SIMPLY PROCLAIMING – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 27, 2018 under 2018 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; May 27, 2018 from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Theme: God chooses the ‘nobodies’ of this world for salvation in Christ in order to bring the ‘somebody-ness’ of this world to nothing.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

The apostle Paul—back in his day—faced the same kind of problem that we as Christians face today. How does one effectively proclaim the seemingly-foolish message of the gospel of Jesus Christ in an age that esteems the fallen ‘human wisdom’ of this world?

The people who were living in the ancient city of Corinth were enamored with human standards of worldly wisdom. The kind of speakers that people loved to listen to were those who were polished and entertaining—speakers who captured people’s interest by using state-of-the-art speaking methods; and who had perfected an outwardly impressive persona; and who knew how to design their message in such a way as to gratify the desire of their listeners to think of themselves as ‘intellectual’ and ‘sophisticated’ and ‘cutting-edge’. The ears of the listening public were captured and held not so much by what was said as, rather, by how well and how impressively it was said.

Sadly, this had even grown to be true of those who had become believers in that ancient city. The Corinthian Christians—among other things—had become divided from one another over their favorite preachers and teachers. They were measuring their spiritual leaders on the basis of those cultural standards of human-wisdom and professional rhetoric; and were thus aligning themselves into factions under certain teachers—in just the same way as the ungodly people around them were doing.

Paul wrote to those Christians to tell them that this kind of behavior was utterly incompatible with the very nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He explained to them that the message of the gospel cannot be measured by such temporal human standards. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing”, he told them; “but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). The gospel represents ‘the wisdom of God’; and that wisdom cannot be measured by the standards of the fallen and failing ‘wisdom of this world’. What’s more, he even told them that their inordinate focus on human wisdom was incompatible with their own calling into faith through the gospel:

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

And that leads us to our passage this morning. Paul reminded these erring Corinthian believers that even the way he himself had come to them as a missionary—and had first preached the gospel to them—was not in conformity with the standards of ‘human wisdom’ to which they had so grown to align themselves. He told them in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5;

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (2:1-5).

And dear brothers and sisters; I truly wonder if one of our greatest failures as believers in being able to reach the ‘worldly wise’ culture of our day—and even here in Portland, Oregon—is that we do not courageously and confidently proclaim the gospel in the same way that Paul did way back in Corinth.

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I have been fascinated recently to learn about how Dr. Billy Graham gave addresses at some of the most esteemed institutions of higher education. In the early 1980s, he was invited to speak at Yale University; or to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; or to MIT. Some of these brief messages can even be watched now on the Internet.

Now; just think of how intimidating that might have been. He was, after all, a simple evangelical preacher. And what’s more, he was an evangelical preacher who grew up on a dairy farm. And yet, there he was—invited to speak in the most celebrated universities to some of the greatest intellectual minds in our country. But what’s fascinating to see in these talks was the way that he didn’t try to impress his audience with his intellectual power. He didn’t hesitate of course, when appropriate, to quote great writers or philosophers—great thinkers that his audience would recognize and respect. But throughout these lectures, his manner was humble. He even told his audiences that he didn’t feel that he belonged there. And he certainly didn’t try to impress his audience with the wisdom of men. Instead, his talks were simple, and straight-forward, and focused on the need for all of humanity to be made right with God. He plainly told them that God had provided the means to be right with Him through the cross of Jesus Christ. His message to these highly educated audiences was not really very much different at all from the message he gave around the world in his crusades. And as a result, his simple declaration of Jesus Christ gained a hearing among these great intellectuals. Many of them came to faith in Christ.

There are some today who believe we need to do something different from that. Rather than speaking directly and plainly about the cross of Jesus Christ—because that message is intellectually offensive and considered irrelevant to so many today—we need to engage in a more subtle and sophisticated approach. But I believe our brother Paul would tell us otherwise. I believe he would say that the worldly-wise people of our day are, essentially, no different at all from the worldly-wise people of his own time. The greatest need that people have today is still the same as it was back then—and that is to be made right with God. The solution for their need is the same—the redemption that God has made available to all through the cross of Jesus. The attitude of people is the same—that the whole idea of the cross comes across as foolishness to self-sufficient human wisdom. And our approach needs to be the same today as his was back then—to proclaim the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ in plain, simple, straightforward terms with confident trust in the power of the Holy Spirit … leaving the results to the hand of God.

As I believe this passage shows us, we best counter the fallen wisdom of this world by proclaiming the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ with confident simplicity. And if I may, dear brothers and sisters; that means that even such humble people as you and I can be used by God to have a great and eternal impact upon the people of this world—and even here in Portland.

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Let’s look at these words from Paul and learn from how he first brought the gospel to the Corinthian believers. And let’s begin by considering …

1. THE EXCLUSIVE MESSAGE THAT WAS PROCLAIMED.

We find it in verse 2. Paul said, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (v. 2).

Now; look at those words carefully. Paul first wrote that he had made a judgment call—a decision, a determination of purpose. He “determined” not to know anything among those ‘worldly-wise’, culturally astute Corinthians except just one thing. He didn’t try to talk to them about philosophy, or economics, or social injustice, or politics, or anything else. He stuck to just one main theme.

That doesn’t mean that he never spoke to them of anything else, of course. All you have to do is read the rest of this letter of 1 Corinthians—and then go on to read 2 Corinthians—to see that he spoke to them of many other things. Indeed, he spoke of profoundly deep matters. Out of love to his own beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, he went on in his letters to share deep theological truths with them from the word of God; and to helped them to grasp the wisdom of God that is available to them through Christ. But I believe he meant for his Corinthian readers to understand that when he first came to them as a missionary and evangelist, he was careful not to try to speak to them about various ‘side topics’. Nor did he try to ‘market’ his themes in such a way as to draw their interest and capture their attention in a ‘flattering’ sort of way. Instead, he spoke to them about only one thing. Just one Person, really: Jesus Christ.

And more specifically; he said that he had determined not to know anything among them except Jesus Christ “and Him crucified”. You know; many worldly-wise people would be very happy and very willing to talk about Jesus … if you just left that part of the story out. They would love to talk about Jesus’ simple ‘philosophy of love’. They would love to talk about His religion of peace. They would love to talk about His example of holiness. Those are good things to talk about—and we should talk about them. Many people of this world would agree with those things; and would enjoy seminars and panel discussions and TED Talks on them. But people get very uncomfortable when you get so specific as to talk about “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. The cross of Jesus is an offensive subject to the human ‘wisdom’ of this world. As Paul said earlier in Chapter 1, it is considered to be foolishness. It is a stumbling-block to the self-sufficiency of the worldly woman or man.

But just think of what happens when we do indeed make it our determination to stick to the main subject of Jesus Christ “and Him crucified”. When we declare His cross, we declare that there is a very serious need in humanity. We declare that the people of this world—even the best of people—cannot rise up and, in their own power, make themselves acceptable in the sight of God. We thus declare that we are all sinners; and that God has taken our sins so seriously that He sent His only begotten Son to take full human nature to Himself, become born into the human family as one of us, live a sinless and perfect life among us, take all the guilt of our sins upon Himself, and die a cursed death in our place. To proclaim “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, then, is to declare the depth of our sinfulness before God—and the desperateness of our need.

But when we make it our determination to declare ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ to this world, we also declare God’s love. We declare, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). To declare the cross of Jesus is not just to declare God’s judgment upon sin, but also His offer of salvation—that the debt of sin has been paid by God’s Son Himself; and that full forgiveness is available to all who will receive it by faith.

And of course, to declare ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ to this world is to declare that every woman and man must make a decision. The cross, if you will, puts all people at ‘the crossroads’. They must choose either to turn from sin, to reject all other attempts of making themselves right with God—to completely forsake the attempt to earn God’s favor through good deeds or religious rituals—and to place their full and wholehearted trust in what Jesus has done for us on the cross alone; or, instead, to harden their heart, to turn from the cross, to remain in their sin, and to eventually stand before God and suffer His just judgment.

We declare so very much to this world when we make it our determination to stick to the main message—the ‘foolish’ message, as far as this world is concerned; and yet the only message by which people can receive the truth, be saved, and made right with God—the message of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”.

I’m so glad that someone stuck to that simple message and proclaimed it to me. Aren’t you glad someone did that for you? Let’s make sure that—by the grace of God—we do that same thing for others in this world!

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Now; that was the determination of Paul. But it’s interesting to read of how Paul had set his heart to other determinations when it came to proclaiming this exclusive message—especially when it came to the people of this world who were enamored with impressive displays of ‘worldly-wisdom’.

If we will look again at this passage, we will see …

2. THE THINGS THAT WERE AVOIDED IN ITS PROCLAMATION.

In verse 1, Paul said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.”

We need to understand this carefully. This does not mean that Paul came with ‘poor’ speech or in a ‘foolish’ or ‘unintelligent’ or ‘uncouth’ manner. All you have to do is read on after this morning’s passage to see that this would not be so. He went on to write;

However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (vv. 6-8).

It was not that Paul couldn’t speak with excellence of speech or wisdom according to this world’s standards. In fact, I believe that if he had wanted to, he could have completely ‘knocked it out of the park’ intellectually, and ‘blown everyone away’ philosophically; don’t you? Paul wasn’t against speaking wisely or excellently. Rather, he was careful not to rely on human methods and human powers. Similarly, he said in verse 4, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom …”

Paul, then, was careful in what he didn’t do in preaching the gospel to the Corinthians. He didn’t want them to admire any display of human wisdom in such a way as to be distracted from the simple message of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”.

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But Paul was also careful about what he did do in preaching the cross. We read on of …

3. THE MANNER THAT WAS EXHIBITED IN PROCLAIMING IT.

He wrote to them in verse 3; “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (v. 3). What a contrast this was to the polished performances that the Corinthians were used to—and admired—from the professional ‘speakers’ of their day!

Consider what Paul said about himself. He said, “I was with you in weakness …” It may have been that Paul was suffering from some physical ailment when he was among them. Later on in his second letter, he wrote about how he suffered some kind of infirmity—some ‘thorn in the flesh’, as he called it. Perhaps this very same ‘thorn’ troubled him when he was FIRST ministering the gospel to the Corinthians. Three times he asked God to take this infirmity away—whatever it was; but as you’ll probably remember, the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul then wrote;

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10).

Paul also said that he came to the Corinthians “in fear”. I take it here that he means the literal emotion of fear. Back in Acts 18, when we’re told the story of Paul’s ministry in Corinth, we read of how his preaching had caused great opposition from the Jewish community. Paul had already had a few run-ins with the Jewish people in other cities in which he had preached; and it sometimes resulted in his being imprisoned or beaten or chased out of town. Once, he was stoned with stones and left for dead. In Acts 18:9; we’re told that the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul in a vision at night while he was in Corinth; and He told him, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10-11). Wouldn’t the Lord’s words of comfort to him suggest that Paul had times in his ministry at Corinth when he was genuinely fearful? Such fearfulness would not be very ‘impressive’ from a ‘worldly-wisdom’ perspective.

Or consider also that he said he came to the Corinthians “in much trembling”. It wasn’t just “trembling”; but rather “much trembling”! There may have been times when he lacked confidence among the Corinthians he was trying to reach—and that he even exhibited a lack of the kind of outward poise and dignity that the Corinthians had come to admire in their favorite speakers. Perhaps the ‘trembling’ was literal; and could even be seen as he spoke.

But Paul, in the end, saw these imperfections as a good trade-off. He didn’t want the Corinthians to be convinced of the message of the cross because of an outward appearance of human sufficiency, or human fearlessness, or human poise, or human wisdom. He didn’t want them to be convinced by “persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (v. 4).

How might such a demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power look? Before Paul had come to Corinth, he first brought the gospel to the people of Thessalonica. And of them, Paul once wrote;

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

What a testimony the gospel had among the Thessalonians! The proof of the power of the gospel in their lives wasn’t in mere persuasive arguments or impressive oratory. Rather, it was in real, measurable, dramatic life-changing power that could only have come from God the Holy Spirit. And that’s what Paul wanted to see happen in the lives of the Corinthians when he came to them.

And that’s why he was willing to be among them in the manner that he was found to be proclaiming the gospel to them—and why he didn’t mind that it was in weakness, and fear, and in much trembling! That way, the power of the message of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” could only be from God—proving its authority by the unassailable argument of real, genuine life transformation!

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And finally, he tells us ….

4. THE REASON WHY IT WAS PROCLAIMED IN THAT PARTICULAR WAY.

He said in verse five that it was “that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (v. 5).

You know, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; it’s dangerous for anyone’s Christian faith to be based solely on the power of persuasive human arguments. It’s not wrong to have persuasive arguments, of course. I believe—and I know you do too—that the truth of the gospel is very persuasive; and that ours is reasonable, coherent, logical, and philosophically sound faith. But our faith must not be based on humanly persuasive arguments alone. And this is because if we allow it to be based on such n humanly persuasive arguments alone, then it will be the at the mercy of any other human arguments that might come along that prove to be even more persuasive against it!¹

That’s why Paul was careful to preach as he did—so that their faith would be based on the right thing; not on the persuasive arguments of mere ‘worldly wisdom’, but on the manifest power of God. A truly transformed life is an irrefutable argument for the power of the gospel of “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”.

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So; the apostle Paul—back in his day—faced the same kind of problem that we face today. How does one effectively proclaim the seemingly-foolish message of the gospel of ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ in an age that esteems worldly wisdom? And the answer is ‘plainly—and with simple confidence in the power of God’.

May God help us to so believe it—and so proclaim it!

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¹Archibald Robertson and Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The First Epistle of St. Paul to The Corinthians, ICCNT (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994), p. 31.