Written ~ 08-05-2024
Read 1 Corinthians Chapter Two
1 Corinthians 2
If you were asked to stand in front of a group of people who didn’t yet know the Gospel message, what would cross your mind first? Fear and anxiety? Apprehension and self-consciousness? Or would you be able to stand boldly and speak with confidence, using loud and impressive words?
In today’s chapter we are going to hear how Paul dealt with speaking in front of people who hadn’t yet heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will learn his approach and hopefully draw strength from his character.
1 Corinthians 2:1…
1 “When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.”
It’s in Acts chapter 18 we find Paul going to Corinth, his stop there was part of his second missionary journey as recorded in Acts chapters 16 -18. Paul began his preaching in the synagogue, but when the message was not received by the Jewish leaders, he turned his attention to the Gentiles. Many became believers and were baptized, so, Paul wound up staying in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching the Word of God. Paul must have sensed that his way of speaking to these people needed to be simplified, it wasn’t going to do anyone any good if he blew them over with lofty speech, big “Christian terminology” or a massive dive into the Old Testament Scriptures. He needed to start with the basics.
1 Corinthians 2:2…
2 “For I decided that while I was with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.”
Do you suppose he told them his testimony? I think so. To help someone else understand their need for Christ, listening to how Jesus has changed your life is the perfect place to start. Starting with foundational truths that Jesus is the Son of God, that He came to die for our sins, then rose again to crush the penalty of death, that’s where understanding can take place. Not always do the lofty speeches and commentary like messages pierce the hearts of the non-believer, instead it’s found in our weaknesses, our experiences and the power of the Holy Spirit working through us that ultimately gets through to a non-believing heart. Look how Paul explains the way he came to the people in Corinth…
1 Corinthians 2:3-5…
3 “I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.”
Paul realizes the significance of the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ, it wasn’t about him. He came in humility, it says in verse 2:3 that he came to them in weakness, timid and trembling. This should give encouragement to those of us who have trouble talking about Jesus, we shouldn’t feel we must be Bible Scholars before we can share our experiences and share the Salvation message. Paul continues to say that his message and preaching was simple and plain. When Paul spoke in the synagogues to the Jewish leaders and elders, it was in that setting his preaching needed to persuasive, maybe his speech was presented in a lofty manner to show his authority and knowledge of the Scriptures. But with the simple folks that gathered around to listen to him preach, he toned down his speech, spoke in plain and easy to understand terms and the result, many were saved and baptized.
We all need to take some pointers from Paul and exercise them frequently. The goal in every evangelical situation is to get the message of Jesus out to every person who will listen. And just as Paul’s example implies… we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s intention was for us to not have the type of faith that comes only from human wisdom, but that our faith be placed solely in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8…
6 “Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God— His plan that was previously hidden, even though He made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.”
I think Paul included this part of his letter to show us that there is a time and place for lofty speech, for eloquent words and impressive wisdom. When speaking to people with varying degrees of maturity in Christ, our way of teaching the Word of God will change. If we have a group of mature believers in our midst, we can better challenge one other with the more difficult questions we have about Scripture. Our desire to discover the mysteries of God will be much deeper and our study will be with an intensity that might be a little much for the brand-new believer to comprehend. And that’s ok! As you and I mature in the Lord, like Paul, we will know when to come with boldness and confidence or when we are to come in our weakness and share the Gospel in a plain and simple manner. Either way, mind you, the Holy Spirit is working through us!
The Holy Spirit works within us to give us wisdom. We are not learning the wisdom of the world; we are learning the mysteries that God has previously hidden from the world. From the entirety of Scripture, we are learning things God has placed into motion before the world was even created. Through His Holy Spirit, God shares His wisdom with us and those who are without the Holy Spirit do not understand the things we acknowledge as being the only truth. That’s why in verse 2:8 Paul says, “…the rulers of this world have not understood it…”
1 Corinthians 2:9-12…
9 “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love Him.”
10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”
When we become believers in Jesus Christ and the Spirit of the Living God comes to reside within us; we have been given a way to know who God is. Our human brains alone cannot fathom who God is without the help of the Holy Spirit, on our own we greatly underestimate who God truly is. It is up to us now as believers to ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, unplug our ears and increase our imaginations to better see and understand the incredible vastness of the Almighty God! Verse 2:10 says, “…For His Spirit…shows us God’s deep secrets…” It might take some courage to ask the Holy Spirit to show you the deep secrets of God, BUT by asking for that kind of wisdom you can have the ability to understand the things of God.
For those of us who have experienced the Power of the Holy Spirit we must continue to pray for added wisdom and knowledge. So, when we share the Good News message with our unsaved loved ones, they will be able to see, and they will be able to hear through our testimonies all the glorious wonders of Jesus Christ. It is very possible they are blind to who the Almighty God is because they only want to focus on their own desires, or they are not willing to see past their bleak situations. It is possible they turn a deaf ear any time they hear about the greatness of God, they brush away the message like an irritating gnat or mosquito buzzing around their ears. Their minds are closed to the very notion that there could be the existence of a loving God because they cannot see Him or hear His voice. It is only through the Power of the Holy Spirit that their eyes and ears are opened and with that Power they can come to the place of acknowledging His presence and be saved. It should be our constant prayer that the Holy Spirit work through us with our every action and our every word.
1 Corinthians 2:13-16…
13 “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach Him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
So, when or if we get frustrated because people we speak to about Jesus won’t accept what we have to say, we must remember that at that moment our words are foolishness to them. But the seed has been planted when they hear of Jesus and what He did on the cross. It’s up to the Holy Spirit to take that seed and have it to grow, then hopefully that person will begin to see the things of the Lord as less foolish and eventually come to Salvation. Our human wisdom is faulty, that’s why we must rely on the wisdom given to us by the Holy Spirit. Having the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is why it is easy to listen to the words of Paul, we know his wisdom is given to us through the Holy Spirit! And as believers, we have the same Spirit residing within us, so everything he says resonates within us in a very powerful way. It is easily summed up in Paul’s last few words in this chapter…
1 Corinthians 2:16b…
“But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
My prayer is that you will continue to grow in your wisdom and knowledge given to you by the Holy Spirit. And that you will put into practice how to discern whether lofty words and boldness is the means of communicating the Good News or if simple, plain speech is what’s needed. As believers, we all have the mind of Christ and have the capability of knowing the secrets of God!
~AMEN~