Life Study of 1 Corinthians
Message 15 - CHRIST CRUCIFIED, THE FOCUS OF THE APOSTLE’S
MINISTRY
Scripture Reading : 1 Cor. 2:1-5; Col. 2:2, 9; Eph. 1:9-10
DETERMINING TO KNOW ONLY CHRIST
In verse 2 Paul continues, “For I determined not to know
anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified.” The
crucified Christ was the unique subject, the center, the content, and
the substance of the apostle’s ministry. For this he determined not to
know anything but the all-inclusive Christ when he was about to
minister the word of the testimony of God to the excellent-speech-
exalting and wisdom-worshipping Greeks. What a determination! It
should be a pattern to us all.
The expression “this One crucified” indicates Christ’s humiliation
and abasement. His resurrection in glory (Luke 24:26) and ascension in
exaltation (Acts 2:33, 36) are not referred to here because Paul’s
purpose is to overturn the pride of the Greeks in their elevated wisdom.
According to verse 2, Paul determined not to know anything
among the Corinthians except Christ and Him crucified. Some may
appeal to this verse as a basis for arguing that Paul did not preach
about the church, but only testified concerning Christ. We know from
the context of the entire book of 1 Corinthians that, beginning with
chapter three, where Paul says that the believers are God’s farm and
God’s building, Paul has much to say about the church. In this Epistle
he actually speaks more about the church than about Christ. Paul’s
meaning in verse 2 is that he determined not to know philosophy,
culture, doctrine, religion, or any kind of practice. He cared only for
Christ. But when Paul spoke of Christ, he included the church, for Christ
is the Head of the church, which is His Body. In 12:12 Paul even indicates
that the church, the Body, is part of Christ. Therefore, it is not correct to
say that Paul excluded the church when he declared that he
determined not to know anything other than Christ.
In verse 2 Paul seems to be saying, “Dear brothers in Corinth,
you are still very philosophical, and you live a life according to your
wisdom. But when I came to you ministering God’s mystery and
announcing God’s testimony, I did not rely on wisdom or philosophy. I
certainly did not emphasize religion or culture. I spoke to you of a living
Person, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. I determined not to know anything
among you except this wonderful Person. I deliberately stayed away
from philosophy, wisdom, and excellence of speech.”
Paul also reminded the Corinthians that the Christ he preached
was One who had been crucified. On the one hand, Paul did not use
excellence of speech or wisdom; on the other hand, he proclaimed
not an honored, exalted, glorified Christ, but a Christ who had been
despised, rejected, defeated, and even crucified. Here Paul seems to
be saying, “You have believed in Christ and received Him with the initial
gifts. But after receiving Christ, you made the mistake of not living a
crucified life. On the contrary, you have lived a self-glorying and self-
exalting life. But the One I preached to you and the One received by
you was a rejected, despised, and crucified Christ. No longer should
you live in a way to exalt yourselves. Rather, you should live a crucified
life, even live the crucified Christ. You should not boast in your
knowledge. Instead, you should be willing to give the impression that
you do not know anything other than the crucified Christ. All of you are
saying that you are of Paul, of Cephas, of Apollos, or of a limited Christ.
This is according to man’s way, not according to the crucified Christ.
You should live this One who was crucified.”
There will always be trouble in a local church when the saints
seek to know things other than Christ. Knowing too many doctrines
often produces debates and even causes divisions. It is always
profitable to know nothing but Christ and Christ crucified; this is the only
safe way.
If all the saints in the local churches determine to know nothing
except Christ Jesus, there will be no problems in the church life. The
most wonderful local church is a church composed of saints who do
not know anything other than Christ. Whenever they are asked a
question, they reply that they only know Christ, calling on the name of
the Lord, praying, and enjoying the Lord Jesus. They are willing to
appear foolish by not knowing anything except Christ and this One
crucified.
If the best local church is a church where the saints do not know
anything except Christ, the church with the most problems is one where
the saints know too many things other than Christ. More than forty years
ago, I spent a long period of time trying to help this kind of church. My
efforts were in vain, because everyone knew too much.
It is very important for us to determine not to know things and to
learn to say, “I don’t know.” Learn to determine not to know anything
except Jesus Christ. Oh, we all must have such a spirit, attitude, and
practice. If we determine not to know anything except Christ, there will
not be any problems or divisions among us.
Sometimes when we visit a church in another locality, the saints
there have questions about certain doctrines and practices. To answer
their questions would be a big mistake and would waste much time
and energy. Furthermore, we may waste the opportunity to minister
Christ to the saints. We should be those who know only Christ and the
Word of God. Then we shall have more opportunity to minister Christ to
others.
The problem at Corinth was that the believers had too much
knowledge. Furthermore, they treasured knowledge, even to the point
of worshipping it and making it an idol. Therefore, it is not surprising that
Paul’s intention was to belittle their knowledge and point them to the
crucified Christ.
GOD’S CENTER AND OUR PORTION
The more we consider 2:6-10, the more we realize that these
verses are deep, profound, and difficult to understand. To understand
them we need to consider the context of chapters one and two,
chapters which give us a clear view of Christ as God’s center and our
portion. In these chapters Paul emphasizes the fact that Christ is God’s
center and our portion. God has an economy which He desires to fulfill.
This economy is His will, His purpose. The focal point of God’s economy
is Christ. As the One who is the power of God and the wisdom of God
in His economy, Christ is God’s unique center. God has called us into
the fellowship, the participation, the mutuality, of this center. As a result,
Christ as the unique center becomes the portion for our enjoyment. This
is indicated by the phrase “theirs and ours” in 1:2.
The central thought of 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 is expressed by the
words center and portion. According to these chapters, Paul regards
Christ as God’s center and our portion. This means that God’s center
has been given to us as our portion for our enjoyment.
First Corinthians 1:30 says, “But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, Who
became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification
and redemption.” Here we see that Christ has become wisdom to us
from God. As such, He is our righteousness, sanctification, and
redemption. These terms are a further definition of what Christ is to us
as our portion. Not only is Christ our righteousness for the past, our
sanctification for the present, and our redemption for the future, but
even in our daily life He is righteousness, sanctification, and redemption
to us. This is what Christ is as our portion for our enjoyment.
If we have this understanding of the central thought of chapters
one and two, we are prepared to consider 2:6-10. As God’s center and
our portion for our enjoyment, Christ is God’s wisdom in a mystery. The
wisdom in 2:7 is deep and profound. It is a wisdom beyond human
understanding, for it is a mysterious wisdom, wisdom in a mystery. Within
God there is something which Paul describes as wisdom in a mystery.
This is Christ, the center of God’s economy and the portion for our
enjoyment. Few ministers today preach Christ as God’s wisdom in a
mystery. The majority of today’s Christians do not know Him as this
mysterious wisdom. By the Lord’s mercy we are endeavoring to minister
Christ and testify Him as such a wisdom in a mystery. It is helpful even
to have the expression “wisdom in a mystery” in our Christian
vocabulary. Praise the Lord that we see that this Christ is God’s center
and our portion!
In verse 7 Paul says that this wisdom has been hidden and predestined
before the ages for our glory. A destiny is a person’s final, ultimate
portion. As Christians we have a destiny, and this destiny is the ultimate
and consummate portion of our enjoyment. God’s wisdom in a mystery
has not only been hidden, but also predestined by God to become our
destiny for our glory. Glory is our destiny, our destination. In eternity we
all shall be in glory
KNOWING THE DEPTHS OF GOD
In verse 6 Paul says that the wisdom we speak is not a wisdom
of this age, or of the rulers of this age. In themselves, human beings are
not capable of knowing this wisdom. It must be revealed through the
Spirit. Therefore, in verse 10 Paul says, “For God has revealed them to
us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths
of God.” God reveals the deep and hidden things to us through the
Spirit, for these things have not been seen by man’s eyes, heard by
man’s ears, nor have they come up in man’s heart. This means that
man has no idea concerning them, no thought of them. They are
altogether mysterious, hidden in God, and beyond human
understanding. But God has revealed them to us through the Spirit, who
searches all things, even the depths of God.
To have something revealed to us is different from being taught
about that thing. To teach is related to our mind; to reveal, to our spirit.
To realize the deep and hidden things God has prepared for us, our
spirit is more necessary than our mind. When our entire being becomes
one with God through loving Him in intimate fellowship, He shows us, in
our spirit through His Spirit, all the secrets of Christ as our portion. This is
to reveal the hidden things planned by His wisdom concerning Christ,
things which have never come up in man’s heart.
First Corinthians 2:10 says that the Spirit searches all things. The
Greek word rendered searches includes active research and implies
accurate knowledge not in discovering but in exploring. The Spirit of
God explores the depths of God concerning Christ and shows them to
us in our spirit for our realization and participation.
The depths of God refer to the deep things of God, which are
Christ in many aspects as our eternal portion, foreordained, prepared,
and given to us freely by God. These have never arisen in man’s heart,
but are revealed to us in our spirit by God’s Spirit. Hence, we must be
spiritual in order to partake of them. We must move and live in our spirit
that we may enjoy Christ as everything to us.