The Cross Principle
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“For He was
crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak
in Him, but in dealing with you we will live with Him by the power of God.” 2
Corinthians 13:4
Paul understood this principle
well. He saw the need among the believers in Corinth, especially, to grasp it.
The Corinthians were boasting in men and their abilities. He presents the
problem, as he begins his first epistle: “Each
one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow
Cephas, or ‘I follow Christ’” (1:12). From there, he alluded to water baptism
and the confidence that the people were placing in the agent who baptized
(v.14-15). In chapter three, he returns to this Corinthian dilemma and
attributed it to carnality, which was based on having mere human mentality: “For while there is jealousy and strife
among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving only in a human way? For when
one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not being merely
human?”
This mentality is colliding
with the mind and nature of God, as well as the heart of the message of the
gospel. What is the heart of this message? Paul said it is the “word of the cross” (1:18) and a few
verses later, he declares, “I decided to
know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (2:2). The message was singular and Paul had two ways
of defining it, as far as any earthly school of thought was concerned, among
Jews and among Gentiles. He said that they would think that it was foolish and weak! (1:23-25).
It was the message of One who
surrendered His hands and feet to be nailed to a cross, where He hung helpless,
while His life’s blood flowed from His veins. “He was crucified in weakness.”The cross was the Roman mode of criminal
execution; it was a shame and an offense. The person who hung there was nothing;
he was a public disgrace. The world was not looking for a bleeding Conqueror or
a dying Champion, but Paul said that this was our message and he wanted no
other!
He showed that this message
could not be approached along the lines of human wisdom, because that wisdom
was contrary to God and God said, “I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I
will thwart” (1:19)… “The wisdom of
this world is folly with God” (3:19). What was the individual to do, if he
considered himself a possessor of human wisdom? What was the professor of
Christianity to do, if he thought himself wise in earthly wisdom? Here is Paul’s
answer: “If any man among you thinks
that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may become wise” (3:18).
Weakness joins with foolishness
in this message and in its presentation. The one who felt himself strong in
human strength, talent and ability, had to become weak, so that he could be
truly strong. It is essential that the strong and the wise release their grip
on earthly, human strength and wisdom in order to receive the godly wisdom and
power that come from above. To those who are called to grasp the message,
taught by the Holy Spirit (2:13), it is the power and the wisdom of God, which
surpasses all human, earthly power and wisdom.
Paul saw the need for his
preaching to match his message. His message was the cross of Christ and that
message was foolishness to them that are perishing (1:18), therefore his speech
could not be one of cleverness (1:17). “I
did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom,
… and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom” (1
Co.2:1,4). Here is the testimony of his own personal presence during his stay
in Corinth: “I was with you in weakness
and in fear and much trembling” (v.3). Paul is showing through his person
and his preaching that neither he who
plants nor he who waters is anything…” (3:7).
He did not fare any better in
Galatia: “You know that it was because
of weakness of the flesh that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and
that which was a trial to you in my flesh you did not despise” (Gal.4:13,14).
Neither the Galatians nor the Corinthians received the gospel through a strong
personality or a clever preacher. What they did receive was “Jesus Christ… publicly portrayed as
crucified” (Gal.3:1) and through the agency, wisdom and power of the Holy
Spirit working through Paul, “you
received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself” (4:14).
The apostle, you see, identifies
with the crucified Christ in our text: “For
we also are weak in Him”. This is the principle of the cross and it applies
to the Christian. We must live and minister by it. It must be so, because “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2
Co.12:10). It must be so, because “God gives
the growth” (1 Co.3:7). It must
be so, because “my message and my
preaching were… in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might
not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God”(1 Co.2:4,5). It must be so, because “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Co.10:4). It must be so, because “of the power of God directed toward you” (2
Co.13:4). Therefore, Paul maintains,
“If I have to boast, I will boast of
what pertains to my weakness” (2 Co.11:30).
We are useless to God, when
we operate in our strengths, intelligence, talents and so-called natural “gifts”.
You don’t have to worry, God will see to it that His true servants maintain a
position of weakness. Here is what happened to Paul: “To keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me” (2 Co.12:7). That verse is a
strain on some people’s theology; that is, the fact that God gave to Paul a messenger
of Satan to torment him. I think it’s time that we understand, who sits on the
throne in heaven and reigns. He, who is sovereign Lord over all of heaven, is
also sovereign Lord over all of mankind and He is sovereign Lord over the
kingdom of darkness.
To those who don’t receive
the love of the truth, “God sends them a
strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may
be condemned who did not believe the truth” (2 Th.2:11-12). Similarly in the
case of Ahab, “The Lord has put a lying
spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster
for you” (1 K.22:23). As we all know, the Lord allowed the devil to get to
Job on two occasions, attacking his possessions, his family and finally his
health. God turned it all into blessing. Finally, we have the case of Peter, in
which the Lord saw his need to become weak and fail. All was necessary in order
that he would lose confidence in himself and throw himself into God’s hands.
Throughout the Bible, the
cross principle is at work, bringing down the strong and using the weak, so
that no flesh can glory in His presence. Abraham couldn’t have children,
because Sarah’s womb was sterile and she was too old. Isaac and Rebekah had the
same problem with barrenness. So did Hannah, Samson’s parents and in the New
Testament, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Moses was too strong in Pharoah’s court, so
he became the shepherd of his father-in-law’s sheep. God thinned Gideon’s army
down to 300. David was too young and untrained for warfare. Israel time and
again has been threatened to the verge of extinction right up to this day.
 |
| Edward Payson |
I have read enough
biographies to know that the principle continues after the time that the
biblical canon was completed. I read about the great man, Praying Payson, whose
knees wore grooves in the wooden floor by his bedside, and became like a camel’s
knees. In the middle of his very
successful life and ministry, his mind was ravaged with thoughts of atheism. He
had to go to the pulpit, for a period of time, to preach about a God, whom he
doubted existed. The Lord brought him through victoriously.
Spurgeon related openly of
suffering a time of depression. Charles Finney was smitten with thoughts that
he had been deceived and that he was deceiving people. The Lord strengthened
and delivered him. And Newton, ah poor John Newton… let’s just let his poem
tell the story:
Prayer Answered with Crosses
Written in 1779 by John Newton (1725-1807)
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace
Might more of His salvation know
And seek more earnestly His face.
Twas He who taught me thus to pray
And He I trust has answered prayer
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request
And by His love’s constraining power
Subdue my sins and give me rest.
Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part.
Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Cast out my feelings, laid me low.
 |
| John Newton |
Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?
“Tis in this way”, the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”
“These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou mayest seek thy all in Me
That thou mayest seek thy all in me.”
That thou mayest seek thy all in me.”
What means the Lord uses to
bring us to our knees in weakness and helplessness in order that we look only to
Him for our strength! Much to our surprise, His life flows through us during
those terrible times of darkness, ministering grace and healing to others, with
whom we come into contact. That’s the principle of the cross. It is not the
popular principle of our day, to be sure, but the reason is not because God has
changed His ways, but because the church has erred greatly. Like the
Corinthians, it has taken on the carnal mentality of mere men, who exalt human
ways and abilities. And for that reason, as well, we lack so much among us the
power of God and the wisdom of His ways.
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