Our Origin Story

THE TAKEAWAY:

God invited you into his master plan, and Jesus paid for your “registration fee” by dying on the cross for your sins

MESSAGE:

In almost every comic origin story, the hero is minding their own business when suddenly a wizard, nuclear radiation, or an alien gives them something special. Then they decide to fight crime. But that’s never been true about the X-Men. They were born with the homo superior gene and could manifest it as a teen. They always lived with their superpower. While most golden and silver age comics relied on normal humans receiving powers from a superior being, the X-Men had it in them the whole time. It’s no wonder they consider themselves superior.

Paul’s first theological argument to the church in Corinth was to explain how they had received their “salvation powers.” The church wanted to believe they were superior, smarter, and salvation experts, dunking on the rest of the world because they solved the Christianity equation. They took pride in their spiritual upbringing, claiming their teachers gave them special insight into God’s kingdom, while the others produced garbage.

Paul’s message was simple, and he had to be very simple and talk slowly to the Corinthian church for them to understand. God called them to the wisdom of Jesus. It wasn’t their teachers, their genes, or their personality that got them to cross the finish line. They couldn’t brag about their understanding and upbringing.

This message couldn’t be more relevant today. We have denominations, spiritual revolutions, and political ideologies that compete to prove we figured out God’s mind. Whether it’s the smarty movement pitying the poor souls who didn’t grow up with Luther’s teachings or the holy movement lamenting that others are not pleasing God nearly as much as they are, it’s all worthless competition.

God invited you into his master plan, and Jesus paid for your “registration fee” by dying on the cross for your sins. Now we are all on this journey together to obtain the righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that Jesus embodies.

FIGURE IT OUT:

28God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist, 29that no flesh should boast before God. 30Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”

1 Cor 1:28-31

  1. Circle some keywords or phrases that are significant to you. What makes them important?
  2. What does Paul’s admission of “God chose the lowly things” say about us?
  3. What makes Christ the ultimate goal or treasure in this passage?
  4. How can you remind yourself that your faith is a gift from God (and not a puzzle you mastered)?

Small Group Bonus:

Everyone in the group shares:

  • One feat they wish they could brag about (trivia, dunking, master builder)
  • How do you feel knowing you couldn’t follow and understand Christianity on your own?
  • What part of your faith journey do you believe God has given special attention to (patience, prayer, faith)?

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