Demonstrating the Spirit and Power Today (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. [2] For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, [4] and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, [5] so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1–5)

I. The Effective Evangelist

Ask yourself this: what makes an effective evangelist... effective? Is it their boldness? Is it their experience? Is it their knowledge of the Bible or of theology? Is it the fact that he or she is a serious student of the culture? Is it their ability to speak to the heart... or maybe the mind? Let's bring that initial question with us as we look more closely together at 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.

II. The Passage: “But in the Power of God” (2:1-5)

To give you a sense of where we've come from in our study of this letter, you may remember that in verses 17 and 18 of the previous chapter, Paul moved from talking about divisions in the church to confronting the unhealthy influence of cultural values on the gospel of Jesus. Paul wanted to remind these believers that the gospel message often undermines their cultural estimations of what is truly wise, what is truly strong, what is truly powerful, of what truly matters.

Does the gospel continue to function in this way, even in our culture? Absolutely. Our cultural values are like the air we breathe; that is, we don't think much about it; we so often take such things for granted. But even though these values can be 'blind spots' in our thinking, the gospel, nevertheless, wants to confront and correct our thinking.

Were these kinds of cultural values part of whatever bitter root was feeding divisions within the church at Corinth? Quite possibly. But having spoken about the concepts in 1:18-25, and then having them think about their own circumstances in 1:26-31, the Apostle now shifts to his and their shared history, and specifically, how that shared history actually demonstrates the very points he's been making. Do you see that in 2:1? “And I, when I came to you, brothers...”.

Now, it's important to point out that this passage is filled with what we might call, 'word words', like, for example, the word “proclaiming” in verse 1. That's a word having to do with words. Look back at the other examples: (v. 1) ““the testimony of God”, “lofty speech”, (v. 4) “my speech”, “my message”, “plausible words”. There's no doubt that this passage is ultimately about Paul's own ministry of the word, and again, specifically his ministry of the word while with them in Corinth.

But I'd like us to look at the two ways in which Paul talks about his ministry of the word among them. Those two categories are 1) the delivery of his message, and 2) his demeanor as the messenger (2x).

So first, listen again to verse 1 in its entirety: “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.” Paul is not emphasizing here that he declared God's message instead of Greek wisdom. He's talking about how he delivered to them the “testimony of God” (which, according to the context, is (1:18) “the word of the cross”; that is, the gospel or Good News about Jesus). His delivery of that message was not characterized by “lofty speech or wisdom”. That's just another way of talking about the “eloquent wisdom” Paul introduced in 1:17. The Apostle then goes on to say something similar in verse 4 of our main text for this morning. He speaks there of “plausible words of wisdom”. Or a better translation may be, “persuasive words of wisdom”.

Paul's point here is that he did not put his message in a some shiny box. He didn't 'bedazzle' it with rhetorical flourish, or somehow make it more interesting with clever or complex argument-ation. What did he do instead? Look at verse 2: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Now, please see here that Paul is not simply talking about doing exactly what he would always do. Did Paul always preach the “word of the cross”? Absolutely. But he tells them very clearly in verse 2, “I decided to know nothing among you except...”. In light of the context here, I think that means that, given their cultural context, Paul made a conscious choice to focus even more carefully on the cross of Jesus.

Could he have talked more about Jesus as the royal descendant of David? Sure. Could he have talked more about Jesus as Teacher, or Jesus as the virtuous man? Of course. Could he have unpacked even more fully the triumph of Christ's resurrection (which he'll actually do in chapter 15). Yes, he could have absolutely leaned into that gospel category. But he was being very, very careful not to distract from or somehow soften the cross. Why? Because it was vital that they, in spite of its offense... it was vital that they embrace the cross of Jesus for what it is: something radically beautiful, and not shameful. A display of loving strength, not personal weakness. God's victory, not a tragic defeat. No shiny box to distract. Only a bloody cross to embrace.

But as I mentioned, Paul is not only emphasizing here his delivery of the message, but also his demeanor as the messenger. We see him doing that in verse 3: “And I was with you in weak-ness and in fear and much trembling...”. So how should we understand this statement? Is Paul speaking here about another one of his deliberate choices concerning his ministry in Corinth? I don't think so. Notice how he simply states, “And I was with you...”. That is, “Corinthians, please don't forget what I was like when I first came to you and preached to you. My demeanor was marked by “weakness”, “fear”, and “much trembling”.

What's helpful to see is that his description in verse 3 aligns really well with what we know from the book of Acts about Paul's initial ministry in Corinth. That ministry took place somewhere between 49 and 52 AD, during what is often called Paul's second missionary journey. During this trip Paul was seized, beaten, and thrown in jail in Philippi (Acts 16:16-24). He was hurried out of Thessalonica after other believers (new believers!) were attacked by a mob (Acts 17:5-10). He was then followed to Berea by the same angry and agitating Jews (17:13). Then, after being mocked in Athens (17:18, 32), he arrived in Corinth only to be opposed and reviled by the Jews of that city (18:6). It's no wonder then that in Corinth, Jesus himself graciously appeared to Paul in a vision and reassured him with these words: “Do not be afraid [Paul], but go on speaking and do not be silent, [10] for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (Acts 18:9–10)

Which of us, if we had been through all of that... which of us wouldn't have arrived in Corinth in “weakness and in fear and [with] much trembling”? But we cannot miss in this passage how Paul weaves together the reason why his very deliberate delivery, and his very understandable demeanor... the reason why the Corinthians needed to understand the implications of all this. As verses 3 and 4 explain, this particular demeanor and delivery resulted in a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”. How and why? Because it should be abundantly clear from the actual situation, especially clear to them, that their “faith [did] not rest in the wisdom of men but in power of God.” If they were truly saved (and they were), then God effected their rescue through the simple but clear message of Christ crucified; a message delivered, not through some confident speaker with a commanding presence, but through a sapped, scared, and shaken preacher named Paul. Therefore their faith in God's power through the cross of Jesus, was itself a display of God's power! A display of what could only be explained by the Holy Spirit.

III. Your Ministry of the Word

So if this is what Paul has emphasized about his ministry of the word, then shouldn't this be radically encouraging to us; to you...in terms of your ministry of the word? Now, some of you may be thinking, “What ministry of the word? I don't have a ministry of the word?” And I get that some believers simply do not understand that Scripture confirms how every disciple of Jesus does have a ministry of the word. But even those who rightly accept that truth can, as we know, really, really struggle with how to carry out that ministry. And often, they struggle for two reasons:

First, we can struggle to minister to others with God's word because we don't really believe we can share the gospel message in an effective way. You might think, “I'm just not an effective communicator. I don't think I know all the right words. I... I don't have good illustrations. I cannot share the message the way it should be shared... like that evangelist shares it, or that person on YouTube shares it. And really, who's going to believe me? Who am I going to persuade?”

Second, we can struggle to minister to others with God's word because we feel like a 'B Team' messenger. That estimation of ourselves may have to do with things like fear, anxiety, timidity, or maybe just general feelings of insecurity. You might think, “I feel bad for the person who has to hear the gospel through me. I would be stuttering and stammering. I would be struggling to stay focused. I would be sweating. It would just be awkward.” But others of us might feel like a 'B Team' messenger because we just aren't where we think we should be spiritually. “My life is a mess. Why would anyone listen to someone like me?”

Brothers and sisters, do you see... do you see how Paul's words here, how the word of God here, speaks directly to those two reasons? You and I have not been called to share the gospel eloquently or persuasively or exhaustively. We've simply been called... to share the gospel. Paul did ask for prayer in Colossians 4:4 that he would share the word clearly. And we should have that same request. Similarly, you and I have not been called to share the gospel powerfully, with charisma, with gravitas, or even just without shaking. Remember, Paul himself was marked by “much trembling” when he was sharing the word in Corinth! The point is this: the effectiveness of my ministry of the word and the effectiveness of your ministry of the word does not depend on what we too often believe are the necessary ingredients; the most significant factors. They aren't.

Now, if I'm describing how you feel this morning, then listen to this amazing news: God wants to use someone like you to bring others to himself, and to build others up. Why? Because he wants do this as a demonstration of the Spirit and of power... his power. If you are a born-again believer this morning, then please ask yourself, “Did I come to Christ because of the charisma of the person who shared the word with me, or because of the power of the word itself? Was it the intellectual excellence with which the message was shared, or was it the beauty of the message itself?” I think if you can rightly answer that, then you know that God can use any of us, and desires to use all of us, in this precious ministry of the word, the word entrusted to you and me.

If you believe this passage this morning really is the word of God, then you must also believe that God can use your life and your ministry to be a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. The church doesn't grow because I share the word. The church grows because we share the word. If you're struggling with that, then talk with God this morning. Then talk with me, or talk with another believer in your life. Remember Paul's message: (1:23) “...but we preach Christ crucified”. Why was he crucified? One reason is so we can now say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a) Let's rejoice this morning that through his death, Jesus took rebels against the word and made them ministers of the word. And, that he himself wants to live through us, with power, to reach still others.