“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or 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 and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” vs1-5

God does not want our faith resting in men. He wants all glory to Jesus Christ the Lord, and this is the lesson of Paul.

1 He didn’t come preaching with human wisdom! He didn’t use the tricks of men. With the personality and gifts God gave him, he set forth our Lord Jesus Christ, desiring to study Him, rather than how to speak impressively. He was not a showman after his own glory. He, like you and I, was the messenger of Christ, and he wanted the Message known in the Spirit’s power.

We can’t save people! Only God can, so we use His tactics, studying Christ because we love Him and see His glory. He is the Object of faith - the fact that He was crucified to pay for our sins - and studying Him means being like Him in obedience to God.

2 Christ crucified is the doctrine in all of Scripture [vs2]. When I first heard the gospel, God led me to this passage to learn about preaching. I asked the evangelist if he preached the gospel all the time, and he said, “All the time. Every time I speak. Everywhere I go.” However, I wanted to be sure for myself, so starting in 1 Cor 1:17 and ending in 1 Cor 2:2, I was instructed by God Himself that Christ is the message.

He is on every page and is to be in every sermon! No man has access to God, peace with God, or the ability to obey God unless Christ is preached. The Spirit blesses ‘Christ preaching’ when He is leaned upon to make Christ known!

3 Don’t rely on tricks. Trust the Spirit to take God’s word, which you obey, to make the people obedient. Don’t trust your personality or magnify yourself. Keep on preaching Christ, from text to text, honoring Him above all, and you will see God work.