1 Corinthians Bible Study Message 6 1 Cor. 2:1-5

Prayer

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 NKJV

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Message

You may remember our last time together in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 that we learned the importance of realizing God calls ordinary people as you and I every day. He chooses to do that to prove that it is He in us at work so that we do not take the credit. Furthermore, a new jargon phrase we hear these days is to stay in your lane. In other words, embrace the spiritual gifts and talents the Lord has given you. Use them, grow and mature them and do not get caught up in what others are doing or form jealousies or covetousness for what someone else has or is able to accomplish.

Secondly, we discussed to trust God’s omniscience and opportunities when we are to serve Him in witnessing to another. Interestingly, God will place people in our path that would not ordinarily even consider us for counsel or consoling in certain times. That is where the mystery comes in. God will mysteriously draw people to you that would normally never consider you as a source of guidance, but be ready and trust God and share in those times when the wealthiest, the most educated, the blue bloods of society need advice that only the Lord and His comforting counsel can soothe a hurting heart.

God’s Word states for us to be ready in season and out of season.

And lastly, we discussed that God’s Word calls for us to give Him the glory for the changes in our life.

Let me ask you a simple question or to consider a simple thought.

Ill. Someone has crossed your path that lost a tremendous amount of weight and because you need to lose weight, you are drawn to that person to learn their secret. You are in Grad school and a classmate seems to make grades off the chart and you are struggling to make B-C’s. What is your secret?

Someone is in amazing shape and seems to have all the energy in the world, tone, fit and stamina. How do you do it?

People recognize a change in us. And, in every one of those cases I mentioned above, they are usually excited to share their journey. Why? They are passionate about the success they have enjoyed.

Are you excited to share what Christ has done in your life? Give Him the glory for your transformation.

Ill. Dead Sea-life example and it is a life example not only in our resources, and our gifts-use or lose, but it is true with relationship. If all relationships are what can I get out of the relationship never considering what you can give to the relationship-it is not a relationship and so is true with our relationship with Christ. If there is never a giving back-I would go so far as to say you do not have a relationship. Remember the lesson of talents-the one that hoarded and buried, lost even the one talent he had.

1. Credentials are not Needed to Serve the Lord V. 1, 3, 4a

Paul has taught us doctrine and then he personalizes it with his own life. We would say that Paul is sharing a testimony of his own life. The people of Corinth were close to Paul. They knew his past. They knew he was a persecutor of the early church. They had seen the transformation in his life. They saw his ability to lead others to Christ. They knew there was something different about Paul. Paul was never the same once He met Jesus on the Damascus Road.

1 Corinthians 2:1 “1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:3 “3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.”

1 Corinthians 2:4 “4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom,

Paul almost describes that his state not only had no credentials in his service to the Lord, but he actually felt as if he had some liabilities to overcome.

a. Excellence of Speech

Logos The Word-but here the word is speech. He felt he did not have excellence of speech. That is a broad paint brush topic. Paul was saying so much with just this one word. More than the English word communicates. He could have been stating that his voice was guttural, he could have had an accent from his region that was very distinctive and defined him. In other words, he could have been saying that differing from the Greeks, he could have seemed like a redneck or one that had no formal grammar in his training. So, Paul could have been saying, “the first impressions of me speaking could have been a turn off.” He could have been saying that my vocabulary was limited and I do not have an extensive vocabulary to articulate those thoughts I want to convey like some of my Greek counterparts.

Furthermore, the word speech also contains in its definition the idea of reason. I do not know how to formulate my thoughts in some organized fashion.

For example, I had so many exciting thoughts and passion about Jesus but I was bouncing all over the place. I did not know how to make the message of the cross flow. I did not know how to organize my thoughts and communicate them in correct order.

The Roman Road

Romans 3:10 “10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;”

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 10:9 “9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.””

b. Experience

Wisdom sophia

Wisdom here is inclusive of both worldly and spiritual wisdom. He was saying that I had never had such experiences until I trusted the Lord to guide me. Paul was saying, I had no experience in addressing someone to share the testimony or the mysteries of God with someone.

Remember Moses:

Exodus 4:10 “10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.””

We have studied through the Exodus. Share with me how God helped Moses with his fear of speech:

Moses initially felt inadequate to lead and speak for God's people, expressing his concerns in Exodus 4:10: "Moses said to the Lord, 'Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.'" Aaron was appointed as Moses' spokesperson, but over time, Moses grew in confidence and ability. The Bible does not explicitly detail a specific progression of verses marking each step of Moses' development into a confident leader and speaker, but several key passages indicate his growth: Exodus 4:14-16 - God's reassurance and the appointment of Aaron: "Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.'"Exodus 7:1-2 - Moses receives God's command directly: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.'"Exodus 7:10 - Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh together: "So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake."Exodus 8:5 - Moses commands Aaron: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell Aaron, "Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt."'"Exodus 9:13 - God speaks to Moses directly: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'"Exodus 10:1-2 - Moses is further directed by God: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.'"Exodus 14:15-16 - Moses leads the people at the Red Sea: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.'"Exodus 17:5-6 - Moses acts independently with God's guidance: "The Lord answered Moses, 'Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.' So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel."These passages show a gradual shift from Moses relying heavily on Aaron to taking more direct action himself. His leadership and ability to communicate God's will grew as he continued to obey and trust in God's guidance.

Ill. Dwayne Rembert

Experience comes with engagement and the extraordinary touch of the Lord in trusting Him.

Swimming doesn’t happen until one gets in the water.

Little Luke-Disney World -trusting mom will guide him correctly on scary rides.

2. Calls for Christ Centered Focus to Serve Him V.2

1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV

2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

In each one of our lives there are certain prioritization that we will be determined to do every day.

What makes the world good for the morning once you’ve done a certain thing?

-a cup of coffee

-a walk, read the newspaper, make your bed

Notice an important word in this verse:

Determined

krinō i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by impl. to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, decree, determine, think

Galatians 6:14 “14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Hyperbole

Luke 12:11–12 “11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.””

Determined means you do think about it.

Simple question

-Testimony

-2-3 verses to share

Here are ten evangelical scriptures that can guide someone in accepting Christ: John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 - "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Romans 10:9-10 - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." John 14:6 - "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Acts 4:12 - "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." These verses can provide a clear pathway for understanding the need for salvation, the provision of salvation through Jesus Christ, and the steps to accept Him as Lord and Savior.

3. The Key Component: Faith in the Holy Spirit and Trusting in His Power 4b, 5

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 “4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

There is a divide between being determined and looking to diety to provide the dynamis

A. “In demonstration of the Spirit and of power”

B. “Faith in the Power of God”

Dearly beloved, there is a book, “The Power of Positive Thinking”

"The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale teaches that maintaining a positive attitude and faith can lead to a more successful and fulfilling life. Peale emphasizes the power of positive affirmations, visualization, and self-belief to overcome obstacles and achieve goals. He encourages readers to harness their spiritual strength and trust in God's guidance to cultivate inner peace and confidence. By replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, Peale argues that individuals can transform their lives and attain happiness and success.

I’m not talking about the raw “If you conceive it and believe it, you will achieve it.”

I am talking about having a belief in the One who can bring something to past. Faith, trusting He has the power to bring a positive outcome. The power of prayer and praying for success.

Let me ask you how you pray for success?

Do you pray for that loved one that they would come to a saving knowledge of Christ? Or, do you pray that God would trigger me at the right time and the right circumstances and give me the right words to prick his or her heart. Many times our prayers are pleas for help, but taking us out of the equation to be a part of the answer.

What do we take home from our time together tonight?

Do not wait for a particular pedigree or credential and then, I will have enough to serve the Lord. You have the gift right now. Lord, help me now to be determined, to think out, to make it a priority that when I know you are calling me to share that I will share simply You and those things about You to bring someone to a saving knowledge of Christ. Lastly, you simply be obedient. Guess what God will be omnipotent, God will be omniscient, God will be omnipresent and wrap His presence all over your words.

Let’s pray:

Pray specifically that the Lord would give you the boldness this week to share, not with someone, but that someone God has placed on your heart. Start by inviting them Saturday night to church.