Greetings to all of you, dear brothers and sisters. Today we continue our series of sermons from the First Epistle to the Corinthians. To help you remember a bit of what we talked about last time, let’s briefly review the essence of the first chapter.
Paul spoke about how God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and what is weak in the world to shame the strong. This was done so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. Our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption — all of this is in Christ, so that the one who boasts, boasts only in the Lord.
Today we will continue these thoughts of Paul and read the first five verses of the second chapter.
Not with Lofty Speech
“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1-2).
What does “not with lofty speech” mean? It’s when a person specifically tries to make an impression not so much by the essence of what they are saying, but by how they are saying it. Using over-complicated phrases, complex philosophical constructions, oratorical devices — all this is done so that people think, “What a smart and eloquent person!”
Of course, Paul is not against wisdom or a well-presented sermon. We must not fall into extremes. But Paul is against using eloquence as a way to attract people to himself, rather than to Christ.
Look, he says: “I decided.” This was his conscious decision. He specifically did not want to use anything except the message of Christ, and Him crucified. As we have already said, to the Greeks and Jews of that time, this sounded insane. He did not want to appear as a philosopher; he wanted to be a witness.
In Weakness and Fear
“And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3).
From a human perspective, Paul had nothing with which to attract the Corinthians to himself. Neither external strength nor courage. We read about his fears in Corinth in the book of Acts as well. When he arrived there, the Jews did not accept him and tried in every way to harm him. Then God appeared to him in a vision to reassure him:
“And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you…’” (Acts 18:9-10).
If the Lord says “do not be afraid,” it means Paul was indeed afraid. He was an ordinary person who worried about his life and the success of the mission.
In Demonstration of Spirit and Power
Why then did Paul choose this path?
“and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
What does it mean that his preaching was “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power”? In his letters, Paul speaks directly about the fact that God confirmed his words with signs and miracles. In the Epistle to the Romans, he writes: " by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" (Rom. 15:19). He reminds the Corinthians of the same in his second letter: “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you… with signs and wonders and mighty works” (2 Cor. 12:12).
In the New Testament, we see that the Lord cooperated with the words of the Apostles with miracles to confirm their authority as God’s messengers.
What Can We Learn?
Should we expect signs and wonders today for our word to be accepted by people?
As we have just seen, signs and wonders were special marks of apostleship. Their purpose was to confirm the words of the Apostles, which are now recorded for us in the New Testament. We do not need to “re-confirm” this word every time. We simply need to teach what has already been confirmed by God.
This does not mean that miracles do not happen today. God, in His mercy, can heal and deliver us. But the greatest miracle today is the change of a person’s heart. When an unbelieving critic comes to church and leaves as a saved sinner — that is a demonstration of the power of God.
The church is a place where God performs the miracle of new birth. Look at us: why are we here today? Because at some point, God miraculously changed your heart through the simple Gospel that you heard from a simple brother or sister.
If today you feel that Christ is not just a historical hero for you, but a real Savior of your soul, who forgives you and calls you to Himself, then the Gospel has touched you with the power of God. And your faith is now based not on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Amen.