I invite you to turn with me for our Scripture readings tonight to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. The text for our consideration is verse 18 of chapter 1. We read together beginning at verse 10 through chapter 2, verse 5. 1 Corinthians 1, beginning at verse 10, as we hear now the Word of God. I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you, and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household, have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this. One of you says, I follow Paul. Another, I follow Apollos. Another, I follow Cephas. Still another, I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. So no one can say that you were baptized into my name. Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God, for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. Beloved, let's bow together in prayer. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, indeed, O Lord, what a privilege it is for us to come together again tonight, drawn by the power and influence of Your Holy Spirit as those who desire to worship You in this evening, to come together as a people of God, to enjoy that wonderful communion of the saints in Your presence, as well to join together around Your table, the table of our Lord Jesus Christ prepared for us. Indeed, O Lord, that table has been prepared by Jesus Christ and Him alone. We thank You, O Lord, for the message of the cross of Jesus. That powerful message. That message unto salvation. Father, we thank You that indeed salvation's joyful song has been heard in our hearts by the illumination of Your Holy Spirit. We confess, O Lord, that we do not desire to be called Your people. We do not desire to have been brought out of darkness into Your marvelous light. We deserve, O Lord, we deserve to have been left in our sin and shame to perish forever and ever. But Father, with humble hearts, yet hearts filled with joy, we thank You and praise You for Your mercy and Your grace in our lives. And Father, we pray that for those who do not yet know You. Whether it be those who are close to us, our children, our brothers and sisters, maybe our parents, our best friends, other acquaintances that we may have, may it be our desire, Lord, that they too know the truth of the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that they indeed come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord. That they too might have the salvation full and free, so rich that we have enjoyed, that we continue to enjoy today and look forward to the completion of it one day in glory. And Father, we pray too for our children. Our children, especially those who are here, our young children, as they continue to learn to be taught by us, as well as here in the church and also in the school, to be taught about the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ and our need for that saving sacrifice. That for our children it might not only be a head knowledge, but by the power of Your Spirit it would also become a heart knowledge. Father, we pray too, especially for our children who are away at college as they are away from our watchful eye as parents and even as elders of this church. Bless them, O Lord. Even while they are away, may they worship with Your people in whatever place they are at. By the power of Your Spirit, may they too grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. May they know Your continued blessing and even as they are being prepared for life outside of their parents' care, as they prepare to take their place in society, we ask, Lord, that You would equip them and prepare them for that. Father, we pray tonight for those who need You in a special way. There are so many of our number who continue to struggle with the difficulties of this life as well as those of our acquaintances and loved ones and dear ones in other places. You know them all full well. Watch each one. Guard, guide, and protect them. And Father, although we do pray for healing and strength and relief from the difficulties of this life for your people, if it is your will, most of all we pray that those who are enduring the difficulties of this life might enjoy your comfort, your peace that passes understanding, your strength to endure the difficulties of this life. Continue to be with us as a congregation as we go forth from day to day. Continue to strengthen us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray too that if it is Your will, You would use us in some small way to bring the message of Jesus to our neighbors, to our co-workers, to those with whom we have contact. Father, we pray tonight that You would illumine us by the power of Your Spirit. We have read Your Word about the foolishness of the message preached. And we know, Lord, that the world sees what we are doing, even at this moment, as something that is utterly foolish, when there are so many other things that we could be doing during this time and on this day. But, Father, we thank You that Your foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of men that You have given to us the illumination in our hearts and minds by the power of Your Spirit to see the truth of Your Gospel. Strengthen us, we pray, this night. We pray that as we hear Your Word preached, You would stir each one of us by the power of Your Holy Spirit that we might indeed sing and shout out, Alleluia, what a Savior! That indeed, Lord, we might not leave this place the same as we entered it. We would go forth into this night and into this week as more faithful servants of the Most High God by Your grace. We ask, Father, that You would hear our prayer, not because we deserve that You should hear us, but for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Beloved, tonight as a family of God, as those who have come together again at the close of this day to worship our God, we have also come together tonight to do that which we have prepared to do through self-examination, and that is to celebrate the Lord's Supper. But you know, this sacrament that we call communion, where the bread and the juice will be passed around by the elders, where the minister says the appropriate words and then we eat and drink. You see, none of this makes any sense to the world, to those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, what is it that we are trying to accomplish by all of this? Because let's be honest, even the youngest of the boys and girls here know that this small piece of bread that we will take in our hand and this tiny sip of juice isn't enough to satisfy our hunger. It has very little nourishing value for our physical bodies. It simply isn't enough for survival. Well, you see, it's not what we accomplish by our participation in this supper, but what God accomplishes in us by the power of the Holy Spirit for Jesus' sake. He nourishes our souls with the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and strengthens our faith. All of this in a spiritual way as we physically eat the bread and drink the juice. But the reason that all of this is meaningless to the world outside of the church is because the Lord's Supper, this table that is prepared before us, is the visible message of the cross of Jesus and what He accomplished on that cross. This table is the visible message of the victory of Jesus Christ for the sake of His church. And therefore, as Paul says in the text, the message that this table proclaims is foolishness to so many. Yet it's also eternally meaningful to those who participate in true faith. You see, in reality, there are only two kinds of people. I'm not talking about ethnic background or skin color, but there are only two kinds of people in the world and that which divides them is the message of the cross. I preach to you the two-fold result of the message of salvation. Paul also explains in colorful language in 2 Corinthians 2, verses 15 and 16. He's talking about ministers and he says, For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. The aroma of Christ to both those who are being saved and to those who are perishing. Then he goes on in verse 16, To the one we are the smell of death, to the other the fragrance of life. Now before we consider exactly this two-fold result, notice first of all that this message of salvation is a message of sacrifice. When Paul speaks of the cross, he's not talking about just any old cross. We know that crucifixion was common in those days. In fact, there were times when the Romans conducted mass crucifixions. Hundreds, even at times, thousands were crucified at one time. Punishment unto death by crucifixion was a slave and a criminal's death. It was reserved for the lowest of the low. And as well, Deuteronomy 21, verse 23 says, anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. And therefore, crucifixion was also a sign of God's displeasure with the one crucified. Many were put to death by crucifixion on the cross, even as it is reported, the Apostle Peter, who we read was put to death upside down at his request because he did not feel worthy to be crucified the same way as his Lord. But Paul is talking about a specific cross, boys and girls, not the one that's up on the wall here behind us. Not any other cross that anybody else might have died on. It's as if, he says, for the message of the cross, that one particular cross, and the cross he is referring to is the one he spoke of in verse 17, the cross of Christ. The message of the cross of Christ is a message of sacrifice, Christ giving himself in the place of and for. We sometimes sing these words about that cross. Upon that cross of Jesus, mine eye at times can see the very dying form of one who suffered, therefore, me. And from my smitten heart with tears, two wonders I confess. The wonders of His glorious love and my unworthiness. You see, that cross of Christ points to an actual historical event which is filled with eternal meaning. Our Lord Jesus Christ died a criminal's death, but His death secures the eternal destiny of man, both for those who believe in Him and for those who reject Him. It secures the eternal destiny of both. The message of Christ's cross is the message of that wondrous and that great exchange, His death for my life. And that message of sacrifice teaches of man's sin and his urgent need for salvation from that sin. And that message of sacrifice reminds us that we couldn't pay for our sins no matter what we tried. We needed another to do it for us. And that message reminds us that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as we sing, suffered in the place of and for His people. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us. That we might become the righteousness of God. That in Him we might become the righteousness of God. In that message of sacrifice, beloved, we are to see the humiliation and the shame that our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself. Indeed, the physical pain and torment as well as the eternal pain and torment of the eternal punishment of all of God's people that He took upon Himself. And as we see that and understand that, we are to understand that that was mine and it was yours. It belonged to all of God's people. But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. And by His wounds we are healed. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He removed it from you and me completely and eternally. Christ's crucifixion, His atoning and satisfying work on the cross is the only way that our sins could be removed, boys and girls. That's expiation. Sometimes you hear that word and you need to know what it means. expiation means the removal of the curse and the guilt of our sin, to expiate our sin. But also His atoning and satisfying work is the only way that God's wrath and anger could be pacified against our sin. That's propitiation. Propitiating God's wrath. That's what we enjoy by the grace of God. What a glorious message. The wonders of His glorious love and my unworthiness. A glorious message. Yet it's not glorious to everyone. It's no surprise that the Lord's table, the Lord's Supper, and what we do in the Lord's Supper is foolishness to the world, and that's because what it represents is considered to be foolishness. The message of salvation is also a message of death. As Paul says, the smell of death. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. This is one of those sides of the two-fold result of that message of salvation. Now we need to remember that Paul was writing to the church in Corinth in order to admonish them for a number of troubles and compromises in the church. One of these struggles was drawing attention away from Christ and exalting certain preachers with the result of dividing Christ. Dividing the gospel. Paul says in verse 12, what I mean is this, one of you says, I follow Paul, another I follow Apollos, another I follow Cephas, So another, I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Paul teaches them that Jesus Christ and He alone is to be their focus. Not any particular preacher of His Word. Unity among God's people is to be found only in Christ. But another problem was that some in the church were mixing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wisdom of the world. And by doing this, they were watering down the Gospel message. You see, beloved, that was a day of worldly wisdom and philosophy of men, exalting man and his abilities, great thinkers and speakers of that day who were able to astonish the people with their wisdom to talk about things such as life and the soul and what happens after this life. Here comes Paul who doesn't even try to compete with the great philosophers and the speakers of his day. And Paul tells why. It's because he didn't want to draw away from Christ and His cross. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. He says in verse 17, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. And again, chapter 2, the first part, When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. And that's exactly what got Paul laughed at by the great thinkers of his day. He comes with shaky knees. He doesn't have confidence like we do. They laughed at him. We all know, of course, that in the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul could have out-philosophized any one of the great philosophers or speakers of his day. But because of how Paul came to them, according to the world's standards, he didn't compete with those who meditated upon and spoke with such wisdom, again, about life and about the soul and about the origin of all things and about what happens at death. Things that were way over the heads and beyond the understanding of the common man. But you know, this stuff must be worth something, right? you know how it is if you can't understand someone then it must be good, right? If they're a lot smarter than you are they must be telling the truth. Then there's Paul with that simple yet profound and powerful message of the cross. Yet for those who were caught up with the wisdom of this world who desire to follow man's way and reject God's way to them this message is foolishness it is silly it is absurd it is stupid in a certain sense of the word because it doesn't make sense. We can't reason it out. There's no intelligence in it. This describes the attitude of those who are perishing. Perishing here describes anyone and everyone who is not in Christ Jesus. Yes, beloved. Anyone who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is perishing right now. The message of the cross is foolishness to those whose minds have not been enlightened through new birth by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a message of death to those who are in the midst of that spiritual death. They are perishing even as they live this life. And apart from new life, because of the cross of Jesus, their end will be eternal death. And that's because the message of Jesus and His cross, and the preaching of that message, as Paul adds in verse 21, is foolishness to those who trust in man's wisdom. We know that the Jews of Jesus' day, especially the scribes and Pharisees, expected an earthly royal Messiah who would be some sort of a great earthly leader and who would dazzle the world by delivering the Jews from the heavy hand of the Romans. That's what they deserved. Something like that. Something really classy. Something really awesome. You see, in their thinking, there's no way that He would have a humble appearance. That He would die such a terrible death on the cross which was a curse of God. Because in the wisdom of the world, victory means killing the enemy, not being killed by the enemy. In the wisdom of the world, the cross is a sign of defeat, not victory. It's a sign of weakness, not strength. It's a sign of curse, not blessing. You see, the world wants evidence they can sink their teeth into. That they can reason in their own mind. That makes sense to them. And they want supernatural signs. As Paul says, verses 22 and 23, Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. Where is the proof? You see? Where's the evidence that this man, Jesus, who died on the cross, we saw it happen? Where's the evidence that He rose again from the dead? Where's the evidence that He ascended into heaven? Where's the evidence that He reigns and rules today? Where's the evidence that He's coming again? Where's the evidence that there is new life and salvation in Him? John Calvin, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, speaks of those who consider the message of the cross as foolishness. And he describes them as being intoxicated with false confidence. Or we might paraphrase that to say, drunk with their own eagles. And he goes on, and fearing not, in other words, not being afraid to subject God's sacred truth to their senseless criticism. Something that ought to make man shake. But it doesn't. They're not afraid to take the truth of God and to tear it apart, to rip it up and say, well, this must be true, but that's not. I can believe this, but that's beyond belief. This is necessary, but we don't need that. And then Calvin gives what I believe to be a good explanation of why it is foolishness to the natural man. Listen, he says, nothing is more absurd in the view of human reason than to hear that God has become mortal that life has been subjected to death, that righteousness has been veiled under the appearance of sin, and that the source of blessing has been made subject to the curse, that by this means men might be redeemed from death and become partakers of a blessed immortality, that they might obtain life, that sin being destroyed, righteousness might reign, and that death and the curse might be swallowed up. Yes, what he says is so true, filled with opposites though. That's why the world can't grasp it. And there are so many that are the same today. There was nothing attractive, you see, about the cross of Christ that should draw men, that should attract the natural man to that cross. After all, beloved, where is the hope of salvation in one who cannot save himself? And how could you trust in one who was condemned as a criminal? We don't do that. You see, we all know that this isn't the way that man thinks and works. But Paul says in verses 25 and 27, For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. You see, through Jesus Christ and His cross, God has worked in a way that is the very opposite of the wisdom of sinful man. And beloved, this can only be understood and accepted by faith. As our God says to His people, do you believe me? Do you trust me? Yet again, so many reject the cross of Jesus and the message of that cross. We know that that's true even in many churches today as the truth of the gospel isn't being preached, but how to live a good life, how to be happy, how to have confidence, but not the truth of Jesus Christ. So many reject it. It's no secret that many consider the preaching of that message to be foolish and silly and absurd. And that means that every time your unbelieving neighbors see you leave your house on Sunday dressed in your Sunday vest just to go to church, they see foolishness. And as the cars enter the church parking lot one by one, the world around the church, maybe many in the apartments across the street, just shake their heads thinking, what a waste of time. Unless, of course, they're completely ignorant of what is taking place at all, which could be the case. A few years ago, as the Michigan winter was being replaced by spring, I thought about this. We were driving to church one Sunday evening. We had about a five-mile drive through much residence. A beautiful spring day, and I noticed that people were out enjoying the day. Some were walking, others rollerblading, some bicycling, others playing in the yard, some working in their yard, maybe some cleaning the garage. And they look at God's people and they laugh at what they see as foolishness as there are so many other things that we could be doing with our time on this day. Things, of course, that are worthwhile, right? But what is it that we do? By the grace of God, we prepare for worship and we gather with the communion of the saints to hear God's servant, A sinful servant at that. But to hear God's servant preach the message of the cross. As well, and this is the ultimate in foolishness for the world, we support the preaching of that message with our hard-earned money, whether it be through our offerings or Christian education, including seminary, training preachers to preach, or supporting mission work. Think about that. We're training seminaries to preach the Word of God. We're helping with that. Why? What good are they going to do in society? They're not going to help build skyscrapers that can withstand a jet fly into it and not explode. They're not going to be working on a cure for cancer. What good are they doing? We're supporting foolishness in the eyes of the world. Beloved, those who consider the message of the cross to be foolish are perishing. They reject the only message that can deliver them from their present condition and their certain eternal death. Jesus said in John 3, verse 18, whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. And as believers, we cannot and we must not just stand by and watch them perish. We are called to take the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Now, we don't know what God will do with that Gospel. And as I've said many a time, That's not our business. We are called to bring it. To see to it that it is brought. And our desire must be that they enjoy the same benefit that we enjoy because of the message of the cross. And that's because, by God's grace for us, it is a message of life, a fragrance. A sweet-smelling fragrance of life. But to us who are being saved, the text says, it is the power of God. We know that the Bible teaches us that the believer's salvation is a present reality. It's ours already today. But Paul can say being saved as if it's in process because we do not yet have the fullness of that salvation in this life as we still live in the midst of a world of sin. We will one day when we are released from this world of sin. Yet, that message is the power of God unto new life for His people. That message, the content of that message, that message contains or includes all that is included in the cross of Christ through Christ's sacrificial and saving death. And then that message and what it contains offers all that Christ has accomplished through His saving sacrifice. And then finally, that message by the power of the Holy Spirit gives all of the benefits, all the merits of Christ to those born again to new life by the Holy Spirit. As that message of Christ's cross enters the ears and penetrates the heart of one prepared by the Holy Spirit, by the power of God that one is raised from spiritual death and given newness of life. That message, beloved, is the crown of the believer's life as through the power of that message the believer recognizes his sin and misery. He humbles himself in the sight of the Lord and he seeks his salvation, not in himself, but apart from himself, only in Jesus Christ. And through that message, he is crowned with the gift of salvation which he receives and believes by faith. But the power of God, the power of that message does not end there. It continues, you see, that's why Paul says to those who are being saved, as the very same power of the message of that cross continues to nourish and strengthen the faith of God's people our whole life long until the day our Lord takes us. You see, human wisdom cannot save even one from sin. And great speaking cannot even begin to reconcile one to God. Only the simple yet powerful truth of the message of Christ's cross and all of His benefits to me, benefits including the forgiveness of sins and everlasting righteousness and eternal life and the presence of the Heavenly Father, the powerful truth of that message accomplishes new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's why we believe. That's why we believe. And that's the simple yet powerful message of the Lord's table. His death for my life. What a wondrous exchange. And therefore, beloved, tonight as we consider the Lord's table, we are not to dwell on our Lord's suffering and shame on the cross and the physical and even spiritual pain that He endured. We must know the truth of that. We must understand the reality of what our Savior went through, but we are not to hang our heads in sorrow and say, Poor, poor Jesus. No. We are called to rejoice and sing, Hallelujah, what a Savior. Because life, eternal life is something to rejoice about and to celebrate. People of God, those who enjoy the confidence of salvation are saved by the power of God, which includes faith that sees the glory of the cross and faith that believes the truth of the cross. And therefore, tonight, as we remember and believe that Christ's body was given and His blood was shed into a complete remission of all our sins, may we rejoice in God's goodness to an undeserving people and may we give thanks for His sacrificial love.