ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

Last week, we took our second look at the beginning of 1 Corinthians. After we had established that there was disunity in the Corinthian church and we explored some of the reasons why in the first week, we looked at the message that Paul preached and the importance of it. The Good News of Jesus Christ (known as the Gospel) is the only thing that has the power to reconcile us to God, and so people shouldn’t get distracted by anything else. There’s one more element to cover (the title might give it away), so let’s go back into the passage that was discussed last week and take it from another angle.

1 Corinthians 1:25-31
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
31 Therefore, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

After discussing the uniqueness and ‘folly’ of the Gospel and the power of God (that was last week), Paul flips the attention back to the recipients of the letter, pointing out that Christianity typically isn’t all that attractive to rich and powerful people. Not that it holds NO appeal to the nobility, but it’s easier to feel like you have everything you need when, in a worldly point of view, you really do have all you need - and more! Verses 27 and 28 show us again that God is a God who flips things upside down! But why? Why did Jesus, God Incarnate, spend his first night in a feeding trough? Why did Emmanuel get down and do the repulsive job of washing the feet of his disciples? Why did the God of the universe chose to be beaten to a bloody pulp and then suffocated on a cross? Why does God not think like we do?

Because “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). If we conform to the pattern of this world, we’re doomed. But when God revealed Himself to us as Jesus, He showed us humility. He taught us how to live a life that denies ourself so that we might fully embrace the majesty and greatness of God. See what Paul says in verse 29? This is SO THAT no human being may boast in the presence of God. God hates pride, and there is pride in status, pride in worldly wisdom, pride in eloquent speeches and awesome arguments, pride in the “things that are.” There’s pride everywhere but the Gospel, which is the ultimate story of humility. Because of this, it is in only in this Gospel - and in the God of which it speaks - that we are allowed to boast. Amazing, no?

With this amazing truth about the purposes of God under our belt, Paul returns to the issue at hand.

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 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Because of the power and importance of the Gospel and because the utter irrelevance of worldly things such as lofty speech or wisdom, Paul was determined to let the first shine through at the total expense of the other. And for Paul, this wasn’t all that tough. Verse 3 gives credence to the argument that Paul wasn’t a good speaker (see 2 Corinthians 10:1,10 for more evidence), which means that, in person, this guy was really nothing special on his own. Paul had great ideas and could get them into writing well, but for whatever reason, speeches didn’t go as well. Perhaps it was merely a shaky voice or a less-than-impressive demeanor, maybe he stuttered, maybe he spoke too fast or just didn’t do impromptu stuff well. Maybe he even had a speech impediment! It’s all only guesses.

Whatever his deal was, whatever caused him to be in weakness and in fear and trembling when he first came to them, he did bring one thing with him: The Holy Spirit. Through Him and with Him, Paul was able to demonstrate the very power of God because he didn’t let himself get in the way.

What does that mean for you? If you don’t think you speak well, God probably wants to use you anyways. Saul, the first king of Israel, was an impressive-looking public figure…he looked like a king. His successor, David, did not. The first rejected God and thus died in disgrace, the second was called a man after God’s own heart. Moses was called by God to speak even though he stuttered. When the prophet Jeremiah declared that he was young and didn’t know how to speak, God declared that he was going to use the man to say difficult things to an entire nation. God chooses the most unlikely people because they’re less likely to get in the way of the power of God with their worldly advantages!

But what if you are a good public speaker? What if you’re the minority that’s rich or powerful or noble or, in your case, a great speaker, and you want to work for the Lord? The key is humility. You don’t hear stories of people who can’t carry a tune in a bucket being called to lead a worship set. You don’t hear of accountants being called to do the plumbing of a new church building. It’s not that God calls people into things they’re not good at, it’s that when you have a bit of a stutter or a less-than-majestic appearance or whatever, you’re willing to lean on God’s power and allow it to shine through, rather than trusting in your own abilities. You can work at getting better at giving a speech, you can do your audience analysis and adapt your words accordingly, but you must never rely on these things to bring salvation, and you should do what you can divert attention from yourself.

Me? I’m really not the best writer in the world. I think I didn’t pass one of my standardized writing tests in high school, my lowest letter grade ever came from an English class, and when you see me write about anything other than God, it doesn’t exactly set the world on fire. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have a talent for it, but my talent isn’t worldly. When I sit down to write, I know that if I try to come up with my own ideas and do my own frilly imagery and word choice, it’ll be a mediocre article…at best. But if I do what I can to let the inspiration come from the Lord, then I write things that even I look at later and say, “Wow…did I really just do that?” The answer, of course, it no. I had nothing to do with the best of it!

Conclusion

Here we are, three weeks later. What have we learned? First, the real power is in the Gospel, and the real importance is in the Gospel. Unbelievers don’t need to hear anything but the Gospel, it would seem. Why go further with more Christian truths?

Since this Gospel is so important, it’s just as important that we get ourselves out of the way, because neither ourselves or the best of our words can save a single soul.

To the church at large, this lesson needs to be learned not only so that we apply it to our own lives, but also so that we don’t divide ourselves based on things that are unimportant. Unity is so important!

Grace and peace,
Brendan