Lessons #43 and 44
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Manners of Paul’s preaching in Corinth (1 Cor 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. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
The message of this passage we are considering is: You should not rely on human abilities in presenting the gospel instead depend on the ministry of the Holy Spirit so those you witness to will trust in God’s power and not human abilities. We indicated in our last study that the apostle described the manners of his preaching of the gospel which he presented both negatively and positively. We started considering the negative manners of the apostle’s presentation of the gospel in form of guidelines that we should apply. The first guideline we considered is that you should not depend on your superior communication skills or cleverness when you present the gospel to others. So, we proceed to consider the second guideline.
A second guideline is that you should avoid being distracted with issues that are not related to the crucified Christ when you preach the gospel. This guideline is derived from what Apostle Paul stated in verse 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
There is the question of how to relate what the apostle wrote in verse 2 to what he stated in verse 1. This question arises because of the word “for” that begins verse 2 that is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has three main usages. It may be used as a marker of cause or reason for something so that it is translated “for.” It may be used as a marker of clarification in which case it may be translated “for, you see.” Under this usage as a marker of clarification, the conjunction may be used to express continuation or connection in which case it may not be translated or to signal an introduction of an important point or to signal a transition to another point so that it may be translated “now, well, then.” Another usage is as a marker of inference leading to the translation “certainly, by all means, so, then.” In our passage, there are two possibilities. It is used either to provide cause for what is stated in verse 1 as implied in majority of our English versions that begin the verse with the conjunction “for” or it is used to continue the apostle’s explanation of the manners of his preaching in Corinth. This second interpretation seems to be one adopted by the English versions such as the NCV, the NEB, among others, that did not translate the Greek conjunction. This second interpretation seems to be what the apostle had in mind since it enables further explanation of the manner of his preaching in Corinth given in verses 2 and 3. We are saying that the apostle continued in verse 2 to provide further explanation of the manner of his preaching of the message of the cross in Corinth.
This second manner of preaching of the apostle in Corinth involves not being concerned with anything that will distract from focusing on the person of Jesus Christ that died on the cross as the center of his preaching. It is this manner that is given in the sentence I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The apostle’s determination to remain focused on Jesus Christ while in Corinth and so not be distracted by any other factor is conveyed with two verbs used in the sentence. The first is the word “resolved” that is translated from a Greek word (krinō) that may mean “to judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about”, as it is used in Luke 6:37:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
By the way, Jesus’ instruction here is often applied to mean that you could not think critically, express opinion or make a conclusion about the rightness or wrongness of a given action. You see, there are some who do not want you to point to them that their action is wrong; so, if you do, they quote this passage to you and say something like “does not the Bible say you should not judge.” Others take it to mean that a person should not evaluate others either as a supervisor or even as a judge or jury in a legal situation. No! These are wrong applications of what Jesus taught. There is nothing wrong in evaluating others based on a set of criteria. For example, a local church is to accept or reject a person as a pastor based on certain criteria given in the third chapter of the first epistle of Apostle Paul to Timothy. Nor does it mean that you cannot point out an error or sin that one has committed since other passages of the Scripture requires such an action. The point of the instruction of the Lord Jesus is that as we interact with others, it is possible we could observe some actions on their part that would lead us to look down upon them or become very critical and have a judgmental spirit towards them. Therefore, the instruction of Jesus is that we should never get involved in looking down on others based on their actions, which are not really in conflict with God’s truth but only in conflict with our prejudices. That aside, our Greek word may mean to make a judgment based on taking various factors into account hence “to judge, think, consider, look upon” as the word is used in the reason Apostles Paul and Barnabas gave for turning their attention from the Jews to Gentiles regarding the preaching of the gospel in Acts 13:46:
Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
The Greek word may mean to reach a conclusion after a reasoning process and so means “to reach a decision, decide, propose, intend” as the word is used to describe the conclusion of Governor Felix regarding the charges the Jews brought against Apostle Paul, as recorded in Acts 25:25:
I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.
The Greek verb may mean to pass an unfavorable judgment upon someone, that is, “to criticize, find fault with, condemn”, as Apostle Paul used it to advise proper attitude one should have regarding the issue of dietary law in Romans 14:3:
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
The Greek word may mean “to select, prefer” as the Apostle Paul used it in his teaching regarding the selection of day of worship in Romans 14:5:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The translators of the NIV used the meaning “to consider” to translate the Greek verb that in the passage of Romans 14:5 conveys the sense of preference regarding the estimation of a day of worship so that the English versions used several words to reflect this. In a judicial process, the Greek word may mean “to judge, hand over for judicial punishment” as it is used for future judgment by Christ in 2 Timothy 4:1:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:2 the Greek word is used in the sense of reaching a decision to take a course of action, following careful reflection so that the word here means “to resolve, to decide.” The decision of the apostle concerns his manner of preaching the message of the cross in Corinth. This brings us to the second word we should consider.
The second word that conveys apostle’s determination to remain focused on Jesus Christ while in Corinth is the word “know” that is translated from a Greek word (oida) that may mean to grasp the meaning of something or to comprehend, that is, “to understand, recognize, come to know, experience” as in John 16:18:
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
The sentence We don’t understand what he is saying is literally we don’t know what he is saying. The Greek word may mean “to remember, recollect” as in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that the Galatians, prior to their salvation, did not know the true God in Galatians 4:8:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
The Greek word may mean “to understand how, to learn how” as Apostle Paul used the word to convey the sense of learning how to control one’s sexual desire to avoid sexual immorality in 1 Thessalonians 4:4:
that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
The sentence each of you should learn to control his own body of the NIV is literally each of you know how to possess his own vessel. The Greek word may mean “to honor, respect” as in the instruction of what is expected of believers relating to their spiritual leaders as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:12:
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
The verbal phrase to respect those who work hard among you is literally to know those laboring among you, which does not make much sense unless it is understood either to mean to respect or honor such individuals since believers would have known such persons. The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of being intimately acquainted with or stand in close relationship to someone so that it is used to know God, not merely to know theoretically of His existence, but to have a positive relationship with Him as in the claim in Titus 1:16:
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:2, the sense of the word is that of having knowledge about something or someone. Of course, the apostle used the Greek word with a negative “not” so that the apostle meant he was not interested in having knowledge about anything that distracts from the gospel message.
We should be careful to understand what the apostle was concerned when he penned down the sentence I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. He does not mean that he does not care about what happens to people in Corinth for he did; otherwise, he would not have gone to preach the gospel to them. He means, as we have already stated, he is not concerned to have knowledge regarding the things that would distract from his preaching of Jesus Christ crucified. However, the apostle did not specify what he was not interested in focusing since the word nothing of the NIV is translated from a Greek indefinite pronoun (tis) that may refer to someone or something indefinite. It may also refer to someone or something of prominence or distinction hence means “someone important, something important”, as it used in Gamaliel’s speech to the Sanhedrin to leave the apostles alone because if their preaching is not from God it will not amount to anything as the people have observed in the past, especially of someone who claims to be important, as recorded in Acts 5:36:
Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
Anyway, the apostle did not specify what he had in mind since he simply used the Greek pronoun translated “nothing” in the NIV. However, the preceding context enables us to understand some of the things the apostle would have in mind as what may distract from the preaching of the message of the cross. He would have had in mind the ongoing focus on discussion about miracles among the Jews and debate concerning wisdom among the Greeks as he referenced in 1 Corinthians 1:22–23:
22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
Thus, the apostle did not want to be involved in any kind of philosophical debate that distracts from the preaching of the message of the cross. He was more concerned about presenting Jesus Christ crucified in a way that those he preached would understand, similar to what he said to the Galatians who were drifting away from the simple message of the gospel of Jesus Christ in Galatians 3:1:
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
The apostle is consumed with the person of Jesus Christ as he conveyed, for example, about his desire in Philippians 3:10:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
The point is that the apostle would not allow anything to distract him from focusing on the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. In effect, the verbal phrase Jesus Christ and him crucified refers to Jesus the One who is the Messiah and the One who died on the cross. Of course, the word “and” is used to emphasize or explain the Jesus in view is the One that was crucified on the cross. The apostle’s approach is the basis of the second guideline we have stated, which is, you should avoid being distracted with issues that are not related to the crucified Christ when you preach the gospel. We should be aware that there are many issues today like debate on evolution or the age of the earth that may distract a person in preaching of the gospel and so should be avoided. The guideline is not intended to give us a laundry list of what we should not get involved with when we are presenting the gospel but simply to convey the truth that we should be aware of anything that will keep us from focusing on the message of the gospel and so to avoid it. This brings us to the third guideline.
There is an observation we should make before we state the third guideline. It is that the basis of the third guideline is different from the previous two guidelines we have stated. Likewise, its basis is different from the fourth guideline we will get to at the appropriate time that is similar to the first two. The difference is that the first two guidelines we have stated and the fourth, yet to be stated, are based on the apostle declaring something he did not do. In other words, the first two and the fourth guidelines are derived from sentences that contain the word “not” so it is clear the sentences stated what the apostle did not do as he preached the message of the cross in Corinth. In contrast, the sentence that we will use to establish the third guideline does not contain the word “not.” Nonetheless, the sentence on which we base the third guidelines states that which is negative without the use of the word “not.” Consequently, it makes good sense to use what is expressed in the sentence that we will get to shortly in stating the third guideline.
The third guideline for preaching the message of the cross is that you should not allow fear to keep you from witnessing. You may feel apprehensive about presenting the gospel to another person so that you may be tempted to recoil and not present it, but you should resist that urge. This we say because the apostle described truthfully the manner of his preaching the message of the cross in Corinth as that which involved fear and trembling as stated in 1 Corinthians 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
The translators of the NIV did not reflect any connective between verses 3 and 2 despite the fact the Greek begins with the phrase And I. The phrase is used to provide additional information beyond what is given in verse 1 although some take it to be the apostle’s way of contrasting himself and the self-confidence of false preachers. Both interpretations may be applicable here in that the apostle provided an additional information about himself and his preaching in Corinth that contrast with that of the false teachers who relied on their human abilities. If we are correct, as we believe we are, this supports our interpretation that the Greek conjunction translated “for” in verse 2 is used for continuing the apostle’s discussion as it relates to his manner of preaching the message of the cross in Corinth.
We contend that verse 3 is still concerned with the manner of the apostle’s preaching in Corinth. There are two indicators of this assertion in the verse. The first is the sentence I came to you, so we know the apostle is continuing to describe his visit to Corinth since he made similar sentence in verse 1 when he wrote I came.
The translators of the NIV and many English versions translate the Greek verb used as I came but other English versions such as the NASB, the NET, among others, translated the Greek with I was. The difference is due to preference in the translation of the Greek word used. The word “came” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (ginomai) with a range of meanings. For example, it may “to go” as it is used to describe the women who went to Jesus’ tomb in Luke 24:22:
In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
The Greek word may mean “to become” as being in a certain state as e Apostle Paul used it to describe his moral state and that of his team when they were in Thessalonica, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 2:10:
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.
The sentence we were is more literally we became. Thus, the Greek word may mean “to be.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:3, there is no significant difference between the two approaches reflected in our English versions that is whether it is translated I came or I was. This is because a person could not be in a place without arriving at that location as illustrated by the apostle using our Greek word to describe Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy 1:17:
On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
Onesiphorous was said to be in Rome, implying he traveled to that city from another place. Thus, there is no difference between the translation I came or I was. The concern is how to understand the apostle’s focus in his assertion in the Greek. There are two possibilities. The apostle’s focus could be on his state or condition when he first arrived in Corinth or the focus was on his condition during his entire stay in Corinth. It is more likely that the apostle was focused on his condition or state during his entire stay in Corinth since he had already described his condition when he first arrived in Corinthians 2:1. In any event, the first indicator that verse 3 is still concerned with the manner of the apostle’s preaching in Corinth is the sentence I came or I was.
The other indicator the apostle was continuing with the manner of his preaching in Corinth is the preposition in in the phrase in weakness and fear that is translated from a Greek preposition (en) the apostle used three times in verse 3. It has a range of usages. In our passage, the first usage of the preposition is as a marker of state or condition so that it is properly translated “to” in the NIV in the phrase to you. The second and third occurrences of the preposition are used as markers of manner in which an event occurs and so should be translated “with” as reflected in the 2011 edition of the NIV and a handful of other English versions so that instead of the phrase in weakness and fear, and with much trembling of the 1984 edition of the NIV we have the phrase in weakness with great fear and trembling. Even this translation does not convey fully that the preposition is concerned with the manner of apostle’s preaching as being involved with weakness, fear, and trembling. The English version that in my opinion captured this interpretation is the CEB that reads I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. Thus, the apostle in using this preposition conveys the manner involved in his preaching in Corinth although the manner is that which conveys something negative.
The apostle revealed he was guided by the Holy Spirit as he penned down the sentence of 1 Corinthians 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling we are considering. You see, the apostle was truthful in what he stated. He did not give the impression he was a superman but admitted freely that he was apprehensive when he came to preach to the Corinthians and remained so the entire time he was in Corinth. However, his apprehensions did not keep him from preaching or teaching God’s word. I will think that anyone who communicates the truth of God’s word has the same sense of apprehension in teaching the word of God, especially as he teaches things that are not popular. I have confessed to you several times how scared I am to stand behind the pulpit to teach some truth that I know would shake us to our core. But like the apostle I continue to teach relying on the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. Hence, the third guideline we are considering that you should not allow fear to keep you from witnessing. How urgently this guideline is needed to among pastors who give comfort to their congregations by preaching only what please them instead of the whole realm of truth of the Scripture. This aside, the apostle described his state of apprehension using three words – weakness, fear and trembling that we will consider shortly.
Apostle Paul he was in a state of weakness as in the sentence I came to you in weakness. The word “weakness” is translated from a Greek word (astheneia) that may mean “weakness” in the sense of lacking confidence or feeling of inadequacy, as it is used to describe us believers for whom the Holy Spirit intercedes with God the Father because we are spiritually not strong, as reported in Romans 8:26:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
The Greek word may mean “weakness” in the sense of incapacity for something or experience of limitation as the apostle used the word to report the Lord’s reply to his petition to heal him of his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12:9:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
The word may mean “weakness” in the sense of the frailty that characterize human nature as it is used to describe Christ in 2 Corinthians 13:4:
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.
The Greek word may mean a state of debilitating illness hence means “sickness, disease” as the word is used in the Apostle Paul’s instruction to Timothy about drinking some wine for medicinal purpose in 1 Timothy 5:23:
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
It is probably the case that the apostle may be physically weak when he came to preach in Corinth, but our Greek word is used in 1 Corinthians 2:3 in the sense of a feeling of inadequacy. In other words, the apostle was not confident in his own ability to preach so he relied on the Spirit. It is important that we do not become arrogant to think that we are adequate to preach the word of God without the empowerment of the Spirit. Thus, the apostle meant that he came to the Corinthians in a state whereby he could not rely on his natural abilities as he preached the gospel. He freely confessed his inadequacy to the Corinthians, so we also will recognize that we should not rely on self.
Another admission of the apostle regarding the manner of his preaching in Corinth is his feelings of apprehension as in the word fear of 1 Corinthians 2:3. The word “fear” is translated from a Greek word (phobos) that may mean “terror” as it is used to describe what a ruling authority does not represent for those who obey the law in Romans 13:3:
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
The Greek word may mean “intimidation” as it is used to encourage believers not to be intimidated because of suffering for righteousness in 1 Peter 3:14:
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
The command Do not fear what they fear may alternatively be translated do not be intimidated by their intimidation. The Greek word may mean “fear, alarm, fright” as it is used for the request of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians regarding how to treat Titus in 2 Corinthians 7:15:
And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
The Greek word when used in relation to God means “reverence,” as in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
When it is used in relation to humans, especially one in authority, it means “respect” as the apostle used the word in the instruction of the attitude slaves were to have towards their masters, as recorded in Ephesians 6:5:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:3, it means “fear” in the sense of an emotion that one experiences in anticipation of some specific pain or danger. Thus, it is likely that the apostle had a feeling of anxiety not knowing how the Corinthians would receive the message of the cross and the Christian doctrines he espoused to them.
Another description of the manner of the apostle as he preached in Corinth involves an attitude related to fear, that is, trembling as in the word trembling. The word “trembling” is translated from a Greek word (tromos) that means “trembling, quivering” that is usually used together with another word in its five occurrences in the Greek NT. It is used with the word “amazement” in describing the reaction of the women who came to Jesus’ tomb following His resurrection, as narrated in Mark 16:8:
Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
The word “bewildered” is translated from a Greek word (ekstasis) that may mean a state of consternation or profound emotional experience to the point of being beside oneself, hence means “amazement or astonishment.” The other occurrences of the word are found in the epistles of Apostle Paul where it is used together with the word “fear.” It is used in the passage we cited previously concerning the apostle’s instruction to the Corinthians regarding their reception of Titus, that is, in 2 Corinthians 7:15:
And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.
It is used in the instruction regarding the attitude of slaves to their masters in the passage that also we cited previously, that is, Ephesians 6:5:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
The apostle used it together with the word “fear” in his admonition of Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Its final occurrence with the word “fear” is in our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:3. The apostle because he had a feeling of anxiety trembled as he preached to the Corinthians. Trembling because of fear can be a good thing depending on what is involved. It is a good thing to tremble regarding God’s word so that a person is careful not to disobey it since God approves of those who tremble because of His word, as in Isaiah 66:2:
Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.
“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
The apostle’s trembling was probably a combination of his respect for the word he preached and his fear of how those he preached will receive his message. Regardless of what the situation was, it did not keep the apostle from preaching. Hence, the third guideline we have stated, which is, you should not allow fear to keep you from witnessing.
The fourth guideline regarding witnessing is you should not depend on your persuasive ability when you present the gospel to an unbeliever. This guideline is based on Apostle Paul’s assertion regarding the manner of his preaching in Corinth as given in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words.
It may appear the apostle is concerned with two things in the phrase My message and my preaching especially as the translators of the NIV and other English versions introduced the word “were” that would suggest at least two things. Furthermore, many interpreters take the view the apostle was concerned with two things that involve private and public communications. Thus, they say, for example, that “speech” or in the words of the NIV “message” refers to the form or manner of the apostle’s presentation while “preaching” refers to its contents. These notwithstanding, it does not seem that the apostle was concerned with two different things in the phrase My message and my preaching but one thing as we will seek to demonstrate. To prove our interpretation that the apostle was not concerned with two things but one thing, it is necessary to give the literal translation from the Greek. Literally, the sentence reads my word and my proclamation/preaching not with persuasiveness of wisdom.
The word “word” is translated from a Greek word (logos) that concerns communication of what is in a person’s mind so that it means “word.” However, it has several nuances. For example, it may mean “speech, assertion” in the sense of what comes out of a person’s mouth. It is in the sense of “speech” the word is used to describe Moses in Acts 7:22:
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The verbal phrase was powerful in speech is literally was powerful in his words which means Moses was a good speaker or had a great ability to speak. The Greek word may also mean “proclamation, instruction, teaching, message” as it is used in Titus 1:9:
He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Thus, to avoid any misconception of what the apostle had in mind, he explained the Greek word using another Greek word (kērygma) that means “proclamation.” In effect, the apostle is concerned to convey that his communication is not just that of an ordinary speech or conversation but the proclamation of God’s word. His proclamation is primarily the preaching of the gospel but there is also the teaching of Christian doctrines that go along with proclamation of God’s word. Anyway, our interpretation that the apostle was concerned with one thing, proclaiming the word of God is supported by the word “and” used in the phrase my message and my preaching. The conjunction “and” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that in some contexts is used to explain something that precedes a word so that it may be translated “that is, namely.” It is this sense that it is used in our passage to explain what the apostle meant when he used the Greek word that literally means “word.” It is not only in our phrase in 1 Corinthians 2:4 that the apostle used the conjunction “and” to explain what precedes regarding proclamation but also in Romans 16:25:
Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,
The phrase my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ like our phrase my message and my preaching is not concerned with two things but one thing, the preaching of the gospel. Hence, the word “proclamation” is used to explain what the gospel message is about. This means that the phrase my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ is to be understood either as “the Good News which is about Jesus Christ” or “my gospel, which is the proclamation of Jesus Christ.” The point is the apostle in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:4 my message and my preaching is not concerned with two things but one thing, that is, his public proclamation of God’s truth either in the form of preaching of gospel or the teaching of Christian doctrines.
Be that as it may, the apostle was eager to convey to the Corinthians that his proclamation of God’s word is not based on his ability to persuade people with either his learning or great speaking ability. It is this acknowledgement the apostle stated in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:4 not with wise and persuasive words. In effect, in as much as it is important to present the truth in a persuasive manner, the apostle denies he relied on the gift or art of persuasion in proclaiming God’s truth. Thus, the guideline we stated which is that we should not depend on our ability to persuade anyone with good arguments when we present the gospel message. It is not only through Apostle Paul the Holy Spirit conveys the truth of not relying on our ability to argue or use words that are intended to persuade someone to accept the truth, but He also did through Apostle Peter using different wordings in 2 Peter 1:16:
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Peter conveyed the same concept as Paul in that the verbal phrase cleverly invented stories may be arguments that are intended to persuade people to accept a point of view. He denied preaching the gospel message in a way that involves use of gimmicks to persuade people to accept the truth. The point we are stressing based on what the apostles conveyed is that we should not rely on our ability to argue our points as that which will bring about the result God intended when His word is declared. It is easy to fall into this kind of thinking without knowing it. You see, all those who preach or witness to others about Jesus Christ face this temptation of depending on their ability to persuade others to accept the truth. The problem is that such dependency is subtle that we often would not recognize that it is what we are doing. The way we can recognize this temptation is that often after presenting the truth, we think of what we should have said but did not say, so we feel we have failed because we did not fully communicate what we should. It seems that when we do this we have failed to recognize that it is not our ability to persuade our hearer that will bring the result we expect in presenting the gospel message. My point is that anytime you feel bad or when you feel you have not communicated the word of God properly because there are things you should have said but did not then you have fallen into the trap of thinking it is your ability to persuade anyone that brings about the result only the Holy Spirit produces.
Having cautioned us not to be carried away with our ability to persuade people in presenting the gospel, it is important we understand the guideline is not intended to encourage sloppiness in the presentation of the truth or that we should not be crisp in presenting the truth. We say this because Apostle Paul certainly presented the truth in a manner that is persuasive. Reading of his epistles support the fact that he was persuasive in presenting the truth. He preached the gospel in such a way to persuade his hearers to accept the truth he preached. If this was not the case, we would not have the question of King Agrippa given in Acts 26:28:
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”
Agrippa’s question may be understood as a statement of fact that he understood Paul was trying to make him a Christian or as a sarcastic statement “so you think you can make a Christian of me!” Regardless of what he meant; the point is that the apostle must have been persuasive as he presented the gospel message to him. It is difficult to understand how a person would be presenting the gospel message if the individual does not want to persuade the unbeliever to believe. Thus, the apostle is not saying to the Corinthians that he never spoke in a persuasive manner but that he did not rely on such art for result. Hence, we should be careful to understand that we are not to become sloppy in presenting the truth because of the guideline we have stated. Furthermore, to think we should be sloppy in presentation of the truth is contrary to what is implied in the Scripture by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit intends for us to be well equipped to present the truth to others. We are to be well prepared to argue our doctrinal position or we should be equipped with proper information to defend what we believe in keeping with the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
To be prepared to defend what we believe, requires we have information that we will use in a reasoned manner that is intended to persuade a person to come to the same view as we hold. So, we should be clear we are not to be sloppy regarding truth because of our fourth guideline which is you should not depend on your persuasive ability when you present the gospel to an unbeliever. There is more to this guideline and that is where we begin in our next study.
05/25/18