1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (NKJV) 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
In my personal time of study and devotion, I have been looking at this scripture. This is Paul’s first letter to the church at the city of Corinth. In Paul’s day, Corinth was a large and important city. Like most cities in the Roman world it was full of temples dedicated to the Greek and Roman gods. This meant that it was full of the worship of idols. In its Greek past it was known for the temple of Aphrodite and temple prostitution. We know from Paul’s letters that sexual sin was still a problem in the Corinth of the Roman era.
Corinth was a port city and a cosmopolitan place. It was filled with diverse ideologies and could probably be compared to any of our modern cities in that way. When Paul came there to preach the Gospel, he first began by speaking to the Jews of the city. They rejected him, and it was at this point that Paul turned to preaching to the gentiles. I can imagine that it must have looked impossible for this Jewish man to accomplish anything in such a large and predominately idolatrous city. Jesus spoke to Paul and revealed to him that he should stay because, “I (Jesus) have many people in the city.” In the end, Paul was very successful in his ministry and stayed for a year and six months.
As we read the accounts of Paul’s ministry in Corinth from Acts chapter 18, we really get very little detail of what Paul did to get a breakthrough there. We know he began by reasoning in the synagogue, was rejected by the Jews and began meeting in a house right next door to them. In the 18 months he was there a church grew up to whom he wrote two letters included in our Bible.
It is somehow reassuring to me as I read those letters, that the Corinthian churches were not perfect. It is obvious that Paul had some problems with these people. There were divisions among them. There was sin in the house. They even seemed to have a bit of a problem with Paul himself. Yet this church has carried its impact to this very day through Paul’s letters. The question remains, how did he find success in ministry in a city that did not seem particularly interested in, nor in need of the message of the cross.
I cannot help but think that the Corinth of Paul’s day must have been similar to the world we face now. I know that where I live it seems that there is very little interest in the things of God. The church is looking for ways to break through to people who are distracted by so many things and who do not seem to think that God is relevant to their lives. If Paul was able to breakthrough in Corinth, is it possible that we might be able to use the same method to breakthrough to our world today.
We find very little information in the book of Acts as to how he did it, but thankfully he tells us plainly in his first letter to the church he began there. It begins with the verses quoted above. Could it be that we might break through the apathy, sin and idolatry of our world in the same way? I think, given the similarities between our world and biblical Corinth, it may well be the answer.
Of course the first thing we might encounter as we put forth this hypothesis is that we live in a different day. There was no TV or internet in Corinth. People will not respond to the things they would respond to when Paul lived. We must find different ways to reach people today. Although it is true that there are tremendous differences between our day and Paul’s, what is not different is the need of the heart of man. People need Jesus! That was true then and it is true now. The question is how can we get their attention in a way that will cause them to want to meet him?
Paul did not use the “Corinthian method of evangelism. There was no particular key or method that worked in that city but no where else. What Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 2 goes beyond the limitations of any age and speaks directly to the needs of people. What did Paul do to breakthrough in Corinth?
He says that he did not come with “enticing words of man’s wisdom.” I do not mean to be critical, but I think that could describe far too much of our preaching today. I am a teacher of Bible truths. I believe the answer to every question in the human experience can be found in the Word of God if we really understand it. I do not think I preach “enticing words of man’s wisdom” and yet I must say that people are increasingly uninterested in such teaching.
On the other hand, there are many who feel they can reach people if they use the right kinds of words. They will speak in ways that relate to one generation, region or ethnicity because they believe that we in the church have developed our own language that people do not understand. This is not all wrong. We do need to find a language that will speak to people today. I submit that Paul found it when he came to Corinth. The language he used when he first came to the city spoke to all who encountered it. This language tore down walls of resistance and opened people’s hearts. Not all receive what was said. Some even rose up in opposition to this language. Nevertheless, many people came to know Jesus in a very personal way when Paul spoke in it.
This is not to say that learning the Word of God is unnecessary. As we continue in this chapter, we find that Paul did speak wisdom to them. However, it was not the wisdom of man. It was not the popular teaching of the day. It was not a more contemporary interpretation of Christianity that would easily fit into the Corinthian culture. On the contrary, because he began with something different than enticing words of man’s wisdom, when he did teach the ones who heard the language he first came with, they were able to receive the wisdom that comes from God and it changed their lives. The wisdom Paul taught in Corinth has changed the lives of billions through his letters, but it would never have been taught or recorded if he had not begun with another language.
What was the language Paul used when he came to Corinth that opened up the gospel to so many? If Paul, one of the great scholars of his day and the preeminent scholar of the Apostolic church, did not use the words of wisdom he had gained from so much time with the Lord in the spirit and from the years of study before he met Jesus, what words did he use?
Paul began at Corinth with a language that had two main elements. He preached the simple message of the cross. That was the first part of this very powerful and successful language. The second part was a demonstration of the spirit and of the power of God. That twofold language turned one of the great cities of the Roman World upside down. In truth, that language, that method, turned the whole world upside down.
As we search for the method, the presentation, and the language that will bring people to Jesus, is it possible that this same language and method might work today. I am going to take some time to look at this scripture in depth, but right now I would like to suggest that we all pray about this language and method Paul used in Corinth. I suspect when people experience the message of the cross accompanied with signs and wonders, we might fine it will work today. My prayer right now is simple. Help me to do what Paul did in my city and my world. Help me to be a channel for a demonstration of the spirit and power of God as I share the simple message of the Gospel. I think that might just work in the 21st century just as well as it did in the first.
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