1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (ESV)
1And I, when I came to
you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty
speech or wisdom.
2For I decided to know
nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3And I was with you in
weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4and my speech and my
message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the
Spirit and of power,
5so that your faith
might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Here we see that not only was the cross at the center of
Paul’s message, but it was also at the center of his method. That is, the cross
not only determined what he said, but also how
he said it.
And how did he, in fact, say it? Verse three tells us: “…in
weakness and in fear and much trembling.” Astonishing! The Apostle Paul! The
Mighty Apostle! The Great Missionary, Preacher, and Evangelist! In weakness and
in fear?!? Surely not?!
Indeed. The apostle Paul was afraid. He trembled. He was weak. And this was his method of
proclaiming the message of the cross. And God through this weakness worked
mightily.
Just like at Calvary. On the cross, that symbol of
helplessness, that “emblem of suff’ring and shame,” God’s might was unveiled
most majestically and decisively. The ultimate contradiction: power through
weakness. God’s chosen method to bring his salvation.
And also Paul’s chosen method to bring the message of
salvation.
Surely we are confronted here with a convicting truth: Why,
given God’s and Paul’s approach, do we set ourselves so earnestly upon the path
of power and prestige as the method by which we will proclaim the message? Is
it not, to reference Martin Luther (thanks Carl Trueman: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2011/11/the-forgotten-insight.php)
because we have a theology of the cross but are not ourselves theologians of
the cross?
God help me and us to be such theologians.
