Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“The Power and Wisdom of the Spirit Working Through Paul”
I Corinthians 2:1-5
Basic Outline
Address and Introduction (Greeting and Thanksgiving) 1:1-9
I. Reproof for fleshly behavior 1-6
II. Response to questions and issues 7-16
Conclusion 16:5-24
I. Reproof for fleshly behavior 1-6
A. Reproof concerning divisions 1-4
1. Opening appeal for unity 1:10-17
a) Encouraged them to unity 1:10
• Keep on speaking the same thing
• Stop letting divisions continue among you
• Be restored to the same thinking and judgment
b) Exposed their disunity
c) Confronted their man-centered focus
2. The Biblical foundation for Unity 1:18-4:5
a) The priority of Christ and the cross 1:18-31
• Stop focusing on mere men with their limited power and wisdom.
• God established Christ and the crucifixion as the focal point of the universe.
• God deliberately uses the weak things of the world to keep the focus on Christ.
• If you are going to speak or boast or unify around someone, let it be about Christ!
b) The Power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit 2:1-3:4
(1) The Holy Spirit’s teaching ministry through Paul 2:1-5
(2) The Holy Spirit’s enlightening ministry in believers 2:6-3:4
The Holy Spirit and Paul
AND I came declaring the testimony of God (as one of those weak instruments boasting the Lord)
NOT
with superiority of words or human wisdom
FOR
I determined not to know anything except Christ and Him crucified (perfect tense)
and I was with you in personal weakness, fear and much trembling
AND
My message and preaching were
NOT
in persuasive speech or human wisdom
BUT
in demonstration of the Spirit and power
SO THAT
Your faith would rest (exist, be)
NOT
on man’s wisdom
BUT
on God’s power
There are some lessons here both for teachers and learners speakers and listeners.
Paul described his ministry in Corinth by the power of the Holy Spirit. He first described the point of His visit. He then described the manner of his teaching both from a negative and positive aspect. The “AND I” connects this argument to the previous indicating that Paul consider Himself a perfect example of how God uses weak things. Paul included himself in the group he mentioned in chapter 1.
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 1 Cor. 1:26
He goes on to contrast his weakness with the preferred manner of the hot “preacher or orator or philosopher” of the day. The Corinthians were drawn to those who would dispense all manner of human wisdom and speculation. Wisdom being the application of data to life; the accepted way of thinking and living. Therefore you can have the human or fleshly way of doing things and living and the revealed way of doing things from God.
Man’s wisdom -vs- God’s wisdom
James contrasted man’s wisdom with God’s wisdom.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18
Today we might consider wisdom a word-view. It is our conception of why things are the way they are and how they should be according to God’s revelation. The Corinthians were drawn to those whose words tickled the ears and pleased the mind. Paul went to Corinth from Athens “declaring the testimony of God.”
“declaring” = solemnly declare, tell, report to a group, preach,
to announce, with focus upon the extent to which the announcement or proclamation extends—‘to proclaim throughout, to announce, to speak out about.’
This was a word derived from the Greek word for “angel” as a messenger or announcer of God. What did Paul declare? Paul went to Corinth to declare the “testimony of God”.
There is some argument as to the actual original text here. Some Mss have the word “mystery” (musterion) and others the word “testimony (marturion). Most translators consider the word “testimony of God” to be the most likely original word. The term “mystery of God” will come up later in the chapter. Paul went to Corinth to declare the words which God had given to Him. His passion was God’s testimony concerning life and truth.
The truth of God was his message. What about his manner or method of preaching?
The preaching methods used by Paul here would most likely not be promoted or taught in many homiletic classes today.
NOT with superiority of speech (words) or wisdom.
Paul didn’t depend on great oratory or intellectual sounding words or philosophy.
Maybe a reference to those who were hung up on Apollos’ style rather than message.
Paul avoided teaching his own thought or ideas or those of society.
Paul did not use high sounding words to show off his speaking ability.
FOR (reason for avoiding high sounding words and ideas)
I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified
He already clued us in on his passion earlier in the letter.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified 1 Cor. 1:17, 22-23
Paul didn’t get caught up in the side issues of the day. He had already determined not to get sidetracked from declaring the Gospel. His focus did not center on Christ as great teacher or moral example or even a prophet or founder of a new religion but as the Son of God crucified, risen and coming again. His aim was to preach Christ as the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.
To the Jews a stumbling block because they were looking for the conquering King.
To the Gentiles foolishness because they felt no need for a Savior.
I was a bit surprised to find Paul using a perfect tense form of “crucified” here. One would expect to find a point-time tense verb here. Jesus was CRUCIFIED, period! The perfect tense indicates an action which took place in the past that has continuing impact into the future. Here we are talking about the power of the cross continuing 2000 years after the fact. The cross of Christ not only affected those living at the time but became the once for all sacrifice for all people for all time. See Rom 6:10; Heb 7:27; Heb 9:12; Heb 10:10; 1 Pet 3:18
Christ crucified was Paul’s message and passion. He determined to focus on nothing else.
Today, I am afraid we have become sidetracked from the message of Christ and Him crucified. Preachers teach about everything but a crucified Christ. Preachers try not to offend people by talking about sacrifice and sin. Many choose not to even have a cross in their building lest it offend someone. Many look to teach the latest pop-psychology fad. If the world were to see the amount of print space and energy being expended in the public square by Christians in America, what would they say the passion of the church is today?
It is not what we are for -- declaring the testimony of God - Christ in you the hope of glory. It has become what we are against -- homosexuality and abortion. It is not the spiritual transformation of the heart but political change of the laws. Jesus was not a political activist. You didn’t find him lobbying to change the laws on prostitution, homosexuality and even abortion or slavery. Yet the teaching and ministry of Jesus has done more to affect those things over time. Jesus came to change the heart of individuals which brought fundamental changes in the laws of society as a whole. Where we have experienced genuine revival of the hearts we found corresponding changes in the surrounding society. It is time to determine to concern ourselves with Christ and Him crucified.
Paul courageously admitted that such a calling was outside of his personal comfort zone.
AND I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling.
Paul gives us a pithy peak at his emotional state. He describes his feelings with three words.
“Weakness” = to be without strength
James encourages those “without strength” to call for the elders to pray. Paul realized that even with many credentials and a superior education and training, the task of accurately proclaiming the Words of Almighty God left him helpless. He struggled with a sense of personal inadequacy. He called himself the “chief of sinners”. Some say that Paul perhaps struggled with a physical impairment or infirmity of some sort. Some historians believe he was a short bald guy with epilepsy, crooked nose and poor eyesight. All this however is mostly speculation other than we do know that he had some sort of physical infirmity that might have been cause for others to look at him a bit differently.
but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself. Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Gal 4:13-15
Whether this had anything to do with the demonic affliction allowed by God the Paul talks about in his second letter to the Corinthians we don’t know.
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a angel of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:7-10
What an attitude. Most of the time we are trying to cover our weakness and accent our strengths. God likes to capitalize on our weakness in order tot demonstrate His strength. Paul did not depend on human abilities alone. Even some of the Corinthians were not all that impressed with him.
For they say, "His(Paul’s) letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible." 2 Cor. 10:10
Paul was not wealthy nor did he practice a trade that carried notoriety among the high society. He was a tent maker; considered and occupation just slightly above a slave.
Are we content with weaknesses?
Do we avoid ministry because we feel we aren’t strong enough?
Do we allow our sense of inadequacy to prevent genuine ministry?
Then we are trying to function in our own strength. Remember, God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the strong.
Moses began his ministry with a superman mentality. He was ready to conquer the world; at least Egypt. He felt called to deliver Israel from 400 years of Egyptian tyranny and was ready to do it one Egyptian at a time. He discovered his woeful inadequacy to accomplish God’s purposes with man’s strength. Forty years in exiled in the desert completely broke him. When God was ready to call him up for service he was totally intimidated and reluctant to tackle anything but herd sheep. He mounted excuse after excuse at how inadequate he was in spite of God’s promise after promise guaranteeing how adequate He would be on Moses’ behalf.
• I will be with you.
• I will demonstrate My power by three irrefutable miracles.
• I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say.
• I will allow Aaron to be your spokesman.
I think perhaps we are most usable when we feel the weakest. It is when operate out of our own power and abilities that we lose the power of God.
Do you feel inadequate to be a servant of God? You are in good company.
Paul struggled not only with a sense of personal inadequacy but experienced fear.
“Fear” = panic, fright, terror, intimidation, sense of awe, reverence
Number one fear in America is the fear of public speaking even above fear of falling.
This is not a light word. It is the word “phobos” from which we get our English word phobia. What is the deal here? You rarely get the impression that Paul was afraid of anything except God. Some try to discount the fact that Paul was afraid of people at all but his fear related to the weight of the responsibility of establishing and maintaining the church. I think it was genuine fear because God addressed it according to Acts 18. It seems that the Jews in Corinth rejected his message and he confronted their unbelief.
But when they (the Jews) resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." Acts 18:6
And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Acts 18:9-11
Beyond the personal threats from opposition who drug him into court Paul also understood the awesome task of establishing a church in a metropolitan city and faithfully proclaiming the testimony of God. Such fear seems contradictory to many other passages that direct us to “Fear not!” At times David displayed great confidence in the face of fearful circumstances.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me? Psalm 56:4
Yet other times we find David dreading what man might do to him.
Then David said to himself, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand." 1 Samuel 27:1
The ideal is to so trust God that we need not fear people or circumstances.
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
Fear has been a way of life since the fall. It was the very first emotion expressed.
Adam was afraid so he hid. It will be a continual struggle and provides continual opportunities to increase our trust. God does not promise to protect us from every painful person or circumstance, but He does promise to never, never, never leave us or abandon us. Courage is not facing difficulty without fear. Courage is faithfully obeying God in spite of our fear. Paul didn’t run or quit. Paul stayed the course. He fought the good fight and continued to proclaim the Gospel for a year and a half in the midst of venomous opposition.
One physical manifestation of fear is to tremble or shake.
“trembling”= to quake, shake or tremble, quiver from fear
They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:8
Sometimes we actually shake on the outside but often times we shake on the inside. Paul fought with “butterflies”. Paul struggled with public speaking. Paul experienced a sense of personal weakness and intimidation about the task and the opposition that caused him to shiver at times. The point is he did not let such emotional struggle distract from the mission. He continued on in spite of the fear and trembling and sense of personal weakness.
The impact of his message did not come from human ability. In spite of his weakness Paul emphatically declares one more thing about his ministry.
AND my word (God’s word really) and preaching were NOT in persuasive words of wisdom.
Not only did the impact of Paul’s preaching not depend on the right use of superior words but it did not depend on personal charisma or persuasiveness or arrangement of words to indicate a polished philosopher or orator. It was neither his manner nor his words. So many times we can be moved and motivated by a “Motivational” speaker, walk out and never do anything about what we heard. It only reached our emotions. True change must come from within through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. We are transformed by the renewing of our thinking by God.
BUT (my words and preaching were) in demonstration of the Spirit and power
Paul diverts attention from himself to Christ and the power of the Spirit to communicate the testimony of God. Paul’s whole point here is to understand that words are words but there is a power behind words that impact beyond the intellect and emotion to the core of one’s being. It is the spiritual power behind the words that affect not only the mind but impact the depths of the soul and spirit. There is power that not only comes from the Holy Spirit but from the evil one as well.
But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. 1 Cor. 4:19
Paul did not depend on human power but on the power of the Spirit. His message and preaching demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit.
The word translated “demonstration” was a technical term referring to an irrefutable testimony in a court case. Paul’s preaching of the Gospel came with irrefutable testimony of changed lives by the power of the Spirit. Perhaps he was referring to the lives changed in Corinth and the evident of spiritual gifting in ministry.
Can we point to irrefutable le evidence that God is working through us?
Have we become so used to human results that we stopped expecting supernatural results?
So THAT (purpose)
your faith would not rest(exist, be) on wisdom of men, but on power of God. 1 Cor. 2:5
Paul yielded to the power of the Spirit as a weak vessel so that there would be no doubt as to the source of power in ministry and life change. It was not the words or the style of message that changed lives but the power of God. Paul did not want people to put their faith in his words or ideas or philosophy but on the God who declared His testimony through him. Paul’s intentional avoidance of philosophical argument, and emotionally stirring words and nice sounding words had a definite purpose. His confession of weakness, and fear and trembling also had a definite purpose.
Paul did all he could to connect the Corinthian’s focus on Christ and not people.
Paul urged them to stop focusing on people rather than Christ.
Their focus on the instruments instead of the conductor was the cause of their dissention.
Paul wanted them to find both wisdom and strength from their relationship with Christ.
Paul called them to center their faith on the power of God to transform lives not on the speculative theories of men as to how life should or could or might work.
He reinforced the point that the power of the Gospel is neither in the person nor the presentation but in the power of God and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.
Sermon in a sentence
The Holy Spirit empowers anyone who will focus on Christ and depend on Him.
Lessons to live by
• Christ and Him crucified is our primary message!
• No one is too inadequate to be used by God.
• Never let fear and trembling prevent you from obedience and effective ministry.
• Don’t get so enamored with the style you miss the intended message of the Spirit.
• Rely on the Holy Spirit to convincingly demonstrate His power through you.
What has the Spirit of God said to you today?
What does He want you to know or learn?
How does He want you to feel differently?
What does He want you to do?
