Christ, the Power of God – September 17, 2023

Psalm 130, I Corinthians 1:18-31
September 17, 2023

So, last week I took the liberty of preaching from one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible!  “And now unto him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever, Amen.”  Those are the  wonderful words of Paul to the Ephesians. (Ephesians 3:20-21)That made me think of today’s reading, which is also one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible.  These are Paul’s words from I Corinthians.  “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.” (I Corinthians 1:27-28)  Besides being one of the greatest advocates and apologists for the faith, Paul could really write!  I would have loved to hear him debate!

Well, the title of this sermon comes from the previous paragraph in I Corinthians, where he wrote this – which I also love.  “The Jews demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to the Gentiles.  But to those who are being called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”  And then these words.  “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (I Corinthians 1:22-25)

Christ, the power of God.  That’s my title for today.  In other words, in Christ we see the power of God!  And in Christ, all worldly understanding of power, and wisdom, and importance are turned on their ear!  Because Paul isn’t just talking about some great supernatural power Jesus possessed.  It was the power in what he did for us, and how God achieved his purpose through Jesus.  And in that, Christ and the cross are indeed what he says here.  They are a stumbling block to some, and folly to others.  “But we preach Christ crucified,” he says.  And in that act of ultimate humility we see his power!  And Jesus then becomes our example of humility, and the model of how we are to live our lives in him.

Humility.  I talked about that a couple of weeks ago.  Do you remember?  I was talking about “not letting the world squeeze you into its mold.”  That was a modern translation of Romans 12.  I said then that “humility” is something the world doesn’t understand.  As I’ve said before, it is too close to the word “humiliation.”  And that is seen as a thing to be avoided at all costs in our world!

But humility is what used to be called a “Christian virtue.”  A “Virtue” is a positive characteristic of being a Christian that we should all aspire to.  Yet too many people, definitely outside of the church, but sometimes even in the church, are caught up in the egotistical world Paul was talking about.  They’ve been “squeezed into the world’s mold” – a self-aggrandizing mold.

Too many in our world are caught up in a life of “narcissism.”  Do you know that word?  It comes from the Greek Myth of Narcissus.  And Narcissus was a man who thought himself to be so beautiful, that he was cursed by the gods so that he would only fall in love with his own reflection.  Maybe you remember that story.  Well, it’s playing out all around us!  The curse of Narcissus has been visited upon so many people in our world!  So many people look to and care about only themselves!

Now, that’s not to say that we shouldn’t appreciate beauty in ourselves and others.  We are each a unique creation of God.  And we should care for all of God’s creation – his creation in the world around us, and his creation in each other, and in ourselves.  But as God’s people, we are called to temper that self-part with the “virtue” of humility.

That has so much to do with this passage!  Because this passage is about that humility, which is modeled in Jesus!  That was God’s plan in sending his son, something that makes no sense to the world.  He said in verse 21, “The world did not know God through wisdom.”  “So,” he says, “it is through the folly of what we preach that people are being saved.”

In a certain sense, we can’t understand the message of God “fully” until we see the “folly” – that is, the folly that it is to the world!  We have to recognize that sometimes the world will not understand our message.  Because it makes no sense to them.  And sometimes the church then thinks it needs to put out a similar message to that of the world, with the same advertising, the same view of “celebrity,” even the same message of prosperity.  “Give to the church and you’ll get paid back!”  You’ve heard me talk about that “prosperity Gospel” before.  That’s not why we give!

But some have tried mimic the message of the world.  And don’t get me wrong.  I believe it helps to take advantage of the media the world has to offer.  Modern signs, email, websites, internet broadcasts – all the other connected things the modern world offers, they can help with our visibility.  And the church has always adapted to the different kinds of media over the years.

Think about it.  One of the most influential innovations in all of history was the printing press.  That was the internet of the Fifteenth Century!  It changed the world!  It gave people a reason to be educated, because now they had access to things that they could read!  It brought the world together.  It led to the age of discovery.  And the church took advantage of that!  Bibles could be printed.  People could have their own copy, and read it themselves!

So the modern world of media is not a bad thing.  But we need to be careful that we’re not preaching the same message!  We need to remember Christ the power of God and what that means!  We need to remember that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Jesus Christ went to the cross, with all the power of God embodied within him!  But instead of using that power to defeat his enemies, as everyone expected – as everyone wanted(!) – he sacrificed himself for them – and for all people.  And to many, that makes no sense.  It is folly!  But to those who are being called, it is the power of God!  It is the way our atonement was achieved.  It is power like the world does not understand.  But “it pleased God, through the folly of what we preach, to save those who believe.”  What a great chapter this is!

Jesus then became the example, the model, for his whole kingdom and everyone in it.  “For consider your call.” Paul continues.  “Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”  And then my favorite verse – and not just because of its beauty in writing, but because of its power.  “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”

That’s us!  That’s our part in the kingdom.  That’s God’s plan.  We – all of us – are part of that plan.  We are all part of Christ, the power of God!

Prayer

Eternal God, we are amazed by your Grace, and we are astounded by your atonement for us.  Help us to be the people you call us to be.  Help us to show the world power in humility, and in Grace, and in Love.  May they see your light in us, and come to know your glory.  For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.