See the Big Picture. Dig In. Live It Out: A 5-Day Reading Plan in 1 CorinthiansSample

The Big Picture

The Corinthian church had divided around intriguing and talented personalities, preachers whom the Spirit had used to instruct and guide them. Though a faction had formed around Paul, he was neither complimented by their confidence in him nor jealous of the others who had followers in the church. Paul emphasized that the problem was not whom they followed, but that they followed anyone other than Christ. In order to get his point across that their salvation and sanctification depended on the Spirit of God rather than on the man of God, Paul reminds them of their shared history. As he tells that story, Paul constructs a simple but effective philosophy of preaching that needs to be recovered in the twenty-first century.

Digging In

No doubt many of the recipients of Paul’s letter first heard the gospel as a result of Paul’s ministry. Warren Wiersbe points out “a beautiful parallel between Matthew 28:18–20 and Acts 18:1–11"—between the Great Commission and the description of how Paul fulfilled it when he came to Corinth. When Paul arrived and began speaking in a public setting, the locals could not help but notice that he did not conform to the conventions used by the roving orators to which they were accustomed. They all wanted to impress with their skill more than to impact with their truth. 

Paul’s manner was entirely different. He was nothing like the others. As he preached the clear, unadulterated gospel, the Holy Spirit applied it to hearts, making them alive toward God as they repented of their sin and trusted Christ. Through preaching empowered by the Spirit, the Corinthians believers had changed despite the absence in Paul’s preaching of the qualities that had attracted and mesmerized them when other orators spoke. 

By the time of this letter, several years have passed, and many of the Corinthian believers have lapsed back into their old way of thinking. Behind the divisions in the church lies a worldly way of thinking. In response, Paul rebukes them for idolizing men and reminds them that the power of the gospel comes from God alone. 

Unlike the educated speakers of his day, Paul never claimed to be able to speak on more than one subject. To the contrary, he only had one message, the message of the cross of Christ (1 Cor. 2:1), because only that message was the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). Paul’s limited subject matter was another distinction between him and any other speaker the Corinthians had heard. He did not rely on breadth of knowledge any more than he trusted in his own skill. Furthermore, his deep conviction about the cross fired a passion within him that sheer brilliance and natural talent can never artificially attain. 

Though Paul’s subject was limited to the gospel, the gospel itself is not limited to one subject. The message of the cross is expansive in its scope as Paul’s letter to the Corinthians itself makes clear. This, too, distinguished Paul and his message from anything else the Corinthians had ever heard. Whatever subject the Corinthians brought up, Paul was not so concerned about that particular matter per se as much as how it related to the gospel. The gospel is the lens through which Paul addresses everything! 

Paul then states “I came to you in weakness” (2:3). In the Greek world, “weakness” was contemptible and undermined effectiveness, but Paul sees it precisely the opposite way. There really is something powerful about weakness. As contradictory as it seems, that is precisely what the Lord told Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9a). In human weakness the glory of the Lord shines brilliantly. Once Paul understood that, he stopped asking the Lord to remove his weakness and responded, “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9b–10). 

Some have suggested that Paul is speaking primarily of his physical weaknesses due to the hardships of life he had experienced. Still, others suggest that Paul is referring primarily to the intimidation he felt as he considered the daunting task of preaching. He trembled at the knowledge of the eternal consequences of the preaching event. No doubt he experienced a combination of both. Weakness of body acutely reminds us of our dependence on God and our true inability to accomplish anything of worth in our own strength. 

Had Paul trusted in his own skill as a speaker to persuade them, he would only have talked the Corinthians into something that anyone could talk them out of. Though Paul believed in being persuasive (see 2 Cor. 5:11), he wanted his persuasiveness to emanate from the Spirit of God, for only then would the results last because they belonged to the Spirit as well. He did not rely on “persuasive words of wisdom” but instead his preaching was “with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4). That “demonstration of the Spirit’s power” was not some miraculous deed, but rather the conviction and passion with which Paul preached, the conviction wrought in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, and the lives that changed as a result of that process.

Living It Out

Implicit in Paul’s remark to know nothing except Christ crucified is the cross’s claim on every aspect of the Christian’s life. No quarter of existence, no field of endeavor, no aspect of humanity lies beyond the cross’s reach or claim. The message of the cross is simple and comprehensive. Without the message of the cross, a preacher says nothing, no matter how many words are spoken. 

We can be guilty of focusing on only a part of Jesus and conscripting him for our own purposes. Jesus in the manger is a safe religious symbol. Jesus feeding the hungry is caring. Jesus’ leadership principles will help people achieve their goals. Jesus cleansing the temple can be used to claim that he hated “organized religion.” One can find many ways to keep Jesus palatable and inoffensive. The cross, on the other hand, is not spoken about in polite company. What an offense! What a scandal that God would demand the death of his own Son in order to save sinners. Unfortunately, even some who claim to be his followers find that terribly offensive. They want a cross-less Christ. 

But for the great apostle, nothing could ever be more relevant, more encompassing, more essential for his listeners than the message that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all who will believe. When God spoke to Paul and encouraged him to stay in Corinth, he did so by telling him that he had many people in that city (Acts 18:10). Paul knew that the message those people needed was the message of the cross. 

Much about human culture has changed since the first century, but not much about humans. Humanity’s deepest need is no different, and neither is God’s method of meeting that need. Every person is a sinner and separated from his or her infinitely holy Creator. A just God still demands that every sin be punished, either through eternal punishment in hell, or in the infinite God-man on the cross. It may not be palatable, but it is powerful.

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We adapted this plan from another resource. Learn more at 40daysseries.net