In the Power of God

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-8 ESV)

Questions:

• What is the testimony of God that Paul preached?

• What is the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified?

• What “plausible words of wisdom” did Paul not teach?

• How did Paul speak in “demonstration of the Spirit and of power”?

• What is the “wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age”?

• What is “the secret and hidden wisdom of God”?

The “testimony of God” is all of the Scriptures, for they are all God-breathed, but more specifically I believe it is the message of the gospel of our salvation, which is what Paul was preaching. And he taught that Jesus Christ died on that cross to free us from our slavery to sin so that we could now be servants of God and of his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, by God’s grace. So he taught that we must die to sin and now walk in obedience to our Lord, living holy lives pleasing to God.

[Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]  

Paul’s speaking and his teaching were not with the persuasive reasonings of the flesh of man nor with worldly wisdom and manipulative words. He attended no church growth seminars and he studied no books written by mere mortals not under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who were teaching man’s ways of doing things and marketing schemes and tricks and goals on how to “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into the church’s gatherings. He spoke as he was carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Paul also was not promoting any worldly wisdom or solutions to solve the world’s problems. He promoted no worldly people for positions of power and rule over the people as those who would solve the world’s issues. He viewed no human beings as those who could be like “saviors” to us as though if they are in power that somehow that is going to make things better. His solution for the ills of humanity was always Christ crucified, risen, ascended to heaven, and coming again – our only Messiah and Savior.

He wasn’t looking for human solutions to the ills of society and to the wickedness of man’s hearts. He looked only to God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – to save us from what ails us as the people of this earth. And we need to follow his example and not be looking to any man or woman to do what only God can do. For if we are not careful, we could, without realizing it, be looking to the false messiah of the people, the antichrist, who disguises himself as a servant of righteousness.

Just as I finished that last sentence I glanced down and saw my word count, and the number was 666. Wow!

So much of what is being promoted as of God today is not of God at all, but it is of the wisdom of men (humans) and of this age and of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. So many people are looking to other humans to rescue them and to solve their issues rather than looking to God and to God alone. Remember when the people demanded to be given a king instead of just accepting God as their king? It didn’t go so well for them, did it? Be very careful that you don’t do the same with the same results.

“And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’” (1 Samuel 8:7-9 ESV)

See Samuel 8:10-18 for the results of the people demanding they have a king to rule over them in place of having God as their only king. And God is giving the same warning to the people who call him their God today, for so many are craving a man to rule over them who they believe is going to do good for them but who may, in fact, be the antichrist who plans to do evil to them, instead. So the warning here is for us today to not look to any man to be our savior and king, but we should look only to the Lord to be our King.

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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