christ and His church. It is one of the most important words in the New Testament. It is the union we share as we celebrate the Lord’s supper. Later in this letter, as Paul instructs us concerning the Lord’s Supper, he writes:
1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
The word “participate” is the same Greek word, koinia, that we just read in 1 Cor. 1:9. The power of konia is the only thing that has the power to overcome the twin threats of plague and tyranny.
Historically, the church has been known as the one institution that ran towards the plague, not away from it. When everyone else was fleeing, Christians would stay and care for the sick and dying. Where did they get such courage? They got such courage by having koinia with Christ’s body and blood.
Historically, how has the church survived tyranny and barbarism? Once again, it is by koinia. In 2017, author and Christian Ron Drehar, wrote a book entitled: The Benedict Option, and then this past year he wrote a follow up entitled Live Not by Lies. In both these books, he argues that the only way the church and Western Civilization will survive is by creating and nurturing authentic Christian community. Although I would argue with many of the details in both books, I do believe Ron Drehar’s basic premise is correct. It is correct, because it is biblical; koinia with Christ is more powerful than all worldly wisdom combined. It is so powerful, that Paul warns us concerning divisions in the church:
1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
2021 promises to be a long and difficult road ahead and the only way will successfully navigate through it is by relying upon the wisdom God has revealed to us in His Word. Let us not empty the cross of its power by using the methods and wisdom of this world!
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