Daily Lesson for Sabbath 4th of July 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
1 Corinthians 1:17-31, Colossians 1:20, 1 Peter 2:24, Acts 13:16-47, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
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).
C icero, a pagan Roman writer and orator, had told the Roman people to not even think about the cross, so abhorrent was it as a means of death. Although Cicero died about a half century before Jesus was born, his statement illustrates the contempt with which the Romans had held the cross. It was so bad that they should not even think about it.
In contrast, Paul would write: “The message of the cross . . . is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NIV). For Paul, the Cross is the instrument of reconciliation between God and man (Ephesians 2:16, Colossians 1:20), the supreme symbol of Jesus’ humility (Philippians 2:8), and the place where our immense debt was paid (Colossians 2:14).
The Cross is Paul’s answer to the problems in Corinth. You don’t have to go very far in 1 Corinthians to realize that he is very concerned about one major issue: divisions in the church. Paul is so perplexed that right after the greetings (1 Corinthians 1:1-3) and the thanksgiving section (1 Corinthians 1:4-9), this is the first topic he addresses (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). This week, we will turn to the powerful message of the Cross as the answer to this problem and to other issues in Corinth.
