Foolishness?

Passage: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

In Book IV of his Institutes, John Calvin talks about the word “mystery.” Calvin points out that “mystery” appears repeatedly in Paul’s letters as the Greek term musterion. This word is, in turn, rendered sacramentum in the Latin New Testament. It is from this Latin term that we derive our word, “sacraments.”

In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about “a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” Paul goes on to talk about Christ crucified; about the wisdom of God. He describes these as “spiritual realities explained with Spirit-taught words.” Paul concludes that these things that make complete sense when interpreted by the Spirit are foolishness to those who are without the Spirit. Mysteries. Sacramentum.

When Calvin talks about the sacraments, he uses this kind of language. The sacraments convince us of and confirm that which would otherwise be mysterious; foolish. But Calvin goes on to argue that the sacraments are meaningless – foolish – unless accompanied by the Word of God. He says,
“a sacrament consists of the word and the external sign. By the word we ought to understand not one which, muttered without meaning and without faith, by its sound merely, as by a magical incantation, has the effect of consecrating the element, but one which, preached, makes us understand what the visible sign means.”
When informed by the Word and Spirit of God, the sacraments have the power to confirm our faith. They have the power to convince us that what God says is true; that God has accomplished exactly what he claims to have accomplished. The power to propel us into a life of sacrifice and service for the Savior.

Anyone without the Spirit only sees little cubes of bread. Ridiculously small cups of juice. Drops of water. Foolishness. By his Spirit God has unlocked the musterion; the divine wisdom of the means of his grace. Christ crucified; the washing of water; the taking of a holy meal. All of which signify and seal our oneness with the one who gave up his body that we might live; who poured out his blood that we might be clean. Foolishness? Mystery. Sacramentum.