Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Cor. 1. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We’ve been aware for a long time now that Christianity is under attack. That means that if you are a Christian you hear many things each day that challenge and confront your faith in Christ intellectually and morally. That also means that if you are “publicly” a Christian, that is, that people know you are a Christian, you become a lightning rod for modern critiques and rejections of Christianity.
- There is a theological discipline called “apologetics.” This has nothing to do with offering up “apologies,” but rather with defending the faith and the teachings of God’s Word. Not all of us are inclined to such “debating” and “defending” – and not all of us are capable. This is true even of pastors – although it is certainly part of the prophetic aspects of the pastoral office to be “prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” [1 Pet. 3:15] Indeed, all Christians are encouraged to be prepared in this manner. But pastors are especially “public” in representing Christianity in the world – how could it be otherwise?
- However, it often seems as if the world has moved beyond even attacking Christianity. It seems that many have become utterly convinced that Christianity is not even worth having a discussion about, that it has already been thoroughly discredited and dismissed. So we view the news and contemplate what is going on in the world – all of the crises, many of which are based in various kinds of “faith” and “theology” – but God is never mentioned or brought into consideration.
- This is in reality a horrible intellectual weakness – a glaring myopia which make it impossible to see anything as it truly is, for God is intimately and critically involved in everything that has to do with His creation, including especially the affairs of men and human history. But in that the news is presented to us as essentially “godless,” we may come to think in “godless” ways, and to consider and evaluate things without reference or deference to God – as people of the world around us do.
- This attitude of the world toward God – dismissing Him, thinking that He has nothing to do with worldly affairs, or even discounting His very existence – is nothing new. It permeated the Roman world of the first century. The apostle Paul wrote of it in our text for this morning. And it is helpful for us to consider his analysis of “Christianity” – which he simply refers to as “the Word of the cross” – as it exists in the world. What he wrote is equally true and applicable in the world to this very day. First we consider that:
I. The World Thinks God And Christ To Be Weak And Foolish, But God Rules Over All
Text: “The Word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing . . . to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. . . . the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
A. His Word Of The Cross, Of Redemption And Salvation, Is Certainly Strong Enough For Those Who Acknowledge They Are Weak
Text: “But to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . to those who are called Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. . . . it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
B. For God Has Chosen What Is Weak And Foolish To The World To Shame And Destroy All Others
Text: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart . . . God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”
Statement: This is part of the reason the world has rejected God – it is looking for Him in the wrong places and looking for Him in the wrong ways. It is a foolish myopia of mankind to exalt human accomplishment, power, and glory, and to assume that God is impressed and well pleased with us. They look for God to be like them, to agree with them, to look at things as they look at things. But alas, it is not so and never will be – regardless of how wise and strong people think they have become!
Rather, God knows and sees the weaknesses of sinful, fallen human beings – and how our sin has neutralized the glorious goodness and wisdom that He created us with. Vestiges may remain, but these have been corrupted by our inborn unbelief and rebellion against God – and the worldly minded demonstrate this clearly and abundantly. They simply ignore and remain oblivious to God, the greatest power of the universe, and conduct their affairs without any thought of His will, His prerogatives, or their accountability.
Application: You could be among them – and we are all influenced and strongly encouraged to be like them. In fact, your success in life, your popularity, your acceptance, and even your survival may depend upon being like them. And this is why a “defense” is necessary – to keep us from succumbing to this darkness. And God is powerful enough to keep us in faith and His Word is powerful enough to keep us growing in what is true and genuine wisdom – that of knowing God as He truly is. And in the end, it is those whom God has called and preserved in the faith who will prevail – through whom He will destroy the wisdom and power of the world. This is the blessedness to which we have been called in Christ Jesus, in humble repentance and confession of our sin and weakness, and in joyful praise to God for His forgiveness and salvation in Christ Jesus.
Transition: And just as the world seeks powerfully and pervasively to reel you back into its darkness and rebellion, God has provided us with an even more powerful Word to keep us strong and firm in faith. But this is important for us to realize and to know, that:
II. God’s Strong Gospel Empowers Us With All Blessings – Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, And Redemption – Which The Humble Receive From God
A. In Reality, God Has Made Christ To Be Everything For Us
Text: “God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God Made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
1. He is the source of your life in Christ – apart from Him and His rebirthing of you, you have no life
Eph. 2:4,5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.”
2. He has made Christ your wisdom – to know Jesus, His great love for us, His free gift of redemption and salvation – through His Word
John 8:31,32 “If you continue in My Word you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
3. He has made Christ your righteousness – by knowing and believing God’s love and salvation in Christ Jesus
Rom. 3:21-28 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a blood atonement by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
4. He has made Christ your sanctification
2 Cor. 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
2 Cor. 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.”
5. He has made Christ your redemption
Eph. 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
B. Only The Humble And Believing Receive These Gracious Gifts From God – So That Our Only Boast Is In Him
Text: “Therefore it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Statement: If you know these things about God then you have already given up boasting in yourself and have taken up giving thanks and praise to God for all things. You have already acknowledged your weakness and rejoiced to live in the wisdom and power of God – holding on to Christ by faith for all good things. Your faith, your understanding of God and yourself, your thinking and worldview, your religion and piety, is all integrally controlled and dominated by the gifts of God in Christ Jesus. By focusing on His Word, the Word of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified, we are incorporated into the very life, wisdom, and power of God. This is the defense of our hearts and minds.
Application: And we must have this to counter-balance what we get everywhere else in life – from the news, from our friends, from our family, from our employer, from our government. For the choices we are confronted with – the wisdom of this world versus the wisdom of God – are immense, huge, existential, and eternal. The battle for our minds, our hearts, and our souls is poignant, painful, and powerful. But God will prevail – not only in the world but also in our hearts, if we allow Him to work His will for us through His Word, the glorious gospel of His love and salvation in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion: If you are good at apologetics, and have allowed God to imbue you with the wisdom of Christ, then perhaps you are able to take up the defense of Christianity “out there in the world.” If not, it does not matter, for God in His Word will continue to provide you with wisdom, power, and guidance.
The world – as advised by the devil himself – can present very clever and crafty and convincing arguments to our sinful flesh. They make the word of the cross appear as folly to those who are perishing. But we are not among the unbelieving and perishing; God has brought us back to Himself through faith.
However, the “wise” of this world, the “debater of this age,” God has made foolish! So let us take to heart what God has done for us, and keep our attention on His Word, so that we remain “HUMBLE IN OUR LIFE OF FAITH.” This is blessedness and life, and it is also wisdom and power! God grant it to us all forever! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.