Paul
the apostle “determined not to know
any thing among”
the Corinthians “save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified”,
and he “was with”
them “in weakness, and in fear, and
in much trembling”.
In chapter two and verse four of First
Corinthians, Paul continued his letter by sharing how his “speech
and preaching was not with enticing words”
where we read:
And my
speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom,
but
in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
The
verse begins, “And
my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom,...”
Paul began
with the words, “And my speech”
which means “Paul's utterance, decree and mandate that embodied a
conception or idea” “and my
preaching”
or “Paul's proclamation, herald and cry” “was
not with enticing”
which means “wasn't with persuasive” “words”
or “speech, utterance, decree and mandate that embodied a
conception or idea” “of man's
wisdom”
which refers to “broad and full of intelligence, knowledge of very
diverse matters and skill in management of affairs” which are
common to human beings or mankind. Paul did not use “persuasive”
language or “proclamation” to convince the people in Corinth
concerning the “gospel of Jesus
Christ”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:”.
Paul
continued with the word, “but”
which is a
disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written
takes precedence over what was just stated “in
demonstration”
or “in making manifest, showing and proof” “of
the Spirit”
or “of the the third person of the triune God who is coequal and
co-eternal with the Father and the Son” “and
of power”
which means “of strength and ability for performing miracles”.
Rather than Paul's “persuasive” words in “speech and
preaching”, the Holy Spirit of God “showed and proved” the
“gospel”
about which Paul spoke.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we notice the source of the
“real power” of sharing the “gospel
of Jesus Christ”
is “the Holy Spirit”.
Zechariah chapter four and verse six says, “This
is the
word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power,
but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.”,
and God always backs His “good news” with His “power”
rather than “man's” convincing words.
When we share
the “gospel of Jesus Christ”
we should remember, God's “power”
through His
Holy Spirit, is the greatest “persuader” of all, and nothing we
add or take away will be more effective than He. Charles Spurgeon
concerning the scripture said, “his aim was simply to “unleash
the lion”, and when we share the “gospel”
with others who do not know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior,
the Holy Spirit of God will be “demonstrating
with power” the
authenticity of the message.
Next
time Paul shares how he desired for the church members' “faith”
not
to “stand in the wisdom of
men, but in the power of God”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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