What’s It To You?
We wear them and make art with them that is displayed on our walls, are copied in books and are even tattooed on some bodies. They are everywhere around us. But what is the meaning of the cross? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, that to some it has little meaningful value, but to the believer it is the power of God unto salvation. I pray that you will know the power of God to make your salvation possible through the cross of Calvary.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19) In the time that Paul was writing this to the Corinthian church, The cross was an instrument of excruciating death. It was used by the Romans to inflict fear and capital punishment upon enemies of the state and anyone unfortunate enough to run afoul of the empire. Think of it in the way we think of the electric chair today. It is in that context and with that backdrop that Paul write a to the Corinthian church about the “message” of the cross in this world. We wear crosses around our necks. What would you think if you saw someone wearing an electric chair necklace? Paul was saying that the world sees our embrace of the message of the cross as foolishness. Interestingly , Paul characterizes all of us as either perishing or being saved. But in the cross, we don’t see death, we see the power of God to save us!
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:20-25) God has made Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross the means of our salvation. The real wisdom is in seeing that God worked salvation through Jesus death and resurrection. That is the message of the cross that is preached and that saves those who believe. Jews dismissed Jesus because they were looking for deliverance through a Messiah who would militarily vanquish their enemies. A Messiah dying in a cross was shameful and offensive to their sensibilities. The Greeks were steeped in philosophy and a worldview that prized academic knowledge as wisdom. But God opposes the wisdom of men and their thinking that they knew God and what He would do. Salvation through the means of the cross just didn’t “make sense” to them. Salvation is not the achievement of human wisdom; it is the embrace of God’s dramatic, unexpected act of love at Calvary.
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31) It is not those who are wise in their own sight who are called to salvation. God in His wisdom, brought salvation to the world in a way that was completely unexpected and there are those who have acquired knowledge and power who refuse to accept that He would do it that way. But God did it that way and has called believers who trust Him despite how He chose to bring salvation to the world. He chose the cross, so that we must humble ourselves to receive salvation and no one but Him would would get the glory for it. He’s foolishness and a stumbling block for those who trust in their own wisdom, might and nobility. But Jesus for us, is God’s wisdom. He is our righteousness (he pardons us and declares us not guilty), our sanctification (He separates from the world as we focus on Him), and our redemption (He is the price paid to buy our freedom from the ravages of sin). The cross, despised by the world, has a wondrous attraction for me!
What does the cross mean for you? Is it just a piece of jewelry that you wear around your neck? Is it a symbol on your clothing? Is it art that you hang on your wall or tattoo on your body? What is the meaning of the cross for you? Paul says that it is the weak, shameful and foolish way (to some) by which God chose to bring salvation to the world. Those who trust in their own power, wisdom and righteousness will never understand what God has done. Tragically, they stand to miss the salvation that He has offered to them. But to those of us who believe, we say this… the cross is where Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
“So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.”
Lyrics from “The Old Rugged Cross”
