Memory Text:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”
—1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV
Have you ever noticed that people often think something must be complicated before it can be deep?
We want an impressive argument.
A philosophical explanation.
A system that sounds intelligent.
A method that feels advanced.
But God gives us a cross.
A crucified Savior.
A dying Messiah.
In the then known world, that crushed their every expectation of the coming Savior. They were looking for a mighty warrior, not a babe born on a manger.
They were looking for a revolution, instead they see a teacher of transformation.
And instead of a King, they got a Person hanging on a cross.
It looks foolish. It does not look like power. It looks weak. It does not look like victory. It looks like defeat.
But Paul says that the message of the cross is “the power of God.”
That means heaven measures power differently from earth.
Christ Crucified
The church in Corinth was divided. Some said, “I am of Paul.” Others said, “I am of Apollos.” Others said, “I am of Cephas.” But Paul brought them back to one piercing question:
1 Corinthians 1:13 NKJV
“Was Paul crucified for you?”
That question ends all boasting in men.
Was Paul crucified for you?
No.
Was Apollos crucified for you?
No.
Was your favorite preacher crucified for you?
No.
Was your preferred leader, theologian, teacher, or church group crucified for you?
No.
Only Christ.
Therefore, the church must not gather around personalities. It must gather around the cross. Of course, there are numerous individuals who were also crucified. But only one was a God. Only one was sufficient enough to give atonement for fallen men.
This is why Paul says:
1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV
“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Paul was not against thinking. He was not against reasoning. He was not against study. He could reason from Scripture. He could speak to philosophers. He could engage the minds of his hearers.
But in Corinth, Paul knew that cleverness was not enough.
Ellen White writes:
“He decided to follow another plan of labor in Corinth… He determined to avoid elaborate arguments and discussions, and ‘not to know anything’ among the Corinthians ‘save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.’”¹
This is important.
Logic has its place.
Arguments have their place.
Apologetics has its place.
Theological study has its place.
But none of them must replace the cross.
There is a kind of preaching that is clever but not converting. There is a kind of teaching that is impressive but not saving. There is a kind of argument that wins debates but does not win souls.
The goal is not to make the speaker look brilliant.
The goal is to make Christ look beautiful.
The Gospel on the Cross
Ellen White said,
“Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel.”²
That line is everything.
Christ on the cross was not merely showing the gospel. Christ on the cross was the gospel.
There we see sin for what it is.
There we see love for what it is.
There we see justice and mercy meet.
There we see how far God was willing to go to save us.
She continues:
“This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer.”²
This means the cross is not merely one doctrine beside other doctrines. It is the center around which all doctrines must gather.
This is especially important for us as Adventists.
We believe in the Sabbath.
We believe in the sanctuary.
We believe in the judgment.
We believe in the Second Coming.
We believe in the Three Angels’ Messages.
We believe in the prophetic gift.
But if these truths are separated from Christ crucified, they can become dry, cold, and even frightening.
A crossless Sabbath becomes legalism.
A crossless sanctuary becomes a chart.
A crossless judgment becomes fear.
A crossless prophecy becomes speculation.
A crossless health message becomes pride.
A crossless Adventism becomes information without transformation.
But when every truth clusters around Christ, doctrine becomes beautiful.
Ellen White writes:
“The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster.”³
That is the key.
All other truths cluster around the sacrifice of Christ.
Foolishness and Power
Paul says the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
Why?
Because the cross offends human pride.
The Jews wanted signs. The Greeks wanted wisdom. But Paul preached Christ crucified.
Not Christ merely as a Teacher.
Not Christ merely as an Example.
Not Christ merely as a Miracle Worker.
Not Christ merely as a Prophet.
Christ crucified.
A crucified Messiah was not what people expected. The Messiah was supposed to conquer Rome, not be executed by Rome. He was supposed to sit on a throne, not hang on a tree.
But God’s way of conquering was different.
Christ conquered by surrendering.
He won by dying.
He overcame by bearing.
He defeated Satan by letting Satan do his worst.
That is why the cross looks foolish to human wisdom.
But Paul says:
1 Corinthians 1:25 NKJV
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The cross is foolishness only to those who do not understand it.
To those who are being saved, it is the power of God.
At the cross, Christ bore our sins.
1 Peter 2:24 NKJV
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”
At the cross, Christ reconciled us to God.
Colossians 1:20 NKJV
“Having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
At the cross, Christ redeemed us from the curse.
Galatians 3:13 NKJV
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.”
At the cross, Christ defeated the powers of evil.
Colossians 2:15 NKJV
“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
So the cross is not merely a symbol.
Something happened there.
Sin was exposed.
Love was revealed.
The curse was borne.
The debt was paid.
The enemy was defeated.
The sinner was given hope.
Adenilton Aguiar summarizes Paul’s emphasis well: through the cross, Christ redeems, reconciles, justifies, defeats evil powers, and calls believers into a new life in union with Him.⁴
The Worst of Man and the Best of God
At Calvary, we see the worst of man.
We rejected Him.
We mocked Him.
We stripped Him.
We nailed Him.
We killed Him.
But at Calvary, we also see the best of God.
He forgave.
He endured.
He bore.
He gave.
He saved.
Sin did its worst.
Love did its best.
That is why the cross is both terrible and beautiful. Terrible, because it shows what sin really is. Beautiful, because it shows who God really is.
If sin were a small thing, Calvary would be an overreaction. But if Calvary was necessary, then sin is more deadly than we think.
And if Christ willingly endured Calvary, then God’s love is greater than we imagined.
The cross tells us two truths at the same time:
Sin is worse than we feared.
God is better than we hoped.
Living Under the Cross
The cross is not only something Christ died on. It is something the Christian lives under.
Paul says:
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
The message of the cross is not only about forgiveness. It is also about transformation.
Christ died for our sins. But in Christ, the old self also dies. Christ rose from the dead. And in Christ, we rise to walk in newness of life.
To be saved by the Crucified One is to become cross-shaped.
A cross-shaped Christian is humble.
A cross-shaped Christian forgives.
A cross-shaped Christian serves.
A cross-shaped Christian does not boast in self.
A cross-shaped Christian lives for the glory of God.
This is what Corinth needed.
And this is what we need.
Conclusion
The world wants power without weakness. God reveals power through weakness.
The world wants glory without suffering. God reveals glory through suffering.
The world wants salvation through achievement. God gives salvation through a crucified Savior.
So we must keep coming back to the cross.
When we are tempted to boast, come back to the cross.
When we are tempted to despair, come back to the cross.
When we are tempted to divide over personalities, come back to the cross.
When our preaching becomes clever but not Christ-centered, come back to the cross.
When our doctrines become information without transformation, come back to the cross.
Because hanging upon the cross, Christ was the gospel.
Discussion Questions
- Why did the message of the cross seem foolish to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews?
- How can eloquence, arguments, or theological knowledge accidentally hide Christ?
- What does it mean that all Adventist truths should cluster around the sacrifice of Christ?
- How does the cross destroy boasting and heal division in the church?
- What would it look like this week to live a more cross-shaped life?
Endnotes
- Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1911), 244.
- Ellen G. White, Manuscript 49, 1898, in Manuscript Releases, vol. 21 (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 1993), 52–53.
- Ellen G. White, Sons and Daughters of God (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1955), 221.
- Adenilton Aguiar, First and Second Corinthians: The Essence of Christian Life and Witness (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2026), chap. 2, “The Message of the Cross.”
- Adult Sabbath School Lesson 2, “The Message of the Cross.”
Paul’s letters to the Corinthians are a powerful study of Christian life and witness. As we look at the message of the Cross, the power of the resurrection, and the grace that forms God’s people in love and fellowship, may our lives be drawn closer to Christ and His mission.