Preaching Christ Crucified
(No. 3218)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1910.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
AUGUST 23, 1863.
"But we preach Christ crucified." 1 Corinthians 1:23.
IN the verse preceding our text, Paul writes, "The Jews require a
sign." They said, "Moses worked miracles; let us see miracles worked
and then we will believe," forgetting that all the wonders that Moses
worked were altogether eclipsed by those which Jesus worked while He
was upon the earth in the flesh. Then there were certain Judaizing
teachers who, in order to win the Jews, preached circumcision, exalted
the Passover and endeavored to prove that Judaism might still exist
side by side with Christianity–and that the old rites might still be
practiced by the followers of Christ. So Paul, who was made all things
to all men that he might by all means save some, put his foot down and
said, in effect, "Whatever others may do, we preach Christ
crucified–we dare not, we cannot and we will not alter the great
subject matter of our preaching, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
Then he added, "and the Greeks seek after wisdom." Corinth was the very
eyes of Greece and the Corinthian Greeks sought after what they
regarded as wisdom–that is to say, the wisdom of this world, not the
wisdom of God which Paul preached! The Greeks also treasured the memory
of the eloquence of Demosthenes and other famous orators. And they
seemed to think that true wisdom must be proclaimed with the graces of
masterly elocution–but Paul writes to these Corinthian Greeks, "I
determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him
crucified. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of
God."
Now, in these days there are some who would be glad if we would preach
anything except Christ crucified! Perhaps the most dangerous among them
are those who are continually crying out for intellectual preaching, by
which they mean preaching which neither the heavens nor the preachers,
themselves, can comprehend–the kind of preaching which has little or
nothing to do with the Scripture and which requires a dictionary rather
than a Bible to explain it! These are the people who are continually
running about and asking, "Have you heard our minister? He gave us a
wonderful discourse last Sunday morning! He quoted Hebrew, Greek and
Latin. He gave us some charming pieces of poetry–in fact it was
altogether an intellectual treat!" Yes, and I have usually found that
such intellectual treats lead to the ruination of souls. That is not
the kind of preaching that God generally blesses to the salvation of
souls and, therefore, even though others may preach the philosophy of
Plato or adopt the arguments of Aristotle, we preach Christ crucified,
the Christ who died for sinners, the people's Christ and, "we preach
Christ crucified" in simple language, in plain speech such as the
common people can understand!
I am going to try to put our text into practice by telling you, first,
what we preach Secondly, to whom we preach it And, thirdly, how we
preach it
I. First of all, WHAT WE PREACH. Paul is the model for all preachers
and he says, "We preach Christ crucified."
In order to preach the Gospel fully, there must be a very clear
description of the Person of Christ, and we preach Christ as God–not a
man made into a God, nor a God degraded to the level of a man, not
something between a man and a God, but, "very God of very God." He is
One with His Father in every attribute–eternal, having neither
beginning of days, nor end of years. Omnipresent, filling all space.
Omnipotent, having all power in Heaven and on earth. Omniscient,
knowing all things from eternity–the great Creator, Preserver and
Judge of all–in all things the equal and the express Image of the
invisible God! If we err concerning the Deity of Christ, we err
everywhere! The Gospel that
does not reveal a Divine Savior is no Gospel at all–it is like a ship
without a rudder–the first contrary wind that blows shall drive it to
destruction and woe be to the souls that are trusting to it! No
shoulders but those almighty ones which bear the earth's huge pillars
can ever carry the enormous weight of human guilt and human need. We
preach to you Christ, the Son of Mary, once sleeping in His mother's
arms, yet the Infinite even while He was an Infant! Christ the reputed
Son of Joseph, toiling in the carpenter's shop, yet being all the while
the God who made the heavens and the earth! Christ, who had nowhere to
lay His head, the despised and rejected of men, who is, nevertheless,
"over all, God forever." Christ nailed to the accursed tree, bleeding
at every pore and dying on the Cross, yet, living forevermore. Christ
suffering agonies that are indescribable, yet being at the same time
the God at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore. If Christ
had not been Man, He could not have sympathized with you and me, nor
could He have suffered in our place. How could He have been the
Covenant Head of the sons and daughters of Adam if He had not been made
in all points like them, except that He was without sin? With that one
exception, He was just as we are–bone of our bone, and flesh of our
flesh–yet He was as truly God as He was Man, the One of whom Isaiah
was Inspired to prophesy, "His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace." So, in preaching Christ crucified, we preach the Glory of
Heaven conjoined with the beauty of earth–the perfection of humanity
united with the Glory and dignity of Deity!
Then, next, we must very clearly preach Christ as the Messiah, the Sent
One of God. It had long been foretold that a great Deliverer would come
who would be "a light to lighten the Gentiles," and to be the Glory of
His people, Israel, and Jesus of Nazareth was that promised Deliverer,
of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write. He was sent of God
to be the Savior of sinners. He took not this office upon Himself
without authority, but He could truly say, "Lo, I come: in the volume
of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Your will, O My God."
He became the Substitute for sinners, but this did not happen
accidentally, but by Divine Decree, for we read, "the Lord has laid
upon Him the iniquity of us all." A priest unordained, a prophet unsent
of God, a king without Divine authority would have been only a
mockery–but our great High Priest was Divinely anointed, our peerless
Prophet was sent of God and our king is King of kings and Lord of
lords, rightly ruling as the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father! Sinner,
this Truth of God should bring you hope and comfort–the Christ whom we
preach is the Lord's Anointed! And what He does, He does by God's
appointment. When He says to you, "Come unto Me, all you that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," He speaks for His Father as
well as for Himself, for He has the warrant of the Eternal to support
His declaration! Therefore, come confidently to Him and put your trust
in Him!
When the preacher has laid a good solid foundation by preaching the
Person of Christ and the Messiahship of Christ, he must go on to preach
the work of Christ. I can only give a brief summary of what would take
all eternity to expound. We must so preach as to show how, in the
Everlasting Covenant, Christ stood as the Surety and Representative of
His people and how, in the fullness of time, He came forth from the
ivory palaces dressed in the garments of flesh–and how He first worked
out an active righteousness by the perfect obedience of His daily
life–and at the last worked out a passive righteousness by His
sufferings and death upon the Cross. Beginning at the Incarnation,
going on to the great work of Redemption, telling of Christ's burial,
Resurrection, Ascension, intercession before His Father's Throne and
glorious Second Coming, we have a theme that angels might well covet–a
theme that may well awaken hope in the sinner's heart!
But it is especially Christ crucified whom we are to preach. His wounds
and bruises remind us that we must tell you that "He was wounded for
our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." It is
at Calvary that salvation is to be found! Where Jesus bowed His head
and gave up the ghost, He overcame the powers of darkness and opened
the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers! There is one word that every
true servant of Christ must be able to speak very distinctly–that word
is Substitution. I believe that Substitution is the keyword to all true
theology–Christ standing in the place of sinners and numbered with the
transgressors because of their transgressions, not His own–Christ
paying our debts and discharging all our liabilities. This Truth of God
involves, of course, our taking Christ's place as He took ours, so that
all Believers are beloved, accepted, made heirs of God and, in due
time, shall be glorified with Christ forever! Brother ministers,
whatever you fail to preach, make your hearers always clearly
understand that there is a Divine and all-sufficient Substitute for
sinners–and that all who put their trust in Him shall be eternally
saved!
When we have preached Christ thus, we must also preach His offices. We
must preach Him as the one great High Priest who always lives to make
intercession for us. We must preach Him as the Prophet whose words are
Divine and, therefore, come to us with an authority that cannot be set
aside. And we must mind that we always preach Him as King, putting the
crown of praise upon His royal head and claiming from His people the
unfaltering allegiance and loyalty of their hearts–and the undivided
service of their lives!
We must also preach the qualifications of Christ for His offices. Is He
a Husband? We must tell how loving and how tender He is. Is He a
Shepherd? We must proclaim His patience, His power, His
perseverance–and we must especially tell of His self-sacrificing love
in laying down His life for His sheep. Is He a Savior? We must show how
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. We
must talk much of the gentleness that will not break the bruised reed,
nor quench the smoking flax. We must delight to speak of Christ as
bending over the broken in heart, binding up their wounds and having
His ears always open to hear the cry of a contrite spirit! It is the
Character of Christ that is the magnet that attracts sinners to
Himself–and upon this blessed theme one might go on speaking forever!
When Rutherford was talking of the beauties of the Christ whom he loved
so dearly, one of his hearers was compelled to cry out, "Now, mon, you
are on the right string, keep to that!" And, indeed, this is a theme
that might stir the stammerer to speak with power and make the very
dumb to be eloquent for Christ! Oh, how glorious is our blessed Lord!
With the spouse we may well say, "Yes, He is altogether lovely." We
cannot exaggerate His excellence and charms and it must be our constant
aim to paint such a portrait of Him that sinners may fall in love with
Him and trust Him to save them with His great salvation!
We must mind that we always preach Christ as the sinner's only hope. In
the olden times, there were certain simpletons who sought after a
universal remedy for all diseases–a catholicon. But their search was
in vain. All the advertisements of quack medicines that ever deceived
silly people will never convince sensible folk that such a catholicon
for all the diseases to which flesh is heir has ever been or will ever
be discovered. Yet there is a catholicon for the diseases of the soul,
and that catholicon is Christ! Be your disease what it may–the raging
fever of lust, the shivering fits of doubts and fears, or the fell
consumption of despair–Jesus Christ can heal you! Whatever form sin
may take–whether it is the blind eye, or the deaf ear, or the hard,
stony heart, or the dull, seared conscience–there is a medicine in the
veins of Jesus that we may well call the Divine Heal-All! No case that
was ever submitted to Christ has baffled His skill and He is still
"mighty to save." We must be very clear in telling the sinner that
there is no hope for him anywhere else but in Christ. Nine out of ten
of the arrows in a minister's quiver ought to be shot at the sinner's
good works, for these are his worst enemies. That "deadly doing" that
needs to be cast "down at Jesus' feet"–that trying to be or to
feelsomethingin order that they may save themselves–this is the curse
of many! O Sinner, if from the crown of your head to the soles of your
feet, there is no sound part in you, but you are full of wounds,
bruises and putrefying sores, yet, if you will but believe in Jesus, He
will make you whole every whit, and you shall go your way a sinner
saved by Grace!
We must also preach Christ as the Christian's only joy. We needed
Christ as a life buoy when we were sinking in the waves of sin, but we
need Him to be our meat and our drink, now that He has brought us
safely to land. When we were sick through sin, we needed Christ as
medicine, but now that He has restored our soul, we need Him as our
continual nourishment. There is no lack which a Christian ever has
which Christ cannot fully supply and there is nothing in Christ which
is not useful to a Christian. You know that some things that we have
are good, but they are not altogether of service to us. For instance,
fruit is good, but there is the skin to be pared off and the seed to be
thrown away. But when Christ gives Himself to us, we may take the whole
of Him and enjoy Him to our heart's content! Everything Christ is and
everything Christ has, is ours. Therefore, Christian, make a covenant
with your hands that you will lay hold on Christ's Cross for your only
confidence! Make a covenant with your eyes that you will look nowhere
for light but to the Sun of Righteousness! Make a covenant with your
whole being that it shall be crucified with Christ and then be taken up
to Heaven to live and reign with Him forever! Yes, let this be the
utterance of your heart–
"You, O Christ, are all I need, More than all in You I find."
II. Now, secondly, TO WHOM ARE WE TO PREACH THIS?
Possibly, one Brother says, "You ought to preach Christ to the elect"
But how are we to know who are the elect? I read a sermon, some time
ago, in which the minister said, "I have been preaching to the living
in Zion–the rest of you
are dead and I have nothing to say to you. The election has obtained it
and the rest are blinded." Preachers of that sort have life to preach
to the living, medicine to prescribe for those who are whole, but what
is the good of that? Fancy Peter standing up with the 11 on the day of
Pentecost and saying to the crowd gathered around them, "I do not know
how many of you who are here are elect, but I have to say to you that
the election has obtained it and the rest are blinded." How many would
have been converted and added to the Church through such a message as
that? Now Peter was, at that time, filled with the Spirit–and it was
by Divine Inspiration that he preached Christ crucified to the whole of
that mixed multitude and then, when they were pricked in their heart
and cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" He was equally
Inspired when he answered, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
I mean to do as Peter did, for I regard Christ's commission to His
disciples as binding upon us today–"Go you into all the world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature." I cannot tell whether every
creature to whom I preach is elect or not, but it is my business to
preach the Gospel to all whom I can reach, resting assured that all of
them whom God has chosen unto eternal life will certainly accept it!
When a certain clergyman asked the Duke of Wellington, "Does Your Grace
think it is any use preaching the Gospel to the Hindus?" he simply
replied, "What are your marching orders?" As a soldier, he believed in
obeying orders. And when the clergyman answered that the orders were,
"Preach the Gospel to every creature," the Duke said, "Then your duty
is quite clear. Obey your Master's orders and don't you trouble, about
anybody else's opinions."
The main business of a true minister is to preach the Gospel to sinners
and he is never so happy as when he is preaching to those who know
themselves to be sinners! When he is preaching to those who are
self-righteous, he is in great trouble about the effect of his message,
for he fears that it may prove to be a savor of death unto death to
them. But when he meets with those who sorrowfully confess that they
are guilty, lost and undone, then he rejoices in hope of blessed
results from his preaching. He feels that he is now among fish that
will soon take the bait, so he drops his line into the river and soon
has the joy of bringing many to land! He knows that bread is always
sweetest to hungry men and that even bitter medicine will be eagerly
swallowed by the man who its very ill and who longs to be cured. He
understands that it is the naked that need to be clothed and the
penniless who clamor for alms. O Sinners, if you realize that you are
foul and vile, full of all manner of evil, with nothing of your own
that is worthy to be called good–and if you are longing to be
delivered from evil of every sort and to be made holy as God is holy, I
am glad that my Master has given me in His Word such a message as this
for you–"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Still, a true minister of Christ will not confine his preaching to
sinners who are sensible of their guilt, but he will preach the Gospel
to sinners of all ages. To the young, whose lives have not yet been
defiled by the vices of age, he preaches Christ crucified as the
children's Savior and he is glad, indeed, when the boys and the girls
trust in Jesus and are saved. To you who have reached middle life, he
preaches Christ crucified as the balm for every wound, the cordial for
all care and thankful is he when you, also, are saved by Grace through
faith in Jesus! To the old and gray-headed, to the decrepit, to those
on the very verge of the tomb, he still preaches Christ crucified! If
he could find a sinner who had reached the age of Methuselah, he would
have the same Gospel to preach to him, for he knows that there is no
Savior but the crucified Christ of Calvary! And he also knows that, old
or young, or if neither old nor young–all who trust Him are
immediately saved and saved forever!
And as he preaches Christ to sinners of every age, he also preaches
Christ to sinners of every rank. He has nothing better than Christ to
preach to queens, princes and nobles–and he has nothing less than
Christ to preach to peasants, artisans, or paupers–Christ crucified
for men of letters and learning and Christ crucified equally for the
ignorant and illiterate!
He also preaches Christ to sinners of every sort, even to the atheist,
the man who says there is no God! He bids him believe and live. He
preaches Christ to the openly profane. When they pause for a while in
their swearing, he tells them of that great oath which God has sworn,
"As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked: but that the wicked turn from his way and live." We preach
Christ to the harlots in the street and oh, how joyfully have many of
them received Him and how gladly have they found cleansing from their
foul stains in Jesus' precious blood! We preach
Christ to the drunk, for we believe that nothing but the Grace of God
can rescue him from his degradation and sin–and many such sinners
haves we seen reclaimed by the Gospel!
The preaching of Christ crucified, the lifting up of the dying Son of
God, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," has power
enough to turn the whole world upside down and to change innumerable
sinners into saints, so we mean to keep on preaching Christ to all
sinners of all sorts! We do not intend to leave out one, not even you,
my Friend, who think you are left out, or ought to be left out. We know
that there is a Book of Life before the Throne of God and that no more
names can be written there–they were all recorded before the
foundation of the world when the Father gave to Christ those who are to
be eternally His. We cannot mount up to Heaven to read the names that
are written there, but we believe the list contains millions upon
millions of names of those who have not yet trusted in Christ, so we
mean to keep on preaching Christ to sinners of every age, of every
rank, of every sort, of every degree of blackness and vileness! And we
believe that "there is yet room," there is yet mercy for the miserable,
there is yet forgiveness for the guilty who will come and trust in
Jesus Christ and Him crucified!
III. Now, lastly, HOW OUGHT WE TO PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED?
I think, first, we ought to preach Christ very boldly. I recollect a
young man going into a pulpit to address a small congregation, and he
began by saying that he hoped they would pardon his youth and forgive
his impertinence in coming to speak to them. Some foolish old gentleman
said, "How humble that young man is to talk like that!" But another,
who was wiser, though he was younger, said, "What a dishonor to his
Lord and Master! If God sent him with a message to these people, what
does it matter whether he is young or old? Such mock modesty as that is
out of place in the pulpit." I think that second man was right and the
first one wrong. A true minister of the Gospel is an ambassador for
Christ and do our ambassadors go to foreign courts with apologies for
carrying messages from their sovereign? It would be a gross insult to
the crown of these realms if they showed such humility as that in their
official capacity! Let ministers of the Gospel keep their modesty for
other occasions when it ought to be manifested, but let them not
dishonor their Master and discredit His message as that silly young man
did! When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or
stutter, or hesitate, or apologize–there is nothing in the Gospel of
which we have any cause to be ashamed! If a minister is not sure about
his message, let him keep quiet till he is sure about it! We believe
and, therefore, we speak with the accent of conviction! If I have not
proved the power of the Gospel in my own heart and life, I am a base
impostor to be standing in this pulpit to preach that Gospel to others!
But as I do most assuredly know that I am saved by Grace through faith
in Jesus Christ, and as I feel certain that I have been Divinely called
to preach His Gospel–
"Shall I for fear of feeble man, The Spirit's course in me restrain? Or
undismayed in deed and word, Be a true witness for my Lord?"
But while we preach Christ boldly, we must also preach Him
affectionately. There must be great love in our proclamation of the
Truth of God. We must not hesitate to point out to sinners the state of
ruin to which sin has brought them. And we must clearly set before them
the Divinely-appointed remedy. But we must mingle a mother's tenderness
with a father's sternness. Paul was like both mother and father, in a
spiritual sense, in his ministry. He wrote to the Galatians, "My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in
you." And to the Corinthians he wrote, "In Christ Jesus I have begotten
you through the Gospel." And every true minister of Christ can, in his
measure, sympathize with him in both those experiences. Yes, Sinners,
we do, indeed, love you! Often our heart is well-near broken with the
longing we have to see you saved! We wish we could preach to you with
Baxter's tearful eyes–no, rather with the Savior's melting heart and
all-consuming zeal!
Then, next, we must preach Christ only. With Paul, every true minister
ought to be able to say to his hearers, "I determined not to know
anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." The preacher
must never mix up anything else with the Gospel. Every time he
preaches, he must still have the same old theme, "Jesus Christ and Him
crucified." Christ is the Alpha of the Gospel and He is the Omega, too!
The first letter of the Gospel alphabet and the last let-ter–and all
the letters in between! It must be Christ, Christ, CHRIST from
beginning to end! There must be no work-mongering or anything else
mixed up with Christ! There must be no daubing with untempered mortar
in our building upon Christ, the one Foundation that is laid once for
all!
The preacher must also mind that he preaches Christ very simply. He
must break up his big words and long sentences and pray against the
temptation to use them. It is usually the short, dagger-like sentence
that does the work best. A true servant of Christ must never try to let
the people see how well he can preach. He must never go out of his way
to drag a pretty piece of poetry in his sermon, nor to introduce some
fine quotations from the classics. He must employ a simple, homely
style, or such a style as God has given him. And he must preach Christ
so plainly that his hearers can not only understand him, but that they
cannot misunderstandhim even if they try to do so!
Now as the time has gone, I must close by saying that we must try to
preach Christ savingly. O Sinners, I would that you would trust Christ
this very moment! Do you realize how great your danger is? Unconverted
Soul, you are standing, as it were, over the mouth of Hell on a single
plank–and that plank is rotten! Man, you may be in your grave before
another Sabbath dawns and then, if unsaved, you will be in Hell! Beware
lest you are taken away unprepared, for if that is your unhappy lot,
there will be no ransom that can deliver your lost soul from going down
to the Pit! See your need of Christ, Sinner, and lay hold of Him by
faith! None but Christ can save you! Christ is the Way! You may go
about all your days trying to find another entrance to Heaven, but you
will not find it for this is the only one. Why will you not come to God
by Christ? Why are you so ungrateful as to despise the long-suffering
mercy of God? Will not the goodness of God lead you to repentance?
Shall Christ die for sinners and yet will you, O Sinner, turn away from
Him who alone can give you life? If you will but trust Him, He will
save you! Your sins, which are many, shall all be forgiven you! You
shall be adopted into the family of God and in due time you shall find
yourself in Heaven to go no more out forever! If you would be happy. If
you would enjoy the peace that passes all understanding. If you would
have two heavens–a Heaven below and a Heaven above–trust in Jesus,
Sinner, trust in Jesus this very moment! Go not out of this building
unsaved. One believing look will bring you salvation, for–
"There is life for a look at the Crucified One! There is life at this
moment for thee. Then look, Sinner–look unto Him and be saved– Unto
Him who was nailed to the tree." Look unto Him, look unto Him now! May
the Holy Spirit enable you to look and live, for Jesus Christ's sake!
Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 CORINTHIANS 1.
Verses 1, 2. Paul, called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the
will of God, andSosthenes our brother, unto the Church of God which is
at Corinth. Note the humility of Paul in associating with himself an
almost unknown Brother, Sosthenes. Although the letter is written by
Paul, yet, as if he did not care to stand in isolation even for a
moment, he associates Sosthenes with himself in the salutation–"Unto
the Church of God which is at Corinth."
2. To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.
Called to sacred uses, set apart unto God. That is the call of all
Believers–they are like those vessels of the sanctuary which were not
to be used by any but the priests of God, and by them only for God's
service.
2. With all who in everyplace call upon the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord, both theirs and ours. That is a very happy phrase, "both theirs
and ours." There are multitudes of saints whose faces we never saw, yet
Christ is theirs. There are some with whom we might not agree in all
particulars, yet Christ is theirs just as much as He is ours. All
Christ is theirs, and all Christ is ours, and here is the grand bond of
union between Believers of different nationalities and different
tongues.
3. Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ Grace first, for that is the fountain. Then peace comes,
for that is the fitting stream to flow from the Fountain of Grace. Seek
not peace first, for there is no peace for unregenerate man! Grace
first, then peace, and "both must come from God our Father and from the
Lord Jesus Christ."
4. I thank my God always on your behalf for the Grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ That is wisely written, for Paul was about to
upbraid these Corinthians for many serious faults, yet he begins by
acknowledging that they had certain excellences. It gives you a ground
to stand upon if you are willing to see all that is good in those whom
you have to rebuke. But Paul did not merely use this as a polite way of
commencing his Epistle. He really did, every day,
thank God for the Divine Grace which these Corinthians had! Yet how
seldom do we thank God for the Grace that He has given to other people,
especially if they outshine us, if they do more for the cause of God
than we do–then we half regret that they have so much Grace! But it
was not so with Paul.
5, 6. That in everything you are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and
in all knowledge; even as the testimony of
Christ was confirmed in you [See Sermon #2875, Volume 50–CONFIRMING
THE WITNESS OF CHRIST.] The Church at Corinth was an important Church,
with more than the usual number of speaking men among the members. This
led to mischief, but had they known how to use this talent aright, the
Church at Corinth might have been of great service! Instead, it split
itself up into little parties and became one of the worst churches that
then existed, as certain communities which imitate them in this present
day, have also done.
7, 8. So that you come behind in no gift: waiting for the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that we may
be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ Paul continues to
recognize the abundance of their endowments and to express for them the
utmost of affection. And then he adds his full conviction that God
would prove the power of His Grace by keeping them unto the end, and
then presenting them "blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
9. God is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of His
Son Jesus Christ our Lord [See Sermon #2580, Volume 44–PARTNERSHIP
WITH CHRIST.] As Paul wrote to the Thessalo-
nians, "Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it." To be
called by the faithful God is the guarantee of everlasting salvation!
10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name ofour Lord Jesus Christ,
thatyou allspeak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among
you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same kind and in
the same judgment They could not speak the same thing if they had not
the same mind and the same judgment. Paul dreaded the introduction of
anything that would divide the hearts of Believers, one from another,
and, Beloved, let every one of us, wherever we go, be on the side of
Christian truth, Christian unity and Christian love. There is no true
unity outside of Truth of God and the nearest way to Christian union is
union in the Truth of God! When error shall be destroyed, that which
divides will be taken away. When Truth is dominant, union will be
universal, but it will not be so before that is the case.
11. For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by they which
are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.He does
not go beating about the bush, but he speaks straight out and gives the
name of his informants, for persons who bring reports about others
should always be ready to have their names mentioned. It may be
unpleasant for them, but it is sometimes necessary to do unpleasant
things and those who will not allow their names to be mentioned in
connection with a statement adverse to character, deserve no notice
whatever.
12. Now this Isay, that every one ofyou says, I am ofPaul; andIof
Apollos; andIof Cephas; andIof Christ. The last were as bad as the
others–it makes no difference what the party name is–for it may only
thinly conceal the most sectarian spirit to say, "I am of Christ."
13. Is Christ divided?Paul begins with that, for it is the worst of all
divisions to make Christ the head of a party in His own Church!
13-16. Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name
ofPaul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius,
lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. AndI baptized
also the household of Stephanas: besides I know not whether I baptized
any othei. Paul considered that it was a Providential circumstance that
He had baptized no more of them, else they would have cried themselves
up as superior to those who had been baptized by others.
17. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not
with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of no
effect.It is true that Baptism is in the original commission of all
Christ's servants, but it occupies a very secondary place compared with
the preaching of the Gospel! It was an evil day when the Christian
Church began to put rites before doctrines, and ceremonies in the place
that should be occupied by the Gospel, itself! Paul therefore says that
his main commission was "not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel."
18-20 For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it
is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to
nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is
the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world?Indeed He has! He has let it run the
full length of its tether so that we may see the folly that can be
taught by wise men!
21. For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Not by foolish preaching, but by that preaching which men call
foolishness.
22. For the Jews require a sign. They were always looking for
supernatural manifestations.
22. And the Greeks seek after wisdom. They would believe nothing but
what could be proved to them by logic.
23-25. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christis thepower ofGod, and the wisdom ofGod. Because
the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
stronger than men They call it foolishness, but it is wiser than men's
wisdom! God at His lowest (if we can imagine such a thing) is wiser
than man at his highest "and the weakness of God (if such a thing could
be) is stronger than men."
26-28. For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things
which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to
nothing things that are. [See Sermon #587, Volume io–god's
STRANGE CHOICE.] Those that do not even seem to have an
existence–those that are so despicable that men do not deign to take
any account of them–these are the very ones with which God shall break
in pieces the many mighty errors of all the ages!
29-31 That no flesh should glory in His Presence. But of Him are you in
Christ Jesus, who ofGod is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctifcation, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He
that gloried, let him glory in the Lord.