1Co.02-2

Some of us love to speak in front of people, while some of us would rather eat a bucket of sardines. In this section of 1 Corinthians 2, we’re going to look at a time in Paul’s past when he spoke publicly to the smartest people of his day . . . and completely failed.

Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 2 and read verses 1–5:

¹When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. ²For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. ³I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. ⁴And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. ⁵I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

To understand what you’re reading, you should know the background from Acts 17, where Paul used his wisdom and wit to debate people in Athens. If you’re having trouble remembering the story, go ahead and read Acts 17:16–34:

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. ¹⁷He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there. ¹⁸He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.” ¹⁹Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. ²⁰“You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” ²¹(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.) ²²So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, ²³for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. ²⁴“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, ²⁵and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. ²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. ²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. ³⁰“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. ³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” ³²When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” ³³That ended Paul’s discussion with them, ³⁴but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

How might Paul’s experience at Athens prompt him to write these words in chapter 2 to the Corinthians? 

Paul’s speech in Athens didn’t go well. A few people believed, but most mocked him and went on their way. Right after his failure to persuade the Athenian intellectual elite, Paul went to Corinth. He described in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 how he preached the gospel to the Corinthians.

What’s the difference between how Paul preached to the Corinthians versus the Athenians? 

Paul came to Corinth weak. He had given his best effort at formulating a persuasive argument in Athens and it didn’t go as well as he had hoped. When he showed up in Corinth, he was afraid and worn out. He chose to preach only about Jesus being a self-sacrificing savior—a message that sounded crazy to the self-centered Corinthians.

The difference? Paul made the unglamorous choice to depend on the Spirit. To focus on others. The result? The Spirit spoke. The Corinthians believed. 

For Paul, debating and speech-giving would have felt normal. He used to be a Pharisee, which meant he’d spend hours debating the Old Testament with other Pharisees. Choosing to form an eloquent argument would have been self-reliant and safe. What he did in Corinth was risky, terrifying, and ultimately selfless.

This passage reminds us that fear doesn’t necessarily go away when we choose the foolish-to-the-world way of the Spirit. Paul was afraid, and rightly so. This passage also begins to show us why it’s worth it to choose to let go. When Paul let go of what he could do himself, the Spirit took over and the Corinthians believed the gospel.

Paul let go of his eloquence and earthly wisdom. He let go of the desire to sound smart to the people he spoke to. He let go of his past failure. 

What about you? Take some time to talk with God. Just you and him. Ask him what you need to let go of. Maybe it’s something from your past. Maybe it’s how you manage your money. Maybe it’s your fixation on what people think about you.

Hold those things in your mind as we move through this week. 

Describe a time when you felt God asking you to do something that terrified you. Why were you afraid? What did you end up doing? Would you have done it differently with God’s help? 

Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and/or share it as a comment below