This week, Pastor Matthew continued on with our 1 Corinthians series with Chapters 3 and 4.
He spoke about power, and the counter-cultural nature of the Gospel.
The Corinthian church was full of human wisdom. Their jealousy, divisions and quarreling were proof of their worldliness and immaturity. In his letter to them, Paul calls them to the alternative way of living by the spirit. A way that was not compatible with their behavior.
People who have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot act in the same manner as those who have not. We must live crucified lives with Christ. Lives which are laid down for others and are founded upon humility. Our allegiance must be to the Kingdom of God and not to our countries or cultures. Our lives and our values must be shaped by the crucifixion, as God’s power is lived out by way of the cross.
Paul boasts about the very things that the Corinthians distained, and he calls out their hypocrisy. The values that they held (their power, honor and riches) were the opposite of all that Paul and therefore Christ was calling them to.
The power of God is expressed in a life that blesses those who curse, endures persecution, answers kindly to those who slander, practices forgiveness and lays their life down for Jesus and other people. We cannot receive the benefits of the cross without laying our lives down daily. We can not lay our lives down daily while being filled with human pride.
Paul reminded the Corinthian church that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; a message that is repeated all the way through the Bible. We live in a culture that doesn’t teach this.
We as the church need to stop getting into fights and quarrels that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. We need to begin to look like Jesus. We need to lay our lives down and not get caught up in worldly things.
