The Criteria We Use For God

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When we are looking to purchase a phone, we usually have certain criteria in mind. Is the phone within our budget? What operating system does it use? Does it have the feat and capabilities we need? Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 1, 22 to 25, the Apostle Paul shows us that the Jews and the Gentiles had their own criteria for evaluating God's message. Paul tells us that the Jews demanded signs while the Greeks sought wisdom. But Paul preached something that did not fit either expectation. He preached Christ crucified. To the Jews, Christ crucified was a stumbling block. To the Gentiles, the message of the cross appeared to be foolishness. Yet to those whom God had called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ was the power of God and the wisdom of God. Paul then makes an extraordinary declaration. In other words, the problem was not with God's message, the problem was with the criteria by which people were evaluating it. Stay with me as we examine 1 Corinthians 1 22 to 25 and discover why Christ crucified is not foolishness nor weakness, but the very power and wisdom of God. In

Why People Demand Signs

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1 Corinthians 1 22-25, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Jews demanded science while the Greeks sought wisdom. Paul encompasses all of unbelieving humanity in these two terms, Jews and Greeks. Here, Greeks broadly refers to the Gentile world. Both the Jews and the Greeks had developed their own expectations when it came to Jesus being the Messiah. The Jews' insistence that they be shown a supernatural sign in order to believe in the supernatural sounds logical, even reasonable. However, Jesus had already performed extraordinary signs among them, yet many still refuse to believe. Some of the religious authorities ultimately sought his death and handed him over to the Roman authorities. Similarly, many today seek miracles, signs and wonders to somehow strengthen their faith. Something in us says if God gives us a sign, we will believe. However, in 2 Corinthians 5 7, Paul states we walk by faith, not by sight. Our faith must not depend upon God continually satisfying our demands for signs. God has given us a crucified and resurrected Christ.

The Trap Of Chasing Human Wisdom

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The Greeks were habitually and continually seeking wisdom. In Acts 17, 16 to 21, the Apostle Luke tells us that the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers brought Paul to the Ariopagus and asked him to explain his teachings about Jesus. Wisdom in and of itself is not to be despised. However, wisdom here is bound up with Greek rhetoric. The Greeks were intoxicated with fine words. To them, the Apostle Paul, with his blunt message, seemed a crude and uncultured figure, to be laughed at and ridiculed rather than to be listened to and respected. Paul

We Preach Christ Crucified

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then goes on to state in 1 Corinthians 1 23, we preach Christ crucified. This message of Christ crucified trips up the religious man and it is observed to the rational man. The cross was a death blow to human pride and worldly honor. The cross carried such a stigma that it was well over a century after Jesus' crucifixion before it appeared among Christians as a symbol of their faith. Matthew 27.42 tells us that the chief priests, scribes, and elders cried out, Let him come down from the cross and we will believe on him. They desired Christ without the cross. However, there is now no Christ but the Christ who was crucified. Revelation 5.12 tells us that in heaven Jesus is known as the Lamb that was slain. The Apostle Paul then states that the crucified Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews. Those who give themselves over to religious works are in a similar situation. Such a person has been brought up to be a stalwart of the church. He has no fellowship with drunkards or gamblers. When the meaning of the cross is pressed upon such a person, he stumbles, for it makes his own righteousness as filthy rags and sets no value at all upon his prayers and performances. It follows therefore that the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to those who are satisfied with a religious self-life. The proclamation of a divine Savior who had suffered the humiliation of crucifixion appeared absurd to many in the first century Greco-Roman world. To the intellectual Greek, the message that God's saving power was revealed through the humiliation and death of Christ contradicted the values by which they judge wisdom and power.

Modern Standards That Block Faith

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Although Paul is speaking historically about Jews and Greeks, the same tendencies remain with us. They are those who insist that God satisfy their intellectual standards before they will believe. When human reason becomes a standard by which God Himself must be judged, we can rationalize ourselves away from the truth he has revealed. The gospel cannot be discovered through demands for supernatural science or attain to human wisdom. It must be received by faith in Christ. C.S. Lewis was close friends with J.R.R. Tolkien when they both lectured at Oxford University. Tolkien was a devout Christian. One night while walking and talking with Tolkien, C.S. Lewis declared that he could not see how the death of someone else 2,000 years before could help much in the here and now. Tolkien pointed out to C.S. Lewis that when it came to Christianity, C.S. Lewis wanted to put on the cap of a rationalist. This was holding him back from discovering the truth of Christianity. Shortly afterwards, C.S. Lewis wrote to one of his friends, I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a great deal to do with it. Paul

Called By God Into True Belief

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then proceeds to contrast the rejection of the gospel by unbelieving Jews and Greeks with the reception of the called Jews and Greeks. In mentioning God's foolishness and weakness, the apostle is of course speaking from the unbelievers' point of view. However, as Paul emphatically declares in 1 Corinthians 1 24, Jesus is neither weak nor foolish, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Paul is letting us know that for those who believe in Jesus, the crucified Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God. The stumbling block to the unbelieving Jew is Savior to the believing. The one who is foolishness to the unbelieving Gentile is redeemer to the believing. The Greek word kletos, translated call, carries the idea of being called or invited. Paul emphasizes that among both Jews and Greeks, there are those who have responded to God's call in Christ. What unbelief regards as foolishness and weakness, believers have discovered to be the very power and wisdom of God. Paul then proceeds to declare that Jesus Christ is the power of God. Power here speaks of God's ability to accomplish what human beings cannot. In the present context, it speaks of the gospel's supernatural power to circumcise a heart and make a sinner a saint, a new creation in Christ. Christianity is supernaturally based on God's calling of sinners to Himself. We are Christians because God did a supernatural work in our hearts to bring us to faith in Christ. Christianity is not anti-intellectual, but it is supernatural. God's power is revealed in the crucified Jesus. It takes the power of God to save, and God has revealed the saving power through the death of His Son. To believe in that death is to put ourselves in touch with the power of God, which delivers from all iniquity and saves it an everlasting salvation. As Christians, we understand that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because we are experiencing the effects of the crucified and resurrected Savior in our lives. We were called. Know that the crucified Christ means power. Before the call, we were defeated by sin. Now there is a new power at work in us, the power of God. Christ crucified is also the wisdom of God. God's wisdom is inseparable from the cross. The planning of man's redemption via the crucified Christ was a revelation of the wisdom of God as well as the love of God. What the world refers to as foolishness is embraced as wisdom by those who belong to God. When we run to that cross, we place our foolishness and ignorance into his wisdom. The message of the cross transforms those who are called. The cross causes us to focus on what we Christians have in common and not on our differences on secondary theological issues and petty personal preferences. The power and wisdom of God can also work to people whom others might consider unlikely or inadequately qualified. John Williams worked as a missionary in the South Pacific Islands in the early 1800s. During this time he successfully translated the New Testament into the native Rarotongan language. While in London and Folo, John submitted his work for publication. A professor of classical languages let John know that the Society would not publish the Rarotonga New Testament translation if it were not thoroughly grounded in the original Greek texts. The members of the Society were surprised to discover that John had taught himself Greek. The members of the Society were ultimately satisfied that John knew Greek and his translation methods were sound. Only then did they agree to print the New Testament in Raro Tongen.

When Weakness Proves Stronger

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In 1 Corinthians 1 25, Paul declares, for the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. The sign-seeking Jews were blind to the significance of the greatest sign of all when it was before them. The wisdom-loving Greeks could not discern the most profound wisdom of all when they were confronted with it. The gospel has a supernatural power to break the bondage of sin and the devil and set men free so that they are free indeed. Many ministry-focused books state that the church must have a vision and clearly articulated ministry goals. This church growth literature also states that detailed profiles of the communities that surround the church are essential as this constitutes the key to successful outreach. There is nothing wrong with planning, strategy, goals, or understanding the communities we hope to reach. These can all be useful tools, but they must never become substitutes for the message God has entrusted to us. No strategy can improve upon the saving message of Christ crucified. Like Paul, we must preach Jesus crucified to a lost and dying world. What appears foolish or pointless from our limited perspective may look very different when seen within the purposes of God. Cory Ten Boom gives a story of being placed in barracks 28 at the detention camp of Ravensbrook in Nazi Germany during World War II. This Barracks 28 had the reputation of being the most flea-infested barrack in all of Ravensbrock. As a result, the guards would stand at the door and back orders, but they virtually never set foot inside. At first, Cory had hated the fleas, but when she found they kept the guards away, she was grateful for them. At night, the Ten Boom sisters could hold Bible studies and prayer meetings for the other prisoners without being caught. Night after night, the woman in Barracks 28 listened to the Bible being read. After Betsy had shared about God's love for them all, they would sing a hymn together and pray. Soon, Barracks 28 became known as the crazy barrack where the women have hope. The fleas provided freedom to worship. We started

Questions That Expose Our Expectations

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by looking at the fact that we normally have criteria when we are involved in some activities such as purchasing a new phone. Similarly, the Jews were asking for a sign, and the Greeks were seeking wisdom in their search for God. The unbelieving Jew and Greek were left profoundly unmoved by Paul's preaching of Christ crucified as they perceived it to be both foolishness and weakness. However, to those who received the call of God, Jesus crucified was both the power and wisdom of God. Paul adamantly declares that the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. What criteria are we using to evaluate God? Do we require him to meet our expectations before we will trust him? Or will we receive what he has revealed, the crucified and risen Christ as the power and the wisdom of God? Let us remain anchored in Christ crucified and proclaim him to a world that may still call him foolishness, but desperately needs the power and wisdom found in him.

Subscribe Pray And Keep Growing

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Before you go, if this message spoke to you, like this podcast and subscribe so you don't miss what God is doing here at Catch on Fire Podcasts. If you're ready for real change, take a moment right now to pray with me. Jesus, I give you my life. Lead me, forgive me, and make me new. If you pray that, welcome to the family. Follow along, stay connected, and let's walk this walk together. Grow in scripture, discipleship, and Christian leadership through the online course found at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen.io. Discover the covenant story and learn to see the Bible as one unified story. Go deeper with until Christ is formed in you and grow as a disciple of Jesus. Explore leadership is discipleship and learn why true Christian leadership begins with following Jesus. Start studying, start learning, start growing. Join us at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen.io.

Confessing Words Of Life Together

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Please join me as we confess words of life over all of our lives. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are still holding on to God's unchanging hand. We are still in God's holy plan. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living holy lives as God requires. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothes to those in need, ministering to the sick and visiting those in prison, and we are doing so to the least of those among us, as when we do so we are ministering to Jesus. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we have received healing, as by his stripes we are healed. From the crown of our head to the soles of our feet, all of our bodily organs are working correctly. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that God is ordering our steps, that all weapons that are formed against us have been utterly and completely destroyed, and everything that is rising against us in judgment is condemned. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that all generational curses are cancelled. Anything that runs in our ancestral bloodline that is not of God has no power over us, our children and our grandchildren, and is eliminated forever right now. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that angels are watching over and keeping our family, our children, our grandchildren, our loved ones safe. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that every negative word that has been and is being over our lives and that of our family, children, grandchildren, and loved ones is cancelled and sent back to the pit from whence it came. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are the head and not the tail. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are not and will never be ashamed. Our enemies have not and never will triumph over us. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that anything that is not of God that has been dispatched to hinder our blessings, our progress, and our well-being is immediately destroyed. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are financially in line with God's word, and as such we are lenders and not borrowers. As a result, all of our debts have been paid and are forgiven. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that the enemy of our souls has no authority over our finances and our funds, and that we are good stewards of the money that God has placed in our keeping. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that in the area of business and our careers, that just as Isaac reaped a hundredfold, the blessings of Abraham are falling on us, and we are reaping a hundredfold from whatever we put our hands to. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living under an open heaven in every area of our lives. Blessings are falling on us, our family and our loved ones. These blessings are being manifested in our lives, in the spiritual and in the physical.

Psalm 23 And Final Blessing

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He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runeth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.