The Conquest of the Cross
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:17-25 NASB)
Were you ever involved yourself or witness to (when you were in grade school) one of those schoolyard verbal skirmishes that would erupt when some claim made by one kid regarding his father was challenged by another? The conversation quickly deteriorated to ever escalating boasts by the parties involved of whose father was stronger, or had the most money, or whose dad was the bravest, or knew the most, or whose father…Most often the tit for tat exchange would end when one of the contestants would make a ridiculously exaggerated claim upon his father that was an obvious desperate attempt to regain ground lost to the truth. I don’t ever remember a clear winner, just some boys with red faces and a lot of mumbling retreating back into the schoolhouse. Saved by the bell so to speak.
Could the Apostle Paul be doing a little exaggerating about his heavenly Father? Has he too, like the schoolboy debater overstepped with his claim that the foolishness of God is wiser than men or the weakness of God is stronger than men? In his zeal has Paul attributed to God the attributes of foolishness and weakness? If the Bible is God’s inspired Word, then is God foolish and weak to any degree? This is where the original language speaks clearer than our translated English.
Conservative Lutheran theologian R.H. Lensksi points out that what is spoken of is “the foolish thing of God is wiser than…” and “the weak thing of God is stronger than…” The ‘thing’ is the cross, God’s instrument upon which Christ would make atonement. This whole conversation has to always be drawn back into the context of the conquest of the cross. What would appear as a foolish thing and a weak thing is still far more than man’s wisdom or his strength. On the cross, where Jesus died, God proved His wisdom and His power not only to defeat sin, death, and the devil but to also leave man’s pride in a smoldering heap. Like the kids in the schoolyard, there is no intelligent comeback to this claim.
When we ponder the cross upon which Christ died, what He suffered on our behalf, and what He accomplished for our sake, all by God’s predetermined plan born out of His love, planned out by His wisdom, carried out by His strength, we should be left speechless. The life changing work of the cross is when our own heart in one of His conquests. Only words of thanks and the sacrifice of praise should come from our lips. “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. (Daniel 4:2 NASB)
