Mexico Missouri message., 1916-07-27
LESSON FOR JULY 80
"THE WORD OF TIE CROSS"

Christ-Gal. 6:14.
Paul's letter to the church at Cor
inth was written from the city Of
Ephesus some four of five years after
Paul had left Corinth. We have seen
some of the difficulties which sur
rounded this church. 1t was a small
body of believers in great city Of
four hundred thousand. 1t was sur
rounded by all kinds of liscentiousness
and excess so that to maintain Chris
tian moral ideal was difficult in the eX4
treme. That is why this first epistle
has so much to do with church govern
ment and such questions as the mar
riuge relation, the conduct of public
assemblies, spiritual gifts, the resur-
rectlon from the dead, different fac
tlons, the love feasts of the rich and
the poor, eating meat offered to idols,
law suits conducted before the heath
en-, the Lords supper and church
dicipline are discussed. Paul did not
himself write the letter. Sosthenes
acted as his amanuensis. In this let
ter is the wonderful and immortal love
chapter (Ch. 13), and the magnificent
resurrection chapter (Ch. 15).
The only unity desirable or possible
is that which Christ prayed for (John
7:21). This is not unity of opinion
or of organization, but unity of pur-
pose and power, the working together
Of Delivers in harmony to attain the
great purposes Of Christianity.
!. The Power and Wisdom Of God.
wv. 1929. To sin-blinded mind the
prenching of the cross is foolishness.
Even some professed Christians reject
the doctrine of substitution which is
found everywhere in the Bible. Elsa.
$3.50; Gal. 3:13; Cor. :2D. If the
doctrine of the cross Is foolishness to
anyone 1t is to them that perish"
The Jews require sign ". 22) but
the cross puts them to shame ". 27).
God is made unto us wisdom, not the
wisdom of men but the wisdom of the
Spirit. 1t is such preaching as this
that is "the power of God" It has
proven itself the power of God In our
lives. 1t will destroy the wisdom Of
the wise" and "bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent" Elsa.
20 Ia cf. Jer. S:9). God is constantly
making foolish the power and wisdom
Of this world. Philosophic research
after the unknowable tries to make
God of its own pattern but does
not satisfy the longings of the human
heart" and God through the foolish
ness of the thing preached is pleased
to "saye them which believe" The
performing of miracle (Math. II 1881,
and the Greeks seeking after wisdom,
or philosophical reasoning, is no match
for the Christ crucified whom Paul
preached.
II. The Preaching and Power of Paul
wv. 26 to Oh. 2 :2). Taking the Bible as
a whole, we see In it Gods plan and
purpose with regard to the goal of
mankind. The problem was by what
means this purpose could be per-
formed. The whole Of the Old Testa-
ment is story of God working to this
end. Then at the best time in all his
tory came Jesus, the son of God, into
the world, and, by his death on the
bound together in one, summed up in
the cross as the power and the wisdom
of God for salvation. The symbol of
the cross is common sight, yet the
great truth which it symbolizes is
often obscured by scholars, and fails
to be lived by disciples. God chooses
those whom the world rejects, "the
foolish" and whom the world rejects
as "the weak" These are the ones
that were called even in Paul's day.
The purpose of this call is to confound
Cor to put to shame) the wisdom of
men. The most powerful motive in
existence is the motive of the cross.
the strongest expression OF the love
of God for man. (2) the cross was
the agent whereby atonement was
made for sin. (3) The cross shows us
the terrible evils of sin and the de-
E1and of such a sacrifice as Gods son
n order to save us from 1t. (4) 1t
shows us that God wants us to come
to him and to be saved, and that there
Is joy In heaven over every repentant
sinner. (5) 1t shows the supreme val
ue Of right and duty in that Christ
went to the cross at the terrible cost
of his life. 10y 1t shows the value of
the human soul. (7) From the cross,
through the resurrection and the ever
living Saviour, God has given us the
fullness of the Spirit to inspire and
transform.
We are nothing in ourselves, and
God has made Christ unto us wisdom
and righteousness" that is, Gods
righteousness is provided for US in
Christ Il Cor. 8 5:21; Rom. 5:1; Phil.
$40 II. w; also sanctlfication and
redemption, that is, we are separated
from the world unto God and in him
we are redeemed from sin and its con-
sequences.
There is left no room for glorying in
ourselves.
This gas the preachlng upon which