Good Wednesday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
How important is HUMILITY to you? Humility in leaders, humility in friendships, humility you see in yourself? 2700 years ago, God said something to the Jewish prophet Isaiah which has become very significant in my life. God said: “This is the person I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in heart and tremble at My word.” (Is. 66:2)
Oh my, that causes me to pause and do some serious introspection. What about you? How often could you and I be described as ‘humble, contrite in heart and trembling in awe at the significance of God’s Word’?
Join me again in 55ad as the apostle Paul has begun writing a very important letter to his Christian friends across the Aegean Sea in the city of Ephesus as he is writing a very important letter to his Christian friends across the Aegean Sea in the city of Corinth, Greece. We’ve spent two days looking at one of the most powerful things Paul ever wrote which is certainly very relevant to every city in our day: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) That statement has been true in every society in the world, in every generation, and it’s very true today where you and I live.
Building on that declaration, Paul opened his second chapter explaining his heart posture and his strategy for both living and proclaiming the Gospel in Corinth, during the 18 months he had lived in that great, but raucous city. (Acts 18:11) Paul wrote: “When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the truth about God. For I resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and great fear and trembling….” (1 Cor. 2:1,2) Do those words surprise you?
When you think of the apostle Paul do you usually think of a confident, courageous, bold, powerful orator, ready to take on anyone, or even a group of people, with enthusiastic debate about the Scriptures and Jesus? Remember, Paul had come to Corinth from his great success in debating the one true God with Greek scholars in the Areopagus, remember? (Acts 17:16-34) So wouldn’t you think Paul would come into Corinth riding a wave of self-confidence?
But what Paul writes here tells me the Holy Spirit worked on Paul’s pride in the journey from Athens to Corinth. Pause. Honestly now my friends, do you find yourself struggling with too much self-confidence or pride sometimes? Do we understand how much God hates pride? Why?
Because with pride we elevate ourselves to be God and we marginalize God relying way too much on ourselves and pushing God out. It’s called “EGO” and it means “Edging God Out”! Has EGO ever been a challenge for you?
Paul continued to write, bearing his soul to his Christian friends in Corinth: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.” (1 Cor. 2:3-5) Oh my, that’s very, very important isn’t it my friends?
We human beings have a natural tendency to look for and follow heroes, don’t we? We love a success story, and we love to celebrate successful people. Sadly, we have a tendency to want to emulate those we perceive as being successful, don’t we?
Coming off the success of Paul’s Areopagus visit, it appears Paul was determined to NOT be boastful in Corinth, nor seek to attract a personal following. In fact, I’ve often wondered if the Holy Spirit warned Paul to LEAVE Athens before he might become a folk hero among the wise scholars of the Areopagus. Why?
Because for Paul, and Peter, and all the apostles and followers of Jesus… in every place, in every generation, the story, the focus MUST always be Jesus and never about us, right? We only have one chapter, Acts 18, which describes Paul’s 18 months in Corinth and quite frankly there’s not too much noteworthy about those months, as compared to his time in other cities.
I love the fact that in this letter to his Christian friends in Corinth Paul takes great effort to remind them of his humble approach. That the real highlight of those 18 months was not miracles Paul did, or great speeches Paul gave, but rather the powerful work of Jesus transforming many sin-enslaved Corinthian people into trophies of God’s grace, who were living God honoring lives in decadent Corinth!
Why? Paul wrote: “…so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.” Oh my, we need to pause right here and ask ourselves some important questions as we each look closely at our city, our part of the world:
First: Are there many Christians in your city who are enamored with and follow a particular Christian leader?
Are some churches growing in your area because of a flamboyant, charismatic Pastor or fantastic marketing or beautiful buildings?
Second: Do you see some Christian teachers or preachers or musicians who effectively use social media platforms to draw a large following and measure their success by their crowd influence?
Third: Do you see many Christians in your area who are passionate followers of Jesus Christ, immersing themselves in God’s Word, and daily, earnestly, humbly seeking the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives sanctifying them, and guiding them in living life for God’s great glory?
May I urge you to read those first five verses of 1 Corinthians 2, asking the Holy Spirit to show you what HE sees deep in your soul? The ‘lessons learned’ notes will be helpful at the link below and a very special worship song, and of course I’ll be here waiting for you tomorrow, dear friends.
Today’s Scripture: 1 Cor. 2:1-5.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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