And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2
Paul was unequivocal in his determination to keep his life
and ministry stayed only on Christ and His cross. This was a resolve for
him, and for him, there was no other message worthy to be preached,
besides Christ and Him Crucified. His life was a testimony of the
radical transformation that resulted from his encounter with the
crucified Christ.
As we look at the messages of the other apostles, Paul’s
insistence on Jesus and His crucifixion can be verified. Both they and
Paul had a singular commitment to the message of the cross. They shunned
every other message, no matter how appealing it seemed, and the reason
they did so was because they did not want the people's faith to rest on
nothing, but on what was born of the Holy Spirit.
They
could have avoided the harsh persecutions they suffered in the hands of
the Jews by presenting a message that was not centred on Christ only,
but they understood that only the message of the cross could communicate
the power of God to save and free man from slavery to sin.
When the message shifts from the cross, it turns to the
ability and performance of man. Apart from the cross, man is left to his
fleshy strivings that profit nothing but distress upon distress. When
any message turns from Christ, the Holy Spirit ceases to be in control
because He only confirms what was done on the cross as that is the only
thing by which Jesus is glorified. It was for this message that most of
the apostles suffered and died.
Their refusal to add a little bit of the Law of Moses to
the message of the cross of Christ, earned them the harsh persecution of
the Jews. If this is the story of the ancient who passed on the message
of Christ to us, what should our message be? It can’t be anything
different from theirs, and still be a correct doctrine of Christ.
Toni
