“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:1-5).
In these striking terms, Paul describes his experience at Corinth. It plainly declares that he was guided by the Holy Spirit, not only as to his message, but as to the way he presented it.
The apostle was quite able to speak above the heads of his hearers and impress them with his superior education. Had he not attended the school of Gamaliel? But many of those in his audience were neither wise nor noble.1 Christ personifies both the power and wisdom of God.2 Superiority in human speech would be an intrusion.
It is natural for people to become bonded to the things to which they are exposed in the early days of their spiritual life. They not only absorb the message, but, subconsciously perhaps, also the method used in its presentation. The conduct of God’s servants can either underline or obscure the word of the gospel. To subtly parade your natural talent or spiritual gift is to invite your converts to do the same. Pride begets pride.
But someone might say, “What does it matter as long as people get saved?” It matters a lot. The faith of the converts then rests in part upon the wisdom of men–a most undesirable result. Their understanding of the way God’s work should be carried on would give too much place to human wisdom and their future service would be colored by confidence in the flesh rather than in the power of God.
All of this shows that the methods we use are almost as important as the message we bring. In fact, the methods become part of the message.
A FALSE START
Wrong methods can get people to the starting line, but when the pistol is fired they may be in the wrong lane as far as their lives are concerned–their course prejudiced by the mixed message they have received. We have told them to trust only in the Lord, but if our method emphasizes higher education, slick organization, and the expenditure of large sums of money, we have done them a grave disservice. Human wisdom and resources have been given too prominent a place. Their usefulness to God will be impaired.
TRUE DISCIPLING
We should remember that we are not told to go and win converts merely but “to make disciples.”3 Disciples need an example to follow; they result from a faithful pattern, not merely fearless preaching. Paul and his companions gave them such a pattern by the way they conducted themselves: “You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the Word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”4
Does our life-style commend the truth we preach? Do people see in us a faithful pattern to follow? Do the methods we employ set forth the value of modern marketing skills or of dependence on the Lord?
The way we speak and act will either underline or undermine what we are seeking to communicate, and converts are the product of what they see us doing as well as what they hear us saying. For example, people need to see us living by faith in the Lord as well as talking about it. (Perhaps that is why so many trials are experienced by God’s choicest servants.) People need to see the truth as well as hear it preached.
VALUABLE THORNS
Paul’s methods provided fertile soil for the growth of vigorous faith in the experience of those who came under his influence. At times this desirable result might have been prejudiced because of the great privileges granted to him and there was a danger that God’s servant might promote himself. Therefore he was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from self exaltation.5 That shows how important it is to God that even the choicest of His servants not intrude himself or his methods where the Lord alone is to receive the glory. Peter says: “Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength that God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified; through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.”6
Kate Wilkinson may have been thinking of those words when she wrote:
“May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.”
It would be a great mistake to swing the other way, of course, putting a premium on ignorance or lack of education, as if those things qualified a person to be a “vessel for honor . . . useful to the Master”7 The real issue is not how much natural talent, education, or even spiritual gift a person has or does not have, but how much confidence that person puts in the Lord.
God’s work is a work of faith, a spiritual warfare, and His eyes search the earth looking for those whose hearts are set on trusting only in Him.8 The more our means and method are impressive in the eyes of natural men and women, the less likely they are to be convicted of their spiritual poverty and of the bankruptcy of their own resources. After all, are we not trading in their currency?
The Lord’s service demands that our spirit, soul, and body be at His disposal. To serve Him may mean that we will experience spiritual weariness, emotional drain, and physical tiredness. We may often need to be reminded of our own frailty. “I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”9
It is to be expected that God will use the talents or gifts with which He has endowed us, but even these can be a hindrance in the Lord’s work if they are not employed in submission to Him. The message that calls men to put faith in Christ is best presented by those whose methods demonstrate confidence in Him alone.
References:
1. 1 Cor. 1:26
2. 1 Cor. 1:24
3. Matt. 28:19
4. 1 Thess. 1:5-7
5. 2 Cor. 12:7
6. 1 Pet. 4:11
7. 2 Tim. 2:21
8. 2 Chron. 16:9 (paraphrase)
9 1 Cor. 15:10. Actual quotations are from the New American Standard Version., (c) The Lockman Foundation.
Copies of this tract free of charge from: Mr. C. Anderson, 1877 Dumont St., London, ON N5W 2S3