WEBVTT 00:00:00.960 --> 00:00:08.540 The New York City subway has often been referred to affectionately and proudly by New Yorkers 00:00:08.540 --> 00:00:10.839 as the great equalizer. 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:15.480 And that is because it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, it doesn't matter where you 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:20.440 live, it doesn't matter your race or ethnicity, except for probably the ultra, ultra rich, 00:00:21.019 --> 00:00:23.379 everybody in New York takes the subway. 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:29.560 And there was an article in the New York Times Magazine in 2018 that writes about this idea 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:31.320 of the subway being the great equalizer. 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:36.960 And the author says, New York subway carries close to 6 million people every day. 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:43.100 It may no longer be a technological marvel, but it continues to perform a daily magic trick. 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:47.259 It brings people together, but it also spreads them out. 00:00:48.019 --> 00:00:50.399 It has no zones and no hours of operation. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.899 It connects rich and poor neighborhoods alike. 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:55.500 The subway has never been segregated. 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:57.320 It is always open. 00:00:57.979 --> 00:01:01.039 And the fair is always the same no matter how far you need to go. 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:05.859 In New York, movement anywhere, anytime is a right. 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:12.439 And I think this idea of the subway as this great equalizer represents a deep longing that 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:18.460 many people have in our culture, which is to have unity and equality among great diversity 00:01:18.460 --> 00:01:18.859 and division. 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:23.680 And this longing, I think, reaches back to our country's founding and our heritage of democracy. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.840 It's written and stamped on our money. 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:29.060 E pluribus unum, out of many, one. 00:01:29.800 --> 00:01:34.960 And it continues to exist today, this longing for a great equalizer in a society that continues 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.280 to be divided around things like class and politics and race. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.240 Division and disunity are ancient problems. 00:01:43.360 --> 00:01:45.640 They were a problem in Corinth in the Corinthian church. 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:52.280 And in our passage this morning, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul is addressing a particular kind 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:57.159 of division, a particular kind of conflict that is beginning to splinter the community 00:01:57.159 --> 00:01:58.480 at the church in Corinth. 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:05.159 People have started to rally around and to identify themselves over certain leaders like 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:07.219 Paul and Apollos and Peter. 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.879 And they've started to say to one another, I follow Paul. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:12.319 I follow Apollos. 00:02:12.419 --> 00:02:13.219 I follow Peter. 00:02:13.299 --> 00:02:15.780 And it's began to develop these different factions. 00:02:16.799 --> 00:02:21.039 And Paul addresses this splintering. 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:27.099 He addresses this conflict and division head on throughout this letter, but initially here 00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:28.379 in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:34.259 And what's interesting is he doesn't just tell them to just stop arguing and get along. 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:38.300 He doesn't just tell them to be unified and stop being divided. 00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:46.700 He tells them that their behavior actually isn't in line with the gospel, that actually their 00:02:46.700 --> 00:02:52.439 conflict and their division specifically isn't in line with the cross. 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:58.180 The cross is the very thing that brought them together and united them together in the first 00:02:58.180 --> 00:02:58.600 place. 00:02:58.700 --> 00:03:05.560 And the cross alone, Paul argues to them, has the power to be the great equalizer amidst their 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.260 division and conflict. 00:03:07.259 --> 00:03:12.879 And I think this has enormous, this passage has enormous significance for us today, for 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:13.919 our church, and for the world. 00:03:14.019 --> 00:03:16.979 So we're going to see three things here in 1 Corinthians 1 this morning. 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:20.120 We're going to see, first of all, humanity's search for wisdom and power. 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:22.699 Secondly, the irony of God. 00:03:23.519 --> 00:03:27.319 And finally, the foolishness and weakness of the cross. 00:03:28.019 --> 00:03:31.500 So first of all, humanity's search for wisdom and power. 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:34.240 Verse 18, Paul says, 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:46.520 And here he's quoting Isaiah 29. 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:52.240 I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. 00:03:52.980 --> 00:03:54.439 Where is the one who is wise? 00:03:54.540 --> 00:03:55.400 Where is the scribe? 00:03:55.480 --> 00:03:56.939 Where is the debater of this age? 00:03:57.660 --> 00:04:02.760 And then in verse 22, for Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom. 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:10.280 And Paul here is addressing two of the main cultural values, two of the main cultural pursuits of his day. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:17.000 In Corinth, you had both Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures mixing together, and they also mixed together in the church. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:21.180 You had both Greco-Roman cultures and Jewish cultures in the church. 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:28.540 And at the center of Greco-Roman culture was the search for wisdom, and at the center of Jewish culture was the search for power. 00:04:29.340 --> 00:04:36.740 The Greco-Roman culture was, of course, shaped by the great Greek philosophers, those like Socrates and Plato and Aristotle. 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:43.620 Later on, you had the Epicureans and Stoics and lots of other schools of philosophy started up. 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.560 And they were all trying to understand how to understand the world rationally. 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:50.560 And then once you understand the rationally, how does that then equip you to live a good life? 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:54.579 It was pursuing these transcendental ideas of truth and goodness and beauty. 00:04:54.780 --> 00:04:56.120 That was Greek philosophy. 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:00.019 But you also had the popular orators. 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:04.699 You had the skilled rhetoricians, these gifted speakers who shaped the popular wisdom of the day. 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:07.899 These were the TED Talk speakers of the day. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:10.740 They were skilled in the art of rhetoric and debate. 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:17.699 And the most popular orators were kind of like the professional athletes and musicians and actors. 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:22.699 They received the kind of praise and attention and money that actors and athletes get today. 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:28.339 And they were sometimes more influential in shaping public opinion than sometimes the great philosophers. 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:32.439 In the Jewish culture, you had scribes and religious teachers. 00:05:32.699 --> 00:05:34.620 These were the experts in the law. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.139 These were the Bible scholars and the theologians of the day. 00:05:37.139 --> 00:05:44.860 And they were focused not so much on abstract philosophical wisdom, but on the great and powerful acts of God in the story of Israel. 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:53.139 And the hope for these powerful acts to be renewed in a coming Messiah who would be both a political and a military leader who would overthrow Rome. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.180 Wisdom and power. 00:05:55.180 --> 00:06:10.000 And Paul is addressing these cultural values of wisdom and power of Jews and Greeks, not only as representatives of their culture, but actually as representatives of human culture, of all of human history. 00:06:10.840 --> 00:06:14.500 Power and wisdom are central values in our culture. 00:06:14.780 --> 00:06:18.060 We have our places of wisdom and knowledge. 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:19.319 We have our universities. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:25.399 We have our philosophers, our academics and scholars who write books and do research. 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:29.639 But perhaps more than ever, we have our own leaders of popular wisdom, don't we? 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:31.819 We have our TED Talk speakers. 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:43.139 We have our TikTok videos, our social media influencers, our YouTube stars, who can often shape the wisdom of popular culture, sometimes even more than the most accomplished and erudite scholars. 00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:49.240 And of course, we can't talk about our culture, we can't talk about our city without talking about power, can we? 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:54.479 We live in the seat of power in one of the most powerful nations on earth. 00:06:55.099 --> 00:07:03.360 If you want to get rich and famous, move to LA or New York or Nashville, the centers of Hollywood and finance and music. 00:07:04.159 --> 00:07:08.259 But if you want access to power, come to Washington, D.C., right? 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:16.599 Wisdom and power are two of the main cultural pursuits in Corinth in the first century, two of the main cultural pursuits in D.C. 00:07:16.719 --> 00:07:19.539 and two of the main cultural pursuits in all of human history. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:25.620 But as Paul shows us, there is actually a great irony in these pursuits. 00:07:27.339 --> 00:07:36.439 If you pursue wisdom and power for their own sake, if you pursue them for their own sake, you end up in a deeply ironic place. 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:38.759 And so that's the second thing that we see. 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:41.040 We see the irony of God. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:42.639 The irony of God. 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:48.160 There are two great ironies in this passage that Paul points out for us. 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:50.100 And the first irony is this. 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:56.339 The first irony is that wisdom pursued for its own sake leads to ignorance. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.399 Wisdom pursued for its own sake leads to ignorance. 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:03.560 Verse 20, has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 00:08:03.979 --> 00:08:09.239 For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom. 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:11.519 What does this mean? 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:18.060 Does this mean that somehow Christianity is anti-intellectual or anti-rational? 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:20.000 No, it doesn't mean that. 00:08:20.039 --> 00:08:25.219 We know this because Paul here in this letter is trying to make a rational, intelligible argument. 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:30.240 We also know that from the book of Acts that Paul reasoned and debated in the public square. 00:08:30.400 --> 00:08:32.860 Paul himself was not anti-intellectual. 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:34.899 Neither is the Christian faith. 00:08:35.040 --> 00:08:41.080 We know from the great intellectual tradition of the church, some of the great thinkers and philosophers throughout the age have been Christians. 00:08:41.800 --> 00:08:49.519 People from the church fathers, Anselm, Augustine, Jerome, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, and on and on and on and on we could go. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:53.139 It doesn't mean that Christianity is anti-intellectual. 00:08:53.139 --> 00:09:01.639 Does this then mean that as Christians we're to reject wisdom and thought from other traditions or other sources? 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:09.659 Again, no, this is not what it means because part of being a Christian, part of believing in the Bible is believing in common grace. 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:14.480 This idea that people are made in the image of God and because they're made in the image of God, 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:22.000 everybody has an innate ability to discover truth and goodness and beauty about the world. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:28.500 And therefore, everybody, whether they're Christian or not, everybody has the ability to get part of the story right. 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:35.620 And so as Christians, we should be quick to learn from all the different sources that we can. 00:09:36.259 --> 00:09:41.000 We should be quick to learn wherever there is truth, wherever there is goodness, wherever there is beauty. 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.399 So it doesn't mean that Christianity is anti-intellectual. 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:45.320 It doesn't mean that we can't learn from other sources. 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:46.240 So what does it mean? 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:53.600 It means that wisdom and knowledge pursued for its own sake, wisdom and knowledge pursued on its own, 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.300 doesn't lead us to know God. 00:09:57.260 --> 00:10:05.920 We can't know God through pure intellect or pure reason and science, empirical observation alone. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:11.419 Despite all the great traditions of all the great philosophers, thinkers, intellectuals over all the centuries, 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.579 despite all the great insights of the world religions, all its teachers, 00:10:15.839 --> 00:10:19.620 despite all of the great research of the modern university, 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.159 all of the information that's available to us through the internet, 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:29.719 despite all of that, we can't know God in a real and personal way just through reason alone. 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:34.600 You can be the smartest person in the world and yet not know God. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:40.879 You can understand and observe everything there is to observe about the world empirically through science 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:42.960 and yet not know God. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:49.180 C.S. Lewis captures this well in an article that he wrote in February 1963. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:55.920 The Russian space program had recently sent cosmonauts into outer space, 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:59.959 and at the time, the Kremlin produced a propaganda campaign that at the time included a poster, 00:11:00.199 --> 00:11:05.319 and the poster was a picture of a cosmonaut in outer space saying, 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:06.579 there is no God. 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:10.360 And the idea is that, you know, we went to outer space, 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:14.899 we didn't see God, and therefore that's proof that God doesn't exist. 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:18.959 And C.S. Lewis responds in this article, and he says this. 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:20.279 He says, 00:11:20.279 --> 00:11:23.719 The Russians, I am told, report that they have not found God in outer space. 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:31.960 But looking for God or for heaven by exploring space is like reading or seeing all of Shakespeare's plays 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.440 in the hope that you will find Shakespeare as one of the characters. 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:39.379 Shakespeare is in one sense present at every moment in every play, 00:11:40.060 --> 00:11:43.120 but he is never present in the same way as Lady Macbeth. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:53.600 My point is that if God does exist, he is related to the universe more as an author is related to a play 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:56.980 than as one object in the universe is related to another. 00:11:57.460 --> 00:12:00.919 If God created the universe, he created space and time. 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:07.240 And therefore, to look for him as one item within the framework from which he himself invented is nonsensical. 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:08.720 Do you hear what he's saying? 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:17.820 He's saying to try to know God solely through reason or science alone is like Hamlet trying to know Shakespeare. 00:12:18.060 --> 00:12:23.180 If Hamlet were to know Shakespeare, the only way that could happen is if Shakespeare revealed himself, 00:12:23.300 --> 00:12:25.759 if he wrote himself into Hamlet's story. 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:29.240 And that is what we believe that God did in Jesus Christ. 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:33.600 He revealed himself by writing himself into our story. 00:12:34.420 --> 00:12:35.519 So that's the first irony. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:39.980 The first irony is that wisdom pursued for its own sake leads to ignorance. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:45.399 On our own, we actually can't know the most basic thing about the world, 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:48.139 who its creator is, who God is. 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:49.899 But there's a second great irony. 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:54.939 And the second great irony is that power pursued for its own sake leads to weakness. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:57.939 Power pursued for its own sake leads to weakness. 00:12:59.199 --> 00:13:01.980 When people pursue power for power's sake, 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:05.460 when people pursue power because they want control and power, what happens? 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:11.460 What happens is a long list of history's greatest tragedies. 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:16.720 The most extreme examples are the Hitlers and the Stalins and the Pol Potts of the world. 00:13:16.819 --> 00:13:19.720 But we can think about this on a smaller level too. 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:25.360 When people pursue power because they want power, it creates damage and abuse. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:26.899 It fractures society. 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:27.919 It makes it weaker. 00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:30.379 Do I need to provide examples? 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:31.259 I don't think I do. 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:32.799 I don't think I do. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:38.819 This is why I think the idea of the New York City subway as the great equalizer is something 00:13:38.819 --> 00:13:43.860 that really resonates with people on a really deep level because we know how deeply divided 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:44.539 our world is. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:50.299 And we know that in large part that is due to the misuse of power, the abuse of power. 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:57.399 And at the root of all this, at the root of pursuing wisdom for its own sake, at the root 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:01.879 of pursuing power for its own sake, at the root of all that is human pride. 00:14:02.099 --> 00:14:02.679 It's pride. 00:14:03.199 --> 00:14:06.740 When you pursue wisdom because you want to be smarter than others, when you pursue power 00:14:06.740 --> 00:14:12.639 because you want to be in control of others, you are placing yourself at the center of the 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:13.019 universe. 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:20.419 And when you place yourself at the center of the universe rather than God, you end up in 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:21.879 a place of ignorance. 00:14:22.079 --> 00:14:24.139 You end up in a place of weakness. 00:14:25.439 --> 00:14:32.220 Now listen, before you say, yeah, you know, this is what non-Christians do. 00:14:32.319 --> 00:14:33.519 This is what unsaved people do. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.360 This is what people outside the church do. 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:41.299 Before you say that, remember, Paul is addressing conflict in the church. 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:42.500 He's addressing Christians. 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:49.359 He's talking to Christians who aren't living in line with the gospel, who still need to 00:14:49.359 --> 00:14:52.679 think out the implications of the gospel for their own situation. 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:57.539 They're still operating by human standards of worldly power and wisdom. 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:03.059 When they say, I follow Paul, I follow Peter, I follow Apollos, they're operating by worldly 00:15:03.059 --> 00:15:06.479 power and wisdom, and it's splintering their community. 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:07.819 It's dividing their community. 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:11.580 And the same temptations face us today. 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:17.820 If you're a Christian, you need the gospel to help you think through how to deal with 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:20.500 wisdom and power just as much as anyone else does. 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:27.300 And so a question for us is, both inside the church and outside the church, is that if 00:15:27.300 --> 00:15:32.600 wisdom pursued for its own sake leads to ignorance, if power pursued for its own sake leads to weakness, 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:36.120 then where do true power and true wisdom come from? 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:38.360 Where do you find true power? 00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:39.360 Where do you find true wisdom? 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:46.420 And the answer, as we'll see in the text, is that true power and true wisdom come from the 00:15:46.420 --> 00:15:48.759 foolishness and the weakness of the cross. 00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:52.279 In verse 21, Paul continues, and he says, 00:15:52.279 --> 00:16:21.399 Christ crucified. 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.399 Christ crucified. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:29.419 The idea that a man who lived 2,000 years ago is the clue to the meaning of all history. 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:35.759 That him dying a criminal's death on a Roman instrument of execution and torture is what brings 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:37.720 salvation and life to the whole world. 00:16:38.959 --> 00:16:41.759 That that is the key to the fulfillment of our desires. 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:44.419 That is the key to the renewal of creation. 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:50.879 If you think about it in those terms, it sounds absolutely crazy. 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:53.500 It sounds utterly foolish. 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:58.579 At face value, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross doesn't look like power and wisdom. 00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:02.279 It looks like weakness and death and failure. 00:17:03.199 --> 00:17:04.079 It looks absurd. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:11.240 But the God of the Bible is the master of dramatic irony because he is the master storyteller. 00:17:11.419 --> 00:17:16.099 He is the one who is able to take what looks like death and bring life. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:20.019 He is able to take what looks like suffering and bring joy. 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:21.879 And this is what Paul says in verse 25. 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:39.220 In the cross, we see a God who is so infinitely powerful that he defeats his enemies through an act of weakness and suffering. 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:47.680 In the cross, we see a God who is so infinitely wise that he can reveal the fullest truth about himself. 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:55.160 He can reveal the fullest truth about the world in an act that looks like foolishness, in an act that looks crazy. 00:17:55.299 --> 00:18:01.660 And that is because the infinite power and the infinite wisdom of God is this. 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:05.519 Christ crucified in our place. 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:07.660 Christ in our place. 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:11.500 That is where you find the infinite power and wisdom of God. 00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:17.480 At the cross, our sins are forgiven and paid for through the shedding of his blood. 00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:23.040 At the cross, all the powers of evil are defeated through his love. 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:27.560 At the cross, death is conquered through the resurrection. 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:31.160 Listen to the way that John Calvin puts it. 00:18:32.340 --> 00:18:33.300 He says this. 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:38.259 It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in Jesus Christ. 00:18:39.139 --> 00:18:41.740 For he was sold to buy us back. 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:44.159 Captive to deliver us. 00:18:44.639 --> 00:18:46.180 Condemned to absolve us. 00:18:46.659 --> 00:18:48.500 He was made a curse for our blessing. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.539 Sin offering for our righteousness. 00:18:51.419 --> 00:18:53.419 Marred that we may be made fair. 00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:54.940 He died for our life. 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:58.500 So that by him, fury is made gentle. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:18:59.860 Wrath appeased. 00:19:00.080 --> 00:19:01.380 Darkness turned to light. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:03.240 Fear reassured. 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:04.600 Despisal despised. 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:05.940 Debt canceled. 00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:07.160 Labor lightened. 00:19:07.660 --> 00:19:08.700 Sadness made merry. 00:19:08.840 --> 00:19:10.019 Misfortune made fortunate. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.539 Difficulty easy. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.680 Disorder ordered. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:13.920 Division united. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:14.980 Rebellion subjected. 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:16.440 Intimidation intimidated. 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:17.740 Ambush uncovered. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:18.620 Assault assailed. 00:19:19.080 --> 00:19:20.100 Force forced back. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:21.440 Combat combated. 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:22.500 War warred against. 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:23.880 Vengeance avenged. 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:25.500 Torment tormented. 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:27.240 Damnation damned. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:29.480 The abyss sunk into the abyss. 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:31.140 Hell transfixed. 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:34.079 Death dead. 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:37.960 Mortality made immortal. 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:43.339 In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery. 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:46.359 And goodness, all misfortune. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:51.140 That is where you find the infinite power and wisdom of God. 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.320 Christ in our place. 00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:57.720 And listen, this is foolishness. 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:02.259 If you think that basically at your core you're a good person. 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:06.560 This is a scandal if you're living a self-sufficient life. 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.980 If you're seeking to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps. 00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:10.620 This is crazy. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.620 This is foolishness. 00:20:12.300 --> 00:20:14.060 If there's not a holy God. 00:20:14.059 --> 00:20:18.500 And your sin doesn't separate you from him. 00:20:18.639 --> 00:20:19.579 This is a scandal. 00:20:21.859 --> 00:20:26.419 But if you know you need mercy. 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.059 If you know that you need your sins forgiven. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.179 If you know that you need rescuing. 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:36.119 If you know that you need a righteousness, not your own. 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:38.179 If you know that. 00:20:38.180 --> 00:20:38.240 If you know that. 00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:40.680 The cross is power. 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:44.019 The cross is wisdom from God. 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:47.680 Christ in our place. 00:20:49.120 --> 00:20:53.299 In the final six verses, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they weren't saved. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:56.660 Because of anything that they could take pride in or boast in. 00:20:56.660 --> 00:21:00.960 But because of the power and wisdom of God. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:02.860 Verse 26. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.019 For consider your calling brothers. 00:21:06.140 --> 00:21:08.540 Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. 00:21:09.120 --> 00:21:10.220 Not many were powerful. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:11.660 Not many were of noble birth. 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:16.019 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:19.220 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 00:21:19.320 --> 00:21:21.400 God chose what is low and despised in the world. 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:23.279 Even things that are not. 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:25.100 To bring to nothing things that are. 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:29.240 So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:32.599 And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:35.219 Who became to us wisdom from God. 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:37.740 Righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 00:21:38.199 --> 00:21:39.419 So that as it is written. 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:41.879 Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 00:21:43.419 --> 00:21:45.799 And this is why the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:47.619 Is the great equalizer. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:50.759 This is why Jesus Christ. 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:54.500 Is the true and better New York City subway. 00:21:56.099 --> 00:21:57.459 Because at the foot of the cross. 00:21:57.740 --> 00:21:59.240 No one can boast. 00:21:59.439 --> 00:22:01.579 All human pride is a race. 00:22:01.619 --> 00:22:02.839 No matter how smart you are. 00:22:02.919 --> 00:22:04.339 No matter how many degrees you have. 00:22:04.399 --> 00:22:05.639 No matter how much money you have. 00:22:06.219 --> 00:22:07.579 No matter what your last name is. 00:22:07.639 --> 00:22:08.959 No matter what neighborhood you're from. 00:22:09.879 --> 00:22:12.619 No one can boast in their own self-sufficiency. 00:22:12.879 --> 00:22:13.740 No one can be. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:16.119 At the center of the universe. 00:22:16.659 --> 00:22:17.939 At the foot of the cross. 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:19.299 The cross shows us. 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:21.740 That we are all equally sinners. 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:25.600 And that we are all equally deserving of judgment. 00:22:26.980 --> 00:22:31.160 And yet if we believe what Christ did for us by faith. 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:33.360 If we believe that he did it for us. 00:22:33.360 --> 00:22:36.700 If we believe that the cross is him in our place. 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:40.420 We are also equally loved by God. 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:40.980 And forgiven. 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:42.860 We are also equally set right with him. 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:45.860 We also all equally have his righteousness. 00:22:46.100 --> 00:22:48.580 And this is radical equality. 00:22:49.340 --> 00:22:50.980 This is radical equality. 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:52.319 The ground is level. 00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:53.480 The ground is flat. 00:22:53.980 --> 00:22:55.240 At the foot of the cross. 00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:58.360 Nobody is higher than anyone else. 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:03.359 And because the cross creates this kind of radical equality. 00:23:03.639 --> 00:23:05.459 It completely turns the tables. 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.500 On how we think about power and wisdom. 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:09.879 It completely turns the tables. 00:23:10.439 --> 00:23:12.379 About how we think about power and wisdom. 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:14.159 It completely subverts our categories. 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:16.139 And it defines for us. 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:18.639 What true wisdom and true power are. 00:23:19.899 --> 00:23:22.059 Wisdom isn't determined by how smart we are. 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:25.379 The cross shows us what true wisdom look like. 00:23:25.699 --> 00:23:26.719 What true wisdom looks like. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:31.420 True wisdom is love made flesh. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:35.819 Those who are truly wise are those who are skilled in the art of love. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:36.140 Why? 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:40.660 Because the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's wisdom there ever was. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.059 Wisdom isn't about the number of degrees we have. 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:47.579 Wisdom is about love in action. 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:48.759 It's about love made flesh. 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:52.660 The cross also shows us what true power is. 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:55.960 True power is not determined by money or status or titles. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:04.480 The cross shows us that true power is the ability and the willingness to suffer for the sake of others. 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:06.700 Perhaps even unjustly. 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:07.740 Why? 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:11.259 Because the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's power. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:17.100 And at the cross we see God who is dying for his enemies. 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:18.500 Forgiving his enemies. 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:29.920 You know a lot of people in our culture when they look at the Bible's teaching or Christian teaching about things like sin and atonement and judgment. 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:33.180 They look at it and they think it's foolish. 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:34.380 They think it's antiquated. 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:39.140 They think it is morally regressive or perhaps even harmful. 00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:42.580 You know we're more enlightened now. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:46.420 We've moved on to more positive and wiser things. 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.640 But imagine a world. 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:58.100 Imagine a world where people thought about wisdom and power through the lens of the cross. 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:00.840 Imagine that kind of world. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:06.700 Imagine politicians who would willingly lose elections because they refused to speak poorly of those running against them. 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:10.059 Because they'd rather love their enemies than hold the power of office. 00:25:10.840 --> 00:25:12.059 Can you imagine a world like that? 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:19.259 Imagine CEOs who cared more about the flourishing of their own employees than their own paychecks or personal ambitions. 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:26.100 Imagine millionaires and billionaires who willingly gave away their money to the poor to clothe them and feed them. 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:27.240 Not because they were mandated. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:30.000 Not because they were forced to but because they wanted to. 00:25:30.100 --> 00:25:33.980 Because they thought about their own power through the lens of the cross. 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:43.559 Imagine scholars and university professors who thought about their primary goal not as to gain status or to impart information. 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:47.860 But to show students how what they are learning equips them to love. 00:25:47.860 --> 00:25:57.420 Imagine if city planners and shopkeepers and artists, musicians and filmmakers, baristas, educators, policy directors, lawyers, mayors, landlords, and bus drivers. 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:03.079 Imagine if all of them thought about wisdom and power through the lens of the cross. 00:26:03.980 --> 00:26:08.120 Imagine if us if we areалось with a direct tính moment. 00:26:08.120 --> 00:26:09.599 If we look at the Toist, the virus, committed橋, democratization, parking lot. 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:10.680 In particular ways to transmit that we had through the parade in the 90s, our primary goal is to increase the 코로나. 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:27.700 seit적으로, illde estabanza, alternately, act Sanskrit,ely tekrar through the sample, period,� Alex podcast, in modernization of 117 lives before 321. 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:32.200 And if you know your American history, you know that that is the height of the Civil War, 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:34.580 the most divided time in the history of our country. 00:26:34.580 --> 00:26:38.120 And there were three founding members of this church that could not have represented the 00:26:38.120 --> 00:26:41.740 divisions of the country at that time more. 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:45.220 You had A.G. Edwards, who was on the side of the North. 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:48.160 He was a brigadier general in the Union Army. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.460 He would later serve as Lincoln's assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:56.840 And A.G. Edwards, as some of you might know, founded a financial firm that would eventually 00:26:56.839 --> 00:26:59.379 become Wells Fargo. 00:26:59.379 --> 00:27:01.279 You had Edward Burdell. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:04.279 Edward Burdell was a businessman who was a Southerner. 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:05.859 He was a Confederate. 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:11.039 His son fought on the side of the Confederacy and died in the Battle of Fredericksburg. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.220 And then you had Mary Jane Townsend. 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:17.459 And Mary Jane Townsend was a runaway slave who made her way to St. Louis where she found 00:27:17.459 --> 00:27:19.079 work as a cook. 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:20.859 And she became a ministry leader in the church. 00:27:20.859 --> 00:27:25.519 And she organized a Sunday school for black Americans who were flooding into the city. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:29.279 And she helped start a foundation to provide housing, support, and education for young 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:32.779 black women in St. Louis. 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:35.859 And these three were some of the three founding members of the church. 00:27:35.859 --> 00:27:43.059 And every Sunday, these three worshiped together at Memorial Presbyterian Church, a Union Army 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:46.359 general, a Confederate, and a runaway slave. 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:52.099 And at the time, the way that the church did communion was they had a common cup. 00:27:52.099 --> 00:28:01.819 And every Sunday, A.G. Edwards and Edward Burdell and Mary Jane Townsend, three people who 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:06.359 could not, in the world's eyes, were enemies, in the world's eyes, could not have represented 00:28:06.359 --> 00:28:08.359 the divisions in society more. 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:13.199 All three of them drank from the same common cup. 00:28:13.199 --> 00:28:18.619 The cup that represented the blood of Jesus Christ poured out at the cross. 00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:23.939 People with nothing in common, people who, in the world's eyes, should have been enemies. 00:28:23.939 --> 00:28:30.559 Coming together in radical gospel equality, radical gospel unity, coming together as one 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:35.339 family, overcoming the divisions of the 1860s. 00:28:35.339 --> 00:28:36.339 Why? 00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:39.839 Because of the power of the cross. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:42.199 Because of the wisdom of the cross. 00:28:42.199 --> 00:28:47.479 And this is what it means that the cross of Jesus Christ is the great equalizer. 00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:50.160 Before the cross, there is radical equality. 00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:51.480 No one can boast before God. 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:54.339 No one can boast before others. 00:28:54.339 --> 00:28:58.480 And if we were to think through the implications of that, if we were to let that transform us, 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:03.480 if we were to think about power and wisdom as we live our lives, if we were to let our institutions 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:09.480 be shaped by that, it would utterly transform the world. 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:10.480 Let's pray. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:11.480 Let's pray. 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:12.480 Let's pray. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:13.480 Let's pray. 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:14.480 Let's pray. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:15.480 Let's pray. 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:24.480 Father in heaven, thank you that mercy has swallowed up misery at the cross. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:32.660 Thank you that at the cross we see true power and true wisdom put on display, Christ crucified 00:29:32.660 --> 00:29:34.480 in our place. 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.480 Lord, help us to see that for ourselves. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:39.480 Help us to see that for our world. 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:45.480 Lord, would the power and the wisdom of the cross shape us deeply and form us deeply. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:48.480 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:49.480 Amen. 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:50.480 Amen. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:52.480 property for the Holy Spirit. 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:53.480 Amen. 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:56.480 Just like this mountain, we ask for our ways to look into it again. 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:58.480 Unfortunately, we're able to share our story with a beautiful purpose. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:03.019 For political treatment, we have another 문제 for us to attend the kingdom, is pointedly 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:04.480 with a circle with our students to attend the kingdom and are called by the school of mother, 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:05.519 as big children of mother, as big as small as a mother, what you're doing. 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:07.519 How much fun you make? 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:08.519 Yeah. 00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:09.680 Good job. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:14.059 Let's pray. 00:30:14.059 --> 00:30:16.019 What are those them? 00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:18.059 monies to happen in the Bible?