1 Corinthians 2:1-5

I come to you this morning in weakness and in much fear and trembling.

So let's pray.

Lord, we thank you that by your grace you have gathered us here this morning.

And we thank you that your spirit, Lord, enables us.

Lord, enables us to hear your word, enables us to sing your praises.

Lord, enables us to turn towards you.

Lord, when in all of our bent we would turn away and run.

In all of our bent we would do something else.

But God, you have turned us towards you.

And what a grace that is.

Lord, I pray this morning that you would be manifest among us by your spirit.

Lord, that as we look at your word, you would fill our hearts with the glory of all that you are.

And we would respond in worship.

Praise.

Adoration.

Love.

Sacrifice.

Service.

For you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I wonder if you've ever been embarrassed by Jesus.

I was thinking about this as I was preparing this week.

A couple of years ago I had the privilege of opportunity.

Privilege might be the wrong word.

I had the opportunity to go to one of my uncle's funeral.

He had lived a good life.

And I had a chance to go.

And interact with my extended family that I don't get to see very often.

And the question always comes up.

Oh, so what are you up to these days?

What are you doing?

Well, I'm a...

And I found welling up in my heart just a little bit of embarrassment.

Embarrassment about how they might view my answers.

What they might think.

You're an Ivy League graduate who's a Baptist pastor.

You identify with those people that I really have no interest in knowing.

From what I know.

From the media.

From my perception.

I found myself traversing the minefield of what I feared their perceptions of my answers might be.

But deep down inside I wonder too if I was just a little embarrassed about Jesus himself.

If I was just a little bit concerned about how...

More concerned about how they would think of me than what my Lord would think of me in that moment.

And underneath that I wondered if maybe deep down I lacked a kind of certainty in the moment.

That Jesus would be all that I could ever want him to be.

For me and for this world.

You know, in that context I want to be winsome and not unnecessarily offend.

I don't want to be boorish or identified with some things that honestly I'm embarrassed by.

And the perception of what people think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in this world.

I want to avoid those things.

But I wonder...

What I saw that day in my own heart was that...

At its core it wasn't just those things.

It was that I was a little embarrassed.

I was a little uncertain as to whether Jesus really was all that I need him to be.

This doubt is reinforced in the worlds that maybe you live in.

The academy asks...

Aren't we beyond that?

That's so 30 AD.

We've gone beyond that now.

Our knowledge has increased.

That can't be real.

Or we meet the suffering.

And they say...

Where is this Jesus?

He hasn't fixed my problem yet.

We meet the businessman.

And he says...

Well, what good is Jesus going to do for my bottom line?

That's not very practical.

So heavenly minded but no earthly good.

The high achiever says...

Jesus?

I've made it this far on my own.

Why would I need him?

The tolerant society says...

You don't really think Jesus is everything, do you?

Like...

How could you deny all these other things?

And the hurting say...

Why...

Why would Jesus be everything to me if I still hurt the way I do?

I don't know if you're here exploring Christianity here this morning.

Maybe you've been in church for a long time.

But you find that you ask these questions.

You hear these questions.

And you see in your own heart some doubt.

Some uncertainty.

You ask yourself...

Is he really enough?

How do we show this in our lives?

Well...

I think sometimes we hedge our futures.

Yeah...

Jesus is everything I need.

But I really need a really killer resume as well.

So that I can get ahead.

Yeah...

Jesus is all that I need.

But in these contexts, I kind of need to downplay that.

And let people know about these other things that are going to be really impressive.

These other identities that I embrace.

So that you'll think highly of me and accept me.

We hedge our reputations.

I don't want to be known as that guy in my circle.

That kind of fringy, out there, Jesus guy or gal.

And ultimately, friends, we can hedge our very salvation.

Yeah, Jesus is everything for me.

But don't I have to...

Can I...

Isn't there something I need to do?

Isn't there something I need to add to it?

Isn't there something else that I contribute to it?

That...

I feel so helpless.

I feel like I should be doing something.

So that Jesus will find me acceptable.

These are ways in which I think we show our doubt.

That Jesus really is enough.

That Jesus is all that we would want.

Our passage this morning helps us think more clearly about it.

We're continuing in our series in 1 Corinthians.

We're looking at page...

1 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 1 through 5.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5

We're on page 952 in the Pew Bible.

If you want to look there with me.

And as you're turning there,

let me just give us a little bit of recap of where we've been.

This whole section, starting back in chapter 1, verse 10,

is about divisions.

And divisions that have divided the church

related to their identification with particular leaders.

I'm of Paul.

I'm of Apollos.

I'm of Cephas.

Those sorts of things.

And Paul says,

your divisions are rooted in misplaced identity

and a missed evaluation of what's really important

in your spiritual leaders

in such a way that you have allowed the wisdom of the world,

the way that the world around you,

the Corinthian world,

the competitive get-ahead,

ride-the-coattails-to-the-top world,

you have allowed those things to shape

how you are living together as followers of Jesus.

You are more Corinthian than you are a Christian

in these ways.

The Corinthians were on the side of worldly wisdom

rather than God's wisdom,

which makes foolish the wisdom of the world.

And he went on in verses 18 through 25 to say,

God showed the foolishness of the wisdom of the world

through the very act of salvation,

by the cross of Christ,

by sending Jesus to die.

He shamed all of this worldly wisdom.

He exposed all of the human-centeredness

of those in the church.

And he said,

I want you to see this so clearly,

how you have been infected

and how you have been shaped

by the wisdom of the world.

So he went on at the end of chapter one,

verses 26 through 30,

and he says,

look,

you're competing with one another

about being great or being wise

or being powerful or being spiritual

or being important.

But who were you?

You can't even make it in the world's eyes,

let alone by the kingdom of God.

But isn't it great that God has chosen you

to display his grace

and so that you might not boast in yourselves,

but that you might boast in God

and the greatness of the work that God has done.

Paul's saying,

in your Corinthian example,

this is partly how you see the cross of Christ

shaming the foolishness of the world

and exalting the wisdom of God

in achieving salvation the way he did.

And then the passage we come to today,

chapter two, verses one through five,

he says,

and not only was your experience of that,

but remember what I was like among you.

I want to use my own ministry as an example.

of what God is doing

when he confounds the foolishness of the world.

So, having said that,

let's look at the passage together.

Chapter two, verse one.

And I, when I came to you, brothers,

did not come proclaiming to you

the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom,

for I decided to know nothing among you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness

and in fear and much trembling.

And my speech and my message

were not in plausible words of wisdom,

but in demonstration of the spirit and of power,

that your faith might not rest

in the wisdom of men,

but in the power of God.

Paul uses his own example,

his mode of ministry,

to try to point the Corinthians again

to the thing that he's been trying to help them see

for quite a while now in this passage.

He's reminding them again,

Jesus Christ and him crucified

is everything you ever need him to be.

He's the content of the gospel.

He's the pattern of the gospel messenger.

And he alone is the one

who gives us true hope of real salvation.

So let's look at those things,

the content, the pattern,

and then the hope of salvation.

In verses one and two, look with me again.

What we see is that Paul says

that the content of the gospel testified to

is the crucified Christ.

His point is actually really simple.

It doesn't take a lot of exegesis

to see what his main point is.

I decided to forsake

all of the forms of speech and pattern

that you might think would be so impressive

and to simply proclaim to you

the message of Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

Paul says,

what did I talk to you about?

What did I boast to you about?

I talked about one who came and died,

one who came and lived a perfect life.

And yet, though he deserved all honor

and glory and power,

he humbled himself,

made himself a servant,

offered himself up in the place

of you and me,

was crucified as a rebel,

he who had always obeyed his father.

He offered himself up in the place of our sin

as the perfect substitute

and as a sacrifice,

giving his very own life

to pay the penalty that our sins deserve.

He said,

this is what I knew among you,

you worldly wise who love all these other things.

He says this in a context where

the Corinthians loved

those who were self-reliant

and self-exalting in their rhetoric.

We might know of a place like that nearby here

where people think well of fine-sounding arguments

and brilliance

and groundbreaking ideas and concepts,

where people are in love

with those kinds of shows and displays.

And underneath it,

Paul's exposing the heart,

the heart of the wisdom of the world

that says,

can you meet my standard of judgment?

Can you entertain me,

tickle my fancy,

impress me, will you?

Can you compete

and show yourself to be impressive?

And you know,

it's not only at that fine university next door,

but in all of our tribes,

no matter where we live,

there's gonna be some evaluation

of I'm gonna give you respect

because you speak to me

or you show yourself in a certain way.

Those of you who are in high school,

think about this.

What do your high school friends value?

Sarcasm.

Irony.

Quick banter.

An ability to communicate

in incomprehensible acronyms

on a little device in your hand.

That's my old man's version of it, right?

140 characters.

Whatever it is, I don't know.

You guys know better than I do.

But in each of your tribes,

there are gonna be certain ways

that you're gonna be seen as impressive.

In each of your little social milieus,

there's gonna be a certain way

that people are gonna think well of you

if you kind of play along and do the dance.

Paul says,

I will not play along

in order to be heard.

Now, let's make sure we don't misunderstand Paul

in some other ways

that people have misunderstood him.

Paul is not saying

that you shouldn't be thinking

or engaged in a healthy conversation with people.

Right?

If you go through the book of Acts,

particularly chapters 18 and 19,

in Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus,

you see Paul reasoning and persuading.

Paul isn't saying,

I just am gonna preach,

Jesus died on the cross for your sins

and that's all I need to say.

Paul was engaged in these long conversations,

proving from the Old Testament

how Jesus was the Messiah,

showing how Jesus is the hope,

and by the resurrection of the dead

that he is actually the thing

that you've been longing for

as you worship these idols

that you don't know about in Athens

and on and on and on.

So it's not about not thinking

or not engaging

or not seeking to persuade a reason.

It's also not about not contextualizing.

As we read ahead in chapter nine,

Paul himself will say,

I became all things to all men

so that I by all means might win some.

To the Jews, I became like a Jew.

So we wanna remove every stumbling block

to someone understanding the gospel,

every cultural barrier,

every personality trait

that might somehow mar my ability

to share with you

about the great news

of what God has done in Christ.

There's an important place for that.

It's not about Paul saying,

well,

in order to depend on the spirit and power,

I'm not gonna prepare

for my sermon this week.

I'm just gonna believe

that God's gonna lead me

and give me the words,

and so I'm just gonna stand up there

and be completely unready

and hope that God will bless me.

That's not what Paul is saying.

Paul is also not saying

that he didn't know anything.

He actually knew how to make a tent,

it seems,

because that was his job.

He's not saying that

the only knowledge

that has any value in the world

is the knowledge of Christ.

So for those of you

who are exploring the intricacies

of how the immune system

is unable to attack a cancer cell,

for those of you

who spend your life

figuring out the best way

to parent a teenager

through all of the joys

and trials of that time of life,

for those of you

who actually know

how to change a tire

and swing a hammer,

all of those knowledges

God blesses

and then loves

and enjoys

and wants you to see it.

There's an important place for it.

But what Paul is saying

is that I am focused

on this above all things.

I am focused on Christ.

If I know all things

but I don't know Christ,

I don't know anything

that's really important.

And if I know Christ,

all the other knowledge

that I have

becomes properly placed

in my world,

I find that my exploration

of all this other knowledge

becomes a great joy

because I see it fitting in

with a God

who created the world

and a God

who has redeemed the world

and a God

who will remake the world one day.

But Christ is at the center

and the focal point

of all of that understanding.

And Paul's not only saying

this is what I focus on

but he's also saying

this is what I rely upon.

It's not my message.

Did you see in verse 1?

I did not come proclaiming to you

the testimony of God.

Paul's saying

this isn't my story

that I've made up for you.

I am simply telling you

what I have seen and heard.

What God has objectively done

in history

that I am now explaining to you

and proclaiming to you.

This isn't a self-generated message.

This is one that I have received

and that I am passing along to you.

This is what Paul was trying to say

in verse 17 and 18 of chapter 1

when he talks about

I wanted to come to you

but not in words of human eloquence

lest the cross of Christ

be emptied of its power.

Verse 18

For the word of the cross

is folly to those who are perishing

but to us who are being saved

it is the power of God.

And that's what I'm relying on.

God's message is going to come to you

and as I speak it

it is God's power

that is going to be at work at you.

Not because I'm clever

or because I'm impressive.

There are lots of applications

for us today

lots of ways for us

to think about

how we pursue ministry

but we have much more to say

so quickly

I simply want to ask these questions

what do you focus on?

What do you focus on in your life?

What do you spend time investing in?

What do you talk about?

What do people know you for?

Secondly

what do you rely on?

When things get difficult

when the pressure is on

where is your default?

Is it to run to the shadow of the cross

and to find their strength

and comfort

and solace and hope?

Or do you run to every other strategy

every other hope

every other prop

to try to get you through?

And Paul says

I determined to know

nothing among you

but Jesus Christ

and him crucified

he's saying

Christ is all

that you ever really need.

He's not only the content

of Paul's preaching

but he's also

the pattern.

Look with me again

in verses 3 and 4.

Let's read it.

And I was with you

in weakness

and in fear

and in much trembling

in my speech

and my message

were not in plausible

words of wisdom

but in demonstration

of the spirit

and of power.

Again

it's fairly straightforward

it seems

Paul's saying

I wasn't relying

on myself

I actually came to you

in weakness

and in fear

and in trembling.

And it's interesting

the commentators wrestle with

what was Paul afraid of?

Paul didn't seem

to be shrinking back

and not proclaiming

the glory of Christ

nor in fact

did it seem like

he was ineffective.

There were actually

people responding

to his preaching

but interestingly

in the middle

of that account

where some were responding

and some were not

as is typical

as we saw

in the book of Acts

as we saw

the proclamation

of the gospel

the Lord comes

to Paul at night.

Do you remember

what he says

in Acts 18?

The Lord says

don't be afraid

I have many more

in this city.

Paul wasn't afraid

of man's response.

He wasn't afraid

of persecution.

He wasn't afraid

of his own inability.

I don't even think

he was afraid

of the fruitlessness

of his ministry.

I think he was afraid

that he might not

be able to faithfully

discharge

the calling

that God has given us.

And he might be afraid

humanly.

He might have said

is this really

is this really worth it?

Can I actually do this?

And God comes in

and he says

Paul remember

this isn't your

ministry.

This is mine.

I'm using you.

Go be faithful

but do so

in great freedom

and boldness

not fear.

Do it in great faith

because I am the God

who already has people

in the city.

I'm going to be at work.

So don't be afraid.

Paul's weaknesses

in Corinthians

are often tied

to his physical inability

to his lack

of impressiveness

of his persona.

There are lots

of different ways

that people have seen this.

Paul says

I came to you

in that way.

It reminds you

a little bit

oh and then he says

I came to you

in that way

in a demonstration

of the spirit

and of power.

Well what does

that look like?

It reminds you

a little bit

of the church

in Corinth.

Paul writes

to them about this.

We know brothers

loved by God

that he's chosen you

because our gospel

came to you

not only in word

but in power

and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

You know what kind

of men we prove

to be among you

for your sake

and then he goes on

to say

and you endured

great suffering

as a result

of your faith

and you were steadfast

and that's because

I saw that

though I came

and proclaimed to you

what was real

was that God

had worked

in your life.

In fact

this is exactly

what he says

further on

in the letter

of 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 2:13

chapter 2

verse 13

he says

we thank God

constantly for this

that when you receive

the word of God

which you heard

from us

you accepted it

not as the word

of man

but as what it

really is

the word of God

which is at work

in you believers.

Paul says

when I came

the whole manner

of my coming

was not to make

much of me

but to follow

in the patterns

of John the Baptist

I must decrease

so that he must increase

so that Jesus

would be exalted

so that when

when others

heard his preaching

they didn't think

wow

Paul's a great order

they thought

wow

Jesus is a great savior

and they would be

cut to the quick

they would see

the weight

of their sin

and the offensiveness

before God

and they would see

the glory

of what God

has done

in Christ

and they would

turn and believe

and be filled

with joy

at their forgiveness

that they have

be filled

with a new life

that overflowed

in so many ways

Paul came

with dependence

not displays

or skill

or ability

he came

in humility

not in human

exhibitionism

he came

in weakness

not in a show

of power

or authority

he came

like the blind

man

in John

9

said I don't

know about

that Jesus

but once I was

blind

and now

I can see

he came

like the woman

in Samaria

who went back

to her town

that had shunned

her and said

come

see a man

who told me

everything I ever

did

her shame

was completely

gone

as she knew

the acceptance

of this Jesus

he came

as one beggar

telling another beggar

where to find bread

and it's humbling

isn't it

it's humbling

to admit

you're a beggar

who needs bread

and that's how

God shames

the wise

and the self-sufficient

and the self-important

and the self-reliant

Paul

then finishes

this sentence

with a purpose

statement

and this is actually

where I want

the weight of our time

to land today

Paul came

saying I came

only proclaiming

Jesus Christ

and him crucified

I came

demonstrating

this as a pattern

of how I want

to live

but verse 5

is the sweetness

of this

passage

I believe

in so many ways

and you see

the heart

of the apostle

look with me

at it

verse 5

that

might even be

stronger translated

so that

in order that

I did these things

with a purpose

that

your faith

might not rest

on the wisdom

of men

but in the power

of God

Paul's greatest fear

is that as the

Corinthian church

was influenced

by the world

that they lived in

as they took up

the mantle

of this wisdom

that was being

that was infiltrating

into their hearts

and minds

as they were beginning

to esteem

and to trust in

and to rely on

and to honor

these things

that their faith

would be put

in the wrong thing

that their faith

would ultimately

be put in something

that cannot bear

the weight

of what they're

trusting it for

that their faith

would be in the wrong

foundation

that they would

build their identity

on the spiritual

leaders

they

attach themselves

to

and in doing so

they would divide

over a competitive

spirit

as they tried

to find themselves

getting ahead

in the church

that in their

comparison

they would fall

into boasting

about themselves

and ultimately

finding

as many of us

do at one point

or another

in our life

that the things

that we boast

about

and the things

we rely upon

cannot bear

the weight

that the wisdom

of the world

is ultimately

shown to be

empty

and therefore

foolish

to trust in

he wants

to destroy

this self-exalting

self-saving

self-justifying

spirit

to point

to another

way

so that your

faith might

not rest

on the wisdom

of men

but in the

power of God

now I want you

to look with me

for a minute

go back

to verse

18

of chapter 1

because the power

of God

there is not

just a generic

power of God

so that your faith

might rely

on the power

of God

because he created

the world

even though he did

that

or the power

of God

because he can

move mountains

because he can

do that

but it's not

it's not a generic

term for him

it's actually a part

of his argument

verse 18

for the word

of the cross

is folly

to those

who are perishing

but to us

who are being

saved

it is

the power

of God

as Paul says

in Romans 1

the gospel

is the power

of God

unto salvation

for all

who believe

it is this message

not just the message

of Jesus

but particularly

the message

of Jesus Christ

crucified

hanged

on a tree

nailed

in a bloody

execution

Paul says

this

is the one

place

where you

will find

something to

believe in

that will not

fail you

something to

believe in

that will not

let you down

because

as verse

24

says

Christ

is the

wisdom

of God

and the

power of

God

Christ

crucified

how can

this be

true

when I

walk into

my

family

reunion

when you

walk into

your lab

at work

when you

go about

your daily

life

raising

your kids

doing your

shopping

taking your

classes

whatever it

is that

employs

your day

how could

it be

true that

Jesus

Christ

crucified

is the

wisdom

of God

and the

power

of God

I think

this is the

question that

Paul wants

us to

dig into

to understand

why he did

what he

did

Christ

the wisdom

of God

Christ

crucified

the wisdom

of God

how can

that be

it seems

foolish

right

the king

of the

world

the creator

takes on

human form

and becomes

a part

of the

creation

he who

had all

power

laid it

aside

he who

knows

everything

submitted

himself

to another

why is

this the

wisdom

of God

to do

it this

way

well

there are

lots of

arguments

and lots

of ways

we could

explore this

I want

to explore

it in one

particular way

that I hope

you will find

sufficient

turn with me

over to

Romans

Romans 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

there's a

statement here

that

when we

understand

it

will help

us see

the wisdom

of God

in Romans

3

21

through

25

if you

don't

know

this

passage

you should

spend

the next

three

months

reading

it

because

it is

one of

the most

significant

explanations

of the

very core

of the

Christian

message

in the

gospel

then

read

the rest

of

Romans

for the

next

10

years

and

then

you'll

understand

how

significant

it

is

and

then

man

your

heart

will

be

in

a

good

place

but

verses

21

through

25

Paul is

saying

that

the

problem

of

sin

against

a

holy

God

has

created

a

huge

problem

how

can

we

stand

as

sinful

people

before

a

holy

God

where

can

we

find

a

righteousness

sufficient

for

us

in

that

courtroom

and

in

his

presence

and

Paul

says

well

he's

provided

Jesus

Jesus

and

his

perfect

righteousness

is

now

given

to

us

so

that

he

is

given

to

us

as

a

propitiation

by

his

blood

to

be

received

by

faith

this

was

to

show

God's

righteousness

because

in

his

divine

forbearance

he

had

passed

over

former

sins

verse

26

here's

the

key

it

was

to

show

his

righteousness

at

the

present

time

so

that

he

might

be

just

and

the

justifier

of

the

one

who

has

faith

in

Jesus

now

in

our

culture

today

this

doesn't

seem

very

impressive

do you

know

why

we

think

we're

okay

and

we

don't

think

God

has

very

high

standards

so

we

walk

into

the

holy

courtroom

and

we're

like

hey

I

know

the

speed

limit

says

30

but

I

was

going

34

it's

not

that

bad

your

radar

can't

really

calibrate

to

within

five

so

I'm

good

I've

got

to

be

good

before

like

I'm

really

okay

here

I need

to be

let

loose

I need

to be

set

free

I need

to be

justified

in this

courtroom

I didn't

really do

anything

wrong

deep

in our

hearts

we want

God to

be

God

who

says

yeah

that's

okay

it's

not

that

bad

don't

worry

about

it

it's

fine

and

that's

why

this

verse

doesn't

have

any

meaning

to

us

but

if

we

understand

that

God

is

perfectly

holy

and

in his

holiness

he

loves

all

that

is

good

and

beautiful

and

right

in the

world

and

therefore

any

deviation

from

that

perfection

is

an

aberration

and an

offense

to the

beauty

of that

perfection

that

God

is

and

that

God

intended

for us

as

human

beings

and

that

our

step

away

and

out

of

all

of

that

goodness

and

beauty

and

perfection

that

God

is

is

an

act

not

just

of

misstep

but

is

an act

of

rejection

it

is

an

act

of

wanting

to

go

in

the

ways

of

the

world

and

to

say

I

know

better

than

God

what

is

good

and

right

in

this

world

and

in

light

of

that

when

you

see

the

depth

of

the

offense

of

sin

and

how

tragic

and

how

terrible

it

is

you

are

then

left

with

a

question

if

you

follow

the

logic

well

how

then

can

God

ever

accept

any

where

where

is

there

a

righteousness

that

I

can

stand

in

under

which

God

will

accept

me

and

Paul

says

this

is

Christ

crucified

because

only

a

God

who

became

man

could

live

a

sinless

life

only

a

man

could

offer

himself

up

in

the

place

of

another

man

for

their

sin

only

Jesus

could

live

both

the

perfect

sinless

life

that

was

required

for

a

righteousness

that

was

acceptable

before

God

and

offer

himself

up

in

the

place

of

sinful

man

and

so

we

see

the

remarkable

wisdom

of

God

how

else

can

we

be

saved

all

the

Corinthians

things

that

they

were

running

after

were

different

ways

of

saying

maybe

this

can

save

you

maybe

this

can

save

you

maybe

this

can

save

you

maybe

these

things

will

be

enough

or

hedge

your

bets

by

including

these

things

in

the

process

but

the

gospel

says

friends

there

is

nowhere

there

is

no

righteousness

good

enough

there

is

nothing

nothing

you

can

build

there

is

no

goodness

you

can

create

concoct

or

dream

up

or

live

out

that

will

ever

overcome

the

sin

that

stains

your

heart

the

fatal

flaw

of

self

that

John

preached

about

a couple

of

weeks

ago

and

so

God

has

stepped

in

and

in

his

infinite

wisdom

has

done

something

unbelievable

no

one

would

have

thought

this

up

the

mystery

of

the

trinity

becomes

the

mystery

of

the

incarnation

becomes

the

glory

of

the

crucifixion

and

the

resurrection

so

that

God

might

accept

sinners

like

you

and

me

this

is

the

wisdom

of

God

yes

God

had

created

by his

own

righteousness

and by

the

sin

in

the

world

what

seemed

to

be

an

unsolvable

problem

and

then

he

stepped

in

and

he

solved

it

in

the

most

unimaginable

way

so that

we

might

know

that

salvation

is

not

of

us

but

it's

of

God

from

first

to

last

so

that

we

might

not

boast

in

anything

of

ourselves

but

boast

only

in

Jesus

Christ

this

is

why

Paul

felt

that

that was

sufficient

for

his

preaching

content

this

was

sufficient

to

say

what

he

needed

to

say

this

is

the

wisdom

of

God

and

when

we

receive

this

then

we

are

free

we

are

freed

from

all

of

the

performance

and

all

of

the

effort

we

spend

trying

to

make

ourselves

good

enough

we

are

free

from

all

of

our

trying

to

figure

out

if

I

can

only