Episode 171 - "Jesus Christ and him crucified" - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1Cor. 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
I love this passage. I had the privilege of preaching in chapel at Dallas Theological Seminary a few years ago and preached from this text. I love it because it reminds Christians what is fundamentally important within our faith. Our churches argue and split over so many stupid things. We are not unlike these Corinthians to whom Paul is writing. We can allow our pride to evoke a spirit of elitism or become defensive of our views on lesser things.
Here Paul is arguing that nothing about him and his ministry warrants anyone elevating him to be the object of focus. Paul reminded them of when he had come to them personally to minister. He was there for 1.5 years. (Acts 18:11-12) Paul reminds them that he was not an eloquent speaker. He did nothing to impress them and even reminded them that he was scared. (v. 3) What made such an impact upon the people was not Paul. Paul wants them to understand that it was the message and the source of the message that made an impression and a difference in their lives.
The message is “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (v. 2). Paul said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” In the course of eighteen months, I’m sure they had other questions and things to talk about. However, Paul’s focus and priority were showing them from the Scriptures that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ (Anointed one). He is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). Secondly, Paul emphasized Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus’ willingness to go to the cross and die for our sins reveals God’s justice, righteousness, and grace. If God beforehand (Genesis) told people that disobedience leads to death, then we should understand that any act of our disobedience should justly receive the same outcome. But, what Jesus did on the cross was to experience that death for us, in our place. The just outcome still occurred. But Jesus Christ, being perfect, took the punishment for us. That is how Paul can say in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying there is nothing more important for us to understand than who Jesus is and the significance of his death on the cross.
In addition to the message, Paul wants them to understand that he didn’t craft the delivery of this message in such a clever way to convince people. Despite his own fear and personal limitations, he trusted the Holy Spirit and the divine nature of the message to have power that would open their minds to receive this message. (v. 4)
Paul explains it was important for the effect of this message to be affected through the Holy Spirit so that they wouldn’t sit back later and say to themselves, “Wow! That Paul sure was a smooth talker. He really had us taking in every word.” Instead, they would look back and say, “There was nothing particularly impressive about that guy. But, his message sure rang true.” Verse 5 says, “so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Paul is telling the Corinthians and, indirectly, us that the gospel message of Jesus Christ is the most important truth for our lives, and God’s power helps us understand and receive this message.
My question is, “Do we believe that?” Do we believe that the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified has supernatural power? If so, we should be like Paul and share it with people, correct? We don’t have to worry about being some kind of expert in the Bible or a great and clever speaker. We don’t even have to feel like we have all the answers to all religious questions. We can just share the message and pray that God will allow His power to draw people to believe it.
Prayer: Father in Heaven - Lead me to people who need to hear about Jesus Christ and him crucified, and may your Spirit open their hearts and minds to receive it.