1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - Spirit and Power

INTRODUCTION

[INTER] What does faithful preaching sound like?

[ILLUS] I once took a group of teenagers to a weekend conference.

Normally the conference would have one preacher for the entire weekend but on this particular weekend the conference featured two preachers; one preached on Friday and the other on Saturday.

I didn’t know anything about the Friday preacher, but I did know the guy on Saturday and told our students that this man was a faithful preacher.

We went to the conference and the Friday night preacher was funny and entertaining, the kids laughed and had a really good time.

On Saturday, though, some of the teenagers didn’t really like the faithful preacher. They said he was boring. He wasn’t as funny as the guy the on Friday.

One boy in the group came up and said, “You know I really like the guy on Friday a lot better.”

I said, “Oh yeah, why is that?”

But before he could answer, one of our chaperones said, “He entertained you; that’s why you like him more.”

If you’re interested in God’s Word then faithful preaching is always engaging, but not every entertaining preacher is always faithful to God’s Word.

How can we tell the difference between faithful and unfaithful preaching?

[CONTEXT] When Paul arrived in Corinth and preached his first sermon, it was surely an excellent example of faithful preaching, but it wasn’t preaching that tickled the ears of his Corinthian congregation.

Here was a man whose stature was unimpressive, his speech plain, and his message simple; but the Corinthians were accustomed to fine-sounding speeches and well-crafted rhetorical flourishes delivered by dynamic orators.

In Corinth, speech-making was a form of entertainment; it was also a form of competition complete with cash, prizes, and fame.

Speaking competitions were held throughout Greek cities and apart of may have been apart of the local Isthmian games in Corinth, which were similar to the Olympic games.

It was in that environment that God used Paul to preach the word of the cross, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was foolishness to many in the Corinthian world but the power of God to those who are being saved.

And because the Gospel is the power of God, it must be preached in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

[CIT] In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul recounted for the Corinthian believers just how he had first preached the Gospel to them in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

[PROP] Listening to this passage carefully we can clearly hear what faithful preaching sounds like; and if we know what faithful preaching sounds like, we can tell the difference between it and fine-sounding speeches that fail to point us to Jesus.

[TS] So let’s jump in… Faithful preaching has two FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENTS...

MAJOR IDEAS

Foundational Component #1: The Preacher’s Message: The preacher’s message is Christ and him crucified (vv. 1-2).

1 Corinthians 2:1–2 NASB95

1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

[Exp] When Paul came to Corinth he didn’t preach himself as the subject of his sermons. Rather, he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, having decided to know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

In other words, when Paul preached, the message was always the same no matter what particular text he addressed—he always pointed to Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Paul could have wowed the Corinthians with superb oratory but that sort of lofty speech was out of bounds for this preacher who had decided to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Paul could have wowed them with worldly learning but that sort of prideful wisdom was counter to the God-exalting message of Jesus Christ and him crucified; and that was the message that Paul was committed to.

Jesus Christ and him crucified is the testimony of God.

It is the plan of God to redeem man from sin and death and to save him from God’s wrath, and to do it all through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus.

We are sinners.

Sinners deserve to die.

God sent Jesus to die that death in our place.

And then God raised him from the dead.

His resurrection proves that through faith in Jesus we are counted as dead to sin and alive to God.

True or faithful preaching is really only one thing: proclaiming the testimony of God which is Jesus Christ and him crucified.

There were those preachers in Corinth, however, who preached themselves as they showed off their skill in smooth speech.

Paul, however, was the opposite of this, and so is every true herald of the Gospel.

True preachers don’t preach themselves; they’re committed to the Gospel that saved them, and so they only preach that message—the simple message of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

[App] Sadly, even in the church today there is a sort of public speaking that often passes for preaching; there is a “speeching” that is funny and flattering, but it avoids the cross and exalts the speaker rather than the Savior.

Today men stand in pulpits, read a passage of Scripture, and then launch into all sorts of helpful advice or interesting stories or emotional soundbites that have nothing to do with the passage.

And at the end of the service, many of those so-called preachers will be lauded for their humor and creativity even though Christ was missing from the sermon.

The aim of every preacher should be to have every listener leave the service saying, “Hallelujah, what a Savior,” and not, “Hallelujah, what a preacher.”

Likewise, every listener (every one of you) should be expecting to hear Christ exalted in the preacher’s message—and if Christ is not exalted, no preaching has taken place, and the sinner won’t be saved.

The reason the message must be Jesus Christ and him crucified is because the goal of preaching is eternal life in the hearts of God’s people.

The only way that can happen is if the message being preached is Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father in John 17:3…

John 17:3 NASB95

3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

The only way to have eternal life is to know Jesus, and the only way to know Jesus is to believe the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified as it is presented in the Bible.

The Bible is a living book that imparts life to those who believe its message.

It has within its pages lessons on leadership, but it is not primarily about leadership.

The Bible has things to say about your job, but it is not primarily a book about work.

The Bible has things to say about husbands, wives, and children, but the Bible is not primarily an instruction book for making marriages and families better.

The Bible is primarily about the eternal life offered to us through Jesus Christ and him crucified—everything else is secondary to that.

[TS] Jesus Christ and him crucified is the preacher’s message because there is no eternal life without that message.

That’s the first FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT in faithful preaching—the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Foundational Component #2: The Manner - the preacher’s manner is one of dependence on God the Holy Spirit (vv. 3-5).

1 Corinthians 2:3–5 NASB95

3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

[EXP] When Paul arrived in Corinth, he had recently been mocked by the Areopagus in Athens—an intellectual group who loved discussing new ideas. Although some among the Areopagus wanted to hear more, most of them found Paul’s preaching on the resurrection silly (cf., Acts 17:18, 32) and belittled Paul as a result.

Moreover, when he arrived in Corinth, he was not traveling with anyone but was all alone and therefore lacked any sort of encouragement.

In fact, despite some initial positive response to the Gospel, Paul was initially so anxious that the Lord saw the need to appear to him in a dream and encourage him to not be afraid and keep on preaching (Acts 18:9).

[APP] Perhaps the ridicule, the loneliness, and anxiety reminded Paul of what every preacher must be reminded of from time to time—that the task of preaching is too big for the preacher. That being the case, the preacher must be dependent on the Holy Spirit of God.

Because he feels his inadequacy, his manner is not one of bravado or self-centered confidence.

Because he feels his inadequacy, His manner is one of dependence on God the Holy Spirit.

A man may be able to speak about a great many subjects, but no matter who he is he is woefully inadequate in himself to speak the oracles of God.

That inadequacy should always fuel a preacher’s dependence on the Holy Spirit.

And Christians should only be listening to those men who recognize their inadequacy and prayerfully depend on God the Holy Spirit.

Many so-called preachers, however, don’t think of themselves as inadequate at all.

They are gifted orators and can easily manipulate people by telling them what they want to hear rather than what God wants them to hear.

Paul wrote of such men as those who “do not serve our Lord Christ, but (serve) their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery... deceive the hearts of the naive,” (Rom. 16:18).

[EXP] But Paul was different; he wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4…

1 Corinthians 2:4 NASB95

4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

Paul was no deceiver; his speech and message were not in persuasive words of worldly wisdom but were in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

People are only rightly persuaded as the preacher faithfully preaches Christ and him crucified in complete dependence on the Holy Spirit of God.

[APP] As the preacher preaches Christ and him crucified, the Holy Spirit does his life-giving work of calling spiritually dead men and women to new life through faith in Jesus.

Although the preacher begs and pleads and argues, it is only the Holy Spirit that gives life.

If a person is persuaded, it is only because the Holy Spirit has revealed the truth of the Gospel to that person.

Where Christ is preached, we expect the lost to be saved, saints to be sanctified, and the doubting will be convinced—but this is not because the preacher is persuasive but because the Holy Spirit is working.

The Spirit reveals to sinners that Jesus is the Savior they need. As Jesus said of the Holy Spirit in John 16:13-14…

John 16:13–14 (NASB95)

13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me…

The Holy Spirit’s role is to glorify Jesus.

Thus, the preacher must be dependent on the Holy Spirit as he preaches.

It is so very easy for a preacher to trust in a number of other things rather than the Holy Spirit.

He might trust in his own skill as a speaker.

He might trust in technology, music, etc.

But only one thing truly reveals Jesus as Savior and Lord, and that one thing is the power of the the Holy Spirit moving through the word of God.

The Gospel—the word of the cross—sent from heaven is only properly preached when the preacher is dependent on the Holy Spirit sent from heaven (1 Pet. 1:12).

[TS]…

CONCLUSION

Those are the two FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENTS of faithful preaching. Surely you can remember those two things so you can check the next preacher you see on TV.

Ask yourself, “What is his message? Is it Jesus Christ and him crucified?”

Ask yourself, “What his manner? Is he dependent on the Holy Spirit?”

If his message and manner are wrong, turn the channel.

Find a new preacher.

Paul’s message and manner led to what we see in 1 Corinthians 2:5…

1 Corinthians 2:5 NASB95

5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Salvation is not the result of a certain preacher.

Salvation is the result of the Holy Spirit working through the word of God.

------------------STOP & SKIP TO PRAYER?-------------------

[ILLUS] I have often shared the story of how God saved me; how on a Monday night in 1994 a man named Gary Permenter was preaching Christ and him crucified and something spoke to my heart and said, “This is true.”

That something was a capital-S Someone; that Someone was the Holy Spirit of God.

When the time to respond to God’s Word came, I went forward to talk and pray with a guy named Brian who explained the Gospel in greater detail.

As a sinner, God’s wrath hung over me and always would unless I trusted that Jesus took the wrath I deserved upon himself on the cross.

If I would trust in Jesus, Gary and Brian showed me from God’s Word that I would be forgiven of my sins and welcomed into the family of God.

That night I trusted Jesus and was saved.

Do you know what I have never thought?

I have never thought that it was Gary’s sermon or Brian’s talk that did the work that night.

I’ve always known that it was the work of the Holy Spirit.

I’ve always known that my salvation rested not on the wisdom of men but on the power of God.

If you are saved this morning, it is because the Spirit worked through the Word to bring you to Jesus.

Your salvation rests on the power of God.

If you are not saved, if you don’t remember turning from your sins and trusting in Jesus, then I pray the Holy Spirit has worked through the Word this morning to show you Jesus and your need for him.

Will you call on him for salvation this morning?

Will you believe on Jesus Christ and be saved?

You too can be forgiven and welcomed into the family of God just like I was but only through faith in Jesus Christ and him crucified.

[PRAYER] O, Holy Spirit, breathe on us this morning.

Breathe on the saved to sanctify them further still, to make them more and more like Jesus.

O, Holy Spirit, breathe on the doubting to convince them of the truth of the Scriptures.

O, Holy Spirit, breathe on the lost this morning. Breathe on them so that they see their great sinfulness, their great need for a Savior, and breathe on them so they see just how great Jesus really is.

Amen.

[RESPONSE HYMN - Breathe On Me, 332]

Kindle a flame of love and zeal Within this heart of mine.

Breathe on me, breathe on me; Holy Spirit, breathe on me.

For growth in holiness, we need the Holy Spirit to breathe on us this morning.

For knowledge of God’s will, we need the Holy Spirit to breath on us this morning.

For hearts rekindled with a flame of love and zeal, we need the Holy Spirit to breathe on us this morning.

Stand with us as we respond God’s Word this morning singing Breathe on Me, hymn 332.