1st Corinthians 1:10-31

It’s human nature to place our allegiance in something or someone. Whether it be a celebrity, an athlete, a team, or any number of things, we are drawn to it and latch on, sometimes too tightly. This can most often be seen in the world of sports. Depending on where you were born, where you grew up, what college you or your parents went to, or just latching on to a specific team because of an athlete or personality associated with it, it can become a passionate and sometimes divisive thing. Maybe you’ve seen the car stickers that say “House divided,” because their kids go to rival schools. But allegiance can run deep. When approached in an unhealthy way, it can actually lead to hate, envy, bitterness, anger, pride, and so many other sinful emotions and behaviors. 

This is what was happening in the church in Corinth, and this is where Paul begins his counsel in chapter 1. He calls out what he believes, and rightly so, to be unhealthy allegiances that have begun to cause great division in the church. 

Big Idea: The cross of Christ provides perspective that leads to unity.

Let’s first look at the issue and then continue onward to see how Paul begins to address it. 

Read 1st Corinthians 1:10-17

It’s pretty clear here what the issue was. Different factions had broken out, each pledging their allegiance to a certain person. And this, Paul says, led to quarreling, to infighting. So his plea to them is an appeal, in the name of their shared Lord Jesus Christ, to instead be united in mind and judgment. And the Greek word that Paul uses here is very interesting, “katartizo,” a medical word used for “knitting together bones that have been fractured, or joining together a joint that has been dislocated.” The church at Corinth had become fractured, and Paul was trying to help put them back together. 

So they had broken out into these 4 different groups. Those who followed Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Jesus. Paul of course who planted the church in Corinth, Apollos who we’ll see later had helped in the planting of the church, Cephas who we also know as Peter, the founding father really of the early church movement, and Jesus who needs no explanation. 

And then Paul lays out the absurdity of it all! Can Jesus be divided? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? When you were baptized, was it in the name of Paul? NO! Listen to how absurd it sounds! And then Paul goes a bit on the defensive. “I haven’t given you any reason for this fighting. In fact, I’m thankful that I didn’t baptize many of you, because maybe then I would have added some fuel to the fire. But I only baptized a few of you. In fact, that’s not even what I’ve been called to do. I’ve been called to preach the gospel. Even so, I didn’t give you a reason to fight because of my eloquence. I’m not eloquent. And praise God for that! If man were preached with eloquence and worldly wisdom, it would empty the cross of its power.” In other words, people would become enamored with the messenger and not the message. People would latch onto a personality and not the gospel. 

** Side note: this doesn’t mean that a preacher should not aim for clarity and excellence in communicating, but there is a point at which it can distract from the message being proclaimed.

This young church had lost sight of that which united them in the first place, the cross of Christ. They had begun to look at human wisdom and logic, skill and charisma. So Paul starts his discussion by focusing their attention on that which binds them, the cross of Christ.

Read 1st Corinthians 1:18-25

The Cross

1. Creates Separation (18, 22-25)

A. Considered Folly

The “word of the cross,” the gospel, is folly to those who don’t believe. It is foolishness. It doesn’t make sense! Remember, the church of Corinth is located in Greece, the land of philosophy. Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras…the list goes on. Their highest aim, the ultimate goal was wisdom, reason, intellect. This is what they pursued. This is what they cared about. If it didn’t fit their sense of reason and logic, it was considered foolishness. The cross defies reason and logic! A God man being killed, crucified on a cross nonetheless, and in that moment relieved the world of sin? And you’re telling me that a human being came back to life? And that opened the door to eternal life beyond this life? They just couldn’t reason with enough logic to make sense of this! 

B. A Stumbling Block

The cross of Christ tripped up the Jewish people. Remember they were expecting a Messiah that would overthrow Rome and establish a Jewish kingdom that would become the epicenter of the known world. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, and all the Jews got behind Him in celebration, and had their sights set on an earthly king, when He was lifted up on that cross, they stumbled in confusion and disbelief. The cross tripped up their understanding of the Messiah. It remains, to this day, a stumbling block for the Jewish people, who are still anticipating the coming of the Messiah. 

“It is folly to those who are perishing, a stumbling block to the Jews…but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

C. The Power of God to Save

“We preach Christ crucified…to those who are called, the power and wisdom of God.” The cross, a wooden tool of torture, upon which the flayed and torn body of the accused hung, naked and bleeding, gasping for breath, slowly suffocating with each labored attempt, until lacking the strength to breath any longer. It was shameful. It was degrading. It was horrifying. That is what Jesus did, and when He died, our sin died with Him. In that moment, the curtain in the temple that separated the common man from the presence of God was torn from top to bottom, symbolic of Jesus removing the veil that separated us from God. When Jesus died, and defeated death in His resurrection, a way to salvation was provided.

The cross, the power of God to save those who believe. It doesn’t only create separation, but it…

2. Proves Earthly Wisdom Foolish (19-21)

In verse 19, Paul refers back to Isaiah 29:14. God will “frustrate the wisdom of those who claim knowledge,” as one commentator says. I love the line of questioning from Paul here. A better translation would say, “where does this leave the wise? The scribe? The debater?”

John MacArthur has an excellent take on this idea: “How much closer are we to eliminating poverty, hunger, ignorance, crime, and immorality than men were in Paul’s day? Our advances in knowledge and technology and communication have not really advanced us. It is from among those who are intelligent and clever that the worst exploiters, deceivers, and oppressors come. We are more educated than our forefathers but we are not more moral. We have more means of helping each other but we are not less selfish. We have more means of communication but we do not understand each other any better. We have more psychology and education, and more crime and more war. We have not changed, except in finding more ways to express and excuse our human nature. Throughout history human wisdom has never basically changed and has never solved the basic problems of man.”

The wisdom of man, Paul says, will not lead someone to an understanding of the gospel. In fact he says it pleased God to use the “foolishness” of the cross because it proved earthly wisdom futile!

Now, after Paul walks the Corinthians through the reality of the cross, especially in comparison to earthly wisdom, he turns his attention to them. He reminds them of who they are in Christ, and circles back to the pride and boasting that had caused the fighting in the first place, and it’s a little bit harsh if you think about it. 

Read 1st Corinthians 1:26-31

1. Nothing without Jesus (26-29)

All the fighting and division, caused by pride and boasting, causes Paul to kind of put them in their place. Now he doesn’t say that none of them were intelligent, powerful or noble, but he says “not many of you. Only a few of you. So let me just talk to the majority for a minute.” You couldn’t boast in your wisdom, because according to the world’s standard, you didn’t have much. You hadn’t achieved positions of power, and you weren’t born into nobility. You really didn’t have much to boast about, so let’s just level the playing field real quick. 

And as we talk about unity in the church, this is such a great perspective for all of us. If we can look at each other, not as rich or poor, not as highly educated or no college degree, not as strong or weak, this color or that color, but as sinners, made in the image of God and saved by the grace of God, it immediately levels the field and removes anything that could potentially create boasting and division. 

And Paul expounds on this. God chose what is foolish to shame the wise. Contextually this is talking about people who believe in the cross of Christ. God chose those who the world looks at as foolish for believing in the gospel to bring shame upon those who believe wisdom will get them there. In the same way God chose weak people, made strong in Christ, to shame those who the world would say are strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, humility, self-sacrifice, low social status, and so much more, to shame what the world views as important; success, money, power, prestige. Why? So that no human being is able to boast in the presence of God. 

Here’s what Paul means. One day, everyone will stand in the presence of God in judgment. We like to use the illustrative question, “why should I let you into my heaven?” Some will say, “I achieved so much! I have 7 PHDs and started 38 companies. I was able to create generational wealth for my family, and create experiences, vacations, I mean we had 4 vacation homes! Check out the car I drove, I mean come on, it’s beautiful right?” Yes, but, you are boasting in the wrong things. None of that has eternal value. 

But, there will be many who will stand before the Lord and answer the question, “because of Jesus.” 

2. Complete in Jesus (30-31)

But, for those who have been saved, you have something to boast about. You have been given Godly wisdom, right standing with God, positional and progressive sanctification through the Holy Spirit, redemption through the blood of Jesus. You want to boast? How about encourage each other and boast about the fact that none of you would have had anything to boast about if it weren’t for Jesus. How about you boast in the cross of Christ! Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord! 

All of this division, all of this infighting, all of this boasting, it’s doing nothing but damage to your relationships and to the cause of Christ. Remember the cross. Remember who you were before the cross. Remember who you are now because of the cross. Let that understanding transform how you look at one another. Sinners saved by the grace of God, through the cross of Christ in whom we alone boast. 

Application

Big Idea: The cross of Christ provides perspective that leads to unity.

Hopefully by now you can see how this big idea makes sense. The challenge for all of us, in order to maintain church health and unity, is to view one another in light of the cross. Now, will there be disagreements? Yes, of course. Is there a way to have healthy dialogue in the midst of disagreement? Absolutely. Will we all agree on all of the nuances in theology? No. I love how Paul sets the table here right at the outset. Let’s focus our attention on the cross. Let’s dig into the implications when held up against the wisdom of the world, and remind ourselves who we were before Jesus, and who we are now. And let’s live in light of it.