Day By Day - 1 Corinthians 2
By Michael Barton
Personal Thoughts:
Talking to the Corinthians must have been hard work for Paul. In many ways they were an out of control church with a lot of ‘worldly issues’. Things such as quarrelling, jealousy, sexual immorality and yelling out in church. They were abusing the Lord’s Supper and a whole lot more. If you look up the definition of immorality, I’m sure you would find a reference to the church in Corinth. It wasn’t an easy task to try to get them in line, but Paul had great tact. He reminded them of the first time he came to them, and how they came to faith.
I think as a church and as members of the Body of Christ, this is how we should approach everyone we come across.
Three main ideas:
1. Approach Not with great eloquence of human wisdom
1 Corinthians 2:1 “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”.
And further “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words.”
When we step out into the world and, indeed, go about our church business we would do well to remember that it’s not all about how great our words are and how much knowledge we have. It’s not about the light show, the sound system or the way that we try and fit into the community.
Though I know these things certainly help, the real message has to be bold and to the point. Christ and Christ crucified! So that the faith of those whom we lead to Christ will, “not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power”.
2. Approach with nothing but Jesus and Him Crucified
We have a tendency, or at least I know I do, to reach for eloquent words and human wisdom when we speak to people who don’t yet know Christ. We try and make it as palatable as we can so that we can get them in the door and not scare them away. We will tell them the gruesome details of his crucifixion later; once they know that 'God loves them; once they have made some new friends and know where the coffee bar is. But this is not the example that Paul gives us here.
Paul came to the Corinthians, in “Weakness and great fear and trembling”. ( v3) Then he went straight for the jugular with Christ and Him Crucified!! All the main details straight up and nothing else.
3. Approach with Spiritual Wisdom
v 11-13 "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words."
Our approach should be with the words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. When we allow the Spirit of God to speak through us, we can speak directly to the spirit and the heart of the unbeliever.
Sometimes we try to make them comfortable in their humanity so that we can talk about the uncomfortable stuff later. But when we let God speak through us, we need to trust that He knows what that person needs, rather than what we think they need to hear. Only God knows a person’s heart. v 10 “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” and in
Jeremiah 17:10 we read:
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Final Thoughts:
I hope and pray that as a church family we will never preach anything but Christ and Him Crucified. I pray also that we would be filled with Spirit taught words and “we [would ] declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” v7. Amen.
Personal Thoughts:
Talking to the Corinthians must have been hard work for Paul. In many ways they were an out of control church with a lot of ‘worldly issues’. Things such as quarrelling, jealousy, sexual immorality and yelling out in church. They were abusing the Lord’s Supper and a whole lot more. If you look up the definition of immorality, I’m sure you would find a reference to the church in Corinth. It wasn’t an easy task to try to get them in line, but Paul had great tact. He reminded them of the first time he came to them, and how they came to faith.
I think as a church and as members of the Body of Christ, this is how we should approach everyone we come across.
Three main ideas:
1. Approach Not with great eloquence of human wisdom
1 Corinthians 2:1 “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”.
And further “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words.”
When we step out into the world and, indeed, go about our church business we would do well to remember that it’s not all about how great our words are and how much knowledge we have. It’s not about the light show, the sound system or the way that we try and fit into the community.
Though I know these things certainly help, the real message has to be bold and to the point. Christ and Christ crucified! So that the faith of those whom we lead to Christ will, “not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power”.
2. Approach with nothing but Jesus and Him Crucified
We have a tendency, or at least I know I do, to reach for eloquent words and human wisdom when we speak to people who don’t yet know Christ. We try and make it as palatable as we can so that we can get them in the door and not scare them away. We will tell them the gruesome details of his crucifixion later; once they know that 'God loves them; once they have made some new friends and know where the coffee bar is. But this is not the example that Paul gives us here.
Paul came to the Corinthians, in “Weakness and great fear and trembling”. ( v3) Then he went straight for the jugular with Christ and Him Crucified!! All the main details straight up and nothing else.
3. Approach with Spiritual Wisdom
v 11-13 "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words."
Our approach should be with the words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. When we allow the Spirit of God to speak through us, we can speak directly to the spirit and the heart of the unbeliever.
Sometimes we try to make them comfortable in their humanity so that we can talk about the uncomfortable stuff later. But when we let God speak through us, we need to trust that He knows what that person needs, rather than what we think they need to hear. Only God knows a person’s heart. v 10 “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” and in
Jeremiah 17:10 we read:
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Final Thoughts:
I hope and pray that as a church family we will never preach anything but Christ and Him Crucified. I pray also that we would be filled with Spirit taught words and “we [would ] declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” v7. Amen.
Posted in 1 Corinthians