I Corinthians 1"""

I Corinthians 1  Paul addressed this letter to the church at Corinth and to "... everyone everywhere who calls on the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, their Lord as well as ours."  ( v 2; CJB)  

To us!

He begins right off addressing the issue of divisions in the church.  His admonition is that they be "restored to having a common mind and a common purpose".   The Messiah, Paul reminds them, has not been "split in pieces"!  What really matters the most to all of the church is the gospel - the message of the cross. This is what unites all believers and this is our singular purpose - the Good News of Jesus!

The message of the "execution-stake" as the Complete Jewish Bible calls it, "is nonsense to those in the process of being destroyed, but to us in the process of being saved it is the power of God."  God has chosen to make the wisdom of the world "look pretty foolish".  The world cannot come to know Him by "using its own wisdom", Paul writes. "Therefore God decided to use the 'nonsense' of what we proclaim as his means of saving those who come to trust in it." 

"But God chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise;"

"God chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the strong;"

"..and God chose what the world looks down on as common or regards as nothing in order to bring to nothing what the world considers important."

"... so that no one should boast before God." 

" It is His doing that you are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He has become wisdom for us from God and righteousness and holiness and redemption as well!"  

"Let anyone who wants to boast, boast about Adonai"

We come to God our Lord, our Adonai, by grace - it is His doing!  We come to Him by faith, trusting in the message of the cross - that Jesus Christ, "God's power and God's wisdom" died to pay our ransom. 

The wisdom of people cannot grasp this truth. It is foolishness to the world, but "God's 'nonsense' is wiser than humanity's 'wisdom'".   No man can grasp salvation through intelligence, strength, or power. 

There is only one way to be saved and that is through faith in Jesus Christ!

Father in heaven, we boast of Your grace and of Your glory and of Your wisdom and power.  You alone are worthy of all praise!  Thank You for uniting us with Jesus Christ the Messiah.  He is our all in all!

In Christ we find all wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and salvation.  We fix our eyes on Jesus only!

Keep us, Your church, focused on our common purpose with a common mind - the good news of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is in His name we pray, amen.