THE CROSS AT THE CENTER
Four hundred thousand people lived in the crowded confines of the three-mile long Isthmus of Corinth. It was an international city with a strong Greek culture. There Paul labored for a year and a half to start a church. Finally, the group came together and the great apostle moved on to Ephesus to start a church. However, things did not go well at Corinth. Paul heard of severe problems in the young church. He wrote them a stern letter, much as a loving father would correct his erring child.
Apparently factions had divided the church, and unwholesome practices threatened its purity. Some even questioned the preaching of the cross, and false teachers were taking advantage of the situation to preach their own particular brand of religion. Thus, Paul writes this Epistle to say that (1) the cross is the center of all our preaching; (2) immorality must not be condoned; and (3) strife in the church must be settled and that which caused division should be eliminated. From a heart of love and concern, Paul pleaded that the church unite and present a bold front to the world.
At the heart of 1 Corinthians is the cross of Christ. The message of this book is very plain. We must never substitute a social gospel for the cross. To the unbeliever, the preaching of the cross may seem foolish; but to the redeemed, it is the power of God. For our time, the message of 1 Corinthians is most meaningful. The heart of our preaching, teaching, and testifying must be the old rugged cross on which the Son of God died.
“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT
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