Christ crucified is the pattern disciple of Jesus are summoned to emulate, and the test of genuine faith in him. Only the spiritually minded understand that the Cross is God's "wisdom and power."
His death is the paradigm for discipleship, the measuring rod for Christian conduct, and the criterion for discerning his true followers from false disciples. Whether examining spirituality, wisdom, or the miraculous, Golgotha is the red line that divides the true from the counterfeit, and God cannot be known apart from His crucified Messiah.
In the city of Corinth, certain Christians are boasting of their special insight and spirituality, which, in their minds, are demonstrated by the abundance of spiritual gifts operating among them, especially “speaking in tongues.”
Essentially, to such presumptuousness and immaturity, the Apostle Paul retorts - IF YOU ARE SO SPIRITUAL, WHY DO YOU BEHAVE SO CARNALLY?
(1 Corinthians 3:1-4) – “And I could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you were not yet able to bear it. No, not even now are you able; for you are yet carnal: for whereas, there is among you jealousy and strife, are you not carnal, and do you not walk after the manner of men?”
CARNAL THINKING
Contrary to their pretensions, despite the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit in the congregation, the dissension and backbiting among the Corinthians prove they are anything but “spiritual.”
Miraculous displays have their place. However, by themselves, they do not constitute wisdom or power, and certainly NOT “spirituality.”
Instead of impressive displays of spiritual gifts or eloquent speech, Paul points to the Cross of Christ as the model of true spirituality:
“Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; to Jews, scandal; to Gentiles, folly, but to them who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power and the wisdom of God” – (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
To any patriotic Jew, the idea of a crucified Messiah is a contradiction in terms. To Gentiles, to claim that the answer to humanity’s plight is found in the shameful execution of a powerless man by the world’s mightiest empire is utter nonsense.
TRUE WISDOM AND POWER
Nevertheless, the shameful death of Jesus is the very means by which God has achieved victory over sin, death, and Satan, and therefore, the proclamation of this “crucified Messiah” is the “wisdom and power of God.”
What this fallen age sees as scandalous and foolish, namely, the proclamation of “Christ crucified,” is the very “power of God” that has accomplished salvation for believing Jews and Gentiles.
In contrast, the “rulers of this age” did not understand the true wisdom and power of God, for if they had, they would not have “crucified the Lord of glory,” an act that sealed their doom...
[Read the rest of the article on the Quickening Spirit blog site by clicking on the link]
[Photo by Esau Gonzalez on Unsplash]
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