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The Power of the Cross and Unity in Christ 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me today. Our journey is taking us to the first recorded letter that Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth. We're gonna look at first Corinthians chapters0:21 1 and 2 verse 18 of chapter 1. For 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. What a great verse.0:33 Paul's writing this letter, somewhere in the mid fifties AD from Ephesus. Now little background on Corinth. Corinth was an ancient Greek city conquered by the Romans in 1 46 BC.0:45 It became the chief city in the Roman province of Achaea. It was a port city that connected Italy in the west to Asia. It was a city of business, which made it a place of great0:56 wealth and influence. A lot of people coming through there. It was home to philosophers and teachers. It was the home to the, great temple to the goddess Aphrodite with 1000 temple1:08 prostitutes. Its affluence and the luxury it created helped to make the city infamous for its vice. In fact, there was a term in the known world at the1:20 time to play the Corinthian. It meant to engage in sexual immorality. In short, Corinth was a lot like America today. Now Paul first preached in Corinth in 501:31 AD, stayed there 18 months, established the church. He went on, was in Ephesus at the time he gets word that there are problems. There's division. They're not growing spiritually. So,1:44 as their pastor who introduced them to Jesus, he sends a letter to them shepherding them, correcting their behavior. Now this is not the first letter that he wrote to them. According to first Corinthians chapter1:56 5 verse 9, there had been a previous letter or letters that were lost to history. So here's what we're gonna look at today. When a church imitates the ways of the world, it2:08 forfeits the power of heaven when it takes its eyes off the cross. Right? And, the outcome, well, it's division, dysfunction, and disappointment. That's what we read2:20 here in Corinthians. So Paul opens the letter by warmly greeting and affirming the power of Christ in them that will preserve them and prepare them for the day of the lord. So2:32 let's look at verse 8. Who will also confirm you to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus2:43 Christ, our lord. So then he moves directly into the correction. Verse 10. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing2:55 and that there be no divisions among you, but that you'll be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Alright. So a little more background here so you3:07 understand the context. The church at Corinth was not 1 fellowship. Church buildings were still some 200 plus years into the future. Early believers, they met at homes, in halls, wherever they could gather.3:19 So there were many fellowships in Corinth that made up the church. Alright? Now I know this might be hard to believe, but each of these fellowships had their own leader, and they3:31 were developing into competing and rival groups rather than a unified body. Wow. That's unfortunate, but it sounds familiar. Verse3:43 11. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says3:54 I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos or I am of Cephas or I am of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?4:06 So there was competition between the fellowships claiming connection to the various church leaders. So what do you think was behind this? Pride. Alright? Verse 14. I thank God I4:18 baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I have baptized in my own name. Paul focused on 1 thing. What was that 1 thing? Look at verse4:30 17. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made to made of no effect. For the message4:42 of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. So pressing into this issue, Corinth is about 50 miles from4:53 Athens where all the philosophers were, but they weren't limited to Athens. The Greeks were known for their pursuit of human knowledge, which was a source of pride for them. So the kingdom of God, he points out very5:05 clearly, the kingdom of God is not built upon the wisdom of men. In fact, it destroys the wisdom of man. Look at verse 19. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring5:17 to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since the wisdom of5:29 God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but5:41 we preached Christ crucified. To the Jews, it was a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness. But to those who were called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of5:53 God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than man. In other words, man at his very best6:05 cannot even come close to competing with God. Verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many6:17 mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. That as it is6:28 written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. So what was the cause of their division? Personalities and pride. Following men rather than6:40 God and leaning on the wisdom of men rather than the spirit of God. So in chapter 2, we actually, we find the cure for division. So what what's the solution?6:51 Well, Paul doesn't just point out the problem. He gives the solution. The message of the cross is the power of God, and our faith should be in the power of God and not in the wisdom7:03 of man. Let's start. Verse 1, chapter 2. And I, brother, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know7:15 anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. Now remember back in Acts chapter 18, Paul had kinda been run out of a7:27 few towns, a few cities. He, he ends up in Corinth. He sees the wickedness, the idolatry, and he I'm I'm I'm sure he's thinking, oh, man. Here we go.7:39 And the lord speaks to him and tells him not to be afraid to speak and not keep silent. So verse 9. But as it is written, eye has not7:51 seen, nor ear heard, nor has have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them, those things that he's prepared, to us8:03 through his spirit, for the spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Right? What he's saying there, you know, you don't8:14 know what someone else is really thinking. Your spirit inside you knows what you're thinking. You're you're, that's the essence of who you are. So he goes even he goes on verse 20 11 to8:26 say, even so no 1 knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Verse 12. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God that we8:38 might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comp8:50 comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. As believers in Jesus Christ, when we come to know him, our spirit is awakened. It it comes alive, and the spirit9:01 speaks to us the things that are of God so that we might understand them. He teaches us comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of9:13 God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. You cannot understand the things of God until the Holy Spirit is within you,9:25 which happens when you trust Jesus Christ as lord and savior. Alright. Let me close it this way. You know, over the last, 25 years, I've had the opportunity to travel to many9:37 countries. And as of last year, I've now been to all 50 states. And each state you know, we have a beautiful country. God has blessed this country immensely. There's 1 state that really9:49 is breathtaking in its beauty. There there are many, but but 1 that I really like is Utah. And in south central Utah stands what's considered the largest living organism by mass. It's an aspen10:01 grove known as the trembling giant. Back in 2006, the US Postal Service honored it with a commemorative stamp, calling it 1 of the 40 wonders of America. Now at first10:13 glance, the grove looks like tens of thousands of separate trees, about 47000 in all. Yet beneath the surface, there are not many but 110:24 connected by a single root system. When wildfires would sweep across the land, the trees above may burn, but the roots endure. And in time, new shoots spring up, and10:36 the grove flourishes again. Each tree, whether a tender shoot or an aged giant, contributes through its leaves and photosynthesis to strengthen and sustain the whole. They all10:48 contribute. They're all connected together. What a vivid picture of what the church is supposed to be. As followers of Christ embracing the cross, we're not11:00 isolated individuals, but we're 1 body rooted in the cross. We come from different places with different gifts and roles, yet we share 1 life source. Jesus said the world would11:12 know us by our unity and by our love. The body of Christ becomes the wonder of the world when we stand together in the power of God that11:24 comes through the cross of Jesus Christ, which is what Paul preached. Father, thank you for your word. What an amazing word here we have in Corinthians as as Paul11:35 preached Christ crucified, he preached the cross. And it is in that that we find the freedom, and it is through the Holy Spirit, the power of the spirit, that we can11:47 understand the things of the spirit, things of God that you have revealed to your people. So, father, I pray that we might be unified, lord, that that we might because of the cross,11:59 so that we might be unified in you, that we might operate in the strength and the power of the Holy Spirit. And and, lord, that we might stand in such a way that the world is12:11 amazed at the work of the gospel and of the cross. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the12:23 word.In this video 0:00 The Power of the Cross and Unity in Christ
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