‘When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.’ (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
This passage of Scripture beats down on a major issue in modern day churches. I have seen it happen far too many times where pastors rely on their own eloquence of speech and their own wisdom to persuade others to Christ. These verses are written by the apostle Paul who was as capable of speaking eloquently as anyone. However, he had the knowledge that such things were unnecessary for the advancement of the Gospel; in fact, persuasive words, eloquent speaking and human wisdom are harmful to the body of Christ and get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s work. When we rely on ourselves and our talents in speaking, we demean the power of God. Do we think God needs our help in reaching the lost? After all, man is only capable of planting and watering, but God alone makes a seed grow. And man cannot change a person’s heart; only the Spirit of God can do that.
Let me word it another way. Replace persuasion and eloquent speech with the word ‘charisma.’ In modern day churches, we as the body of Christ love and adore charismatic preachers. But why? It’s because they inspire us to be better with their excellent speech. But let’s ask ourselves something: is that God working through us, or man simply persuading us with attractive language?
I’m going to quote Oswald Chambers, because he addresses this issue much better than I am able. ‘He [the preacher] is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemptions from doing its work.’-Oswald Chambers.
Nothing is worth destroying the movement of God’s Holy Spirit. God needs absolutely no help from us. Men cannot better the gospel or improve God’s Word. What the body of Christ needs to rely on again is the Holy Spirit who transcends all our wisdom and understanding and works more effectively than even the most charismatic preacher. When we preach God’s Word, let us speak and act, but let Him do the real work.
Devotionals by Joel 