Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 4
After a few more busy weeks we are at the end of our summer hiatus and schools are back in session. My spouse, who is a college professor, is back in the classroom next week. I wanted to return to the verses we had been looking at in 1 Corinthians. You can see the first three parts: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 by clicking on the links.
“1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.””
Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay
Last time we looked at the first two verses and we emphasized two important points: 1 - Paul determined, and 2 - to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. We looked at the disparity of a social gospel built only on the foundation of love and good works, and the true gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection. Make no mistake we are responsible to love and to do good works, especially to those who are less fortunate (see Matthew 25:31-46), for without the good works we are merely a clanging cymbal or a ringing bell in a symphony of humanity. Part of what makes Christianity different is the example Christ set of loving others, but not just that. The true difference lies in His death on a cross, and His ability to walk out of the grave. This is the power that gives us the ability to love the unlovely, and help the helpless.
Paul continues his letter by reminding them - I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. This was a reference to himself, and not to the people he was with. Paul was not an entertainer. Even though he was learned in the teachings and ways of the Torah and his own people, it is possible he felt “less than” among the intellectuals in Corinth. Orators of that time period were expected to wow the crowd, and this was not Paul’s gift. He simply preached the truth of the gospel. Paul continues this line of thought.
…and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…
How often do we pine for the notoriety and visibility of being someone important? I grew up in an era where every young person wanted a guitar or a set of drums so they could become the next great rock and roll sensation; myself included. Now we live in a world saturated with images, and videos of people being “important” in what they say, how they dress, what they do, how they identify, and all of it being based on how many views, thumbs up or hits they get on their social media posts. We have people like Taylor Swift who started out by sharing her music on YouTube and now she is “…a cultural icon of the 21st century. She is the highest-grossing live music artist, the wealthiest female musician, and one of the best selling music- artists of all time.” (Wikipedia) How many will long to follow in her footsteps, but will never make it past the borders of the small town they grew up in?
We now hear speakers in seminars, podcasts and talk shows discussing the art of persuasion. Being able to persuade seems to be important enough that it must be taught and discussed like ancient history or English grammar. Why are we so anxious to persuade? Because we want, not just recognition, but community in our ideologies and thoughts. We want people to agree with us, and join us in turning others to our side and our way of thinking.
Paul recognized the work of the Spirit was beyond a seminar on the art of persuasion. It was a supernatural affair. Any effect he had as an apostle he attributes to the work of the Holy Spirit. People coming to Jesus when he spoke were a demonstration of Spirit and the power. What power? God’s power?
“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””
Do a quick walk through of the book of Acts and you will see numerous places where the Holy Spirit moved, and saved, and worked. His power filled the disciples and helped the fledgling churches to grow into a world wide movement that today still holds the power of God.
Once again we are reminded that we have nothing to boast about when Paul says, “so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” God intended from the beginning that the foolish things would overcome the wise and the weak would overcome the strong.
Until next time, keep walking in His strength and in His Spirit!