God's Unusual Gospel

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:18.829 Right. Let's turn into First Corinthians, Chapter One, first rindings one, 2 00:00:20.710 --> 00:00:30.859 verse seven, through Chapter Two, verse five. This is the beginning of 3 00:00:30.940 --> 00:00:38.289 a section which fills through the chapters the word. So we're going to talk 4 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:44.250 about things in here that will be visit again different ways, because the Lord 5 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:54.000 impresses very important truths on our hearts. So First Corinthians one, verse seven, 6 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:03.239 also all, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to 7 00:01:03.349 --> 00:01:07.950 preach the Gospel and not the words. Development is them less. The cost 8 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:12.870 be emptying of its power, for the word of the process quality to those 9 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:17.829 who are perish him. That's less. We're being saved. It isn't power 10 00:01:17.870 --> 00:01:22.219 of com for it has betten. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise 11 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:26.299 and ancernments of the discerning of the world. Where is above, who is 12 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:30.500 wise? Where is the scribe person? The demand of this age as God, 13 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:37.849 God being the thing foolish the wisdom of the world, for since in 14 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:42.090 the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom and pleased 15 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:46.969 God, and the folly of what we preach to save those whom, for 16 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:52.040 choose to be on signs and Greeks see wisdom that we preach Christ person, 17 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.040 stomblen, the luck to Jews and following the Trinis, but to those who 18 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:04.230 are called call of the Jews and things Christ the power of God and the 19 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:08.349 wisdom world, for the foolishness of God is wise of men and the leaks. 20 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:14.509 God is stronger. For consider your calm brothers, many of you are 21 00:02:14.590 --> 00:02:17.500 wise and word. The world a standards of many people, powerful that many 22 00:02:17.539 --> 00:02:22.580 of these world known worth. But God shows what is foolish of the world 23 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:25.659 to shame of Gods. God shows what is weak the world, shame strong 24 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.250 God to chose what is low and despise in the world, even things, 25 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:38.009 the things that are not to bring to nothing. Things are so that no 26 00:02:38.250 --> 00:02:42.009 human being my ghost of the presence of God and because of him, you 27 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:46.240 are in Christ, Jesus, who became to US wisdom from God, righteousness 28 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:52.240 and signification and redemption, so that, as it is written, love of 29 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:59.389 Onod who mosts most of all, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony 30 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:04.830 of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among 31 00:03:04.909 --> 00:03:08.669 you except Jesus, Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in 32 00:03:08.830 --> 00:03:15.620 weeks and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were 33 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:20.020 not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of 34 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:24.780 power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but 35 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:47.280 in the power of God man. This passage is sometimes confusing to some, 36 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:55.150 and there's good reason for it. Paul uses the same words many times, 37 00:03:55.909 --> 00:04:02.189 but in different ways. He talks about something as folly in one moment and 38 00:04:02.349 --> 00:04:05.509 then the next he calls it wisdom, and then another he calls wisdom and 39 00:04:05.550 --> 00:04:10.539 then he calls it folly, and then sometimes he'll switch back. And it's 40 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:16.379 not because Paul is being illogical or he's not making any sense, but he's 41 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:23.779 trying to reframe how we think about two things. How we think about the 42 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:30.050 things in this world and how we think about the word of God, the 43 00:04:30.209 --> 00:04:35.569 Word of God as in Christ Himself, Christ and him crucified, and the 44 00:04:35.649 --> 00:04:42.720 word of God, particularly in terms of its preaching. Paul is focused here, 45 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.439 in this passage and in some to come, on not just the content 46 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:54.870 of the Gospel but the mode of the Gospel. How is it preached? 47 00:04:55.350 --> 00:05:00.149 How does it come to US notice how? This is how Paul begins and 48 00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:04.870 this is what we're going to focus on this morning. He says I came 49 00:05:05.029 --> 00:05:11.220 to preach the Gospel, not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross 50 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:15.060 be emptied of its power. And then, similarly, at the end of 51 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:17.980 the passage that I read in chapter two, he says in verse three, 52 00:05:18.019 --> 00:05:24.209 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and 53 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:27.930 my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but a 54 00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:34.649 demonstration of the spirit and of power. You can listen to this next passage 55 00:05:34.649 --> 00:05:38.439 or turn with me, if you liked, a second Corinthians chapter ten, 56 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:44.399 and I want to read one more passage that's similar. Second Corinthians ten, 57 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:53.509 Paul says he recounts to us an accusation that he was receiving First Green atens 58 00:05:53.589 --> 00:05:57.430 ten. Verse Ten he says, for they say, that is his accusers 59 00:05:57.790 --> 00:06:02.910 quote. His letters are waighty and strong, but his bodily appearance is weak 60 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:09.939 and his speech is of no account. So this is what people were saying 61 00:06:10.019 --> 00:06:16.540 about Paul. This was the problem that he was facing. They were saying 62 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:23.410 that his letters, they're great, they're enjoyable to read, there's some power 63 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:30.410 to them, but when he gets up in front of US and talks not 64 00:06:30.529 --> 00:06:34.040 really anything to write home about. He's not really a great preacher, they 65 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:38.759 were saying. He's not a great speaker. Indeed, Paul even says here 66 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:46.560 that he came to them in weakness and fear and in trembling. His voice 67 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:54.149 was shaking, maybe his hands were shaking. This happens to me sometimes, 68 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:58.310 still not so much anymore. I'm here partly, I think, because we 69 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:01.139 know each other so well, but I notice sometimes if I go and do 70 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:08.339 some pulpit supply or guests preaching in some place, I'll get really nervous. 71 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:12.300 My hands will shake him, my voice will shake Um like, why am 72 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:16.129 I shaking? I know the word. I'm going to proclaim the word of 73 00:07:16.209 --> 00:07:20.009 his regular job to do. I do this every day or every Sunday, 74 00:07:20.490 --> 00:07:26.970 usually twice, and yet here I am nervous. Why am I nervous? 75 00:07:28.769 --> 00:07:33.720 Why am I shaking? Paul was experiencing this well at all mentioned. As 76 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:38.600 a side note, this brings me some comfort, as Paul was bold. 77 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:42.839 We know Paul went and spoke with great boldness. He would did not shy 78 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.589 away. We hear him say I am not ashamed to proclaim the Gospel, 79 00:07:46.629 --> 00:07:48.949 which is the power of God, Unto Salvation, both to Jews and the 80 00:07:49.069 --> 00:07:53.110 Greeks. But just because he wasn't a shame, just because he was going 81 00:07:53.149 --> 00:07:58.389 to go for it, didn't mean that he wasn't scared too, didn't mean 82 00:07:58.470 --> 00:08:05.740 that he wasn't that that he wasn't everything that people had perhaps hoped from him. 83 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:09.379 This, of course, was contrasted a little bit with a man named 84 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:15.290 a Paulo's who the scriptures say, was very good at public speaking. He 85 00:08:15.490 --> 00:08:18.610 was very good, he was impressive and and, as we considered last time, 86 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:24.170 because of this difference between these two, people were starting to kind of 87 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:33.000 gather around one or the other. Now, what's really interesting about this passage 88 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:35.519 is Paul is what Paul doesn't say. It's one of them many interesting things 89 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:43.190 he doesn't say. I'm really sorry about this, and so I'm going to 90 00:08:43.269 --> 00:08:50.029 study classical rhetoric more and get better. Now, what Paul says is he 91 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:58.820 has specifically chosen not to care and he has specifically chosen a mode of preaching 92 00:08:58.460 --> 00:09:05.179 that isn't flashy. My guess is that he'd probably be fine with not trembling. 93 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:09.610 He does. He wouldn't accuse Apollos, in other words, of not 94 00:09:09.929 --> 00:09:13.490 being not trembling. You wouldn't say well, you got a tremble if you're 95 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:15.929 going to preach. Well, I don't think that's what he's getting after. 96 00:09:16.850 --> 00:09:22.009 But what he is getting after is he's saying there is this mode of preaching 97 00:09:22.009 --> 00:09:31.879 which matches the content of the Gospel, and both are really important. Let's 98 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:37.480 look at this passage and consider why. He begins in verse eighteen, for 99 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.389 he says the For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are 100 00:09:41.509 --> 00:09:48.389 perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 101 00:09:52.059 --> 00:09:56.940 Now, so this is really interesting. He says it is power, 102 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:01.980 it is, it has power. It has power for those who are being 103 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:05.539 saved. But he also says in verse seventeen that he preaches in this particular 104 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:11.929 way so that the cross is not emptied of its power. How could the 105 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:16.690 cross be emptied of its power? It is the Cross of Christ, after 106 00:10:16.730 --> 00:10:22.600 all. What Paul is saying is that when the Cross is presented in a 107 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:31.360 particular way it takes away from the message, when the Cop Cross is presented 108 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.639 in a particular way, it takes away from the power of the message. 109 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:39.429 Not that it isn't powerful, it is. He says it's powerful for those 110 00:10:39.470 --> 00:10:43.110 who are being saved. As it is written. Verse Nineteen, I will 111 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:48.870 destroy this is powerful language, right. I will destroy the wisdom of the 112 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:56.179 wise and the discernment of the discerning. I will thwart and then Paul tosses 113 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:58.580 down the gauntlet. I love these verses. Where's the one who is wise? 114 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:01.100 He's like, let's roll right. Where's the one who is wise? 115 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:05.250 Where's the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Here? These, 116 00:11:05.289 --> 00:11:13.929 these are expressions of confidence, right, this is he's challenging them and 117 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:18.320 he says, has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? This 118 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:24.799 is what the cross does, is it takes the socalled wisdom of the world 119 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:30.679 and it shows it to be truly foolish. And what the world calls foolish, 120 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:37.590 God shows it to be powerful. In Verse Twenty One, he says, 121 00:11:37.870 --> 00:11:41.230 for since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know 122 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:46.789 God, through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach. 123 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:54.460 To save those who believe, is Paul saying here? He's saying that 124 00:11:54.980 --> 00:12:01.649 he is not revealed through simply studying this world. There is wisdom in this 125 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:07.370 world. Paul's not denying that to study rhetoric, for example, to study 126 00:12:07.409 --> 00:12:11.970 speech. That's a task of wisdom. It's not a bad thing to know 127 00:12:13.250 --> 00:12:16.080 how to present an argument, to know how to make it very pointed, 128 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:20.639 to know how to make it so it rings in your ears and sticks. 129 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:26.080 Some good things, but they're not powerful to get you to the ultimate things. 130 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:31.429 And this is true of anything in God's world that he's made. you 131 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:35.230 go out into the into the woods, you go up into the mountains or 132 00:12:35.269 --> 00:12:39.830 the deserts and you can be amazed. You can study these things, you 133 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:43.419 can cultivate them, you can take the resources that God has made and create 134 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:54.379 amazing things, amazing things. And yet God does not reveal that salvation that 135 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:58.009 we have through Jesus Christ, that power that takes us out of this age 136 00:12:58.250 --> 00:13:05.009 and into the next age, through those things, whether it's, you know, 137 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:13.759 physical resources like rocks or or trees, or intellectual resources like rhetoric. 138 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:20.120 God doesn't reveal himself through this way, but instead through the simple preaching, 139 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:26.519 which some people were calling folly. People are being saved and this was not 140 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:31.070 an accident. Notice what he says. In the wisdom of God, it 141 00:13:31.269 --> 00:13:39.070 was chosen this way. God has particularly chosen to reveal him self this way. 142 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:45.700 Okay, continuing on the in the exposition, here he says the Jews 143 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:50.820 demands signs and the Greek seek wisdom. But We preach Christ crucified a stumbling 144 00:13:50.940 --> 00:13:58.690 block to the Jews and folly to the gentiles. Christ on the cross is 145 00:13:58.889 --> 00:14:03.330 not a powerful sign. Now, Christ certainly did powerful signs right. He 146 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:09.250 healed people of leprosy, rased them to raise from the dead. He healed 147 00:14:09.289 --> 00:14:13.559 all kinds of diseases, he cast out demons. There were signs, plentiful 148 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.120 signs, obvious signs, but they were all leading to this ultimate work of 149 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:24.309 God on the Cross. Everything was pointing to this moment and there was no 150 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:35.710 outward power there. There hung our savior, dead, ultimate powerlessness, not 151 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:39.860 able to fight back against the Jews of the Romans, not able to teach 152 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:43.139 any more, not able to speak any more, not to breathe anymore. 153 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:52.090 He was dead. Jesus Christ Crucified Meant Jesus Christ dead, powerless, ineffective, 154 00:14:52.250 --> 00:15:03.090 presumably, and the Greek sought wisdom. What is this? What can 155 00:15:03.129 --> 00:15:07.960 be learned from this? A man rises up, he gathers people after him, 156 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.200 he's becomes famous throughout the the land. And then he dies. This 157 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:20.399 is not wisdom, this is not success, this is not advancing, and 158 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:26.350 so people despise the Lord, they turned away from him. And yet, 159 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:31.909 though in the wisdom of God, he came in this way, he was 160 00:15:31.149 --> 00:15:35.980 powerful. So this is the Pop Paul is not saying that Jesus is not 161 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:41.299 powerful. He's saying that he's not powerful as the world perceives him. And 162 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:46.460 indeed he's not powerful in the form in which he came. He came as 163 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:52.250 a servant, he came humble, he came suffering. But, as Paul 164 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:56.850 goes on to say, he was and is the power of God. He 165 00:15:58.250 --> 00:16:03.450 was and is the wisdom of God. And here's where everything it's put in 166 00:16:03.529 --> 00:16:07.639 for perspective. That verse twenty five a kind of key verse here for the 167 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:12.519 Foolishness of God. The thing is, especially that the world calls foolish, 168 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.600 that the world calls weak, that the world calls powerless. The foolishness of 169 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:23.750 God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than that. 170 00:16:26.269 --> 00:16:27.629 So that gets back us back to what I said at the beginning, that 171 00:16:27.830 --> 00:16:33.620 he's helping us to understand the things in this world and the things of God. 172 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:41.580 In perspective to one another. You might look at some technological advancements, 173 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:47.169 some amazing aspect of learning, on anything that you might in consider in this 174 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:53.730 world and be rightly impressed, but it doesn't begin to obtain to the wisdom 175 00:16:53.889 --> 00:17:02.120 in the power of God, even when it's revealed through weakness. So then, 176 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:11.119 why does God reveal such awesome power and wisdom through weakness? Why does 177 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:22.589 God, in his wisdom, choose that path? We'll get there, but 178 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:25.950 before we do, plaw has one more thing for us to consider and make 179 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:32.099 that point. Not only did Jesus come in pat in weakness and in suffering 180 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:37.539 and humility, not only does the message that he preached not come with great 181 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:42.660 eloquence and power of your personal presence and all of these things, but even 182 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:48.170 you, he says, are not that impressive. Notice what he says. 183 00:17:48.769 --> 00:17:55.970 Consider your calling. Brothers. Not Many of you were wise according to worldly 184 00:17:56.089 --> 00:17:59.279 standards, not many of you were powerful, not many of you were of 185 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:03.039 noble birth. But God shows what is foolish in the world to shame the 186 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:07.240 wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 187 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:11.119 God chose what is low and despised in the world. Even the things that 188 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:17.869 are not to bring to nothing the things that are. So, you see, 189 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:22.549 Jesus Christ came in a certain way, that message is preached in a 190 00:18:22.670 --> 00:18:33.140 certain way and it comes to people who are likewise not that impressive. The 191 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:42.210 Corinthians, and not just the Corinthians, but the Corinthians, were wanting to 192 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:48.769 advance themselves, they were wanting to be people who are important, who were 193 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:52.769 esteemed socially, who had followers around them, who were able to climb the 194 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:57.240 ladder in their society. And Paul kind of calls them out and he says, 195 00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:03.559 guys, not many of you were of noble birth, not many of 196 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:10.869 you are all that impressive. I'm not looking out on this crowd of amazing 197 00:19:11.069 --> 00:19:18.269 people by worldly standards. I'Llge Paul, that's kind of hurts. If you 198 00:19:18.509 --> 00:19:23.779 find that offensive, it's time for a heart check, I think it's fair 199 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:32.700 to say, because a lot of us spend a lot of our time meditating 200 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:37.500 on, thinking about and working about how to working on how to become something 201 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:45.690 special by worldly standards. A lot of energy in our time and our daily 202 00:19:45.730 --> 00:19:52.130 lives and in our culture goes into that objective. How do we become something 203 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:56.880 special and worldly standards. And so when you're preacher, write you a letter, 204 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:00.200 as Paul does here, and says you know, not many of you 205 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:06.960 are even obtaining that goal. Not Many of you are that special by these 206 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:11.470 worldly standard. They can kind of hurt a little bit. But why does 207 00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:15.670 Paul say this one? Of course it's to humble them, because this is 208 00:20:15.710 --> 00:20:19.869 what their hearts are. After they're wanting these things and he's trying to relativize 209 00:20:19.869 --> 00:20:23.819 it, he's trying to push it down. He's saying not important, not 210 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:32.579 important, not important. And in fact it's not only not as important as 211 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:37.970 we think it is, but God has specifically chosen the things that are not, 212 00:20:38.410 --> 00:20:45.609 not that important, not that powerful, not that fancy, to bring 213 00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:56.720 into the power and wisdom and life of the son of God. In other 214 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:00.400 words, God calls us to embrace this fact. He doesn't want us to 215 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:06.789 be foolish people, he doesn't want us to be stupid or or doing dumb 216 00:21:06.990 --> 00:21:11.509 things or acting in foolish ways, but he does want us to embrace the 217 00:21:11.630 --> 00:21:18.349 fact that this world is not all that there is and I don't have to 218 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:23.299 climb a social ladder, I don't have to be something special in order to 219 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:32.059 receive all the blessings and of Jesus Christ, all the things and honor and 220 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:37.369 glory that he ultimately did attain to and even now has as he sits at 221 00:21:37.410 --> 00:21:44.369 the right hand of God, enthroned upon Cherobeam, on his mighty chariot, 222 00:21:44.970 --> 00:21:48.200 living forever and ever, in which the whole host of Heaven Calls Holy, 223 00:21:48.359 --> 00:22:00.359 Holy, Holy He Jesus Christ is ultimate and Glorious and powerful way exceeding anything 224 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.589 that this world would ever seek. But he did that and at a obtained 225 00:22:04.750 --> 00:22:12.230 that by first becoming low and by even drawing in those of us who are 226 00:22:12.390 --> 00:22:18.900 low. What's good news to that? God also draws in the rich and 227 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:22.619 the powerful. God also draws in people who have become something important in this 228 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:29.819 world. But, as Jesus says, it's a hard thing for people like 229 00:22:30.009 --> 00:22:33.009 that to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. And what do we see? 230 00:22:33.690 --> 00:22:37.529 What do we see so often happening in his ministry and his Gospels? It's 231 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:41.970 task collectors, it's prostitutes, it's gentiles, it's people who are low and 232 00:22:42.089 --> 00:22:47.440 despised and kind on the edges that are being brought in. Why? Why 233 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:51.119 did Jesus do that? Why does God do that? Why am I here? 234 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.119 It's because, in his great wisdom, he shows the things that are 235 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:03.430 weak, Christ taking on human flesh, a particular mode of preaching the Gospel, 236 00:23:03.950 --> 00:23:11.269 and even the people that he gathers into his church to make himself known. 237 00:23:11.789 --> 00:23:18.059 Here's the why we have a problem with idolatry, we have a problem 238 00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:22.019 with pride, we have a problem with getting our eyes so focused on this 239 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:26.980 world that God comes into this world and so he chooses what is weak and 240 00:23:26.170 --> 00:23:30.849 foolish, to turn everything on its head and make us go what's going on, 241 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:36.809 so that ultimately we wouldn't have anything worldly to stand on and would only 242 00:23:37.009 --> 00:23:44.720 boast in the Lord, only only him. That's why he does these things, 243 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:48.599 he says in Verse Twenty Nine, so that no human being might boast 244 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.480 in the presence of God, so that none of us can go to the 245 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:55.480 Lord and say, well, yeah, I worked really hard, I showed 246 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:00.029 up to work every day, I impressed my boss and his boss and his 247 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:03.950 boss, and on top of that, I also learned a few languages on 248 00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:07.150 the side, and on top of that, I picked up this hobby and 249 00:24:07.269 --> 00:24:17.940 had a great family. Nothing God did the things that he did in the 250 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:22.299 way that he did them so that we could not stand on those things and 251 00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:25.529 so that we could only say, well, I'm only here by your grace 252 00:24:26.130 --> 00:24:33.730 and your grace alone. God undoes our pride so that we can stand in 253 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:41.519 the presence of God, because our pride blocks us, are plied, separates 254 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:47.079 us. Our Pride says I don't need him, I need me, I 255 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:51.880 need more of the world. But what we really need is God. And 256 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.710 so, rather than reinforcing the old system by God saying here's how the Gospel 257 00:24:56.750 --> 00:25:03.869 comes by the these really fancy amazing peace people and and this is a super 258 00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:07.180 exclusive club that you can only get into if you advance through society in these 259 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:15.460 certain ways. God undoes all of that so that we would be undone, 260 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:21.809 so that he would receive all the glory and that wisdom and power and and 261 00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:27.890 and and communion with God could truly be had. We come into the presence 262 00:25:27.930 --> 00:25:32.730 of God not through our wisdom and the wisdom of this world and the power 263 00:25:32.769 --> 00:25:42.759 of this world, but through the power of God. And here's Paul's application. 264 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:48.720 Then in verse five he says so that your faith, your faith might 265 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:56.430 not rest in the wisdom of men but the power of God. There are 266 00:25:56.470 --> 00:26:03.750 amazing things in this world. Some of you are involved in amazing things, 267 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:11.700 writing, research, collaboration, working within your families, working within societies, 268 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:18.500 the friendships that you've created truly wonderful things. But for all of us who 269 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:25.289 have read ecclesiastes or lived in the world for a day, we know that 270 00:26:25.369 --> 00:26:33.359 that stuff doesn't last. Things get and done, projects unravel, corporations that 271 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.079 are strong dissolve and fall apart. This world under the sun is a trying 272 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:44.960 place for some reason that's hard for us to understand. We'd miss the Vanity 273 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:48.710 of it all. We think, we keep thinking, it's permanent, but 274 00:26:48.150 --> 00:26:56.990 God comes in this way to undo these things in our minds. So that's 275 00:26:56.990 --> 00:27:07.140 what Paul is saying here. Paul's opposition is not to rhetoric itself. Rhetoric 276 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:12.700 isn't sinful. Rhetoric is a good thing. Paul uses rhetoric even there are 277 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:18.490 passages in the scriptures that are immensely eloquent, beautiful, inspiring, rhythmic, 278 00:27:18.730 --> 00:27:25.650 whatever you want, whatever words you want to attach to that, but that 279 00:27:25.849 --> 00:27:32.720 was not his aim. A great speaker in Paul's time would not go before 280 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:38.200 an audience without mastering those things first. His goal would have been to move 281 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:44.079 his audience. His goal was not just to proclaim the truth, but to 282 00:27:44.349 --> 00:27:48.589 persuade in such an eloquent way that when he walked away everyone said wow, 283 00:27:48.750 --> 00:27:56.349 that guy. That wasn't Paul's aim. That work of rhetoric required a lot 284 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.220 of study, the ability to read people in situations, adapt in the moment, 285 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:07.619 use masterful turns of phrases, charm. It was a legitimate skill and 286 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:14.650 sometimes it was used for highly moral ends. People would use these skills and 287 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:18.730 go and defend people in court, they would support the cause of the week, 288 00:28:18.809 --> 00:28:26.569 they would uphold the law and plead for good causes. The Bible itself 289 00:28:26.690 --> 00:28:33.279 teaches us that rhetoric is something worthy of studying. Proverbs twenty five says. 290 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:37.519 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 291 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.190 Proverbs Fifteen, twenty three says to make an APP to answer, is a 292 00:28:41.230 --> 00:28:47.269 joy to man a word in season. How good is it? Paul's not 293 00:28:47.430 --> 00:28:52.390 saying we should all talk like fools. He's not saying rhetoric is useless and 294 00:28:52.990 --> 00:29:00.859 not powerful. Rhetoric can be used for human flourishing and many blessings. And 295 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:07.819 yet what Paul is saying is that no amount of human wisdom. No amount 296 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:15.009 of worldly wisdom, even rightly applied, can bring us to salvation. And 297 00:29:15.210 --> 00:29:19.809 so he's not going to make it his priority to master all of those things, 298 00:29:19.890 --> 00:29:23.519 and master them perfectly. In fact, he's not going to worry about 299 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:29.880 them. His primary job, and the primary job of every preacher and Lord 300 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:36.119 Willing me as well, is to proclaim the truth, clearly and simply, 301 00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:44.150 with the authority of God, and no more and no less, not relying 302 00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:48.470 using perhaps in some ways, but not relying on those things as being that 303 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:56.940 which will save the world, but relying on God, who speaks and uses 304 00:29:56.019 --> 00:30:10.049 even simple speaking to bring about power and salvation. This, in the end, 305 00:30:10.210 --> 00:30:15.529 beloved, is what gives us confidence. It allows our faith not to 306 00:30:15.809 --> 00:30:19.970 rest on human eloquence and power, but on the Lord God himself. And 307 00:30:21.089 --> 00:30:22.960 so I just ask you where are do you want to rest your faith on? 308 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:27.119 Do you want to rest your faith on the eloquence of a preacher, 309 00:30:27.160 --> 00:30:33.279 or do you want to rest your faith on the wisdom of God revealed in 310 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:37.829 the Cross of Jesus Christ? Please let it be the latter. That's where 311 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:42.390 salvation is, that's where true power and wisdom is. That will not be 312 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:48.349 undone that is not vain and will last for all eternity. It will save 313 00:30:48.390 --> 00:30:52.299 your soul and your body as well. Let's pray