In Greek rhetoric it was agreed that you could boast in your weaknesses if it proved your point.  In England, where I grew up, people tended to moan about their weakness.  English pessimism and negativity has really come home to me as I have read the English press on-line and seen the comments the public posts.  In contrast, Americans seem to have no problem boasting about their most insignificant achievements.  It seems that something is perceived as desperately wrong with a person’s self-esteem who cannot echo Mohammad Ali’s “I am the greatest”.  Of course, there is another path.  I can discern what God wants to do in my life, embrace it, and boast about God.  Paul is eloquent and he is wise, but that does not carry his message.  Paul relies on the power of the truth.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2}For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Questions

1. What did Paul proclaim without eloquence or superior wisdom?
2. What did Paul resolve to know?
3. How was Paul’s message demonstrated?
4. How does God’s work through Jesus dominate your thinking?
5. How do you inspire your family to know Jesus?

Going Deeper

Observation

1. What word is used for how Paul communicated the testimony about God?
2. What three words describe how Paul came to the Corinthians?
3. What did Paul’s preaching not include?
4. What must the Corinthian faith not rest upon?
5. What should the Corinthian faith rest upon?

Interpretation

1. What is the difference that distinguishes proclaiming from other forms of teaching?
2. Why doesn’t Paul own the testimony that he gives – he writes ‘the’ rather than ‘my’?
3. Why does Paul repeat ‘I came to you’?
4. Why does Paul use wise and persuasive words in his letters but very simple words in his preaching?
5. How might simple words and powerful actions communicate to people who don’t know God more powerfully than wise and persuasive words?

Application

1. Whose role is it to proclaim the gospel in today’s world?
2. What should be the content of the good news that we communicate?
3. How can you identify with Paul’s emotions when communicating God’s truth?
4. How does the knowledge that faith in the power of God is the bedrock of effective sharing of the gospel?
5. With whom could you share the power of God through words and actions this week?