Paul begins this chapter by reminding the Corinthians of his first visit to them, and the condition in which he came to them. I want you to know some things about Paul this morning. Paul was a highly, highly educated man. Not only was he a former Pharisee, an expert in Jewish law and custom, but he was also educated in the secular greek world. We know this from the Greek poets he quotes and how he challenges the philosophy of his day in his ministry. Paul was a very capable speaker, but rather than appeal to his oratory skills and rhetoric, he says that he didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring the testimony of God, instead he chose to know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and him crucified. In chapter 1 he said that God didn’t send him to preach with words of mans wisdom, and here he affirms that he had obeyed and fulfilled that divine mandate. By saying that he desired to know nothing among them except Christ crucified is another important look into how Paul viewed his calling. He was called not to make great speeches, but to plainly present the gospel. This was important because in Paul’s day, the greeks put a high value on those who could speak well. They loved seeing the philosophers of their day gather to debate ideas and crowds would be stirred into a frenzy by hearing their words. Paul makes it plain in our text that this wasnt the case for him. He didn’t want to sway crowds with his oratory and being sophisticated in his speech. He didn’t want anyone thinking that what he spoke was human wisdom, and it shouldn’t be the case for us today. We have come to a place in the church that is much like the ancient Greeks. We want someone who is primmed and polished, eloquent in their speech to preach to us. We want someone who is well spoken, knowledgeable, and passionate about the subject their speaking on, and thats what we’ve gotten in a lot of places. In case your wondering, y’all have missed out on the eloquence and being well spoken with me. I am not a polished speaker. I’m not a trained orator, and I cannot rely on my own ability to preach. As much as I love preaching, as passionate as I am about the gospel, it would absolutely terrify me to get up in front on a congregation in my own strength. I can’t and will never do it. Paul emphasizes that even with his ability, he didn’t look inwardly when he preached. He didn’t reach into a bag of tricks and weave an oral masterpiece. He didn’t look to his education, he only knew Christ and him crucified! That was the testimony of God. It was what God had done for the world in Christ that Paul told the Corinthian church about, and my my how we could take a lesson in todays church about that. When someone comes to the house of God we don’t need to get political, we don’t need to preach our hobby horses, but we MUST preach what God has done in Christ Jesus! It’s this emphasis on Christ that Paul made clear when he went to Corinth. He says he was weak, and trembling, and fearful in verse 3. We know that Paul suffered from various physical ailments. He had been beaten, shipwrecked, snake bit, and he couldn’t see very well. Imagine this just for a minute. A guy shows up that looks like he’s been through the ringer. He’s half blind and doesn’t speak in a sophisticated manner, but there is a power that exudes from him. An otherwordly presence comes about when he preaches, and its all but inexplicable. Look at verse 4 quickly. He says
