Jeremiah 8:9-15, 18 - 9:1 1 Corinthians 1:17-31

The Message of the Cross

David Brainerd spent most of his brief life ministering to North American
Indians. In his journal he once wrote: "I find my Indians begin to put on
the garments of holiness and their common life begins to be sanctified even
in small matters when they are possessed by the doctrine of Christ and Him
crucified." In other words, it was the full realization of the Person of
Christ and what He accomplished on their behalf on the cross that achieved
not only their salvation, but also their sanctification. The full
comprehension of the message of the Cross is still the power of God by which
lives may be radically transformed.

The Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians reveals the common problems,
pressures, and personal struggles of a vibrant and growing church. Many of
the issues he addressed then are also applicable to us today. There were
divisions, jealousies, personality clashes, questionable practices (both
individual and corporate), discrimination, power struggles and so on and so
forth. At the very outset, the Apostle spoke against the arrogance that lay
at the heart of the matter, namely, a lack of an adequate understanding of
the message of the cross.

The wisdom of the world is a divided wisdom. It is made up of differing
opinions and therefore one would expect to find different people gravitating
towards a philosophy more in keeping with their understanding of things. But
the wisdom of God is one as God is one and therefore one would not and
should not expect to find disunity within the Church.

In chapter 3:4, St. Paul asked the question: "When one says, 'I am of Paul,'
and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal?" The names of the people
cited here are not the important issue, but the focus on man is. St. Paul
did not die for the Corinthians, neither did Apollos, but Christ died for
them all. Even if you merely judge a man against an ideal, your evaluation
indicates that you have missed the point of the Gospel.

We are all simply servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
What does anyone of us have that we did not receive? If we received what we
are in Christ, what is it that divides us? One may have planted, another may
have watered, but it is God Who has granted the increase. If we stand in
judgement against each other, do we not ultimately stand in judgement
against God? What am I that God has not made me? What are you that God has
not made you? Are we not all God's field? Are we not all God's building? Are
we not all God's fellow labourers?

The message of the cross of Christ is one of grace and mercy. In its shadow
we all stand on an equal footing. We are all spiritually bankrupt and needy
sinners. Every one of us have fallen far short of God's glory. We are in a
very real way united with each other in our lost and depraved condition.
Thus we cannot stand in judgement against each other as we are all
condemned. Yet, we are also all united in the reality of the cross. There we
have all freely received that which none of us have deserved. There we have
all been released from that which we all once shared. There we have all been
accepted and adopted by the God we were all once estranged from. There we
have all been called to be perfectly joined together in the same humble mind
of Christ.

The message of the cross ultimately leads us to the place where no flesh can
glory in God's presence. Christianity was not founded upon eloquence or
rhetoric, but rather upon the practical solution to the dilemma of humanity
in general. If we began in poverty, with nothing to contribute to His
Kingdom, how is it possible that we could ever boast of that which we have
been given since? How is it that we who are the recipients of grace can be
so ungracious towards those we have been called into fellowship with? Is
such an attitude not contrary to the message of the cross?

Make no mistake. To break fellowship with a brother who embraces the wisdom
of this world by rejecting the Word of God is not what St. Paul was
addressing here. Later, in chapter 5, he would instruct the Corinthians not
to be in communion with those who lived contrary to their profession of
faith in Christ. Indeed, as the Prophet Jeremiah noted, "Behold, they have
rejected the Word of the Lord; so what wisdom do they have?" In that case
there is nothing left to do other than expose their unfruitful works of
darkness, to exhort them to change their ways, to mourn for them when they
refuse to turn and to leave them should they continue to entrench themselves
in wickedness. That too, is the message of the cross.

But that is not what St. Paul was addressing in the opening chapters of
First Corinthians. Here he objected to the contentions, dissensions,
quarrels and schisms over non-essentials amongst brethren. There was no
legitimate basis upon which they could divide as God alone had made them
what they had become. They were enriched in every thing by Him, not
themselves. Envy, strife and divisions were and are still symptoms of
carnality.

They are indications that the message of the cross has not yet fully been
comprehended.

Palm Sunday heralds the beginning of Holy Week, a time in which we immerse
ourselves in the message of the cross. As you do so, examine yourself in the
light of St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians. Are you behaving like mere
men, following the world's manner of living. Is there envy, strife and
division in your life? Do you judge your brother or sister in Christ as if
you are not the recipient of the same grace given to them? Are you
considered wise by the world's standards and yet a fool by God's standard?
Are you putting on the garments of holiness and is your common life
beginning to be sanctified even in small matters? If not, ask yourself
whether you are truly possessed by the doctrine of Christ and Him crucified
or if you have at some point exchanged the wisdom of the message of the
cross for the foolishness of the wisdom of the world.

© Johann W. Vanderbijl III 2004