Daily Devotions
1 Corinthians
"To preach the gospel..."
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:17
THE CALLING OF GOD
Paul was very conscious of his calling from God. His calling had many aspects. One of the most outstanding areas of ministry was the preaching of the Gospel.
“For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to
preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ should be made
of no effect.”
1 Corinthians 1:17
1. “For Christ”
a) Once again, we see how conscious Paul was of the Person of Christ.
b) The word “Christ” when used by itself has the following nuances:
i) The word itself means “The Anointed One”.
ii) It is the Messianic Title of the Lord Jesus.
iii) Within this word is His Authority.
iv) Christ certainly had the authority to send someone to preach (Matthew 28:19-20).
2. “Did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel”
a) Paul was not disparaging the ministry of baptism.
b) Neither was he downplaying the significance of baptism.
c) The focus here is the preaching of the gospel.
d) There was a very strong sense of understanding of the purpose given to him by Christ.
3. “The cross of Christ”
a) The content of the Gospel is simply stated as “The cross of Christ” in this text.
i) The gospel itself, of course, is rich and full of meaning.
ii) Four Gospels were written to explain the message of salvation.
iii) Paul effectively summarised the gospel into this single powerful phrase.
b) “Not with wisdom of words”
i) Paul was conscious of the prevalence of “secular” or “worldly” wisdom.
ii) The message of the cross of Christ to some was not palatable in terms of worldly wisdom.
iii) They try and modify the message of the gospel; Paul rejected this approach outright.
c) “Made of no effect”
The gospel message cannot be modified or diluted! To attempt to do this would be to render it ineffective! Paul was fully aware of it and thus he made this strong declaration.