“For I determined not to know anything while I was with you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you with weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not words of wisdom and persuasive, but with demonstration of the power of the Spirit, so that your faith is not based on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:2-5)
In this passage, Paul describes the difference between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God. He wrote that God causes men to stumble in their worldly wisdom. The work of salvation is not intellectual enlightenment but a work of the Spirit of God drawing us to Christ. He becomes the Wisdom of God for us.
Paul then illustrates his point by describing how he acted when he was with them. It intentionally focused on two things: Jesus and his death on the cross. He knew that the Greeks liked intellectual debates, but he also knew that he needed to focus on what mattered. How far from the central truth we often wander when we begin to try to prove our points, tit-for-tat, with a skeptic. When Christ draws them, they will yield or not. How many arguments have you seen in which neither side was open to anything the other said? I think that describes most of the arguments. Paul reminded the Corinthians that he did not follow this path of trust in the mind of man. He did not cajole or plot to manipulate as he shared Christ with them. Instead, he allowed the Spirit of God to work through him. One of the reasons he preached that way was so that they would not trust in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. If their faith were based on the wisdom of men, the next clever speaker would lead them astray in another direction. Watch out, stay armed!
Prayer
Lord, strengthen my faith in Your promises so that my mouth will not betray You. Give me Your wisdom to speak only what the Word teaches, and not what my mind would attempt to explain how it works. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
