1 Corinthians 2:1-5

My faith is in the wisdom of God not man. There is no man righteous…no not one. The Holy Spirit will teach you the ways of Jesus and allow you to understand the Scriptures. Trust in Him to guide you and keep you.

You don’t have to be an eloquent speaker to be used for God’s glory.

Due to the influence of Greek culture, the Corinthians valued knowledge and rhetoric.  Here, Paul uses hyperbole to explain why he made Christ’s actions on behalf of humanity the primary focus of his teaching instead of delivering a speech in the style of secular rhetoric and knowledge. For Paul, Jesus’ death is central to the gospel message; He bore the sins of humanity through His death. Because the Corinthians seemed to have considered crucifixion to be foolishness, Paul emphasizes the humility of Jesus’ death on the cross. This sets up Paul to describe the humble nature of his ministry. The apostle was a skillful speaker, but his delivery may have been unimpressive by Corinthian standards. Paul declares his manner to be another example of the paradoxical nature of God’s strength in weakness. Paul is not interested in seeing people come to Christ because of his persuasiveness; instead, he wants to see the Spirit working among them. The Greek word for demonstration used here, apodeixis, conveys the certainty of the Spirit’s work among the Corinthian believers. While they value wisdom and logic, they cannot deny their experience of the Spirit’s power, which is demonstrated in their own conversion. He wants to direct the Corinthians toward reliance on God, not human understandings or abilities. Faithlife Bible.

Paul did not rely on his eloquence or on Greek wisdom to convince his listeners. Instead, he gave the testimony of God which had not been explained before, but which was being revealed by the Holy Spirit. The focal point of Paul’s preaching was Jesus Christ. Whereas the Corinthians gloried in their strength, their wealth, and their gifts, Christ was glorified in His humility and death. Paul wanted to model Christ’s humility by presenting his “weaknesses.” Then the “strength” of the gospel message could be clearly seen. Even though Paul had many strengths of his own, he wanted to be counted among those who relied on God’s strength. Rather than using the rhetoric of the day to win converts, he gave a straightforward message. Miraculous signs had sometimes accompanied Paul’s preaching. Such signs were intended to magnify God, not the human speaker. NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Romans 1:16 | For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Galatians 6:14 | But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.