I Corinthians 2, The Power and Spirit of Jesus
Notes
Transcript
I Corinthians 2
Faith in the power of Jesus
Introduction - Have you ever wanted to shared your faith and thought I won’t be convincing enough. You think, What I say won’t work. I won’t be able to be convincing enough to change someone’s life.
Have you ever wanted to talk to a family member about their spiritual walk. A family member who you believed was a Christ follower, but who was straying away from Christ - and you wanted to address it with them. You doubted yourself. You thought it would be an unproductive spiritual conversation. It would probably just end in failure.
-You are in good company. 2 of the most respected people in the Bible thought the same thing. Moses, was considered the greatest prophet of all in the Old Testament. He was a stutterer. He had a problem with verbal communication. By all accounts his words would have been a spiritual failure.
The second person is our person of focus today - Paul.
Paul, did not consider himself a man of eloquence. He did not consider himself a man who preached an unforgettable sermon. He did not believe that his words could convince people to really change.
He knew that He had to depend on The Spirit’s power. Look at verse 1.
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 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
We see that Paul did not depend on his broken, fearful, trembling words.
He depended (vs. 4) on The Spirit’s Power
I. The Spirit’s Power
A. Paul’s Weakness
-In verse 1 we see Paul’s weakness confessed and exposed.
-vs. 1, No lofty speech or wisdom
-vs. 3, weakness, fear and much trembling
Why would Paul be fearful, feel week, and tremble?
(One reason -
Paul was by himself in Corinth.
A city of 300,000 people.
He was toward the end of his 2nd Missionary journey.
He did not know what awaited him in Corinth.
Corinth -
-Corinth was 5 times larger than the old Greek capital Athens.
-Corinth had control over 2 important shipping ports.
-Was very wealthy.
-Among many of the Greek Temples in Corinth was the Temple to Aphrodite.
-The goddess of love and desire.
-The temple to Aphrodite was known to be very wealthy.
-There are claims that it had over 1000 Temple slaves.
-Why would a temple need that many slaves?
-These were temple prostitutes, both men and woman.
-The act of worshiping Aphrodite included the use of temple prostitutes.
-It is said that those sailers who ported in Corinth squandered a great amount of money in their involvement at the Temple of Aphrodite.
-Corinth was a wicked city.
-He had been beaten preaching in other cities.
-I’m sure he wondered what this mammoth city would be like.
As Paul walked his journey to Corinth He would wonder, “I wonder how I will be received.
-I wonder how God will work?
-I wonder who will be saved.
-Will there be physical persecution?
-Paul was called by God to minister and to church plant in a city that was far from God - and had no understanding of the God of the Bible.
-It had no Gospel witness. He would be the first.
Paul, did not always feel bold. Like you and I, there would be fear of the unknown. There were times he struggled in fear and trembling.
Question - Do you ever feel spiritually week or spiritually scared with the task that God has set before you? Have you ever been asked to do something and you were afraid to do it?
Example: Fear to help with children or youth at church - fear to give a testimony, fear to pray in front of a group, fear to speak up about spiritual things in your home, fear to share Jesus with your neighbor … guess what? Paul can identify with you. He knew trembling and fear.
Your pastor struggles with fear. I remember over a decade ago the Lord led me to take a group of youth and leaders out of the United States to the slums of Brazil on a mission trip.
This was my first time leading an overseas mission trip. I was taking minors away from their parents to a country - 15 hour plane flight away to minister in the slums. There was so much that could go wrong. I was scared.
In college the Lord led me to teach Sunday School each week in the Youth Prison in Columbia South Carolina. I was assigned to the sex offenders dorm. I would be left alone with 20 sex offending young prisoners.
There were times I was scared. When you led in prayer you literally had to keep your eyes open and watch your students.
To this day, like many of you, I still struggle with fear.
I want you to hear this very clearly.
While Paul struggled with fear, he did not let fear control Him. (x2)
Paul obeyed God and did what He was called to do.
Was He tempted to try and impress by using big words and give a convincing speech? Maybe. He refused to fall into this temptation. Why?
Here is what Paul knew that we must learn in America-
The words of man don’t change the heart. The Spirit of God changes the heart. The Spirit of God has power. It has the power to change lives.
Jesus says this is John 6:63
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Pause
In our passage today we see in verse 4 that Paul came in demonstrations of “the Spirit and of power”. I’ve combined these together.
The Spirit means - Paul came to Corinth controlled and strengthened by the Spirit of God to do the ministry God had called him to.
The Power means - the life changing salvations that took place.
Application
Here is the beauty. A person’s heart change does not depend on how well Paul convinced someone to trust in Christ or to grow spiritually.
It is simply Paul’s job to faithfully share the Gospel & teach the scripture and trust that The Spirit will change the heart.
This is what you and I are called to do. You are called to share God’s Word, to step back and let God charge the heart.
A preacher doesn’t change the heart.
A worship pastor doesn’t change the heart.
A parent doesn’t change the heart.
A coach doesn’t change the heart.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Only God in Spirit changes the heart.
Listen to what Ezekiel in the Old Testament says about heart change:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Long Pause
There are 3 sources of heart change:
Last week we looked at the Power of the Gospel to change the heart.
We have spoken in past sermons about how the Word of God has the power to change the heart.
Today we see that the Spirit or the Spirit of God, The Holy Spirit has the power the change the heart.
APPLICATION
This is what God wants you to do:
Ask him and trust Him to change the heart of someone in your life?
There is one more person I would like you to pray for heart change for the most. Yourself.
Changed lives are a result of the power Paul speaks of.
TRANSITION
Why does the Bible use the term “the Spirit”? If it’s God who changes lives, why don’t we say God’s power? Who is this Spirit?
Transition - Allow me to take a detour from the text and take a minute to answer the question, “Who is the Spirit” or who is “The Spirit of God”?
II. The Spirit of God
The Spirit we talk about is the 3rd person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit.
Also known as The Spirit of Christ, The Spirit of God and in the King James the Holy Ghost.
When we speak of “The Spirit” or “The Spirit of God” we are simply speaking of God himself.
When you consider the Trinity only the Son of God has a perfected human body.
The Father has no human body and the Spirit has not human body.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
If you are a Christ follower you have the Spirit of God in you.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
When you became a Christ follower, the Spirit of God (GOD HIMSELF) took up residence in your soul. We call this being baptised by God’s Spirit.
God, who is Spirit, dwells in you.
Let me tell you something overwhelming, You have in you the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.
The same God and power that raised Jesus to life dwells in you.
The Spirit of God is in you to give you the power to accomplish all that He has called you to do for Him.
-You are not left alone to follow God in your strength. You are given help and power by His Spirit to follow Him.
TRANSITION - GOD GIVES US HIS SPIRIT (HIMSELF) FOR MANY PURPOSES
In today’s text, not only power & strength, but wisdom.
III. The Spirit’s Wisdom
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
In our passage today, Paul emphasizes … verse 12-13.
vs. 12-13, the purpose of receiving the Spirit of God
-understand the Word of God and spiritual truth
-impart or give spiritual truth to others
-Application,
When you read your Bible each day. You ask for God’s Spirit to help you understand. You understand because God as Spirit gives you spiritual eyes to understand.
Reading you Bible is not an academic exercise. It is a spiritual act. God is opening your heart and mind to see and apply His truth to your life.
Sunday School teacher and small group leader - When you prepare your lesson it is not an academic exercise of organizing thoughts and principles in a clear way. It is a time where God supernaturally shows you what His Word means and how to apply it to the lives of your students.
God’s Spirit gives a wisdom that is not a wisdom of this world.
God’s Spirit gives a wisdom that leads you deeper and deeper into God’s Kingdom.
I want to encourage you with this. When you daily read God’s Word, start out with a simple prayer that says,
“Lord please give me eyes to see the Spiritual Truth.”
Let me promise you something, He will. He will help you see and understand His Word and notice truths you would have missed.
God’s Spirit will give you wisdom to see, what the unbeliever who doesn’t have God’s Spirit cannot see.
God’s Spirit gives Wisdom. PAUSE
Gospel
Earlier in our message we saw in verse 4 that God’s Spirit has the power to change lives.
-To bring people to salvation.
-To give them the faith to trust in Jesus.
Unbeliever
-You don’t have to muster up enough strength or faith to give your life to Jesus.
-You surrender your life to God to follow Him.
-He empowers you to do the rest. He walks with you through the journey of life.
-He changes you into a new person.
-God begins to define your identity.
-Will you say yes to Him today?
-Will you allow Him to take up residence inside you and guide your life?
-Will you trust that Jesus payment on The Cross was for you?
Pray
