2:1
“And so it was with me ..” Paul has just said that we should boast only in the Lord, and in 1:17 said he did not preach the gospel with “wisdom and eloquence”. Here, he re-emphasises the latter point. This does not give us an excuse for making a complete hash of preaching, but it does mean that we should rely on the message, rely on what God has done in Christ Jesus, not on any skill we might imagine that we have. We are proclaiming the testimony about God.
2:2
Paul put all his focus and trust in Christ Jesus and Him crucified. It is God who saves people, and He has chosen the means by which that is done. If we rely on techniques or our own wisdom and eloquence then we are not relying on God, and we will achieve nothing. What we want to happen is for the veil to be taken away from people’s minds, for people to be born again, to be bore of the Spirit. It is only God who can do this. So we need to know that we are working in partnership with God, and are utterly dependent upon Him.
2:3
Paul had experienced much opposition prior to arriving in Corinth. We sometimes imagine that Paul was somehow immune from the fears and doubts that most of us have, but the evidence of Scripture suggests otherwise. Rather Paul overcame the fears, he went on despite the fear. As someone once said, “do it afraid”. In Acts 18:9,10 God reassured Paul, in particular regarding the risk of being attacked. So Paul was not strong in himself, rather he was strong in the Lord. Our strength and enthusiasm will inevitably fail us, the Lord will never fail us.
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