1 Corinthians 1:18-31

(1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;  But unto them which 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.  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:  That no flesh should glory in his presence.  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

 

The cross of Jesus Christ becomes the power and wisdom of God. A person who believes in Jesus does not mean by moral standards, it does not mean a person's honesty or character, character or manners or possessions, honor, authority, knowledge, or anything like this. We cannot say “I believe in Jesus” just because we have a lot of knowledge about the Bible. Believing in Jesus lies in a correct understanding of the cross.

 

To believe in Jesus is to be dead on the cross with Jesus. So, those who enter Christ become believers in Jesus. Not believing in any historical facts about Jesus, but when we realize and admit that Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus died on the cross to redeem sinners, and we as sinners, we also believe that Jesus, who died on the cross, is the sinner himself. 『Believing in Jesus』 is becoming one with Jesus who died on the cross.

 

He said, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Christians are those who believe in Jesus Christ with power, Christ with wisdom, and experience and testify in this way.

The message about Jesus is recorded in the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke give historical explanations about who Jesus is in the Gospel of John. However, the words embodied in the last step through all the events are speaking through the cross event. When Jesus was in the world, his disciples followed him. They saw what Jesus was doing, heard the Word, and imitated it, and they experienced Jesus for three years. They followed Jesus for three years, but they couldn't understand Jesus right away. They thought of Jesus as a political messiah, hoping to escape from slavery and suffering, hoping that Jesus would quickly restore the Jewish nation.

 

In the gifted Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul speaks of the way of the cross, not the power of the Holy Spirit. What Jesus accomplished on the cross is God's power. The word of the cross, the way of the cross, and the way of the cross are the power of God to those who repent. Because people cannot follow the cross unless they are repentant. The people who left Egypt in the wilderness resentful, and the righteous Lord sent fiery serpents to the people. But God is the one who sends the brass serpent when they cry out and repent. When the people are bitten and dying by fiery serpents, how many will obey the saying, "He who looks at the brass serpent will live"? This is possible only for those who repent who look to the Lord of the Cross and believe in the power of God. Because those who repent are those who take up their cross.

 

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2, 『For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 』
Those who emphasize the resurrection more than the incident of the crucifixion are those who do not repent. Resurrection doesn't come as I seek. 1 Corinthians 15:1-30 speaks of the resurrection, while verse 31 says, "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our LORD, I die daily. I said.

 

If you say resurrection, you must die every day. However, if you live according to your physical nature, you want to live every day. This is because the world looks better right now through the eyes of the body than to enjoy the eternal kingdom of God that is invisible and eternal by death and resurrection into new life. Those who repent, who are thrilled that Jesus died for me, live for the dead Jesus every day, and the fleshly self dies. However, many people today try to rely only on the blood of Jesus without ever repenting of "the desire to live with the world every day."

 

If you are with Jesus in the death of the cross, God gives the Holy Spirit and resurrects you with a new life. However, pursuing resurrection without being on the cross is inevitably contradictory. That is why Jesus' cross must be my cross in order for Jesus' resurrection to become my resurrection. Only those who repent go to the cross. They die to sin, die to the law, and die to love the world.

 

If we emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit rather than the cross, it is only delusion. The antichrist appears in Revelation, but it does not speak of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that only those who repent and follow the slain Lamb are the ones who overcome. These are those who are recorded in the book of life. Those who are written in the book of life do not receive the mark of the antichrist. Those who repent and are recorded in the book of life are those who overcome. Repentance is that Jesus becomes the master. So you have to deny yourself. The merits of Jesus' blood do not work until Jesus becomes Lord.

 

Believing in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God does not make Jesus the Master. In order for Jesus to become master, he must change his master to Jesus. This is the inner change. In order for Jesus to become the master, it is impossible without entering the cross. All who do not go to the cross do not repent and are their masters. It is not just because Jesus says, ``I believe that the blood of Jesus will save you from all sins'', but if you do not repent and come to the cross, Jesus said, ``You will forsake me.'' This will tell you.

 

The faith I have built up and the faith united with Jesus in the cross are clearly different. The only faith I have built up is “the faith that I want to be saved”. However, the faith united in the cross is “belief that gives up oneself”. If we do not realize the identity of the devil, “self”, we will all become casters of Jesus. The faith that we have built up must be destroyed on the cross. The devil is destroyed on the cross. In John 8, Jesus told the Jews who believed in Jesus, "You do what you see in your Father, and I do what you see in My Father." They make a biblical confession, saying, "There is only one Father, and God in heaven." Jesus said, "Your father is the devil."