1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 38 viewsPaul's letter to the church at Corinth continues and Paul clarifies that it is Jesus Christ and Him crucified
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If you were with us last week, then you know last week was a trying week for me. Being a week removed from the situation, I want to teach for just a moment. I choose not to expound on why it was a trying week. The reason I choose not to expound on it is that it has the potential to grab the focus for shift the focus.
What do I mean by this?
Grab the focus: would mean that we as a church talk about what happened and focus on what happened and talk about the situation.
I don’t think we come here to talk about the what but we come here to talk about the who and that who is Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
If we spend a lot of time talking about what happened it will draw our focus off of Jesus and onto the problem.
Shift the focus: The tendency for this situation to also shift the focus. By shift the focus it can be easy for the focus to be drawn toward the leader and my problems. I know you care about me but that you don’t come here because of me. You come here to seek Christ alone and it would be easy for the focus to be taken off of Christ and put on me.
Last week, through the power of Christ alone I felt that I needed to pull myself together and push through so that the focus might be on Christ alone.
I am sure there are times in life when you may want to grab the focus or shift the focus. When life is tough, we strive to allow the power of Christ to be on display. Don’t allow the enemy to grab the focus on the problem or to shift the focus to yourself. Stay focused on Christ Alone who has the power to save.
It is my desire that we keep Christ our focus. For it is in Christ, that He alone has the power to save! Christ alone has the power to redeem and restore. Christ death sets us free. May we consistently keep our focus on Christ alone!
1 When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit,
5 so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.
6 However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: What eye did not see and ear did not hear, and what never entered the human mind— God prepared this for those who love Him.
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.
13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
14 But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.
15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.
16 For who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2
(Prayer)
The City of Corinth
Philosophical city. It was a key trade city that routes led North, South, East and West from this city. The city faced a lot of immorality. This immorality had made its way into the church.
The text shares with us that the church at Corinth was facing divisions in the church.
1 Corinthians 1:
12 What I am saying is this: Each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.”
I liken what they are facing in the church to what we would be facing today in the tractional or consumerism church we see today.
Some in Corinth were saying I follow Apollos because he was the best speaker and easy to listen too.
Today churches are often caught in a web of trying to get the latest trend of what will get people through the doors.
The shift in the church has been to meet the needs of the member or consumer and to ensure that they have the greatest experience possible every week so that they will want to come back.
Sermons shift to motivational messages, worship becomes performance, and it is all about the mood or environment so that the worship experience is the best for those who attend.
I will never forget a conversation with a well known pastor in our area a year ago. He said that the trend is heading towards experiences in churches. He was talking about the way they were redoing children dedications so that they could offer the best experience to those who attend.
Let me be clear these things are not wrong in themselves. Great moods, great communicators, great sermons, or great experiences in themselves are not wrong.
1 When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit,
5 so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:1
1 When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Paul’s weakness
Paul’s weakness
I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom
I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling
My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom
10 For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable.”
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses.
9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9
The tendency could be to shift the focus of motivational messages that get you through the week and how to live your best life now. This is not the Gospel and will lead us to believe that we can do things on our own if we just be good enough which is known as self-righteousness
Paul’s Strength
Paul’s Strength
Paul boasted of is weaknesses but what was his strength.
3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
2 For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:
I love as it describes what the crucifixion of Jesus does. Paul was centered on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, as He was coming into the world, He said: You did not want sacrifice and offering, but You prepared a body for Me.
6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See— it is written about Me in the volume of the scroll— I have come to do Your will, God!”
8 After He says above, You did not want or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law ),
9 He then says, See, I have come to do Your will. He takes away the first to establish the second.
10 By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.
12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.
13 He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool.
14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
Hebrews 10:4-
This is not a self help and put your confidence in yourself message. This Gospel is that you are dying in Sin and going to Hell but a Sinless Savior died to pay the penalty of Sin that WE should have paid. It is through this death of Jesus that we are forever perfected those who are sanctified.
Our confidence does not reside in your ability to fix you. Our confidence is in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
4 My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit,
5 so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.
Spiritual Wisdom
Spiritual Wisdom
1 Corinthians
6 However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: What eye did not see and ear did not hear, and what never entered the human mind— God prepared this for those who love Him.
Verse 8 Paul links the crucified Lord with glory, an utter paradox to both Jews and Gentiles.
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.
13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
14 But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.
15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.
16 For who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:10-
