1 Corinthians 8:1-3

All things are clean to those who understand that they were created by God for our good. That knowledge is not to be used to harm the beliefs of others. We need to lift others and encourage them in their walk.

In private live freely but in public...be a slave to love💜.

We know that we all have knowledge appears to have been a slogan used by certain Corinthian believers as an arrogant statement against weaker Christians. The weaker Christians believed that eating food offered to idols was a sin. Other Corinthian believers thought that such concerns were ridiculous. They argued that if the idols were worthless, then the meat offered to them was fine to eat. Paul agreed that food offered to idols was not contaminated, but he wanted the knowledgeable Christians not to flaunt their enlightened point of view. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies: This is one of Paul’s five attacks on the arrogance of some of the church members at Corinth. These people belittled their weaker brothers and sisters with their knowledge. They had missed the point. They should have been using their knowledge to help other believers in the church. NKJ Bible

1 Corinthians 8:1–3 (NKJV): Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

1 Corinthians 13:8

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

Acts 26:1-18

In our zeal for our beliefs...we can be misguided. It takes a relationship with Christ to change us from the inside out. 

All things are for His glory.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit we become, precept by precept, a new man. No longer in bondage to sin but in the newness of the grace the Father gives in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Paul takes on the posture of an orator, which implies he had training in classical rhetoric and was well educated. Paul is on trial for claiming that the hope of Israel is fulfilled in Jesus. Paul proclaims that the promises made to the Jewish people have now been fulfilled.The source of controversy is Jesus’ death and resurrection. Paul understands it as the fulfillment of what Jews hoped for. Like a stubborn animal attempting to fight the sticks used as prods, Paul cannot succeed in fighting against God. Faithlife Bible

Roman Citizenship

Paul was born a Roman citizen, but how his family gained that citizenship is unknown. There were several ways to become a Roman citizen: being born to a Roman parent; retiring from the Roman army; having citizenship granted by an emperor or a Roman general to an individual or to an entire group; purchasing it. A Roman citizen was guaranteed a fair trial and was protected against certain forms of harsh punishment. A citizen could even appeal to Caesar in order to be tried in Rome.

Paul was intelligent enough to know all of his rights and savvy enough to know how to use them to his and especially God’s advantage. Not only did his rights as a Roman citizen often save his life in dangerous situations, they also allowed him to carry the gospel message to jailers, shipmates, kings, and to the emperor in Rome.

He had not turned against his own Jewish heritage. Instead he fervently believed in the promises God had made to the nation of Israel: the promise of a coming Messiah and the reestablishment of the kingdom of God. Paul did not reject the hope of salvation for Israel. Instead he saw that hope fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead confirmed to Paul that all believers would be raised from the dead to enjoy the blessings of the promised kingdom of God. The imperfect tense of the verb compelled does not tell us whether or not Paul had actually been successful in causing believers to blaspheme their faith, only that he had tried to compel them to do so. 

A young ox, when it was first yoked, usually resented the burden and tried kicking its way out. If the ox was yoked to a single-handed plow, the plowman would hold a long staff with a sharpened end close to the heels of the ox. Every time the ox kicked, it struck the spike. If the ox was yoked to a wagon, a studded bar with wooden spikes served the same purpose. The point was that the ox had to learn submission to the yoke the hard way. Before his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul was resisting God in a similar manner.

Acts 26:1–18 (NKJV): Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.“My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Acts 8:3

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Acts 9:15

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Acts 23:6

But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

Philippians 3:5

circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

Luke 9:23-27

The things that I desire to do...evil stands to destroy. The things that I do not want to do..the Holy Spirit stands beside me to enable me. What a truly grace filled God we serve.

The Holy Trinity has provided everything we need to succeed in Christ Jesus!

Although Jesus offered salvation as a free gift He also warned that following Him would entail suffering and hardship. It makes no sense to attempt to save our lives on earth only to lose everything when our lives quickly and inevitably pass away. The wise course is to invest our earthly resources—our time, talents, and wealth—in what is eternal. Even if we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake, that investment will produce returns for all eternity.

Since these disciples died before Jesus’ return, the reference here is no doubt to the Transfiguration. With this there is probably also a prediction of the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost.NKJ Bible.

Luke 9:23–27 (NKJV): Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 17:23

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

Matthew 10:33 

But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father

John 14:23-31

If we love God we obey His commands. Christ gave us two commands: Love God above anyone or anything and love others as much as ourselves. If our lives are directed by His love and if we pay close attention to the direction and teaching of the Holy Spirit we will be able to accomplish what we cannot without Him. 

Praise and glory to our Lord and King.

The Spirit, as God’s means of communication on earth, instructs believers and leads them to follow God’s will. The Spirit gives them access to God, His plans, and His wisdom. He can do so because of Jesus’ sacrifice for sins. They now have a way (the Spirit) to reach God—unencumbered by rituals, sacrifices, or laws—and atonement for their sins (Jesus’ death and resurrection), so that they are free to communicate with God and be in His presence. Jesus wants His disciples to know that His coming suffering and death is not the end of His ministry; it is the beginning of His ministry’s final purpose and the completion of God’s will for Jesus’ life.

Since all authority ultimately finds its source in God the Father, the rulers of this world do not have authority over Jesus. Faithlife Bible

Jesus explained that His manifestation to the disciples would be in response to their love and obedience. If a believer loves and obeys the Lord, he or she will experience fellowship with God. If a person does not love Jesus, he or she will not obey Him. Disobedience is a serious matter, for Jesus’ words are the words of God. 

Jesus told His disciples these things while He was with them, but when the Holy Spirit came, He would remind the disciples of all things that Jesus had said, and would teach … all things. This promise was primarily fulfilled through the lives of the apostles in the writing of the NT. Matthew and John wrote down Jesus’ words. Peter wrote about the gospel in his two letters and may have dictated some of his memories of Jesus to Mark.

 Jesus’ yielding to what was about to happen did not mean that Satan had any power over Him. Jesus would soon voluntarily yield to the death of the Cross, in loving obedience to the Father. NKJ Bible.

John 14:23–31 (NKJV): Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.“And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Luke 24:49 (NKJV): “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

John 15:26–27 (NKJV): “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Romans

We are ALL members of the same Body if we believe in the salvation that God provided in the person of Jesus Christ.

“Harmony in the Church”…so easy to roll off the tongue but so hard to rule in our hearts.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Unity in Christ is a major theme of Romans.

Romans

Romans serves as the flagship of the fleet of Pauline letters within the New Testament. This letter has also loomed large in the history of Christianity. Countless men and women of faith have singled out Romans as the weapon God graciously used to bring about their surrender to Christ. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and others received unexpected spiritual volleys from Romans that pierced their defenses and ended their rebellion against God.

Romans combines breadth, logic, and a mature understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures into a powerful arsenal. By the time it was written, the Holy Spirit had shaped the apostle Paul into a skillful communicator of the faith. The result is his letter to the Romans, a theological treatise that perfectly fits Paul’s description of all Scripture as “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). The letter represents a full expression of apostolic theology. Paul’s arguments challenge the secular, pagan mind, yet they also pierce the shallow spiritual confidence of many nonpagans. Romans is a mighty leveler, for it declares that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). Since all are sinners, it comes as a delightful shock that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8). This is the Good News, which Paul so eloquently and systematically defends in this theological treatise addressed to the Romans. NKJ Bible.

Romans 7:6 (NKJV)

⁶ But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

1 Corinthians 9:22 (NKJV)

²² to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

1 Chronicles 11:1-3

Led by the Holy Spirit we are to defend the commands of our Lord and Savior. All who believe in Jesus Christ are members of the same body…His!

Christ alone the cornerstone!

All Israel gathers together to declare David as king. They emphasize their unity with David as they are all one flesh and bone. Faithlife Bible.

The covenant refers to mutual pledges made between a king and his people, ensuring stable and successful (Church? The Pope?) government. The Law of Moses made provision for such a covenant. Hints of the king’s covenant guidelines may be found in the accession of Solomon and Joash and in Josiah’s promise to obey the statutes of the Book of the Covenant. NKJ Bible.

1 Chronicles 11:1–3 (NKJV)

11 Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. ² Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel.’ ” ³ Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

Deuteronomy 17:18–20 (NKJV)

¹⁸ “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. ¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, ²⁰ that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

1 Samuel 16:1 (NKJV)

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

1 Samuel 16:3 (NKJV)

³ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”

1 Samuel 16:12 (NKJV)

¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”

Jeremiah 2:19

How easy it is to get caught up in the things of this world.we must choose daily who we will serve. As Christians we are held to a different standard, Christs’, to be a light to a world in darkness.

As for me and my house…give me Jesus!!

This verse uses the Hebrew word shuv, which can mean both “to turn” and “to repent.” Rather than turning back to Yahweh in contrition, Israel has turned away in rebellion. Faithlife Bible.

Backslidings means “turnings.” Israel had turned in every direction for help except to the true source of safety and security. The phrase says the Lord God of hosts confirms the severity of the crime and the certainty of the punishment about to befall the people of God. NKJ Bible.

Jeremiah 2:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your backslidings will rebuke you.

Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing

That you have forsaken the Lord your God,

And the fear of Me is not in you,”

Says the Lord God of hosts.

Isaiah 3:9 (NKJV)

⁹ The look on their countenance witnesses against them,

And they declare their sin as Sodom;

They do not hide it.

Woe to their soul!

For they have brought evil upon themselves.

Jeremiah 4:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ “Your ways and your doings

Have procured these things for you.

This is your wickedness,

Because it is bitter,

Because it reaches to your heart.”

Hosea 5:5 (NKJV)

⁵ The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;

Judah also stumbles with them.

Acts 16:25-34

What must we do to be saved? 

Believe in God and the salvation provided in Christ Jesus!

By his hospitality the jailer demonstrates that his life has been radically changed by the gospel. He originally imprisoned Paul, but he now cares for the apostle in his own home. Faithlife Bible.

It is in times of darkness that the light of a Christian witness shines brightest.

The events surrounding the arrest of Paul and Silas, the way they responded to suffering, and the mighty acts of God brought the jailer to his knees. He finally knew he needed God’s salvation. But how could he be reconciled to God? Paul and Silas’s answer was simple—just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. No other work was needed. The jailer and his family placed their trust in God and immediately expressed that faith by being baptized. NKJ Bible.

Acts 16:25–34 (NKJV)

²⁵ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

²⁹ Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴ Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

John 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Luke 12:32-34

What we hold dear we will sow into.

Guide me into Your will for my life!

By serving God and others, you can invest in your eternal future. You cannot take possessions with you in the next life, but you can store up an eternal treasure by giving to others. What people consider valuable is where their energy will be spent. Knowing God and investing in His purposes should be the treasure we seek. NKJ Bible.

Luke 12:32–34 (NKJV)

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Isaiah 41:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ “Fear not, you worm Jacob,

You men of Israel!

I will help you,” says the Lord

And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

John 14:15-21

Two commands Jesus left with us...we will love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. in doing this we will fulfill all the commandments God gave.

If we keep His commands He promises His very Spirit will abide in us!

What an awesome, loving God we serve.

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth because He is truth and guides us into all truth. NKJ.

John 14:15–21 (NKJV): “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

John 15:10

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

1 John 5:3–4

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Nehemiah 5:1-11

How can we say we are a Christian nation and yet treat the very creation of God with such disregard? What we do to the least of His we do to God. Who does Jesus say we should care about in the same manner that we do our own families? Everyone. He broke the barriers of exclusion with His birth, death and resurrection. 

God will not be mocked.

One of the staples of Israel’s economy were wineries. The nation was famous for its wine—especially the area surrounding Gibeon, situated just north of Jerusalem.

This conflict posed a threat not only to the rebuilding project but to the unity of the community of returned exiles. Societal mistreatment originally tore the nation apart when Jeroboam led the 10 northern tribes to secede from the rule of Rehoboam. Nehemiah courageously opposes the selfish behavior of the strong in the community. This kind of unjust treatment of the weak was in part what led to the exile in the first place. Faithlife Bible.

Nehemiah’s first response to the sins of the Jewish people was anger. Deliberate disobedience to the Word of God ought to make a person indignant toward the sin—but not toward the sinner. After getting angry at the sins of the Jewish people, Nehemiah spent some time in serious thought. He then confronted the guilty people. After rebuking the guilty parties privately, Nehemiah confronted them in public with the same charges. Two issues were at stake here—fear of God and the reproach of the nations. When Israel, a nation called by the Lord, stopped honoring and obeying Him, it became a scandal because God’s name was being dishonored. NKJ Bible.

Nehemiah 5:1–11 (NKJV): And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren. For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them. And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury! 

Leviticus 25:35-36 If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 

Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you.

Deuteronomy 15:7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Dear Holy Spirit I ask for wisdom in these disturbing days that the world is in! Bless and protect my family from the false doctrine of man. Let Your approval be the only one that I seek! 

Christ alone the cornerstone. I love you, Me.

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 explains why he uses an approach that differs from typical speakers. He wants to direct the Corinthians toward reliance on God, not human understandings or abilities. Faithlfe Bible.

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.  

Rather than using the rhetoric of the day to win converts, he gave a straightforward message. NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (NKJV)

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.

Acts 18:6 (NKJV)

⁶ But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Acts 18:12 (NKJV)

¹² When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

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.