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Text:
1
Corinthians 1:17-25
1.
The Church in Corinth had many
problems.One of the major problems
was caused by the kind of party
spirit.
a.Three men had a part in
bringing the gospel to Corinth.
b.As time went by, the
church was divided.
c.The division of the
church was caused by the
members of the church in
Corinth.
d.Do you know that we are
living in a day when the church
has been destroyed from within?
2.In this chapter, Paul is
telling them that they should be
united, not divided.
a.1 Corinthians 1:10
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by
the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing.”
They should speak for God’s
glory and proclaim His truth in
love (Eph 4:15).
b.1 Corinthians 1:10b
“...that there be no divisions
among you...”
c.In this passage, Paul is
dealing with the divisions
within the church.
Paul sees the cross of Christ as
his main message to unite God’s
people together.
THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS
(1:17)
1.Paul claimed that Christ
did not send him to be a
baptizer, but to be a preacher
of the gospel.
2.Then, he asserted that he
had been directly sent by
Christ.
a.He had the authority of
Christ to preach the gospel
(1:17b).
b.The content of the gospel
is the cross of Christ.
THE POWER OF THE CROSS OF CHRIST
The message of cross is the
power of God.
1.It is the power of God to
save sinners.
a.There is no other message
on earth that could reconcile
man to God.
b.The Apostle Paul’s life
was changed by the Gospel of
Christ.
He was not ashamed of preaching
the Gospel of Christ.
Romans 1:15“So, as much as in me is, I
can ready to preach the Gospel
to you that are in Rome also.”
Verse 16 “For I am not
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that
believeth: to the Jew
first and also to the Greek.”
c.The cross of Christ is
the power of God to save men (1
Cor 1:18; Rom 1:1b).
2.Why do we need to be
saved?
a.We are in the state of
perishing.
b.God sent His Son to save
us from sin and condemnation.
John 3:18 says “He that
believeth on Him is not
condemned: but he that believeth
not is condemned already because
he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of
God.”
(1)Men are placed into one
of the two categories here:
perishing or being saved.
1 Corinthians 1:18“For the preaching of the
cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power
of God.”
(a)The words “perish” and
“saved” are not static.
(b)Paul is describing the
present reality of man.
(c)Men and women are now in
either a lost or saved state in
the presence of God.
3.Their Spiritual Position
Their spiritual position
determines their evaluation of
the cross.
a.The perishing group
views “the cross of Christ”,
the significance of Christ’s
death as silly, absurd,
foolishness, and a stumbling
block.
b.Why?1 Corinthians 1:21-22
give the answer.
“For after that in the wisdom of
God the world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe”
(v21).
“For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after
wisdom”
(v22).
THE REJECTION OF THE CROSS OF
CHRIST
Paul explains his point, why
people would not want to believe
the message of the cross, and
regarded it as foolishness and a
stumbling block.
1.The Jews asked for signs
or miracles (1:22)
a.“For the Jews require
a sign” (1:22)
b.During the earthly
ministry of Christ, the Lord
Jesus had performed many
miracles.
(1)The raising of Lazarus
(Jn 11:43-53)
(2)They kept asking for a
sign.
They said “Master, we
would see a sign from thee”
(Matt 12:38).
(3)Why did they refuse to
believe?
(a)They could not accept the
Messiah to be born in a manger.
(b)They could not accept
that the Messiah was brought up
in a poor family, and lived in
Nazareth.
(c)They could not accept the
Messiah to die on the cross, and
buried in a borrowed tomb (Matt
27).
(d)There was no glory to be
crucified on the cross.
2.The Greeks “seek after
wisdom” (1 Cor 1:22).
a.They wanted rational
proof or evidence before they
would accept.
b.Paul preached “Christ
crucified” (1 Cor 1:23a).
(1)They regarded the message
as foolishness (1 Cor 1:23b).
(a)They viewed a crucified
criminal – which Christ was,
under the Roman law as morally
offensive.
(b)It is also an evidence of
physical weakness.
(2)Their reasoning: How
could the blood of a criminal
remove sin, gave righteousness
and guarantee hope beyond the
grave?
3.There is a third category
of people.
“But we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the
Greeks foolishness”
(1 Cor 1:23).
a.The believers preach
“Christ crucified.”
b.When a person, Jew or
Greek, accepted Christ as his
Saviour, he began to experience
the power of God in his life.
(1)His life was changed.
(2)He was reconciled to God.
(3)He was brought into God’s
family and into the body of
Christ.
(4)The power of the cross of
Christ united the Jews and
Greeks together as one in
Christ.
Therefore, there should
not be any division in the
church.
(5)In the beginning of this
letter, Paul addressed “the
church” of God” (1 Cor
1:2).
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye
not that ye are the temple of
God?”
1 Corinthians 12:27 “ye are
the body of Christ.”
The cross of Christ is
the power of God to save sinners
and to bring them into the
family of God.
May Calvary Church be
united for the furtherance of
the Gospel.
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