All is Vain Unless the Spirit...
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Paul, in our text today, is validating his apostleship by declaring the manner and means of his preaching.
Let me give you a little context as to what’s going on right here.
The Corinthian church was deeply divided, and one of their deepest divisions centered over who their favorite preacher was...
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
What happened was that parties had formed in the Corinthian church. The first two groups each had their favorite former pastor (Paul and Apollos), the third had a strong loyalty to Peter (Cephas), and the fourth seemed to think they had a special claim on Christ.
They had the right name, but it’s clear from the Bible they that they did not have the right spirit.
This division arose because they did not understand what good preaching was. It’s not about the preacher, it’s about the message! - People still don’t understand this basic truth!
Many have an idea of what a good sermon is: one where the preacher uses good speech, one where the preacher uses good illustrations, one that keeps us on the edge of our seats with a good story, one that makes us feel good inside.
Let’s dig into these five verses, we find what good preaching is and we can see that “All is Vain Without The Spirit”…
The Approach of the Apostle
The Approach of the Apostle
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
Verse 1 tells us that sound preaching is not eloquence or human wisdom or philosophy. This very thing is Paul’s testimony!
Paul stresses that sound preaching is not human wisdom or philosophy.
The world is constantly seeking more and more wisdom, education, science, technology, and new and novel ideas. The problem is that man seeks these things from the framework of the world. He forgets God entirely. Everything within the world is unfulfilling within itself; it passes away, and ceases to exist.
We are still seeing this in the church today, remember, preaching is foolishness to this world.
I’m not saying we don’t use modern methods in the church, but we must be careful not to change the message!
So many today have changed the message of God into nothing more than wordly wisdom and philosophy, and when that happens, the Spirit has nothing to do with it!
Think about this…I was reading a devotional this morning that asked how precious the Bible was to us?
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
I hope the Bible is never forcibly taken from us, but nothing would surprise me anymore. In our day, we have a major problem where the Word is not used correctly and it’s hated because of it. Tozer wrote that the biggest tool in Satan’s toolbox is ignorance of the Word of God.
Child of God, you need to use the Word, men of God need to preach the Word, teachers, you need to teach the Word.
It’s still precious to some!
This is why Paul didn’t preach human philosophy, or worldly wisdom. When Paul preached, he wasn’t concerned with sounding like a philosopher or some deep thinker or some preacher with a new and novel idea or position.
False teachers always have an appeal. They look good. They sound good. They may even attempt good things. But anything aside from the standard of God’s Word isn’t truth, and therefore isn’t good. There’s a reason God says to avoid them.
Sound preaching is simply declaring the testimony about God. That testimony is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Preaching should not be considered an eloquent speech. God’s preachers are to preach salvation to a lost world. The genuine preacher of God is to preach the testimony about God.
The Wisdom He Declared
The Wisdom He Declared
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
The message of Paul was Jesus Christ. He saw the resurrected Jesus first hand. He had a great testimony. He concentrated on the death of Jesus Christ.
Why was it that he concentrated on the death of Christ and not so much the self-help psychology we hear of so much today?
It’s because:
- It is by the death of Jesus Christ that we are cleansed and freed from all sin.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are accepted and reconciled to God and have peace with God.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are justified.
- It is by the death of Jesus Christ that we are eternally redeemed.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are delivered from condemnation.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are delivered from the curse of the law, that is, from death and separation from God.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are delivered from this present evil age.
- It is by the death of Jesus that Satan’s power over death and the world is broken and destroyed.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are healed.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are given all things.
- It is by His death that those without strength are saved.
- It is by the death of Jesus that sinners are saved.
- It is by His death that the enemies of God are saved.
- It is by the death of Jesus that all men are drawn to Christ.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we have access into the holy presence of God.
- It is by His death that the great love of God is revealed to us.
- It is by His death that we are freed from a self-centered life and live for Christ.
- It is by the death of Jesus that we are enabled to live for righteousness.
- It is by His death that we are taught to love and sacrifice our lives for others.
- It is by His death that our consciences are genuinely cleared so that we can serve God and bear fruit.
- It is by His death that we know the power of God.
- It is by His death that our old sins are gone.
- It is by His death that we are reconciled to Him.
- It is by His death that Jesus gained the right to be exalted as the Lord of the dead and the living.
- It is by His death that the church of God was bought.
Let’s look at:
The Weakness He Demonstrated
The Weakness He Demonstrated
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
Paul came to the Corinthians “in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.”
This doesn’t seem appropriate for Paul at all…I believe he was referring to what we find in the previous chapter...
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
We find this phrase fear and trembling in other passages which have to do with deep concern over an important, urgent issue!
I believe today that preaching is an important, urgent issue!
What we teach has the power to change lives. Paul called the gospel “the power of God to salvation for everyone that believeth” (Rom. 1:16).
What l say from this spot has the power to influence the way you live; I dare not take that responsibility lightly.
Let’s look at:
The Articulation of the Apostle
The Articulation of the Apostle
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
Paul depended on the power of the Holy Spirit. It was not his experience or ability that gave his ministry its power; it was the work of the Spirit of God. His preaching was a “demonstration,” not a “performance.”
The word translated demonstration means “legal proof presented in court.” The Holy Spirit used Paul’s preaching to change lives, and that was all the proof Paul needed that his message was from God. Wicked sinners were transformed by the power of God!
We must understand though that Paul is not telling preachers deliberately to preach poorly, or to avoid using the gifts God gave them.
Men like C.H. Spurgeon and George Whitefield were gifted preachers whose words carried power, but they did not depend on their natural talents. They trusted the Spirit of God to work in the hearts of their hearers, and He did.
Preachers of the Word must prepare and use every gift God has given them—but they must not put their confidence in themselves.
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
Last, but certainly not least, let’s look at:
The Aim of the Apostle
The Aim of the Apostle
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Sound preaching leads to faith. The wisdom of man can’t save man. The friendship of man can’t save man. No matter how holy and right you might think a person is, the reality is that person cannot save you.
A person’s salvation cannot stand in the human knowledge and wisdom of man. So the minister of God must speak and preach under the influence and power of God’s Spirit.
Paul stresses this point of sound preaching because as I mentioned in the introduction, the church was divided over who could preach the best—who was the most philosophical, who was the most entertaining, etc.
Paul says that anything short of the preaching as influenced by the Spirit of God is unacceptable.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Here’s the thing ya’ll...
If human wisdom is used to win a man, then his faith stands on human wisdom.
If a man is brought to faith through the power of God, then his faith rests upon that.
That faith leads to salvation.
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Have you believed to salvation?
Do you need to come this morning and be saved by faith and obedience to Jesus?
Whatever you need, you’ll find help for it right here at the altar...