The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 28

m this matter; he sharply rebukes those who would transform Paul into Pope. Avoid- ing every occasion of increasing the evil, he rejoices that he has not baptizcd many Corinthians, lest this should be wrested into an attempt to acquire pre-eminence, and consequently dishonour fall upon the pre-eminent Christ. Some Church uivisious may seem necessary: for example, when professors walk disorderly or embrace erroneous ,iews. [t may be then our duty to separate; yet we should preserve the spirit of cha_rity, and seek to be most loyal to Christ. But how many Church divisions are more or less after the Corinthian type !-H. Vers. li-25.-The preachi11g of the cross. I. THE CROSS IS TO BE PREACHED. 'l'he gospel cannot be preached unless the cross is. The cross is the central fact. 'l'he con• verging point of the Scriptures is found in "Christ crucified." ,vithout the cross Christianity becomes meaningless and powerless. Salvation and the cross are indis- solubly linked: the cross speaks of the shedding of blood, "and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heh. ix. 22). II. THE CROSS JS TO BE PLAINLY PREACHED. As" not many wise,, are called, it is but reasonable that the unwise and simple-minded should be specially borne in mind. The offence of the cross is not to be lessened by "wisdom of words." KnowledO'e of the meaning of the cross is the deepest need of the world; all things should be ~ub- ordinated to conveying that knowledge with utmost clearness and fulness. Men can- not be saved by eloquence, or philosophy, or learning; they can by the cross. "The great preachers have been natural orators, not rhetoricians or actors." The greatest care is necessary lest, by the character of our preaching, the cross of Christ should be mane of none effect. Some preaching seems designed for the very purpose, and succeeds deplorably. Ill. THE CROSS IS TO BE PREACHED, NOTWITHSTANDING ITS UNFAVOURABLE RECEPTION. Some, indeed, receive it with all gladness, but our obligation to preach it is not dependent upon its reception. We may always remember that the cross is what men want, though it may llilt be what they wish. 1. To the Jew the cross was a stumbling-block. He 1ooked rather for a military than for a martyr Messiah-one who would deliver by sound of trumpet and sword, not by ignominy and death. If he is to believe, he must have signs from heaven (ver. 22), miraculous interventions, and not a reiteration of the event which was the greatest scandal to his mind, and most grievously shocked his prejudices and anticipations. The Jew put the cross very low down. We can make anything into a stumbling-block if we will only put it low enough. 2. 'l'o the Greek the cross seemetl foolishness. That the great revelation for which he and the world had been looking so long should come through a crucified Jew, and be most closely asso- ciated with that crucifixion itself, appeared to him too absurd. He would have wel- comed a philosopher with a new philosophy. He sought after wisdom-that is, his wisdom. In the cross there was too profound a wisdom for even his keen eye to discern, and so he called it folly. He thought the cross was shallow, because he was shallow himself, though he little suspected it. Further, he desired philosophic demon- stration about matters of religion, and had a great horror of "faith." And his pride was wounded (and that which wounds our pride is always folly). That all must come to God by the same way, making a similar confession of sin and impotence, was in conflict with his most cherished ideas. The approach of barbarians to the cross made· it a way of foolishness to the Greek. There are many "Greeks" now. !V. THE CROSS IS TO BE PREACHED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IT OPERATES AS A GREAT TEST OF CONDITION. The character of its reception indicates the condition of those who hear. To some it is foolishness-but only to those that are perishing. Only to them I They are so utterly blind that the brightness of the cross is blackness. To others it is the power of God and the wisdom of God-and they are the saved. 'l'hey are" both Jews and Greeks" (vcr. 24). The new nature has conquered the old. All is changed when the heart is. These Jews sought for power; these Greeks sought for wisdom; and here both were found when Jew and Greek responded to the Divine call. I. We may well ask ourselves-What is the cross to us? The answer will indicate whether we are perishing or being saved. The preaching of the cross to us is a personal test. 2. In preaching the cross, we should strive and pray that it may not be foolish- ness to our hearers, knowing what this would indicate. 3. In preaching the cross, we on. 1. 1-31.J THE FIRS'r EPISTLE TO TllE CORINTHIANS. 27