Christ Is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God

Meditations for Ragamuffins

May 1, 2024

Christ Is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God

It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 

When the Jews anticipated a messiah, they were looking for one like King David who would lead a mighty army to restore the fortunes of Israel. A crucified Messiah didn’t fit their expectations. When the Greeks thought about a messiah, they had in mind one like Plato. When the Apostle Paul met with the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, they were amused by his description of a God who would humble himself and become flesh. A crucified in the flesh messiah didn’t fit their expectations.

Still today, many in our world are offended by Jesus. Still today, many in our world say the ways of Jesus are nonsense. We live in a time when more and more the Christian faith is being marginalized by the powerful. More and more, the voices we hear in the mainstream media are of those who are offended by Jesus, or the voices of those who think the Christian faith is all nonsense. As I contemplate my place in this world, I am often drawn to the Apostle Paul’s magnificent prose on the Supremacy of Christ:

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything   in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:16-20)

My Takeaway: I raise my voice to the naysayers and proclaim with Paul, “. . . to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Yes, and Amen. 

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.