1 Corinthians 2

(2:1-5) When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior 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 wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

This is the Gospel! Paul had determined that, instead of coming to the city of Corinth and depending on his own oratory skills or academic pedigree, he would come with humility and with a single, simple message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Before his own conversion, Saul of Tarsus had seen what his own wisdom, insight and ability had been able to accomplish. He arrives in Corinth with this prayer, "Father I know what I can do; I want to see what you will do." 

As a student of the Scriptures, Paul knew that, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and he also knew it was impossible for him to instill that disposition in the hearts of his hearers. He needed, and we need, the Spirit of God to precede us and empower us to accomplish His work.

Eugene Peterson writes of this passage: If someone were to ask Paul to give the gospel of Jesus Christ in two or three words, there would be no question about his response. It wouldn’t be “God is love,” or “Love your neighbor,” or “Keep the commandments.” It would be “Jesus Crucified." The phrase, on examination, is not a reduction but a concentration, not a blurring of reality but a focusing, not a watering down but a distillation. We're not allowed to pick and choose among the great truths of the Bible and make up a private anthology of comforting sayings. Jesus is the way as well as the truth. And the way is crucifixion."

Prayer: Father, I know what I can do; I want to see what you can do. I don't want to rest on human wisdom but on the Spirit's power.  Help me to "Express spiritual truth with spiritual words."

  BOBBY PRUITT  |  Lead Pastor

Bobby was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. He is the youngest of 13 children and was the first believer in his family. He graduated from Columbia Bible College and served in churches in North & South Carolina before coming to Texas in 1994. Bobby and Amy have been married since November of 1990 and have 3 children (Riley, Beau, and Emma Grace).