Undiscovered Power
1 Corinthians 1:18-25

We live in a unique time in history, as far as knowledge is concerned. There has never been a time in history when there was so much knowledge available. At one time in history, all of the available knowledge about everything was relatively small. A highly educated person was able to master a great deal of the available knowledge. That is no longer true. The amount of information available has increased geometrically, and continues to multiply in ever increasing ways.

An educated person today must specialize in a small area of knowledge. Because knowledge is so vast, a person must be committed to learn a whole lot about a very little. This brings us to an interesting question. What is an educated person?

Just in my lifetime, I remember when it was possible for someone to succeed without having a high school diploma. Then a high school diploma became a requirement for even the most menial jobs. It wasn’t long before some college was required. And then a college degree was required for many of the better paying jobs. Today advanced degrees are not unusual for employers to expect, and many professions require them.

But are we more educated? John Jones may decide to get a Ph.D. in microbiology. He does his research and writes his doctoral dissertation on the function of a particular amino acid. Now admittedly, he knows a lot about that amino acid. And he is considered a highly educated man. He is now Dr. Jones. But does Dr. Jones now have something important to say about poverty or the situation in the Middle East? Probably not. At one point in our history, a highly educated person probably would have had something important to say about a wide range of important topics. Now he can no longer master the volume of information outside his narrow field of interest.

So, being highly educated no longer means what it once did. Indeed, much of what is being taught in our educational system today is a poor imitation of the real thing. Many "educators" have opted to teach what is fashionable and politically correct rather than what is factual and historically correct. The result is that our children are graduated without any notion of truth. Just this past week, at one of our better high schools, in a valedictorian address, one student said, "Truth is relative. One plus one does not always equal two."

Many of the so-called educated in our culture are increasingly antagonistic toward Biblical Christianity. Those of us who claim there is absolute truth and morality are looked at as if we are the uneducated ones. The so-called sophisticated like to think that we are backward and ignorant because we believe in a creator God before whom every person will stand to give account. And true Christianity is especially singled out because of the implications of the message of the Cross.

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. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV)

Rather than believe the message of the Cross, those who reject Christianity prefer to believe the message of the world. That is their message–– the message of the "sophisticated" of our age. Let’s look at both messages.

The world has its message. It is the dominant philosophy of our culture. And it has been around for years. It is the message of those who are perishing–– those who have rejected God. It is the message of humankind apart from God.

The message of the world is a subtle message, and many Christians buy into it, at least in part. The real question we must ask ourselves is this. Have we bought into this message? We must be very careful. This message is one that sounds reasonable at many points. But it is not the message that has the power to save us. It is the wisdom of the world, not the wisdom of God. It is the message about which God says:

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (1 Corinthians 1:19 NIV)

The basic feature of this message can be summed up very simply. Its main characteristic is self-sufficiency. The message of the world sees us as self-sufficient beings. We have no need of God. After all, we all evolved. We are not the product of a creative God, rather the product of evolution. And we are continually evolving in every sense of the word. We are evolving biologically, culturally, and morally. Our ability to think and reason will prove sufficient to eventually solve all of our problems.

This is the message of the world. Is it true? Obviously God doesn’t think so. Look at verse 20:

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Corinthians 1:20 NIV)

Just where has all the wisdom of the so-called wise brought us? How well have we done in solving the world’s problems? Well, let’s look at a few. Poverty. Have we eradicated poverty from the face of the earth? How about from our own country? You mean that we still have poverty after all these years of social evolution? Let’s take another. Disease. Has all our research and expertise in the fields of science and medicine rid our world of disease? Have we found a cure for cancer, or AIDS? How about the common cold? Not yet? Suffering. Surely our compassion has evolved to the place where we have eradicated suffering from this planet. Do you mean to tell me that people still suffer emotionally as well as physically? With all we understand in the areas of psychotherapy, how can people still be mentally ill? Isn’t there a drug that will take care of this? Ignorance. Surely we have solved this problem! With all the highly educated professional educators, how can we still have ignorant people wandering our streets? Well, they are not just on our streets, they are graduating from our high schools not knowing that one plus one equals two. Hatred. Have we not been able to reach into people’s hearts and minds and convince them that it is destructive to hate? Do people still have this hurtful emotion? Have we not been able to eradicate racism and prejudice? Why not? War. Surely such an obviously destructive and inhumane behavior has been seen to be counterproductive to civilized society! Surely war has been relegated to the pages of history books and is nowhere to be found on this blue planet. No?! We still have war? How can this be?

The unfortunate reality is that for all our so-called sophistication, we have not been able to solve the basic problems of society–– problems that have been around since the beginning. Certainly, we have been able to see great advances technologically. We have great new gadgets. But on the really important issues of life, we don’t even have temporary solutions. Where are the wise? Where have they brought us? What have they really done about the really important things?

The message of the world is that we are special. We don’t need God because there is a little bit of the divine in all of us. That is a popular concept. Just turn on PBS this afternoon and you’ll see someone preaching the gospel of self-sufficiency. "Just look inside and focus on the inner you. Meditate on the inner energy. Look deep inside and you’ll find the divinity that sets you apart." But have they found God really? No.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21 NIV)

They have not found the true God, only a god of their own making. In fact, they do not want to find the true God; rather, they only want a god who approves of what they do. In effect, they want the roles to be reversed. They want to be the Creator and they want God to be the creation. They have created a god who fits with their idea of self-sufficiency and relative morality. They are unwilling to believe in the God of the Bible.

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22 NIV)

Show me a sign. Give me a god who makes sense, who fits my notion of wisdom. These two demands are still evident in our society today. There are still those who demand that God perform for them. There are still those that demand that God conform to our logic and reason. But history has shown that they would not believe even then. You see, when we set ourselves up as God, we don’t want any rivals. We reject the true God because we are unwilling to give up our idea of self-sufficiency. We refuse to acknowledge our need–– our dependency upon God.

You see, those who reject Christ intuitively know that the message of the Cross has radical implications for their lives. And just what is this message? Simply put, it is that God was made man in Jesus and died in our place on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sin, a penalty we are unable to pay for ourselves.

The implications of this are immense. The first is that we are all sinful. That is the rub for many people. The philosophy of the world is that we are self-sufficient. We may make some mistakes, but we are not inherently sinful. We are good at the core. To admit that we are sinful is too much. But that is the implication of the Cross. Jesus had to die because we were sinful. In dying on the Cross, he paid the penalty for our sin.

Another clear implication is that we cannot save ourselves. Not only are we sinful, but we cannot do anything about it. Trying to reform our behavior just doesn’t deal with the nature of our soul. So God had to step in and do it all for us. This doesn’t sit well with those sophisticated ones who have a high opinion of their own intrinsic prowess. The Cross, however, is a renunciation of our self-sufficiency. And this is precisely the reason why it is offensive to some and foolish to others.

but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23 NIV)

The world rejects the idea that we need a Savior. They do not want to admit their own sin or their dependency upon God. The message of the Cross is that we must humble ourselves. The message of the Cross is that we must surrender to God. It is not a message easily heard by the proud. Those who consider themselves to be self-sufficient reject this message.

But for those who do receive this message, this foolishness becomes the very power of God. The Cross of Christ becomes their salvation as they humble themselves and receive what Christ did to pay for their sins. What seems foolish to the world is in fact the very wisdom of God.

but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24 NIV)

The world simply doesn’t understand the message of the Cross. Those of us who have grown up in church, accustomed to seeing images of the Cross, sometimes also fail to see the radical nature of what the Cross represents. The Cross is an instrument of death. When Jesus died on the Cross, it was a common instrument of execution. To get a better idea of its meaning, suppose you were to meet someone who had a golden electric chair on a chain around their neck. Or perhaps someone who has a little golden hangman’s noose or guillotine has a piece of jewelry. Suppose you were to see on our steeple one of those objects. Doesn’t it seem strange to have as a symbol of your faith something so morbid? It does seem both offensive and foolish, unless you understand the principle involved.

You see, the Cross upon which Jesus died not only was a place where he bore the sins of humanity and paid the penalty for those sins, it is also a principle for living our lives by his power. And the reason it looks foolish is because of its paradoxical nature. It is a paradox. It is something that seems contradictory. It is like saying that the way up is down. In fact, that is precisely what it says.

It says that God became weak in order to save us. It says that when we surrender our lives we truly find them. Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." The way to true exultation is true humility. The way up is down. The way to new life is through death. The world looks at this and says it is foolishness. But when we believe it and stake our very lives upon it, we tap into this undiscovered power and find it to be real. It is the very power of God, concealed from the so-called wise and sophisticated and revealed to those who come as a child, in simple faith and trust.

And we must employ this principle daily in order to live by the power of God. Jesus also said in Luke 9:23, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Just as the Cross was an instrument of death for Christ, so it is also a principle of death for us. It is by daily dying to self, or to put it another way, daily surrendering ourselves to him, that we put ourselves in a position to receive his life and his power each day. We must empty ourselves so that he can fill us with himself. This is how we lose our lives in order to find them.

In the Cross, we see the power of God displayed. God was powerful enough to become weak. And it will take the power of God in our lives to humble ourselves in complete surrender to him. The good news is that God has given us his power. As we surrender to him, we experience his power to live, to love, to serve, to really matter. Never mind that it seems like foolishness to the world. They will not have the last say in the matter.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV)

In the Cross we see the love of Jesus Christ displayed in a way that defies explanation. God loved us so much that he stepped in and did what we cannot do. He loved us so much that he gave his only Son to die for us. The truth is that we are sinners and cannot save ourselves. The good news is that God would not sit idly by and do nothing. He has provided a way. It is the way of the Cross. Not everyone will travel that way. Many have and will reject it. But for those who do receive it, they will experience its power.

Copyright © 2002 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

Except for the use mentioned above, this data file may not be copied (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, or made available on the Internet without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.

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