Monthly Archive for June, 2002

1 Corinthians 2:2b

Published on June 30, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The reason Paul started with the person and work of Christ is that this is the heart of the gospel whereby one becomes a Christian. He would later give them other doctrines pertaining to salvation and the Christian life.

Paul placed his trust in the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross to save. He did not clutter his message with philosophy. A simple gospel presentation is a foolish approach in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of some evangelicals as well!

1: 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 of no effect. 18For 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.

Paul set up a policy for himself. This was a policy not to get sidetracked by philosophy in presenting the simple gospel message. Paul did not address the philosophy of Pythagoras, Epicureanism, Stoicism, or any other philosophy. He simply presented the gospel of the person of Christ and Him crucified.


PRINCIPLE: Focused believers set policy for themselves in making gospel presentations.


APPLICATION: Any approach that belittles the simple gospel message obscures the gospel. Since the gospel constitutes absolute truth, it cannot be refuted by philosophy or human methods. A popular method today is to take a dialectical approach to truth. First there is a thesis then an antithesis that is set over against the thesis. Then again, a new synthesis forms out of the prior thesis and antithesis which again forms a new thesis. On and on it goes with no end or conclusion. This process never comes to a conclusion about truth. This is a losing proposition for presenting the gospel message because it is against the very idea of the gospel that it is absolute truth that is to be proclaimed.

The biblical principle is to declare the message and let the Holy Spirit work on the heart (2:4). We do not have to know everything about a Muslim to witness to a Muslim; we do not have to know philosophy to witness to a philosopher; we do not have to be a scientist to witness to a scientist.

Salvation of souls rests on the power of the cross, not on our speaking ability. The issue is and has always been that Christ paid the penalty for our sin and we need to believe that to go to heaven. The power is in the gospel, not the speaker.

Ro 1: 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

1 Corinthians 2:2

Published on June 29, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

For I determined not to know anything among you

Paul resolved to exclude any evangelistic approach to the Corinthians except the one great central truth of the gospel–the person and work of Christ. Paul intentionally set aside anything that might prop up the message of the gospel. He did not seek any other means of communication. The reason for this was that the cross was a verdict on the wisdom and philosophy of man. This is God’s foolish methodology. Man does not seek God because he has a vested interest in not doing so:

Ro 3: 10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”


PRINCIPLE: Renunciation of methodologies is important to effective presentation of the gospel.


APPLICATION: Determination is crucial for effective witness of the gospel. This resolve also involves rejection of ineffective methodology—presenting the gospel in a way that blurs its essential message. The essence of the gospel is that Christ died as a substitute for our sins by paying the penalty for our sins and rising from the death to conquer the death that that penalty incurred. If that message does not get across, then we have a bogus gospel and a bogus method.

Ga 6: 14But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

1 Corinthians 2:1

Published on June 28, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

And I, brethren, when I came to you,

Paul harks back to when he first came to Corinth. He did not come with philosophy but he came with an announcement of a message. He depended on God’s system of transcendent objective truth rather than man’s perspective approach to truth.

did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom

Paul did not come to Corinth with “excellence of speech or of wisdom.” “Excellence” carries the ideas of preeminence, rising above. Paul did not seek to rise above Corinthian culture by trying to outshine them with rhetoric of philosophical display. All that appears impressive but it is vacuous in comparison to God’s mighty revelation in the Bible.

declaring to you the testimony of God.

The word “declaring” means to announce, declare, make known, proclaim publicly, publish. A witness for Christ is to present the facts of the gospel stated in the Bible and his experience with those facts. A witness in court is not supposed to presume, speculate, or suppose. Paul witnessed the resurrection of Christ and the revelation of half the books of the New Testament. That is what he shared with the Corinthians. He did not speculate about philosophical theories about life. He came with the testimony of God and nothing more.

PRINCIPLE: Focus on the facts of scripture gives stability to the Christian life.

APPLICATION: Evangelicals today are impressed with the latest and greatest idea to come along. These new machinations always sound very impressive. Like a pendulum these phases of philosophy come and go. Some evangelicals today buy into a philosophy whereby no one can know anything for sure (postmodernism).

The reasons Christians buy into these philosophies is that they look at them through the eyes of their culture. Our culture is rift with relativism and pluralism. Culture blinds them to stark statements of scripture. They reinterpret and make scripture in the likeness of culture (deconstructing the Bible).

2 Co 4: 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

1 Ti 4:1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, …. 13Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

1 Corinthians 1:31

Published on June 27, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

This verse excludes all human achievement from God’s plan of salvation.

that,

The purpose of God’s wisdom of salvation is to glorify God through Christ.

as it is written,

The following phrase is a free quotation from Jeremiah 9:24. Jeremiah did not want Israel to brag about human wisdom, strength, or riches for these things are temporary. Instead, Israel should brag only to the degree that they understand and know God.

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

The true basis for glorying is God’s grace in providing salvation from His viewpoint. The believer’s boast is in God who works from something already known and self-evident to reveal conclusions in the Bible (apriority). Man can never experience all that God knows and experiences. That is why man must accept God’s deductive conclusions for he can discover it with his finiteness.


PRINCIPLE: Nothing is so humbling to man than that he does not have the power to find God on his own.


APPLICATION: God reveals His grace through the wisdom of the person and work of Christ. We cannot brag in the finite limitations of man who seeks to discover truth inductively (a posteriori).

Man cannot work his way from the effect to the cause because the cause is infinite. Man does not have the capacity to comprehend God exhaustively in order to evaluate Him fully. Man must accept God’s deductive conclusions from the revelation of scriptures. That is why we glory in the Lord rather than glory in finite man.

1 Corinthians 1:30b

Published on June 26, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

wisdom from God—

“Wisdom” is the ruling word in the Greek sentence. “Righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” expand what God’s wisdom means (God’s system of salvation). Every believer accepts “wisdom from God” when he becomes a Christian. Christians become Christians by God’s wisdom; not by the wisdom of works or merit.

and righteousness

There is no “and” in the Greek before “righteousness” because righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are explanations of what “wisdom from God” contains.

“Righteousness” here is not our personal righteousness but Christ’s righteousness put to our account (imputed righteousness). This is judicial or forensic righteousness. It is the quality of being right in God’s eyes. God causes the believer to be as right as Jesus is right before Him. This is eternal and continuous acceptance with God; we stand in perfect conformity to God’s standard of righteousness. This is imputed righteousness; God puts in His righteousness into the believer judicially.

and sanctification

The word “sanctification” means set apart. God sets each believer apart unto Himself. We hold special difference before Him. That is why we are positionally or judicially “holy.” “Sanctification” carries the idea that the believer is uniquely God’s possession. The believer stands consecrated before God. This is imparted or positional sanctification, not sanctification that comes from the believer.

and redemption—

The word “redemption” means to buy something back. Redemption was often used for liberation of slaves for a ransom. Christ purchased us from the slave market of sin. He delivered us from the bondage of the penalty of sin. This is the redemption of our soul and body. Christ is the source of final deliverance from the penalty of sin and the curse of this world. This is implanted redemption.


PRINCIPLE: God’s system of salvation comes from God’s viewpoint.


APPLICATION: God’s wisdom is unattainable by a human method of seeking. This wisdom involves righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It is a wisdom of a different viewpoint—God’s viewpoint. God’s thoughts (wisdom) are personified in what He did in Christ.

Ro 1: 17For in it the righteousness of God (God’s righteousness) is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just (the justified ones) shall live by faith.”

Ro 3: 24 … being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…

1 Corinthians 1:30

Published on June 25, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 1 Comment
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30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

In verses 30 and 31 God gives the reason why He uses lesser folks to advance His kingdom. Our identity is an unadulterated gift from God in Christ. God’s wisdom pivots around the believer’s position in Christ. This kind of wisdom produces righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,

“But” shows a contrast to the previous section—God’s salvation comes from God, in contrast to those who seek God by human methods.

“Of Him” is literally out of Him—God the Father is the source of what follows. God is the original cause of our salvation in Christ. Salvation comes from God, not from something we do.

“In Christ Jesus” is the sphere where the Father made the choice for our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is God’s kind of wisdom. Everything in this passage is from divine standpoint. We cannot boast in our wisdom; we can only boast in God’s wisdom. We are what we are is due wholly to God. We share Christ’s acceptance to God.

who became for us

Christ “became unto us (for our eternal gain).” The word “became” means to become something he was not before. What Christ was before was eternal God. Then He stepped foot on earth into a human body to die for our sins. By Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection He became our source of salvation. This did not happen when we believed but when Christ came in the first century.


PRINCIPLE: We are what we are because of what God did in Christ.


APPLICATION: God views our identity in Christ. We hold the same status quo as Jesus holds in the presence of God. Every person who places their faith in the finished work of God stands perfect before God.

Ep 1: 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Every believer is “in Christ Jesus.” There are no exceptions.

God is alone the source of our salvation. It is due to God’s doing alone that we are what we are in Christ. God’s design of salvation glorifies God because God does the doing; it is based in Him and not in what we do.

1 Corinthians 1:29

Published on June 24, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Verses 29-31 explain why God chose ignoble to confound the noble, why He chose the weak to render inoperative the strong, and why He chose those with less academic credentials to confound those with high academic credentials. The reason? God will receive glory for God’s work, not man.

that no flesh should glory in His presence.

The word “that” is a term for strong purpose and ultimate end. God shows that by rendering inoperative the philosophical systems of this world and choosing lesser powers for his purpose, all glory should go to Him. He is totally self-sufficient and needs nothing. Man is finite and needs God.

God negates human pride. The word “glory” means pride in self-confidence, self-glory. It carries the idea of to brag. That is why we do not glory in the messenger but in the message. Everything in our society points to human achievement and pride. God takes full responsibility for His system of truth. The pride of man rests on the illusion that man can find ultimate truth. Man cannot come to God independently so God does not give him the option of doing so. God shatters all pride and self-sufficiency of man.


PRINCIPLE: If God does the doing, God gets the glory.


APPLICATION: If God does the doing, God gets the glory. If man works for his salvation, then he gets the glory. If God provides Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins and He paid the price wholly, and sufficiently for them, then God gets the glory.

Ep 2: 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast.

There is no place for human glory in the grace of God whether in salvation or sanctification.

1 Corinthians 1:28

Published on June 23, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are

and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen,

The words “base things” means ignoble, of no family, low born. This word does not refer to evil but humble persons, people of low pedigree. God chooses nobodies to achieve His purposes. The word “despised” means considered as nothing. The world brands believers with contempt. Yet, this is the very kind God chooses. God’s system is polar-opposite to the system of the world.

The Greek in the phrase “God has chosen” conveys the idea that God personally chose out from a number those people for Himself.

and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are…

God’s system is a paradox to man. The weak is strong in God’s economy. God will “bring to nothing the things that are”—pure human systems for knowing and certainty. God will render them inoperative for knowing in the infinite realm.


PRINCIPLE: God renders human systems for certainty inoperative by a supernatural intervention of the Word of God into time and space.


APPLICATION: The finite philosopher cannot see beyond time and space. He can only come to conclusions that reside in his finite brain. That is because he only has a soul—mind, emotion, and will. He does not have a capacity (a “spirit”) to relate to God. He is spiritually dead.

1 Co 2:14 But the natural man (soulish man) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The simple believer knows something beyond time and space because God revealed Himself in the Word of God. Unbelieving PhDs confine themselves to their own assumptions about how to know truth. They chose human systems with human results. Yet the lowly believer, viewed as no repute in the estimation of the philosopher, will with the message render inoperative all philosophical systems.

1 Corinthians 1:27

Published on June 22, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 1 Comment
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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…

The context shows a radical distinction between God’s infinite wisdom and the finite wisdom of man. This passage shows the fundamental difference between God-confidence and self-confidence. Verses 26-31 take a hard look at the Corinthians themselves. In 2:1-5, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the one and one half years he spent with them. Neither those who listened nor those who presented the gospel did so by self-confidence. Verse 26 shows three things the Corinthians were not. Now we come to what they were in verses 27 and 28. Verses 29-31 explain why God calls the weaker to be used by Himself.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,

The word “but” is a conjunction of strong contrast. In contrast to human wisdom, there is a divine wisdom.

God chooses simple trust in the gospel message to do His bidding. The reason for this is that human philosophy is bankrupt in its attempt to find infinite truth by finite means. God uses perceived foolish things as tools for His purposes.

and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty

The power of Christianity is in its message, not in its messengers. The power of the gospel does not reside in recognition by the high and mighty but in the power of the gospel message.

Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Note the three-fold use of the words “has chosen” (twice in this verse and once in the next). God makes it abundantly clear that God’s work is His work, not man’s work.

God’s chosen weak things puts to share the things that are mighty. God exposes pretensions of the academy. He reveals it as a shallow show. God is in the business of disgracing it. God does this to demonstrate the power of the message of the gospel, not the power of the evangelist. God is independent of human power.


PRINCIPLE: God’s plan is a paradox to the finite way of doing things.


APPLICATION: God does not need a PR agent. His Word does not need support from human intellect or political power. God does not require numbers or bigness to accomplish His purposes on earth.

D. L. Moody was a great 19th century evangelist who shattered the King’s English. Yet, God used him to reach students at one of the great learning centers of that time, the Cambridge University in England. Some students came to hoot him off stage. He began his message with “Young gentlemen, don’t ever think God don’t love you, for he do!” Terrible English, but the message reached their souls and some came to Christ. Moody probably would not qualify to enroll in Moody Bible Institute today.

1 Corinthians 1:26

Published on June 21, 2002 in 1 Corinthians. 0 Comments
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For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

God does things according to His provision. He does not depend on education, philosophy, science, or any human device for doing His will.

This verse shows that God does not depend on nobility or might to accomplish His purposes. God does not count on either philosophy, or power, or nobility itself to win people to Christ. God uses frail instruments to carry out His ends.

For you see your calling, brethren,

The word “for” indicates further proof of verse 25— “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” The Corinthians could “see” their calling by looking around at the Corinthian congregation. Evidently there were some human greats among them but not many. But the majority was ordinary people.

The word “calling” is the focus of the entire section. Christianity is a divine act, not a human act. The New Testament never uses the Greek word for “calling” for human employment or vocation. It is always an act of calling by God’s initiative.

1 Co 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

If God chose us in His calling, there is no place for human pride. If God takes the initiative and God makes the provision, then there is no place for works. God does the work and God does the calling. The “brethren” needed to take a close look at this.

that not many wise according to the flesh,

Paul modifies the word “wise” with “according to the flesh.” God does not use human norms and standards to establish His plans. He does convey wisdom but not the wisdom confined to time and space—human wisdom, the criterion of human rationalism or empiricism, or even postmodernism.

not many mighty,

God does not put His plan for the gospel at the mercy of the mighty—great power of influence of great leaders, politicians, or military strategy. The glory of God’s conquest does not depend on mighty messengers who can wield authority but on the power of His message supernaturally revealed.

not many noble, are called.

“Noble” are aristocrats, blue blood, families of high decent. God does not try to make the gospel fashionable before people can receive it.

Note the three uses of the word “many.” God did not say “any.” God calls some wise, some mighty, and some noble but not many. Not many great philosophers, presidents, kings or queens of the world are believers. Some of the Praetorian Guard (some of the most influential people in the Roman world—they chose the Caesar) came to Christ (Ph 4:22).


PRINCIPLE: God’s demonstrates His wisdom in the gospel.


APPLICATION: The gospel is not a product of human machinations or devises. God uses methodology different from our expectation. He turns our viewpoints upside down. He uses the scandal of the cross. The issue at stake is God’s power, not man’s power. The questions asked earlier in this chapter are “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?” What real value is there in their systems? We can put no trust in their systems.

The issue addressed in this passage is not anti-intellectualism or irrationalism. The question at hand is that man is at the mercy of God in revealing Himself. Man cannot find infinite things by finite methods.

Note T. S. Elliot’s warning of elevating human wisdom too far:

All our knowledge brings us closer to our ignorance.

All our ignorance brings us nearer to death.

But nearness to death, no nearer to God.

Where is the life we have lost in living?

God’s ways “seem” foolish to man (1:25) but the most minimal thing God ever thought is greater than the best thing man ever thought. That is why God usesthe weak things of the world to “confound” the great of the world (1:26-28).

God does not choose human greatness to do His work—He rejects it as a value in itself. He does not reject great people but He rejects their greatness as a means of reaching people for Christ. This runs counter to the world system. God chooses the weaker and less noble and weaker to prove the power of His message.

The thesis of this verse gives lie to the idea that only professional athletes, outstanding CEOs, or politicians can testify mightily for Christ.

Human methodologies preempt God’s method of truth—the gospel of Christ. Humility to accept God’s message is a first prerequisite in becoming a Christian. God always works by giving grace to the humble.

Lady Huntington, a noble and very wealthy friend of Wesley said that she was “saved by an ‘M.” God is not top-down in His method; His plan is bottom-up because He wants His messengers to rest on His message.