“When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NLT
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every preacher/teacher of God’s Word thought like the apostle Paul? We’re so busy trying to impress others or make a name for ourselves, that we sometimes forget who we’re supposed to be representing. The magnitude of Paul’s assignment caused him to approach God’s people with, as he puts it, “weakness, timidity and trembling.”
Paul had studied under the best of the best. When it came to religion and the law, Paul was a scholar. This is a screenshot of his resume:
“though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.”Philippians 3:4-6 NIV
“Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.” Acts of the Apostles 22:3 NLT
Paul was no slouch as you can see, but after meeting Jesus, he was determined never to make the preaching of the gospel about himself. His principal aim was not relying on his vast knowledge and training, but to rely on the true Power which comes from God alone. Though studying and education is important, Paul teaches us that it should never subvert the Word or power of God. Some people are just good orators, some are highly educated in religious studies as was Paul, but that should never be relied upon more than the Holy Spirit. Basic knowledge is no replacement for the anointing to teach God’s Word. Paul emptied himself to allow Christ to shine through everything he did. He wasn’t about being the center of attention, he wanted his hearers to leave with their trust placed solely on Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.
Read those verses again. He said don’t trust in human wisdom, trust in the power of God. It’s interesting the choice of words here. Power and Wisdom. When a christian promotes himself when he should be promoting the One he represents, then all eyes are on them. They have convinced others that they have all the answers. That’s man’s wisdom and ability saying “look at me!” But wisdom as it relates to the things of God, without the sustaining power of God, is prideful. When we stand in the absence of another, the focus should never be on us, but rather the One we represent. Paul said in essence, I know how to impress, I have the goods, but the wisdom you need to live successfully is not found in man but in the One, Jesus whom I represent. The reason why the church is so weak today, is what Paul strove to avoid: Flesh. He had wisdom, and he used it to destroy those he disagreed with.
Paul later learned from his encounter with the One who holds all power, that doing things God’s way was the pathway to true wisdom. Hence, he told his audience; “Don’t look at me, look at Jesus. He said, “I am determined to forget everything I thought I knew, except for Jesus.” I believe some preachers need to forget about themselves, their degrees from Bible College, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Stop working to be seen as the answer to their congregants problems, impressing man and displeasing God. Paul said he didn’t want anyone relying on the wisdom of man, speaking of himself, but the power of God. What is the power of God? The Inherent, uncompromising, unfailing, anointed Word of the Living God. Hebrews 4:12
Paul and the other apostles performed a lot of miracles. The wisdom of man couldn’t explain it, so they tried to elevate them. The apostles quickly took the attention off themselves and pointed the crowd to the power of God through the Name of Jesus Christ. Contrast with today’s superstars I mean preachers. They run to the nearest television camera to promote themselves, we’ve never read one scripture where the apostles promoted themselves as healers or prophets. They promoted the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus never promoted Himself, the power of God and the works He did drew crowds, but He clearly stated that everything He did was a direct result of the work of the Father. Whenever we demonstrate the power of God people will come. Let’s close with some examples of deflecting power away from man to Jesus.
“While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.” Acts of the Apostles 14:8-12, 14-15 NLT
“Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release Him.” Acts of the Apostles 3:1-8, 12-13 NLT
In both instances they had the opportunity to promote themselves. Instead, they chose to show the power of God. Whenever we choose our wisdom over God’s power, we’ll attract a crowd, but we’ll never attract God’s power to transform lives. 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 makes this amazing statement as well as a caveat, which all believers should remember when representing Jesus. Yes we have wisdom and authority, even limited power, but it’s not of us.
“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-7 NLT
Lord Jesus, we pray for godly wisdom to walk in your power by Your anointing pointing others away from ourselves towards You.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant