First Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 3

Having testified to the work of the Spirit, Paul continues on by reprimanding the church at Corinth. Paul betrays what we saw implicitly in chapter one by now explicitly stating his disappointment in the church for being very immature in their faith. “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). Paul openly tells the believers at Corinth that he had to stick to the very basics because of their spiritual immaturity. Though he wanted to build their faith further with solid food he realized that their foundation was still not quite stable, so he continued to feed it deliberately with spiritual milk. “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4). The outward behavior of the church at Corinth gave testimony to their worldliness and immaturity in the faith. Their focus was on worldly happenings and not on Jesus Christ; they were always looking for something “more” or busy creating drama by fighting over which teacher they followed; they were not content with the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone and this rightly concerned Paul very deeply.

Paul continues on with passionate and earnest teaching, hoping that thru his proclamation they might see the error of their ways: “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). The first thing Paul wants the Corinthians to see is that God does indeed use men to spread His gospel and gather His harvest, but that ultimately these men are only servants and vessels of God’s work. As Paul put it, the men who do the work of God in this life are in the final analysis “not anything”; they are nothing, God is everything. “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath” (Psalm 62:8-9). “Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing” (Isaiah 40:17). “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Galatians 6:3). Therefore it is only God who ultimately creates faith and makes believers out of unbelievers. “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so Yahweh will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations” (Isaiah 61:11). The problem for the Corinthians was that they were failing to see God’s work and God’s power thru His Word. The Corinthians were falsely falling into the worldly ways of esteeming men and were raising Paul and Apollos to “celebrity status” and beyond. They thought that their teachers and even their own wills had the power to create faith and therefore they were busy obsessing about mere men and no longer looking to God. This “idolizing” of their teachers caused the Corinthians to lose focus on Christ and therefore put what little faith they had, teetering on the brink of destruction. Paul and Apollos were indeed actively proclaiming the Word of God to the people of Corinth but the efficacy and power of that Word was always in God’s hands, and this is what the Corinthians (and many of us today) failed to realize. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). By clinging to the strength of man the Corinthians were in reality pushing away Christ. In his letter to the Colossians Paul spoke of how the Gospel (God’s Word in Christ Jesus!) was bearing fruit and growing as it created faith in those it touched. This gospel and message was the power of God that enabled Paul’s ministry to flourish and succeed even amidst what seemed to be worldly failures and collapses. “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth” (Colossians 1:6). “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Also, in his second letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul clearly shows that God deserves all the thanks for making men grow in faith and love; Paul does not congratulate the men themselves, but he instead thanks God for doing work in their lives. “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). We too need to truly give thanks to God for the work He has done within us thru His Word and His Baptism, and not fall into the trap of the Corinthians by thinking that somehow we brought ourselves to faith or put ourselves in the grace of God. It is arrogance, pride, self-absorption, and thanklessness that cause men to think that they are the workers and sustainers of their salvation; this attitude dangerously kicks Christ to the curb and undermines our entire foundation. God spoke very clearly thru the prophet Ezekiel about how He saved us from our helplessness and caused us to grow: “I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels” (Ezekiel 16:6-7). Clearly God alone creates faith and makes it grow in the hearts of men. We were nothing but bloodied and helpless sinners who were kicking and flailing about aimlessly when God stepped in thru the manger, cross, and empty tomb of Jesus Christ and proclaimed to us with power: “Live!” This Word and promise brought us new life and caused us to grow in faith and love for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Himself also used the seed/sow/plant/water/grow analogy in His parables. In His explanation of the parable of the sower He proclaimed: “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). Therefore the Word of God is the seed from which our faith is created. After being planted and watered a seed sprouts and produces growth while flourishing into a new creation. In the same way our faith and subsequent good works grow out of the Word of God when it is planted into our hearts by God’s grace and working. Without the Word of God there is no faith and no good works. Peter discussed the beauty of the imperishable seed of God’s Word: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23-25). Our new birth in Christ Jesus has been thru the Word of God and this is not fleeting and fickle like the products of man, but it is by means of the eternal and immutable Word of God Almighty who spoke the entire universe into existence. “By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6). Thru the prophet Ezekiel God spoke of the power of His Word to bring us men, who are nothing but dry and dead bones, back to life: “Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh! This is what Yahweh says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life…Then you, my people, will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I Yahweh have spoken, and I have done it, declares Yahweh” (Ezekiel 37:4-6, 13-14). Therefore we must not focus on the servants who carry out God’s work or on our own faculties and abilities, but we need to instead focus on Jesus Christ and His Word by which He has chosen to give us life and bring us to faith. Let us pray that we do not fall into the human trap of looking to the will of man (thinking we are sleek and strong in our own choices and will), but that we instead look humbly and relentlessly (realizing we are injured, weak, lost, and stray) to God’s work, will, and grace thru our good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness…I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares Yahweh. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy” (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-16).

Having firmly taught the church at Corinth that the gospel is God’s power and working that brings men to faith, Paul continues on by discussing the foundation that is so imperative for us all: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:10-11). Jesus Christ is our foundation and He is in fact the only true foundation; any foundation other than Jesus Christ is no foundation at all. Jesus Christ as our foundation means that we rely completely and totally on His work that was done on our behalf on the cross; it is upon this alone that we rest, stand, and build. Apart from the foundation of Jesus Christ there is no salvation and there is no life, for Jesus Christ is indeed “the Head from whom the whole body…grows as God causes it to grow” (Colossians 2:19). God spoke of this foundation thru the prophet Isaiah: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed” (Isaiah 28:16). Paul also spoke of this to the church at Ephesus: “You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus also spoke of the importance of having our foundation upon Him alone: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27). Is Jesus teaching us that our own works and deeds are our source of life when He says he who “puts them into practice” has the foundation on sure rock? Not at all! Christ is not teaching works righteousness here, he is simply illustrating that the true work of God’s Word is a living faith that manifests itself daily thru good works. Those who do not live according to Christ’s words are those who have no faith; those who live according to Christ’s words are those who have the Spirit alive and at work within them. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). As Paul taught earlier to the Corinthians, one must “hear” the Word of Christ to even be brought to faith at all; therefore one must “hear” the Word of Christ in order to put the words “into practice”; and as we have seen so clearly, the Holy Spirit alone is the one who works “hearing” in our hearts and minds, compelling us to good works. Therefore we rely on the Word and promise of God to create a new will in us (granting us the mind of Christ) that acts faithfully upon Christ’s words. We do not rely on our own works or righteousness, but we trust that the Word of God will create the proper foundation of Jesus Christ within us that moves us to loving action. With the psalmist we pray: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:10-12). At this point it is important for us to observe that Paul also gives each of us a clear warning thru his words to the Corinthians when he says, “each one should be careful how he builds.” But what is Paul talking about here? What kind of building is he referring to?

Continuing on in the chapter we find our answers: “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Clearly Paul is talking about building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but what specifically is the building he refers to that will be tested by fire? What does he mean by building with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw? First off we need to recognize that we ourselves are the building: “you are God's field, God's building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). This means that our lives, our bodies, our thoughts, our words, our deeds, our doctrine, and all that we are is the building that is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. We need to be careful that no part of our lives is built off of the foundation of Jesus Christ. Therefore Paul warns us to be careful or wary in how we build on Christ so that we do not undermine our foundation with careless and reckless building. The gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw are different teachings and works. Sound doctrine and love for instance would be gold, for when they are tested by fire they not only survive but are actually purified and strengthened. The straw and hay would be false teachings and desires of the sinful flesh, for when they are tested by fire they burn up and become nothing, possibly even igniting and taking with them everything around them. If we dare build false teachings and sinful deeds on our foundation of Christ then we are most certainly flirting with disaster. As Paul says, we can still be saved if our foundation is truly Jesus Christ (relying on Him crucified and risen for complete salvation), but if we are saved amidst these false teachings and carnal living than it is only as “one escaping thru the flames.” We therefore need to seriously heed the warning of Paul to be very careful what and how we build upon our foundation of Jesus Christ. Ultimately we will be weakening our foundation of Jesus Christ if we accept false teachings and live in our sinful desires, and this may eventually corrode and bring down our entire foundation. We need to think of these false teachings and carnal living as termites or mold in our building of life: if they are allowed to continue and are not treated and squelched out, they will eventually spread throughout the entire foundation and destroy everything. It is for this very reason that God allows us to be tested by “fire” in this life, so that all of our reckless and selfish building will be destroyed before it can take us completely down. God wants to save us, so He disciplines us in order that the lies and sin in our life are removed before they corrupt our foundation. Therefore it is imperative for us to take Paul’s warning with sober humility and repentance, continually falling onto the work and grace of Jesus Christ as we actively cleanse ourselves of all false teachings and sinful habits.

Continuing on Paul speaks in more clarity about taking care of our building that stands on Christ: “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). In these words we see the first instance of Paul’s teaching to the church at Corinth where he proclaims that we ourselves are in fact the temple of God where the Holy Spirit dwells. Paul brings this up here in order to solidify his warning about being careful how we build on the foundation of Christ. We need to honor the fact that we are no longer our own, but having been bought by Christ we are now God’s. We truly hear the Word of God and have faith in Christ’s work because we belong to God. “He who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:47). Therefore we must not destroy God’s temple by clinging to false teachings and living immersed in sin, we need to build appropriately on what Christ has done for us in the manger, cross, and empty tomb. “In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).

In light of this Paul continues on to actually implore us to become “fools” for God and His Word: “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile’” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20). Building on his teaching that the Gospel is foolishness to sinful man, Paul reinforces here that we in fact need to become “fools” by the world’s standard in order to become truly wise in God’s eyes. It is only when we cling foolishly to the plain Word of God and His promises therein (the cross, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and all the “foolish seeming” teachings of Christ) that we will come to see that the true hidden wisdom of God lies only in faithful adherence to what He has made known and proclaimed. Therefore let us get away from clinging to anything from man and fall completely on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and proclaimed to us thru His prophets and apostles. Where men and our own abilities will fail us, God has already succeeded on our behalf! “So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

First Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 2

Having shown us the foolishness of the cross and how God has chosen “the things that are not” and turned them into the things that are, Paul continues on by pointing to the worldly meekness, weakness, and lowliness of his own preaching: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). Paul came to his hearers not with human wisdom, eloquence, bravado, wittiness, or relevance, but he came with the simple message of Jesus Christ crucified. Paul shows us his honest intentions by stating that he desired to know one thing, and one thing alone: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. When push came to shove and all things came to a point Paul claimed to know nothing but this: the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins so that we might be brought to God. “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power” (1 Corinthians 2:3-5). Paul’s main goal was this: not to let “Paul” get in the way of Christ’s message. Paul didn’t want his listeners to hear “Paul,” he wanted them to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul never pointed to himself and he always tried to eliminate as much of himself from the equation as he could. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this same advice to all who proclaim Christ: “The more [our listeners] turn to Christ the less will we steer any attention to ourselves.” We never want our hearers to trust in us, we want them to trust in Christ. The active work of all preaching should therefore be a humble aim to keep oneself out of the final picture so that our hearers will not rely on human presentation, but will instead rely on God’s power.

Paul continues: “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:6-10). Despite the fact that the message of the cross is foolishness to sinful man, it is still the very wisdom of God and thru the Spirit’s work we do indeed see this wisdom. By quoting Isaiah chapter sixty-four Paul wants to remind us that our eyes, our ears, and our minds are not capable of grasping the love of God in Jesus Christ, but that it is instead the Spirit of God working inside us that does this. In light of this truth Martin Luther wrote: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith.” Clearly Luther understood well what Paul was getting at in these verses when we said that this is a “hidden” wisdom. The fact that we see and believe in the true wisdom of the cross is not a result of our own blind reason, senses, abilities, or choices; it is a result of the Spirit’s enlightening work inside of us thru the Word.

Paul goes on to talk about this work of the Spirit: “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). Because the Spirit alone knows the truth, it is only by the Spirit that we can see the truth of the cross and cling to it in faith. Christ Himself told us of the Spirit’s true work: “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit’s job is always this: to testify to Jesus Christ, to open the hearts of men to Jesus Christ, and to bring men to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul continues on to speak of the means by which this happens: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (1 Corinthians 2:13). Paul is saying here that the very message of the cross that He is proclaiming is where and how the Spirit works in us. The Spirit comes to us by the Word; the Spirit teaches us by means of the Word of Christ. Christ taught this when He said: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Paul also taught this in his letter to Rome: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In the greater context of Christ’s words Paul is clearly saying this: faith comes from the Spirit’s work, the Spirit comes to us thru the Word of Christ.

To hammer this truth home Paul continues by speaking of the contrary situation: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). To solidify his point Paul tells that it is actually impossible to accept Jesus Christ on our own; we can only accept the truth of God by way of the Spirit of God working inside of us. “They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand” (Isaiah 44:18). “To this day Yahweh has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear” (Deuteronomy 29:4). Therefore no man is himself responsible for “accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior”; it is in fact the work of God’s Spirit within our hearts, by means of His Word. Any outward “accepting” of man is merely a formality, as the true work of God has already taken place thru the promise of His Word and Baptism where He gives us a new mind, heart, and spirit. God spoke of this action of grace thru Ezekiel (pay special attention to who is doing all the action in these verses): “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

After having covered all aspects of the Spirit’s powerful work inside of us Paul goes on to his conclusion: “The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16). Thru the Spirit’s amazing work we now have a new mind: the mind of Christ. In Christ all believers become of one mind and heart. “All the believers were one in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). This one mind is not our own mind but is an alien mind (just like our righteousness), a mind that comes from outside of us, from Jesus Christ. Look at what Paul taught the Romans about having this renewed mind in Christ versus our old sinful mind: “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). Therefore it is never our mind or our ability that loves God, believes in Him, turns our life around, seeks His will, and trusts His graciousness and mercy, it is the mind of Christ at work within us. It is only with the mind and heart of Christ that we can carry out God’s commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). This is illustrated poignantly by the fact that Christ even had to open the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures; our mind is helpless and ignorant in spiritual matters, but the mind Christ gives brings true understanding: “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). This new mind we receive in Christ was spoken of and foretold again and again by the prophets. Speaking of Christ to come, God declared thru Samuel: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind” (1 Samuel 2:35). Speaking of the work of Christ to come, Isaiah declared: “Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear” (Isaiah 32:3-4). Speaking of the new covenant in Christ Jesus, God proclaimed thru Jeremiah: “‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares Yahweh. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more’” (Jeremiah 31:33-34). With the mind of Christ that we have been given in our Baptism we remain steadfast in the Word so that the Spirit’s work may continue to renew us day by day. “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). In this Word we are called to continually praise and thank God because thru His Word we share in the heart and mind of Christ that is forever guarded in the peace of God. “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

First Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 1

In the 1st century A.D. the Greek city of Corinth was very affluent, wealthy, learned, and sophisticated by the world’s standards. It follows that this worldly “success” created a fertile breeding ground for self-importance, pride, sexual immorality, greed, lusts of all kinds, and any other vice that the mind can conjure up. Matthew Henry wrote about Corinth, “It was in a particular manner noted for fornication, insomuch that a Corinthian woman was a proverbial phrase for a strumpet, and korinthiazein, korinthiasesthai—to play the Corinthian, is to play the whore, or indulge whorish inclinations.” It is within this context that we need to read Paul’s words addressed to the Corinthians while also realizing that Paul specifically intended his letter for all Christians: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:1-3). Besides Paul’s intention for this letter to be not only for the church at Corinth but for all believers, we also see Paul reiterating his call from the Lord to be Christ’s ambassador and Apostle. This call is important to reiterate because it reestablishes his authority to speak the Word of the Lord.

Paul continues on: “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you” (1 Corinthians 1:4-6). It is important for us to notice Paul’s deliberate use of the phrases “in Christ Jesus” and “in Him.” These phrases are meant to illustrate that everything good in our lives is a result of being “in Christ.” We must never think that we have anything good apart from Christ; it is only “in Him” that we have life, grace, forgiveness, peace, joy, love, and truth. “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Apart from Christ we are nothing, can do nothing, and amount to nothing. It is for this reason that Paul is clear to emphasize that the grace of our lives comes “in Christ.”

As he continues on Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians gives us a clue as to what their spiritual shortcomings were and what counseling they needed from him: “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:7-9). Why is Paul telling the Corinthians that they do not lack any spiritual gift? How would Paul know this? What is Paul telling them thru this statement? From this statement of Paul’s we can implicitly see that the people at Corinth were looking for “something more” and that he is going to tackle this misconception throughout his letter. In reality this is no different than so many of us today, so we should all listen attentively to what Paul is telling us thru this. Paul is imploring the Corinthians to see that because they have Jesus Christ crucified that they have everything they could ever need or want; they are lacking no spiritual gift despite what they may think. Paul doesn’t even need to be there with them to know that they lack nothing. Why? Because he knows they have Christ. If you have Christ then there is nothing lacking whatsoever, if you have Christ you literally have it all. Thru Jesus Christ God is faithful so we must never let any doubts that are rooted in experience, feelings, circumstances, or emotions get a foothold in our life. The church at Corinth however did not seem to be content with “just” Christ and were looking for something more to make them “sure” and “convinced,” and therefore Paul urges them to realize that they already have it all in Christ Jesus. He urges them to remember that it depends not on themselves but on God who is faithful.

Paul proceeds: “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). In these words Paul implores us to unity in Christ. He strongly desires that no unnecessary factions exist amongst the believers so that their service and work might move forward as one. What sort of divisions and factions is Paul referring to? Moving on we get a glimpse: “My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12). In these words we see the root of the divisions amongst the Corinthians and the unity that Paul desires. The people of Corinth had fractured themselves around different men and leaders, thinking that somehow their outward leader determined their unity; they wrongly had moved away from following Christ and transitioned towards dividing themselves around fallen, sinful men (Paul, Apollos, Cephas [Peter], or whomever). Therefore we see that the unity that Paul desires for them is not thru having the same “pastor” or “spiritual leader,” but thru Jesus Christ and a united confession of faith. “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13-14). As always, Paul points to Christ and away from himself and other men by posing some important and pointed questions. He essentially asks: Who is the foundation of your faith? Who is the One who did everything on your behalf? Who is the one who died for your sins? Who is the one who has covered and forgiven you in your Baptism? The answer is without a doubt, Jesus Christ. Even though this was clear, the people of Corinth were somehow putting their loyalty and trust into their teachers and not into the cross.

For this reason Paul continues on and says: “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:15-17). Because Paul wanted the church at Corinth to see that Baptism was God’s work and not any work of man, he tells them that he is very thankful that he only baptized a few of them. Baptism is not dependent on who does it; having Paul baptize you is no different than any other person, because what matters is the Word and promise of God for the sake of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ Himself did not baptize (that is physically submerge the person or pour the water onto them) while He was here on earth, for He did not want men to think that the hands that apply the water made any difference. “The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples” (John 4:1-2). Christ wanted men to cling to the promise of God, not to the human hands who just so happened to carry out the act. Paul also desired the same thing, and because he saw how his standing as the called and chosen Apostle of Jesus Christ made for a huge temptation for men, he was thankful that he had baptized very few with his own hands. Following up on his point from before, Paul wants us to see that we were baptized “in Christ Jesus” and not in Paul’s name. The beauty of Baptism is that thru it God puts us “in Christ Jesus”; and therefore it is to this promise that we cling. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Paul wants us to look to the Word and cross of Christ and not to the men who preach the message, pour the water, or teach in our churches; they are important servants of the Word, but they must never become the focus. It is not the work of man but the work of God thru the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord that has saved us and brought us all the grace in our lives. “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:5-7).

After having pointed us away from the work of men and toward the gospel and promise of Jesus Christ, Paul continues on by discussing the message he was given to proclaim. “The message of the cross is foolishness 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; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate’” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). In these words Paul proclaims one of the most important truths of the Scriptures: the message of the cross does not make sense to fallen, sinful, natural man. The message of the cross is certainly the power of God to save us, but to the reason of man it is absolute foolishness. In this bold declaration Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah and it is well worth our time to look at the context of Isaiah’s statement: “For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, ‘Read this, please,’ he will answer, ‘I can't; it is sealed.’ Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he will answer, ‘I don't know how to read.’ The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish’” (Isaiah 29:13-14). What on earth is Isaiah saying here? Isaiah is speaking about the truth of the Scriptures and the message that they contain. The entire purpose of the Scriptures from first to last is to point to Jesus Christ: “These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). However, to fallen man the words of the Scriptures are nothing but another set of human words sealed in a scroll. This means that those who use only their human faculties to study the Scriptures will read the words but will in fact get nothing out of it. No amount of wisdom, reason, or intelligence can unseal the Word of God; only Jesus Christ can unseal the Word of God for He is “the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7). It is for this reason that the Lord goes on in Isaiah to say that all the efforts of man are worthless before Him; though we say we love Him, we do not, though we act like we worship Him, we do not. It is in this helplessness of our own reason, wisdom, and intelligence that God graciously chooses to astound us with wonder upon wonder. This wonder is Jesus Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sins. Men say that the gun is the “great equalizer” because of its ability to level the playing field between people in battle. However the true great equalizer is the cross of Jesus Christ. Foreshadowing the cross to come the Lord says: “I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron” (Isaiah 45:2). Before the cross all things are brought low and are leveled. No amount of human wisdom, intelligence, reason, will, determination, or ability counts for anything before the cross of Jesus Christ. All men are equal before the cross; all men are brought to nothing before the cross.

In light of this Paul continues on with some questions for us to think on: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20). Paul is ultimately asking: What has all the great achievements of this world gotten us? What has the best work of our hands truly done for us? Have all the great advances of technology and philosophy gotten us to a better, happier, more fulfilled place? Do not even our greatest efforts end up hurting us with their side-effects and unforeseen consequences? Have we really gotten ourselves anything more than greater chaos and pain? Have we truly found God with all our vain striving? Have we pleased Him even a little bit with all our best efforts? The answer to all this is a resounding “no.” The honest observer will clearly see that all the great efforts of man have ultimately done nothing for the true human condition and state. In light of this God Himself stepped in: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:21-24). Because our wisdom got us nowhere it pleased God to save us thru what seems to be foolishness to our sinful nature. To the Jews the message of the cross is a stumbling block because it comes thru grace and not by works, and also because Jesus Christ came shrouded in weakness and not full of power like the King David they presumptuously expected. Matthew Henry wrote: “[The Jews] had a conceit that their expected Messiah was to be a great temporal prince, and therefore would never own one who made so mean an appearance in life, and died so accursed a death, for their deliverer and king. They despised him, and looked upon him as execrable, because he was hanged on a tree, and because he did not gratify them with a sign to their mind, though his divine power shone out in innumerable miracles.” To the Gentiles however the message of the cross is just plain foolishness because it makes no sense to our reason and it cannot be grasped and proved with science, our pride and vanity wants nothing to do with this “ridiculous” and “backwards” seeming message. Matthew Henry wrote: “[The Gentiles] laughed at the story of a crucified Savior, and despised the apostles’ way of telling it. They sought for wisdom. They were men of wit and reading, men that had cultivated arts and sciences, and had, for some ages, been in a manner the very mint of knowledge and learning. There was nothing in the plain doctrine of the cross to suit their taste, nor humor their vanity, nor gratify a curious and wrangling temper: they entertained it therefore with scorn and contempt. What, hope to be saved by one that could not save himself! And trust in one who was condemned and crucified as a malefactor, a man of mean birth and poor condition in life, and cut off by so vile and opprobrious a death! This was what the pride of human reason and learning could not relish.”

In the face of both Jew and Gentile stumbling over the message of the cross Paul goes on to note, “the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25). Paul is certainly not saying that God is foolish or weak, but he is simply saying “God is God, and His ways are far above and beyond our best and most noble efforts and understanding.” “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Even the greatest efforts of man amount to nothing in the face of God’s smallest work. Martin Luther wrote: “I know that all spirits and scholars together are not as wise as is the Divine Majesty in His little finger.” Realizing this Paul implores us to look at what we were before we were called: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). The most important part of this verse for us to meditate on is Paul’s declaration that God chose “the things that are not.” This is a direct echo of Paul’s statement to the church at Rome: “The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17). God calls us who were worthless, worthy in Christ. God calls us who were unrighteous, righteous in Christ. God calls us who were evil, good in Christ. God calls us who were condemned, justified in Christ. God calls us who were dead, alive in Christ. God calls us who were His enemies, children in Christ. God has made us who were nothing, something in Christ Jesus so that we might see His grace and mercy and be unable to boast before Him.

Because we were nothing we know that God deserves all glory, credit, and praise for having saved us from first to last, 100% on His own. We did nothing and could do nothing to put ourselves in God’s favor, so God did it Himself in the cross of Jesus Christ! “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). We therefore dare not think or dream that we somehow deserve the credit for being in Jesus Christ. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). God alone is the reason we are in Jesus Christ and it is not the result of any futile decision, choice, act, willing, seeking, works, obedience, or desiring of our own. We should therefore rejoice and be eternally thankful that we have a God who is kind and compassionate beyond all measure and compare! “Praise Yahweh, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion…Yahweh is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love…He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:2-4, 8, 10-12).