Paul starts off his letter to the believers in Corinth condemning division in the body, then he jumps into what divides believers from unbelievers--the preaching of the cross, the mystery of God. What separates Jesus from everyone else who has ever called himself Messiah is the mystery of the cross. Jesus was executed on what the Greeks called the *stauros*. Stauros literally means stake, but over the years it has come to be known as the cross. No one would ever expect that a man who was crucified, arguably the worst way to execute someone, would be so important in world history the worldwide calendar would be marked by his birth. The mystery is not the crucifixion--many people have been crucified. The mystery is that God accepted his sacrifice as payment for the sin of everyone who believes. He was God made flesh, who died on the stauros, but was raised from death and now lives and reigns in the heavenlies. That is the mystery we discuss in this session.