Lessons #45 and 46
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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.
We are considering the guideline that as a believer, you should adhere when you present the gospel to others which is, you should not depend on your persuasive ability when you present the gospel to an unbeliever. This guideline is negative in a sense but there is a positive aspect to it which is our concern for our study today. This positive aspect we present as another guideline involved in preaching of the gospel message.
The fifth guideline regarding the preaching of the gospel is this: you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message. This guideline is important for effective witnessing. You see, there is the tendency for us as believers to forget that while it is necessary to have the truth or to correctly interpret a given passage but without the enablement of the Holy Spirit the message will not be effective. The importance of reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit for witnessing was underscored by our Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection. Recall that He had schooled the apostles and disciples for three years, but He instructed them not to venture out to preach until they received the Holy Spirit as recorded in Luke 24:49:
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
We are not at this point concerned with the problem of this passage of Luke as to whether the passage is concerned with the receiving of the Holy Spirit or the outpouring of the Spirit but to underscore the fact that our Lord is concerned to convey to the disciples the importance of the filling of the Spirit in witnessing. Thus, the Lord conveyed to the disciples the necessity of empowerment of the Spirit for effective witnessing. By the way, if you are interested in the problem of this passage in Luke, I suggest you listen to lessons #581 and 582 of our study of Luke as given in the website of the Berean Bible Church, Bay Springs, Mississippi. That aside, our concern is simply to state that our Lord Jesus underscored the necessity of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for effective witnessing or preaching of the word of God in Luke 24:49. The same truth is conveyed in the instruction of Acts 1:8:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Power to be witnesses for Christ, that is, to preach the gospel effectively, is related to the Holy Spirit. Thus, the filling of the Spirit will result in power that is necessary to be witnesses for Christ.
The book of Acts records for us several illustrations of witnessing for Christ that involved the power of the Spirit. The first sermon preached by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost was certainly a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. We are certain of this because Peter was among the disciples that were filled of the Spirit as stated in Acts 2:4:
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Our English versions usually used the verbal phrase filled with the Holy Spirit which as I have argued in our study of Ephesians 5:18 (see lesson #207 and 208 on church website) should better be translated filled of the Holy Spirit. That aside, Peter was filled of the Spirit and it was under the empowerment of the Spirit that he delivered his first sermon recorded in the second chapter of Acts. If you read that sermon you will probably wonder what the apostle said that captivated the audience that they asked what they should do to be saved instead of the usual practice that we find today where people are told to come forward for salvation. I am referring to the response of the audience, as recorded in Acts 2:37:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
The question of the audience is due to the impact of the message of the apostle. However, such an impact would not be possible without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit on the apostle. Without the empowerment of the Spirit what we say or preach become words only. But when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit the word we preach become quite effective. Take another example. Following the healing of a crippled man and the arrest of Apostles Peter and John, Peter witnessed to the Jewish leaders in a powerful manner so that they perceived that he and John were courageous as they testified in Acts 4:13:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Before Peter delivered the message to the religious leaders, we are informed that he was filled of the Spirit, according to Acts 4:8:
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!
Thus, it was the filling of the Spirit that enable Peter to have courage to deliver the gospel message to the Jewish religious leaders. The point is that the filling of the Spirit leads to courage and effectiveness in witnessing for Christ. This truth is also illustrated by the fact that the early church preached powerfully because of the filling of the Holy Spirit as we can gather from Acts 4:31:
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Hence, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of the filling of the Spirit regarding witnessing. The point is that we should strive to be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that we will have the power He provides for witnessing.
In any case, the guideline we are considering is this: you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message. This guideline is derived from the Apostle Paul’s declaration concerning the manner of His preaching of the gospel as we read in the contrasting phrase the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4 but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. Literally the Greek reads but in demonstration of the Spirit and power.
The conjunction but is used to contrast the dependence on natural ability to that of dependence on the Holy Spirit in preaching of the gospel. In effect, the apostle wanted to convey that he did not depend on his learning or any human wisdom to preach the gospel message. In contrast to relying on any human abilities, he relied on the power of the Spirit. The manner of his preaching is evident in what he described in the literal phrase in demonstration of the Spirit and power.
In any case, there is the question of the relationship between the word “Spirit” and “power” but before we consider it, we need to examine the phrase demonstration of the Spirit. The Greek syntax involved indicates that there are at least two ways of reading the Greek phrase. It could be read as “the Spirit demonstrates”, implying that the Spirit demonstrates the apostle’s preaching is true or “demonstrating the Spirit”, indicating the apostle’s preaching demonstrated the presence of the Spirit. To determine which of these interpretations that was in the apostle’s mind we need to consider the key words used. The first is the word “demonstration” that is translated from a Greek noun (apodeixis) that appears only in this passage in the NT, but it is related to a Greek verb (apodeiknymi) with a range of meanings. The Greek verb may mean “to proclaim” as it is used to describe the “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:4:
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
The Greek verb may mean “to display, show forth, attest, demonstrate” as it is used to describe what God did regarding Jesus in Acts 2:22:
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
The verbal phrase a man accredited by God may be translated a man attested by God. The Greek verb may mean “to prove,” that is, to demonstrate that something is true as the word is used to indicate that the Jews who brought charges against Paul before Governor Festus were unable to demonstrate them to be true in Acts 25:7:
When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.
The meanings of the Greek verb indicate the Greek noun means “demonstration, proof”, that is, the act of presenting something to sight or view to establish the validity of something.
The second key word “spirit” is translated from a Greek noun (pneuma) that may refer to that which animates or gives life to the body. Thus, it may mean “spirit” as that given up at the point of death as Jesus did, according to Matthew 27:50:
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
The meaning “spirit” could refer to an independent being that continues to live in heaven, as indicated in Hebrews 12:23:
to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
The word may mean “breath” as in 2 Thessalonians 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
The word may mean “spirit” as part of human personality or the representative part of human inner life and so may, for example, mean “mind”, as in 2 Corinthians 2:13:
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The phrase peace of mind is literally rest in my spirit. The Greek word may mean “spirit” as a reference to an independent noncorporeal being, in contrast to a being that can be perceived by the physical senses as it is used to describe God in John 4:24:
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
It is in this sense that the word is used to describe other beings created by God that are described as evil in Acts 5:16:
Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
It may mean “Spirit” as that as that which differentiates God from everything that is not God, as the divine power that produces all divine existence, as the divine element in which all divine life is carried on, as the bearer of every application of the divine will. Hence, when used with the word “holy” may mean “Holy Spirit” as in Ephesians 4:30:
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The Greek word may mean “Spirit” in the sense of an independent transcendent personality, that is, as a member of the Godhead as in Matthew 28:19:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
In our passage, the Greek word is used as a reference to the third member of the Godhead, that is, the Holy Spirit.
Our interpretation that the Greek word translated “spirit” in our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:4 refers to the Holy Spirit enables us to decide what the apostle meant in the literal phrase demonstration of the Spirit. Because “Spirit” refers to the Holy Spirit then we have a case where this phrase asserts both interpretations. This means that the apostle meant to say that the Spirit demonstrates the apostle’s preaching is true as well as his preaching demonstrates the presence of the Holy Spirit. In effect, the apostle was asserting that he relied on the power of the Holy Spirit who in turn authenticates his message. The authentication of Paul’s preaching during his first missionary trip is reported in Acts 14:3:
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.
The apostle was conscious that the power of the Holy spirit was behind his preaching as well as the miracles that the Lord performed through him as he stated in Romans 15:19:
by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
The same conviction of the display of the power of the Holy Spirit in the apostle’s preaching is also stated in 1 Thessalonians 1:5:
because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
In any event, the apostle intended the Corinthians and so all believers to understand that his preaching was carried out under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit who shows his preaching to be true since the recipients believed and were saved. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit authenticated the apostle’s preaching through signs and wonders performed through the apostle. That aside, the apostle wanted to convey that he relied on the Holy Spirit and not on his natural abilities in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, hence the guideline we are considering which is you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message. This brings us back to our concern of the relationship between “spirit” and “power” in the literal translation of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:4 in demonstration of (the) Spirit and of power.
The interpretation of the relationship between the word “spirit” and “power” is affected by the meanings that are assigned to the Greek words translated “power” and the Greek conjunction translated and in our literal phrase in demonstration of (the) Spirt and of power translated in the NIV a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
The word “power” is translated from a Greek word (dynamis) from which we get our English word “dynamite.” It may mean potential for functioning in some way and so means “power, might, strength, force, capability.” It is in the sense of capability that the word is used when the Apostle Peter explained his miracle as not due to his own capability but that provided through the name of Jesus Christ, as we read in Acts 3:12:
When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
It is with the meaning of ability to function that the Greek word translated “power” is used in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
The Greek word may refer to “power” that works wonder as it is that which Jesus declared went out from Him after the woman with bleeding was healed in Mark 5:30:
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
The word “power” may refer to effectiveness in contrast to mere words or appearance, as Apostle Paul used the word in a passage we cited previously, that is,1 Thessalonians 1:5:
because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
The word may mean “ability” to carry out something, as the word is used to describe the generosity of the Macedonian churches in 2 Corinthians 8:3:
For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
The word may mean “miracle, wonder” as it is used in the Apostle Paul’s question to the Galatians who were gravitating towards the law as a means of justification, as we read in Galatians 3:5:
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
The word may mean “power” in the sense of a being, human or transcendent, that functions in a remarkable manner so it is used for created supernatural beings in Ephesians 1:21:
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
The word may refer to capacity to convey thought and so means “meaning”, as the word is used in 1 Corinthians 14:11:
If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.
The phrase the meaning of what someone is saying is more literally the power of the voice. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:4, the meaning of the word is either “power” in the sense of potential for functioning in some way or “miracle.” Its precise meaning depends in part on how we understand the Greek conjunction translated “and” in the literal translation.
The conjunction “and” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that is used in several ways in the Greek. The word may be used as a marker of connections of words or clauses with the meaning “and” although in some contexts, this usage may indicate a hendiadys (the expression of a single idea by two words connected with ‘and’), as the word is used in the promise of the Lord to aid believers when facing hostile authorities, as we read in Luke 21:15:
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
Here the Lord’s promise is concerned with the kind of response He will give to His disciples so that the phrase words and wisdom may be simply translated wise utterance. In this usage as a marker of connection, it may be used with the meaning “and” to indicate two clauses are of equal rank in a sentence, that is, coordinate as in the declaration of Jesus to the Jews in John 7:33:
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.
The Greek conjunction may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes with the meaning “and then, and so.” This usage is often associated with commands. For example, the Holy Spirit through James instructs believers to resist the devil so that the result will be he will leave them alone, as recorded in James 4:7:
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The Greek conjunction may be used as a marker of explanation of what precedes its usage in a sentence with the meaning “that is, namely” as the apostle used it to explain what he meant by grace he received in Romans 1:5:
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
The phrase grace and apostleship may be translated grace, that is, the office of an apostle as suggested in BAGD. The Greek conjunction may mean “even” as the apostle used it in describing the nature of the activities of unbelievers in Ephesians 5:12:
For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
We have considered the various usages of the Greek conjunction translated “and” in the literal phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:4 in demonstration of (the) Spirit and of power. The range of usages leads to at least three interpretations of the relationship of “Spirit” and “power” in our phrase. A first interpretation is that “power” is of equal importance to the word “Spirit,” that is, to say, the demonstration the apostle had in mind is that of the Spirit and that of power, implying the Greek word translated “power” should mean “miracle.” A second interpretation is that “power” explains what the demonstration of the Spirit is or that it is that which results from the Spirit. A third interpretation is that we have a hendiadys in which the single idea is the power or the capability of the Spirit as reflected in the translation of the NIV of the phrase the Spirit’s power.
Which of these interpretations did the apostle have in mind? Truly, it is difficult to be certain since each interpretation makes sense in the context. This notwithstanding, it appears that the second interpretation that “power” explains what the demonstration of the Spirit is or that it is that which results from the Spirit is intended. This is first the case if the Greek word translated “demonstration” is given its meaning of “proof” then the proof of the Holy Spirit is power evident in the preaching of the gospel that will be recognized by its effect and miracles that God grants as He chooses. Second, it is because the apostle associates “power” elsewhere with the Holy Spirit as in the passage we cited previously in Ephesians 3:16:
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Similar association is given in the passage we also cited previously, that is, 1 Thessalonians 1:5:
because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
The phrase with power, with the Holy Spirit is literally in power and in (the) Holy Spirit. Of course, this literal phrase faces the same difficulty in interpretation as the one we have considered since the literal phrase in (the) Holy Spirit may be interpreted either as providing explanation of what preceded it or is coordinate with what preceded or that the powerful effect of the gospel was produced by the Holy Spirit. In any event, our interpretation indicates that the Greek word translated “power” is to be understood not as “miracle” but power in the sense of the capability to carry out a specified function that the Holy Spirit gives. The point being that the apostle conveyed his dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit instead of reliance on human abilities hence the guideline we have stated, which is, you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message.
Be that as it may, people often have the tendency to be captivated by the brilliance of a speaker or the oratory of such a person so that they are not grounded in the message the person delivered. The apostle being aware of this indicates that his reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit is not only for effective preaching but on the impact, it would have on the Corinthians. This impact is that they should not rely on how he or any other person delivered to them the message of the gospel but on the power of God the Holy Spirit. It is this reason that is given in 1 Corinthians 2:5 In order that your faith may be not in wisdom of men but in power of God. Of course, some take this clause is providing the result of the apostle’s preaching, which is possible. However, it is probably that the apostle was concerned with purpose of his explanation of his dependence on the Spirit than the result of his preaching. What is this “faith” the apostle had in mind? To answer this, we need to examine the Greek word translated “faith.”
The word “faith” is translated from a Greek word (pistis) that has several meanings. The word can mean faithfulness and or commitment. It is in the sense of faithfulness that the word is used by our Lord to rebuke the Jews of focusing on the practice of tithing as authorized in the OT while ignoring the more important aspect of the law in Matthew 23:23:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
It is in the sense of commitment that the word is used of God in Romans 3:3:
What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
The verbal phrase nullify God’s faithfulness can also be translated nullify the commitment of God so it is clear that the Greek word translated faith can mean “faithfulness” or “commitment.”
The Greek word translated “faith” can mean faith in the active sense of believing or trusting in someone; the kind of believing that brings salvation, hence “trust.” It is in this sense that the Apostle Paul used it in Romans 3:22:
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Here the apostle indicates that there is a righteousness that comes by trusting Jesus Christ or believing in Him. It is in the sense of “confidence” that the Greek word translated “faith” is used in 1 Peter 1:21:
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Apostle Peter indicates that the recipients of his epistle have confidence in God.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “true piety or genuine devotion or even firm commitment.” Stephen was described as one who had a genuine devotion or firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ in that he did not waver in what he believed but was fully devoted to the Lord. This is the sense of the word “faith” in Acts 6:5:
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
It is in this sense of true piety or genuine devotion or firm commitment that the Apostle Paul used our Greek word in his thanksgiving to God on behalf of the Roman Christians in Romans 1:8:
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
The apostle was not thanking God on behalf of the Romans for the fact that they have faith in Christ as believers but for the quality of their faith in which case it was their genuine devotion to Christ that caused him to thank God on their behalf.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is as an important virtue that Christians should have, or they have, because of believing in Christ or because of the Holy Spirit operating in them. So, it is used to describe “faithfulness” as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
That faith refers to an important Christian virtue is evident in the fact that it is often associated with the virtue of love and so the apostle used it in his epistle to Timothy in Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13:
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
This sense of Christian virtue in the Greek word translated “faith” is also evident in the apostle’s commendation of Philemon in Philemon 5:
because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is a reference to a religious movement such as the Christian faith, which is essentially the same as “the Christian religion.” It is in this sense that the Apostle Paul used it in Galatians 1:23:
They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Paul’s former effort was focused on exterminating Christians and so the Christian movement. Thus, what he tried to destroy is not so much the preaching of the gospel but the Christian movement since if he stopped the movement then he would have destroyed the Christian religion. Of course, that was not to be the case as he was converted and became one of the most fervent advocates of the Christian movement.
Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “faith” is “body of teaching” or “doctrine.” It is in this way that the word “faith” is used in 1 Timothy 4:1:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
It is possible that “faith” here can also be interpreted as the Christian faith, but it is more likely that the apostle meant Christian doctrine, especially because of the expression things taught by demons. It is the sense of doctrine or body of teaching of the Christian faith that “faith” is used in Jude 3:
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Our consideration so far should convince you that the word “faith” has various meanings depending on the context. The question then is: In what sense did the apostle use it in our passage? It is in the sense of “trust”, that is, strong confidence in, and reliance upon, someone or something that it is used in our passage. This interpretation is supported by the contrasting verbal phrase not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
The phrase men’s wisdom refers to natural wisdom of the type that is acquired through education. A person with this kind of wisdom will give natural explanations to things and could reason things out based on natural and nothing spiritual. Thus, the apostle does not want the believers’ trust to depend such kind of insight instead to rely on the power of God that the Holy Spirit provides. Again, the reason the apostle gave for relying on the power of the Spirit to preach the gospel brings us to the guideline we have been expounding which is you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message.
In any case, let me end by recapping the guidelines we have considered. First, you should not depend on your eloquence or wisdom when you present the gospel to others.
Second, you should avoid being distracted with issues that are not related to the crucified Christ when you preach the gospel. Third, 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 the gospel, but you should resist that. Fourth, you should not depend on your persuasive ability when you present the gospel to an unbeliever. Fifth, you should rely on the power of the Holy Spirit as you present the gospel message. Remember the message of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 we have studied 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.
06/01/18