Saturday, February 5, 2011
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 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.
GOD'S "FOOLISH" GOSPEL IS THE HIGHEST WISDOM
Paul addressed the words above to the Christians in Corinth. It was a leading city of the Roman Empire, boasting a population of over 200,000. Located in this metropolis were two magnificently constructed temples. One dedicated to the glory of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. The other, for the worship of Apollo, the god of medicine and fine arts. The citizens of Corinth took pride in their sophistication and intellectual achievement. But though they were known the world over as a people on the cutting edge of worldly wisdom, they were spiritually ignorant for they possessed no knowledge of the true God. It was to this worldly-wise city that Paul came on his 2nd missionary journey -- preaching Christ crucified. Through this message the Spirit made many wise for salvation by leading them to trust Jesus as their heaven-sent Savior.
Through the same Gospel the Spirit makes people wise for salvation in our high-tech computer age of cell phones and iPods. Before He performed His work in us, we were spiritually ignorant, in fact, dead in sin. We could be compared to mannequins at the local shopping mall. We possessed no ability to respond to our Lord. We couldn't turn to Him in faith, couldn't hear Him speak to us in the Word, couldn't appreciate any of the gifts of His love. But through the message of Christ crucified He made us alive. Now, as regenerate children of God we have in our possession countless blessings of His grace, such as: The peace of knowing our sins have been washed away, the confidence that our heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers, comfort in times of trouble, strength to say "no" when we're tempted to sin and "yes" to following Jesus, the certainty that everything in our life will work for our good, and that when the earthly tent of our bodies are destroyed, we have a building from God eternal in the heavens.
What remarkable power the Gospel of Christ possesses! May we ever treasure it as our highest wisdom!
