NOTHING BUT CHRIST (1 Corinthians 2:2)
Paul’s words to the Corinthians echo through every generation of believers who long to see Jesus clearly: “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” In those few words, we hear the heartbeat of a life wholly surrendered to Christ. He was done chasing after the wisdom of this world. He was finished seeking approval from men. Paul had found the one treasure that outshines every other—Christ Himself.
He prayed for others to see what he saw—that the eyes of their understanding would be opened to the riches they already possessed in Christ. He was not seeking more knowledge about life; he was seeking more of the Life Himself. To know Christ was enough. To walk with Christ was everything. To lose all else but gain Him was to be truly rich. Paul’s thoughts, his prayers, his actions, his very breath—all centered in the Son of God. His life was a circle drawn around a single point: Jesus Christ.
How easily our own hearts are distracted from that simplicity. We live in a noisy age that pulls our attention in a thousand directions. Yet Christ still whispers to every soul, “Follow Me.” He will not share the throne of our hearts with another. He will not be one of many loves—He must be all. To have Christ is to have all we truly need. To follow Him is to leave behind every lesser pursuit. He will have first place, or no place at all.
We often speak of giving God our “best,” but He asks for more. He calls for our all. He will not rest until every part of us is His—our thoughts, our time, our desires, our words. For when He reigns there, the soul begins to sing again. To be wholly given to Christ is not loss, but life. It is freedom from self and fullness in Him.
Many of us, like the Corinthians, have leaned on human wisdom. We measure spirituality by appearance or knowledge, forgetting that true wisdom is not found in clever speech or lofty thought, but in the humility of the Cross. The world looks for novelty; the disciple looks for Jesus. The world chases feelings; the believer clings to faith. Christ alone is the power and the wisdom of God, and everything apart from Him fades like a shadow at sunrise.
This devotion to Christ does not happen by accident. It begins with a choice—an inner determination like Paul’s: “I determined…” The Christian life is not driven by impulse but by holy resolve. Each morning we must choose to look again toward Calvary and say, “This is where I belong.” The nearer we stay to the Cross, the nearer we remain to God. Every step away from it leads us back toward the emptiness of self.
Knowing “Christ and Him crucified” is not a dry doctrine—it is a daily connection with the living Lord. His death was not only for us but with us. When we believe, we are united with Him in His death and in His resurrection. His life flows through ours like sap through the vine. We are not imitators of Christ; we are indwelt by Christ. His holiness becomes our strength. His Spirit becomes our song.
All true Christian living grows out of this union. We do not live for Him by trying harder but by abiding deeper. We do not gain power by striving but by surrendering. And when Christ fills the heart, conversation changes, priorities shift, and the fruit of love, peace, and joy begins to appear naturally.
So let us, with Paul, glory in the Cross. Let it be our theme, our confidence, our song. Let the world chase its wisdom, while we cling to the old rugged tree. For through it, we have been crucified to the world and the world to us. Every boast fades, but Jesus remains.
If He is absent from your conversation, seek Him again until your lips overflow with His name. For the heart full of Jesus cannot stay silent. The mouth will speak what the heart treasures.
Heavenly Father, teach me to see everything through the light of Your cross. Empty me of pride and fill me with the wisdom that flows only from knowing You. Let my heart rest in the power of Your sacrifice and my life be a reflection of Your love. May every thought, every word, and every step be centered in You alone. Draw me nearer each day until nothing remains in me but Christ and Him crucified. Amen.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
