1 Corinthians 2.1-5 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Beloved, when you listen to a sermon, are you listening for content, or verbal fluency and eloquence? If the latter statement is your answer, you more than likely would have not gotten much out of Paul’s teaching. Scripture tells us that his bodily presence was weak, and his speech contemptible. The message that Paul proclaimed was the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It did not appeal to the natural man’s curiosity for supernatural signs, nor did it satisfy the intellectual elite’s desire for verbal eloquence. The gospel that Paul preached was perceived to be foolishness. Nonsense. Unsophisticated. Not relevant to the needs or pleasures of fallen man. There is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new IN The Son.
The gospel message is a message of life and death. It is much more than a message concerning our eternal destiny, for which I give thanks and praise to Jesus! It is a message of cross bearing and forsaking the love of the world that we once cherished and lived for. The abundant life according to the gospel is not meat or drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in The Holy Ghost. The gospel message is a message of contentment, not covetousness. The gospel message is one that inspires faith in God’s wisdom, not man’s brilliance. Paul’s sole desire when he came to Corinth, or any other city for that matter, was to preach the message of the cross. It was not his desire to impress them with eloquence or sophisticated speech, lest their faith rest (stand) on his abilities as a speaker (the wisdom of men). Rather, he preached the gospel and depended on the Spirit for his hearers to experience the power of God. It was what Paul preached, not how he preached it that changed lives.
Precious saints, your salvation is because of the wonderful work of Christ on the cross, and the mysterious work of The Spirit in your heart. It isn’t preachers or pastors that save us, it is God Who enlightens, convicts and regenerates our souls. Let us never forget that it is the content of the gospel that saves us, not the eloquence of its delivery by any human instrument. Never confuse the gospel that saves, which is the power of God, with the eloquence or fluid words of man’s wisdom. Preach the gospel as it is. Preach it in love. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for the lost. Believe it. Rest in it. Place your faith in the wisdom and power of God, not your favorite pastor or teachers.
