“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20
Yes! Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead! Jesus took on flesh to put our sinful flesh to death, to free us from it, and forgive us for it. In Christ, we have died to our old lives and received the Spirit of life! If you’ve been transformed by the message of the cross, then you are part of the body and voice of Christ, an ambassador of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20)!
As ambassadors, we not only represent the Lord Jesus Christ, but we speak on His behalf, “as though God were making his appeal through us.” And if we are not speaking the message of the cross, we are not fully representing God’s wisdom, nor proclaiming God’s power. When Jesus hung on the cross under the wrath of God, He revealed God’s mystery to the world, the message which saves the lost and also matures and sanctifies all who believe.
“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 1 Corinthians 2:6
Question 5. The message of the cross is wisdom for “the mature,” but not the wisdom of this world?
“No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:7-8
It’s clear that God’s wisdom, God’s mystery, that which was hidden in the Old Testament, is the glorious, wonderful, terrible cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew and understood this mystery of man being made right with God through the cross, and so, Paul decided to know nothing but “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). By focusing on and ministering in the gospel so thoroughly, Paul could say:
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
Question 7. Please summarize this lesson and share your final thoughts.
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Miles writes, "The power and wisdom of the cross and resurrection is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those of us who believe it is the power of God to remove sin and transform lives"