Paul And Wisdom Series

August 26, 2012

Lessons on First Corinthians

By: Tom Lowe

Lesson 2.4: Paul and Wisdom

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2.1-5

1 Cor 2.1-5 (KJV)

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Introduction

Verses 1-5 In this passage the apostle reminds the Corinthians how he acted when he first preached the gospel to them. Friends, I need to say this and I hope you are not offended; but, I don’t think Paul could make it as a pastor today, because he seems to have only one subject for his sermons; and today our ministers must entertain us, manage a staff, visit the sick, teach a Sunday school class, attend every church meeting and function, preach three times a week, etc. He says in verse 2, that He determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and him crucified —that is, to know nothing but this, to preach nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Jesus Christ, is the sum and substance of the Gospel, and ought to be the grand subject of a gospel minister’s preaching. His job is to display the banner of the cross, and invite people under it. Any one that heard Paul preach discovered that he harped so repeatedly on this topic that he could truthfully say he knew nothing but Christ and him crucified. Whatever other knowledge he had, this was the only knowledge he revealed, and was willing to spread among his hearers. The manner in which he preached Christ is also found here; expressed negatively and positively.

• Negatively. He came not among them with excellency of speech or wisdom, (v. 1). His speech and preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, (v. 4). He did not appear to have the charisma of a fine orator or the confidence of a deep philosopher. Neither his speech, nor the wisdom he taught, communicated human skill. Divine wisdom does not need to be adorned with such human ornaments.

• Positively. He came among them declaring the testimony of God—the Gospel, (v. 1).

Commentary

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

And I, brethren,

Paul has shown, in the preceding chapter, that God chose the things and persons which the world calls foolish, and weak, and of no account, and lowest parts of society, in order to confuse the world's wisdom and to overthrow its power. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are” (1 Cor 1:27-28; KJV). In this passage, he shows that this harmonizes with the means he used when he started the church at Corinth. He begins with “And I” (“So I”, is better), because he is relating his personal experience. He was one of the "foolish, weak, and despised" instruments employed by God; and while he was with them, he “gloried in the Lord," not in man's wisdom: “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31; KJV). The apostle continues to address them in a tender and affectionate style: he calls them brethren, which may be his way of reminding them of the loving relationship he wishes existed between him and the church leaders, and also between the members of the church, wh0 had split into competing factions.

when I came to you,

The meaning of this clause is this: when he first went to Corinth, and began preaching the gospel there, as related Acts 18:1-10.

Paul left Athens after concluding that the Gospel made little progress among the Athenians—“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth” (Acts 18:1; KJV). We don’t know how long he ministered in that place, but one supposition is around three months. The distance between Athens and Corinth is forty-five miles by sea. The Acropolis of one city can be plainly discerned from the other, making Corinth a logical pick for the apostle’s next mission field. The first people he met there was a Christian couple named Aquila and Priscilla, who were tentmakers by trade, like Paul. He ministered in Corinth for more than a year and a half, supporting himself by tent making.