We come now to the second problem facing the Corinthian church, which is the problem of the believers in Corinth trying to separate the beginning of the Christian life from the living of the Christian life. The Corinthians were attempting to grow and mature in their Christian faith apart from the message in which their Christian faith originated.
Let’s notice how Paul dealt with this problem and learn for ourselves how to live and grow and mature in the gospel:
“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. 7 No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
1 Corinthians 2:6-8 NIV
Question 1. From 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 NIV, please list all the ways in which Paul describes the gospel of Jesus Christ:
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Paul spoke about “a message of wisdom,” which is “God’s wisdom,” and calls it “a mystery that has been hidden,” which the worldly rulers of the age did not understand. Paul then defines what this message of wisdom is: the crucifixion of the Lord of glory.
It is common for Christians, having entered the Christian life by hearing the good news of Jesus dying in their place to atone for their sins and being raised on the third day, to mistakenly believe they need to move on from that message to grow and mature.
Paul taught that real growth and maturity in Christ is not to be done apart from the message of the cross. Instead, we mature in the Lord by going deeper into the message of the cross - the mystery that God hid throughout Scripture.
That last phrase, “throughout Scripture,” is a key one. If God reveals the gospel to us in the Books of Genesis, Leviticus, 2 Chronicles, Esther, Ezra, and Malachi (and every book in between), then our faith will grow deep into the gospel, our hearts will expand with the love of God. When we see the gospel message foretold, fulfilled, and applied throughout the Bible, we are strengthened in our Christian walk and mature in our Christian faith.
The rulers of the age could not understand this message about the “crucifixion of the Lord of glory” despite all of their human wisdom, because this gospel message is revealed by the Spirit, and “spoken among the mature.” The gospel is not merely the message for the beginning of the Christian life; it is also the message of power to overcome sin and to grow strong in the Lord, the message hidden in a mystery but revealed by the Spirit to believers.
The Gospel Transformation Study Bible puts it this way,
“...the gospel is both the gracious gift by which we begin the Christian life and the source of ongoing power for living the Christian life (cf. 15:1–4). The truth about ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (2:2) is therefore not a basic teaching to be left behind as we mature but a lens through which to view all of Scripture (1:19, 31; 2:9, 16) and all of life.”
Summary: when dealing with immaturity in the Corinthians, Paul brings them the message of the cross! He points out the lack of understanding of those who “crucified the Lord of glory.” He declares the gospel to be “the message of wisdom,” that which is “spoken among the mature.”
Question 2. Why do you think God tied our spiritual growth and maturity to the message of the cross?
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In tomorrow’s lesson, we will see how Paul exposes the mystery of the gospel in the Old Testament. This beholding Jesus and His gospel, seeing “the mystery that has been hidden” now clearly revealed, is the way to grow and mature in the gospel.
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