1 Corinthians (3)
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Part 5
Part 5
1 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.
I want to begin this chapter by reminding us of the context surrounding Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth. Paul has planted this church and established the leaders here before moving on. In his absence, the church here had fallen into sin and a perpetual state of uncleanness. I am sure that for Paul, this has probably caused him a mixed array of emotions from anger, to frustration, to sadness and even discouragement.
The results of all of this is division. If you recall, division is not separation, division is rooted in pride and selfishness. As a result, the church in Corinth is failing in its critical mission to bring the true gospel of Yeshua to the world.
So in chapter 1, Paul has to begin with reminding the people of this history, his authority in Messiah, and just who the church is.
Now in chapter 2, Paul continues this work. Now its a short chapter, so my hope is that we will get through it all today.
Paul is going to address a topic that after studying for just a bit, I don’t think was ever truly corrected. This matter at hand is still negatively affecting the church today.
During this time in Corinth there were a small group of people known as the Sophists. These were men who were professional speakers. They honed their skills in public speaking and debate and became quite. Sophists made a living teaching the children of the rich Nobles in the art of debate. The issue at hand, the great evil of the Sophist in my opinion is that the arguments or debates were not to find or determine truth, the purpose of the debate was to win.
I want you to begin to connect the dots to how and why this influenced the culture for the Corinthian church, and also, how does it impact the church today.
Remember Corinth is a bustling city. A place where slaves not only become free, but with hard work, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a hearty competitive edge, these once slaves would become wealthy, so wealthy that they would own slaves.
In that sort of environment, winning is all that matters. Winning is what set you apart from the rest of the world. Winning is what defines you.
So it would make natural sense then that this would be a cause of division that Paul needs to address and correct.
Think about Galatians 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
and that starts to make a little more sense.
Later on when we get to chapter 11, these types of divisions will again be addressed, but for now. I want you to consider some of the Scriptures that come to mind when we think about this competitive spirit that has infected the church.
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
11 For God shows no partiality.
9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
At our old church this spirit was present. It was so ingrained in the community that for many years I wasn’t even aware of it. We worked in a community in Carol Stream, it was a small church, maybe 80 people if everyone showed up on the same day. But a big part of what made the church feel energetic was the outreach. Nearby we had a lot of apartment buildings. This created a mix of people in this community that was quite striking in difference than the rest of the community. These people were more transient. They didn’t own homes, so the apartments were constantly being re-rented. In addition to this, there was a lot of families with trauma. Addictions, prison, immigrants who couldn’t speak English.
This was our outreach. We were given a bus from a generous friend of the church. Each Sunday I would drive around to the apartments and would knock on the doors and gather up whatever kids would come to church.
These kids were affectionately or at least so I thought, referred to as the bus kids. It wasn’t until we brought a young man named Mike onto the team who took over the children’s ministry that I was made aware that this was even an issue. Mike asked us to stop referring to them as the “bus kids” because it created a stigma in the kids minds and heart. That was easy enough to do.
But when Mike started to bring in people that he knew and had previously ministered to, it became painfully clear that the issue was deeper than a name, it was a matter of the heart.
Mike’s background was homelessness, drugs, suicide. So it was natural that the people he connected to often shared this experience.
What I witnessed was that the church literally split into 4 quadrants in the pews. Those who had been in the church forever, primarily a couple of homeschool families, well off, who wore suits, like hymns and who kept their children with them during the service, sat in one area. In another area, the other people from the church who had been there for a long time, but maybe weren’t at polished and wore jeans and were a lot more casual, they sat in another area. Then we add Mike’s friends, and then the children’s ministry.
To be honest, I don’t think most people noticed. I don’t think it was a big issue for the people themselves. But for me, it was a problem. Soon I began to take the kids and have them sit with different families. Or I would guide people into different pews. When we would do the potluck, people naturally would sit in their circles. Outwardly they all got along. Inwardly though.
It wasn’t until Covid that the heart issue really revealed itself. Dora and I had already left and started Three Trees in our home in West Chicago.
But the deacons would call me and update me. The church suffered a split so deep that I honestly don’t know how they even worshipped together.
It became a matter of politics, vaxed and unvaxed, masked and unmasked. It wasn’t even that their were differences, because we all have differences, it was a matter of right and wrong in each own’s eyes. They lacked love. It got so bad that those who were for the vaccine wanted their own services and then those who were against them they were angry. They would talk about one another, look down upon one another, they couldnt’ do communion together. The animosity grew and grew, and grew.
This is the plague that comes from this disease, this is what happens when we are influenced by Sophists in our world today.
Because Sophists had a reputation for being convincing. They could sell ice to an Eskimo. They also had a reputation for being deceptive and telling lies and stories that people wanted to hear.
Mark Twain once said, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
This is the truth at the heart of a Sophist.
One of the most famous Sophists was a man named, Protagoras. He was famoous for a statement, “Man is the measure of all things.”
What does this mean, a simple way of saying this is, “perception is reality.” Which is to say, that your truth is your truth, and my truth is mine. This thought would unlock doors to all sorts of calamity. Have you ever watched our presidential debates? It’s about one side winning over another. It’s not about content, it’s not about what is right, it usually doesn’t even matter if the candidates tell the truth.
What matters is that my side wins. That I am emotionally engaged in the discussion, that I am caught up in the excitement, and now, that I go out and share that with the world. Attacking my opponents statement with the facts, but then defending my candidates with feelings.
It’s called confirmation bias and People tend to give more weight to information that aligns with their existing views and downplay or dismiss information that contradicts them.
The Sophists did this quite well. While this is all fun and games in the world until someone loses and eye, it has no place in the church. But it’s here. It was here in Corinth and it is here today. It has crippled the Christian and made us mute. Because of this type of thought, we are silent against all sorts of evil, and do not share the Gospel.
This is what Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 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.
How has the desire to use persuasive language and eloquence influenced the way you share your faith? Have you ever felt pressured to use impressive words when discussing your beliefs, and did it affect your message?
Do you think worldly wisdom and human eloquence sometimes hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in evangelism today? Can you share any personal experiences where relying on human wisdom seemed to get in the way of conveying the Gospel effectively?
How can recognizing our own weaknesses and limitations help us avoid relying too much on persuasive words in ministry? Can you share strategies or stories where humility and reliance on God's power played a role in effective evangelism?
Here is what I want us to walk away with in this passage. We have to connect verse 4 to verse 2.
Stop looking for the right words. They don’t exist. Stop thinking that you have to know every Scripture, to answer every question with the right passage. Stop thinking you have to outsmart someone, stop believing that someone’s salvation is going to be won or lost based on your ability to debate and argue.
1 Corinthians 2:4 (ESV)
4 and my speech and my message were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
Paul knows Scripture. Even thought Paul is saying he didn’t come with superiority of speech, it doesn’t mean he couldn’t.
In fact he is deliberately not coming with these words and teaching the Corinthians that this is not how to wins souls to Christ.
What works is the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. What is this, I want that.
Look around you. We have it. We have the Spirit and the power. Paul is referring to our salvation.
Despite the influence of the Sophists and the culture of Corinth. Despite this highly competitive culture, men and women, rich and poor, young and old, Jew and Gentile are professing faith in Messiah Yeshua!
Nothing is more powerful or amazing than this. There is literally nothing more beautiful in this world than seeing someone coming into faith in Messiah. That is 1 Corinthians 2:2
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
If we are in fact to follow Paul as he follows Messiah we need to get this truth in our hearts.
In Romans 1:1
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Paul calls himself a servant and uses the Greek word, Doulos. By definition, a doulos is someone who willing gives their lives to a loving master. Some of you have heard me say this before, but it is in my opinion worth saying again.
A doula is someone who helps a mother deliver a child naturally. A doula doesn’t cause the birth, a doula is there to assist the mother and the child to come into this world as naturally and as healthy as possible, just as God designed.
When Paul refers to himself as a doulos he is referring to himself as a servant who is participating with the Holy Spirit to deliver those who are dead in sins to be born again, as new creation in Messiah.
How does Paul assist in this delivery? Not in superiority of speech, not with the wisdom of man, but with the demonstration of the Spirit and the power of seeing salvation take place in the hearts of Corinthians despite the attempts and influence of the Sophists.
Paul’s purpose for being among the Corinthians was to help establish their own purpose was to be a community of Messiah followers.
This is our purpose. I cannot emphasize that enough. God has not put on my heart a desire to hold services in our home just because we were lonely. It wasn’t only because needed the fellowship of like-minded believers.
My purpose is to reach those that the Gospel would not otherwise get to. People like me, people whom the world and the church has already given up on.
But it’s more than that. I used to say this at the church in West Chicago, and perhaps it is time to start saying it again.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
We live in a very dark and darkening world. The day of the LORD draws near.
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
It is time for Christians to return to our first love. Yesterday I turned a family of 4 away. I asked them to wait a few weeks. They have a place to worship, so I didn’t feel like it was wrong. In fact I am not even sure yet as to why they would want to join us, but the conversation has been going on for over a year. But there are others. Do you know others? I sure hope so.
As I look around I can’t help but think of Dora’s words to me, “we have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable”
1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Dora brought this passage up to me the other day. I have read it many times in the past, but for some reason, it touched me differently this time.
The people were gather in a home, so that there were so many people gathered that they could not fit them in the home anymore.
Why did they gather this way? They gathered to experience THE WORD-YESHUA!
Now I hope that no one makes an opening in our roof, we just had it replaced. But, I just don’t have the heart to turn anyone away. Later, when we pray, I am going to ask you to pray with me for this.
We live in a community of dead and dieing churches. Maybe its because as Paul puts its because we have not needed the warning.
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
May we always be a people that build the foundation upon the WORD of God.
Matthew 16:13–20 (ESV)
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
We are the bride of Messiah, we are God’s people and He is building His church here in Dixon.
Isaiah 49:6 (ESV)
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Again, do you want to see the power of God look around you. Like a magnet, we are drawn to this powerful force that we, through Messiah, we get to call Abba Father. He is drawing His people far and wide to be apart of what you are doing.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
The word mysterion is used for many mystery cults which required silence of their members. Imagine that for just a moment, being a part of a faith that you must keep secret. May it never be.
No, the mystery has been revealed in the work and Word- Yeshua.
What is the mystery that Paul speaks of? Ephesians 3:3-6
3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Now there is a second and important part of Paul’s words that are equally important here.
Today we have this idea that there are definitions of Christians. I am speaking of what the world calls Carnal Christians and Spiritual Christians.
A carnal Christian may be described today as someone who engages in sinful or worldly behaviors, such as indulging in lust, materialism, dishonesty, or other behaviors that are contrary to Christian teachings.
A spiritual Christian is someone who is actively guided by the Holy Spirit. This involves seeking a personal relationship with God, listening to the leading of the Spirit in one's life, and allowing the Holy Spirit to influence one's thoughts, actions, and decisions.
Now I wanted to stop here because these are descriptions that the writers of either the Tanak or the NT would ever apply to believers.
There are varying degrees or maturity and Paul will raise this again shortly, 1 Corinthians 3:2
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
We cannot here in this community operate under any other definition. Listen to what I am saying here. I know more than any other person here, that each of us come to this gathering with different levels of understanding and maturity. But we must encourage one another a a body, Ephesians 4:14
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Notice what Paul uses to describe the immature. Immature Christians will struggle with these things.
Notice what he doesn’t use to describe these immature believers…sin.
We have made a profession of faith in Messiah Yeshua. We, our heart, our minds, our flesh, it is not our own. We have given it over to Him. Now we must intentionally walk out our faith like Him. We must be holy as He is Holy.
See how Paul brings all of this back to the church in Corinth.
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
We will love one another, we will encourage you as you wrestle with overcoming sin. But if you make a conscious choice to live a lifestyle of sin, then this is not a place for you.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Moving on.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
Paul is referring to Isaiah 64:4
Isaiah 64:4 (ESV)
4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Isaiah is praying, a prayer or plea for God to manifest His power and presence in a dramatic way, just as He had done in the past when He delivered the Israelites from Egypt and performed miraculous acts on their behalf.
Isaiah is begging for God’s presence to be manifest, to the presence and the power of God.
He is also calling to rememberance the deeds that God has already done. These deeds had caused the mountains to tremble and had made God's name known among the nations (verse 3).
This is an equation for us to live by.
Seeking God’s presence in our own lives plus remembering what He has already done this is to see God work.
Do you want to see God work in our community? In our homes, with loved one who are lost and in rebellion, in our country ,in the world? Seek Him! Remember what He has done. When we do this, we will see God working.
I want to finish up chapter 2. Is that ok?
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
How does God reveal things through the Spirit? We experience God. It isn’t impossible but it is hard to experience God without reading His Word. But there are surely countless men who have read the Word but never experienced the Word.
Charles Spurgeon has said, “How sad it must be for a man to preach the gospel and not be able to say that one has been converted, or that one poor sinner has found peace through believing in Jesus."
The background is how terrible it must be for a pastor to preach the gospel having never tasted of the fruit.
But he also has said,
"A man who does not believe the gospel that he preaches, had better not preach it at all. The gospel which does not save its own preacher is not the gospel of the grace of God. The preaching which does not make a man seek Christ for himself is not saving preaching."
I sure hope that our time together causes each of us to seek God all that much more.
I want to close todays message with by explaining Matthew 17:20
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Faith is not about the size it is about frequency