First, once again I’m struck by Paul’s brilliance. Even when scolding them for putting too much stock in rhetorical excellence, he does so in a way that is rhetorically brilliant! But I’m especially captured by Paul’s ability to see the deep, subterranean issues. Ostensibly the issues were incest, taking others to court, food offered to idols, spiritual gifts, etc. But beneath that Paul could see a deeper issue: division based on social status, a skewed understanding of wisdom, and spiritual inclinations. But even further beneath that he could see the deepest issue: a failure on the apart of the Christ-followers in Corinth to understand the implications of “Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Which leads to the second thing that struck me: the stunning relevance of this message for today. For we still prefer triumphal theology; we still struggle with hyperspirituality. We want God to be our genii; we offer assurances that our prayers will be answered the way we think they should be; we insist on our best life now.

Their primary understanding of spirituality was glory now; Paul’s was suffering now and glory ahead. His deepest theological conviction, in other words, was cruciform. A word of the cross: foolishness to some, a scandal to others, but to those of us who are being saved the power and wisdom of God. Because we follow a faithful, crucified Messiah, we should expect suffering and humility now with glory ahead.

Does that mean prayers are never answered? No. But it does mean that our faith does not tenuously await a certain answer. We live in the mystery of it all, knowing that God is good no matter what happens. For we follow a crucified one.

A dear friend of mine who’s been praying for a family member was recently told by a woman that she had a word of the Lord for him: he just needed to claim what he was praying about. . . . Welcome to the Corinthian heresy. Just name it and claim it. Just like Jesus.

Oh, wait. That isn’t just like Jesus. He prayed for the cup of sorrow to be removed, but as a Faithful Son he bore the suffering and shame on our behalf. From him we learn a way to suffer and a way to live in humility with others . . . while anxiously looking for the resurrection and glory ahead!

The Corinthian form of spirituality always winds up dividing. It is full of knowledge (which “puffs up”), but short on cruciform love (which “builds up” – 1 Cor. 8:1). In contrast, the self-giving love of Jesus “is not self-seeking” (13:5).

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and 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 human wisdom, but on God’s power” (2:2-5).