“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, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
There are times that God chooses to select gifted people to accomplish wonderful things for Him. But we need to realize that God does not ever need man’s talents to work in people’s hearts. And even the gifted man should not rely on his giftedness to accomplish God’s work.
Paul was very gifted. He was well advanced religiously, privileged socially, and accomplished academically. But when he sets off to proclaim the gospel, he doesn’t rely on any of his own abilities or privileges. He proclaimed the truth of what Jesus Christ accomplished, and he proclaimed it knowing his own weakness.
I should never seek to convince people with my own abilities. I must always rely on the Spirit’s working in the lives of people. The simple proclamation of the gospel is an opportunity for God to display his power, and true salvation comes from the work of the Spirit. The kind of faith that rests in the wisdom of men does not have the power of God behind it.
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