Christ The Power Of God

“But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1Corinthians 1:23-24, NKJV)

I have looked forward to jumping into our brother Paul’s letters to the early church in Corinth for a while now… and here we are! What excites me most about 1 & 2 Corinthians is how blatantly plain and real Paul is regarding his mission/purpose (i.e., the Gospel alone) and about the “straightforwardness” Jesus emphasized — or tried to emphasize repeatedly [despite man’s stubbornness!] — we, His chosen, ought to approach our ever-growing relationship with the Lord.

See chapter 1, verses 21 through 25: “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 [utter non-sense] 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**” (ESV).

Literally, all of chapter 2 continues this train of thought. Paul, in short, explaining how he intentionally sought NOT to “operate in professional eloquence” (vv. 1-5), so to speak – but rather allow God to utilize him in such a way that “impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God” (v. 8b, ESV) via Spirit-led demonstration. Since we are called to “impart [the things of or related to God] in words ***NOT TAUGHT BY HUMAN WISDOM BUT [INSTEAD] TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT…” (v. 13). You see, the Gospel — that is, the Good News of what God has done for sinners through Christ Jesus — boasts in **NOTHING BUT** the Messiah!

To the human mind, it seems entirely foolish to hope that we could be redeemed/saved/sanctified through the cross of Christ, especially with its associations of failure, shame, and weakness. But it is precisely **AT THE CROSS** that God’s wisdom, power, and glory are fully revealed — along with the true nature of self-sacrificial love! Reflect on 1 Cor 3:16 and 4:20 – “Do you not [remember] that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” / “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk… but in power” (ESV). I shall end with this: **True maturity will take us deeper INTO THE GOSPEL of Christ crucified, but never beyond it.** In other words, all we need — all we could ever need for the wholeness of our lives (both presently and which is to come) — is really, plainly, straightforwardly **JESUS CHRIST**. Nothing more. Nothing less. Amen.

– Contributed by Bro. James Agtuca