1 Corinthians 2 - The Key to Successful Preaching!

1 Corinthians 2 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

This is a very important passage because Paul dispels any notion that the effectiveness of his preaching ia anything else but the Holy Spirit working through him. Athens in Greece was the intellectual captital of the world at that time. The orators and philosphers gathered on a weekly basis to talk about spiritual and philosophical matters. 

But Paul kept his message simple. He gave his testimony about God, which was based on the facts. Paul's message centered on the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection three days later. We see Paul as powerful, with masterful oratorial skills. But, in fact, he was very fearful of facing the powers that be. Paul's goal was not to be loquacious and sophisticted. He wasn't trying to compete with the worldly philosophers who showed their intellectual prowess. He relied solely on the Holy Spirit's power to make the gospel come alive in the hearts of the believers in Corinth. 

Remember he is talking to the Corinthian church, who as I mentioned were spiritually immature. Part of it was that they were not grounded in the truth of God's Word. They were focused on human personalities, instead of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of the Risen Savior. Paul hoped that by deflecting away from himself, their faith would never be based on him, but Christ alone. 

Today in the church it is also easy to get caught up in personalities. There is nothing wrong with a leader have charisma and being an effective communicator. Those are gifts given by God to be used for His glory. At the end of the day, as we will see throughout this letter, Paul will continue to emphasize the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, as they fuel for the Christian life, and for the growth of the church. 

Where do you need to rely more on the Holy Spirit, as you live out the Christian life, and give your testimony about what Jesus has done in your life?

Could you say with Paul, "I desire to know nothing less than Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ crucified? 

What part of your sinful nature would you have to crucify to be more reliant on Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus, thank you that you bring people in our lives that have shared their testimony about who you are and what you did for us? Help us to keep our focus on you alone, not any human personality. May your Spirit guide us in all we do to show that our power is even made perfect in weakness. Amen.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Matthew 18:6-9 Causing to Stumble

Causing to Stumble 6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. Reflection: Matthew reminds us today that we don't live only unto ourselves. Our actions have repercussions on others either directly or indirectly. This is especially true for children and youth, who are impressionable. I still remember when I was...
Read more

"Everything in Moderation" ...Is that in the Bible?

1 Corinthians 6 12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. You have heard the saying, "Everything in moderation". While that may be true in some sense, it really depends what that "everything" is. Crack cocaine in moderation? Sex with a prostitute in moderation? A glass of wine in moderation? A Big Mac a day in moderation? You see the point! While that may seem like an extreme argument, Paul is trying to snuff out a problem in Corinthians church. The problem was people were dabbling in sexual immorality and saying it was okay. Since they were forgiven what would it hurt to engage in a little bit of fun. But when you read the list of the things in the verses above...
Read more

Is the Baptism of Lydia's Household In Acts 16 A Biblical Example of Infant Baptism?

  Lydia of Philippi Believes in Jesus This is another huge story for our missiology as Christians. Paul and Silas went on the Sabbath down to the river out to see if there were any Jews meeting there. Sure enough they ran into Lydia, a wealthy woman, who dealt in expensive purple cloth. She was a God seeker, and when she heard Paul's message, she believed, and she and her WHOLE HOUSEHOLD were baptized.  Why is this story important?  1. A influential woman comes to faith and leads her whole household to Jesus. Later, the church of Philippi becomes a major and influential in the 1st century church. This is one of the first instances of a woman playing a leadership in the church. This gives credence to the idea of women being in leadership of the church. There are others instance of women playing key wrongs in the growth as well in Acts too.  Remember Galatians 2:20 "In Christ there is no Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female, but all are one in Christ Jesus!"...
Read more