1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And I, brothers, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.… I. WHAT IT WAS NOT. 1. It was not "with excellency of speech." Paul did not come as a rhetorician; his utterances were not orations of highly wrought eloquence. He did not seek to make the gospel palatable by presenting it with "enticing words." His manner was simple and unaffected; his diction plain and easily understood. He did not aim to carry everything before him with a flood of words, neither did he, a preacher, seek fame as an orator. He had a message to deliver, and would not obscure it by many words; he dreaded lest anything should divert attention from its all important terms. It is recorded of James II. that he once sat for his portrait to a great flower painter, but so completely was the canvas filled with beautiful garlands of flowers, that the king himself was lost sight of. So many paint Christ in their sermons; when they preach Christ they preach everything except Christ. 2. It was not the impartation of human wisdom. Paul did not come as a philosopher; he came as a herald. He had certain facts and truths to proclaim, and he would not philosophize about them, at all events until they were accepted, for, until accepted, their true philosophy could not be understood. Human wisdom had failed; Paul brought something which would not fail. Paul was no enemy to human wisdom; he despised it only as a means of human redemption; it was very contemptible to him when it attempted to transcend its sphere. II. WHAT IT WAS. It was the proclamation of "Christ and him crucified." This was pre-eminent, excluding philosophies and subordinating all other things. The apostle would not know aught besides; this should fill his consciousness. If the Corinthians would not receive this, he had nothing more for them; he must turn to others more willing. A myriad other things had been presented to them by philosophers and various teachers; all had failed. He would present Christ, and this Christ crucified, and stake everything upon the issue. That which was the sum and substance of Paul's preaching is, in much preaching, like the proverbial needle in the haystack - exceedingly difficult to discover at all. 1. His theme was: (1) The person of Christ. The subject of prophecy, of history, of the apostle's own knowledge. Christ the Sent of God. Christ the Son of God and the Son of man. (2) The office of Christ. Christ the Saviour of men. Exhibited as the Saviour especially in that tragedy of the cross, when "he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities." 2. This was "the testimony of God" (ver. 1). The revelation of Divine wisdom. God had nothing greater or better to disclose to men than this. Well might the apostle pass by the wisdom of man, since he was entrusted with the wisdom of God. The "mystery" of God. Thought of in past eternal ages, long hidden from men, transcending the poor flights of boastful human intellect, but now plainly declared. Paul spoke not his own words or thoughts, but God's. 3. Note a special feature of his preaching: it was "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." It was the utterance of certain truths with reliance upon the Divine Spirit to carry them to the heart. The apostle, in proclaiming the gospel, whilst using evidence and employing argument, relied upon the conviction of the Spirit. Words and human wisdom could not effect what he desired - conviction of sin, of the need of a Saviour, conviction that Christ was the Saviour, the only Saviour, the "Mighty to save." Paul preached 'waiting for the witness of the Spirit - and that witness was given. It is sometimes not given because it is not sought. All preaching without it is useless, and yet it is often the last thing thought of. III. ITS ACCOMPANIMENTS ON THE OCCASION IN QUESTION. 1. Weakness. Possibly the "thorn in the flesh" was at that time specially harassing, or the apostle may have been in special bodily weakness. But perhaps he was deeply conscious of weakness and insufficiency when he viewed the magnitude and importance of his work. Corinth was a strong Satanic citadel to storm. 2. Fear. Under a sense of responsibility, and the issues at stake. Apprehension lest mistakes should be made, and evil done instead of good. It might be well if there was more of this "fear" in some modern preachers. 3. Much trembling. There was much commotion in the apostle's spirit - he was deeply agitated. With no "light heart" did he set about his work. A very pathetic picture! But probably the best condition for the apostle under the circumstances. This apostolic condition has not a little to do with apostolic success. The all confident may succeed in the world, but they will fail sooner or later in the Church. Such a state as that of Paul's makes us feel that we are nothing, and that we can do nothing; and then God works. When we are weak, then are we strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). The despondencies, humiliations, emptyings, of Christian workers have frequently been the preludes of marked spiritual successes. We are often too strong and too confident for God to make any use of us. IV. ITS AIM. 1. The awakening of faith. This preaching was not a performance for applause, but earnest work for an all important, spiritual result. Nothing less than personal saving faith in Christ as the issue of his preaching could satisfy the apostle - a faith which should indissolubly bind to Christ, and blossom into the excellences and beauties of the Christian life. 2. Faith well founded. Not standing in the wisdom of men (ver. 5). Not built upon beautiful words or fine spun theories, but having the work of God in the heart as a sure foundation. The apostle desired divinely wrought conviction and conversion. So in his preaching he sought to make all room for God. He did not desire to be personally prominent; he swept away philosophies and the cunning arts of rhetoric, fixed the attention upon the God sent Saviour and his victorious work upon the cross, and relied upon God to make this break down the opposition of the natural heart and to build up in the soul a steadfast, abiding faith in Christ. An important inquiry - What is our faith based upon? Do we know anything of the "power of God," the "demonstration of the Spirit "? The faith of not a few - such as it is - is based upon the imagination, eloquence, learning, or eccentricities of their ministers; upon the authority of their Church; or upon their own unsanctioned fancies. - H. Parallel Verses KJV: And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. |
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