Lesson 2—The Cross: The Irony of God's Wisdom

I Corinthians 1:18 - 2:16

Introduction 

Paul wants the Corinthians to realize that nothing can compare to the wisdom and power found in Christ. The Gospel that they had received and had saved them (I Cor. 15:1-2) would also give them insight to Gods wisdom. Paul wanted them to know the deep wisdom of God and he came to preach Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 1:17). 

Contextual Overview 

The wisdom of God elevates one toward true wisdom. Once we understand the message of the cross, then God raises us up in his knowledge to the answers of life. In Christ we submit to the wisdom of God and the message of the cross to understand life both here and in eternity. God’s gifts of righteousness, sanctification, and redemption could never be possible from our own wisdom or nobility. When we trust in Christ and realize our salvation is a gift from him, and then we immediately know we have nothing to boast about in ourselves. God understood man needed to humble himself to accept by faith the message of the cross. 

Outline 
I. God’s wisdom versus man’s wisdom (1:18-31) 
A. The message and the method of the cross is God’s only plan.
a. Similar moral teachings of the Bible can be found in other religions and philosophies. 
b. No other religion or philosophy has the teaching of God loving enough to become man. 
c. Only in Christianity does one obtain salvation by faith in a risen Savior. 
B. Greeks relied on their philosophy. 
a. A Greek god had no feeling for humankind; the word used is apathy toward man. 
b. Man was responsible for developing a philosophy to understand life and the action of the gods. 
c. The Greeks could not possibly accept a teaching that did not fit into their system of logic and power. 
C. Jews demanded a sign similar to the several false prophets who had come on the scene both before and after Jesus.
a. In AD 45 Theudas claimed he would again part the Jordan River (Joshua 3:14- 17). He failed in front of a thousand people. 
b. In AD 54 a man form Egypt led 30,000 to the Mount of Olives promising to tear down the wall of Jerusalem.
c. When Jesus came as a meek and mild teacher challenging their traditions and preconceived ideas, he was rejected. 

II. Paul and His Message (2:1-16) 
A. His preaching was not with wise words (skilled oratory as the Greeks) but with the power of the spirit and the message of the cross (vv. 1-5). 
a. Some have suggested he was afraid he would fail in this mission to preach in Corinth. What do you think? 
b. This important, then and now, so that faith might not rest on mans wisdom, but on God’s power (v. 5). 
B. Paul’s message was not from the wisdom of men but was God’s hidden (secret) message now revealed to all (vv.6-7). 
a. Paul wanted them to know they could understand God’s message. 
b. God provided the source and the messenger to give his new wisdom.
c. He also gave his Spirit to help men know the message is true and from God. 
C. Paul says the wise and noble failed to see the genius of God’s plan through the cross (vv. 8-11). 
a. They crucified him 
b. They could not believe what God has prepared for those who believe in him (Isa. 64:4). 
c. They didn’t have the Spirit of God. 
D. Some people of wise and noble character are recorded as becoming Christians (Acts 13:6-12; 17:4, 12, 34;
Romans 16:23). 
E. God has special blessings for those who love God and believe the teaching of the cross. 

Discussion Questions 
1. How have we obtained wisdom and power in Christ? 

2. There is something we can we boast of in Christ and we can tell it to others. What is it? 

3. How do you think men would have reacted if they had discovered salvation (a way to save themselves) through their own wisdom? 

4. What do you think would have happened if Jesus had performed the signs the Jewish leaders were looking for him to perform? 
5. What are the results of people being saved only through the wisdom of the cross? 

6. What do you think some of the special blessings are for those who love God? 

7. What are some of the deep things of God we can know with the Spirits help? 

8. What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? (2:16) 

9. How does this allow us to know God is true and his message is true? 

10. How does one overcome feelings of superiority when they have the mind of Christ? 

11. How does the mind of Christ help us to rely on the power of the Gospel, rather than on our own eloquence or wisdom? 

Reference 
Daily Study Bible Series, The Letter of the Corinthians, Barclay, Page 18 


-Larry Williams


(Larry O. Williams is married to Billie Jean Stanfill. He has a B.A. degree in Speech Communication from David Lipscomb University. Since becoming a Christian in 1962, he has served four different churches in various ministries as an education minister, deacon, pulpit minister, associate minister, and elder.)