Tuesday · Jul 7
God’s Power to Save Us
The message of 1 Corinthians 1:18 is easy for us to understand. What the Cross means to us depends on how we look at it. If we fight against God, the Cross is silly to us. If we love God, the Cross has the power to save us.
What did Jesus do for us on the cross? Read Colossians 1:20 and 1 Peter 2:24 for the answer.
When we look at 1 Corinthians 1:18 in the Greek language, we learn something very interesting. Paul says, “Those people are destroying themselves [their own lives]” (EASY). The people are the cause of their own suffering. So, they are lost.
In 1 Corinthians 1:19 , Paul uses a quote from Isaiah 29:14 . In verse 19, we read that God causes the people to be destroyed. But wait a minute. Didn’t we just read in verse 18 that the people destroy their own lives? At first, we may think that these two verses say different things. But the verses do fit when we understand what Paul is really saying. The idea in verse 19 is that God will destroy the people who are already destroying their own lives.
Compare the lost sinners to the people that God saves ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 ). The lost sinners destroy their own lives. But “it [what happens] is different for us, the people that God is saving” ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 , EASY). This verse shows us that only God can save us. The plan to save sinners comes only from Him. Do you see that Paul says God is saving us? We are not saving ourselves. We, of course, can’t do that. We can destroy ourselves. But only God can save us. His saving love is a gift that He gives to sinners. As we see in 1 Corinthians 1:21 , God saves people who believe. So, silly people reject the gift God offers them in the cross of Jesus ( 1 Corinthians 1:30 ). When they reject this gift, they destroy their own lives.
“If you serve sin as your master, it will pay you with death. But if you belong to our Lord Jesus Christ, God gives you a gift! That gift is life with God for ever” ( Romans 6:23 , EASY). How does this verse also say what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18, 19 ?