1 Corinthians 2:3,4 - I came to you in weakness

2:3

“I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling”. This probably does not mean that Paul was full of anxiety, or was fearful of men. That would seem to be inconsistent with what Paul has written elsewhere. It probably does mean that he came aware that he was delivering God’s message, working together with God. Paul was not relying on any strength of his own, but was aware of his weakness. However, this awareness of weakness did not make him timid, for he was also aware of God’s strength.

2:4

So Paul did not rely on “wise and persuasive words”, but instead on “a demonstration of the Spirit’s power”. This does not specifically mean miracles or signs and wonders, though these were part of Paul’s ministry. Rather he relied on the Holy Spirit to convict people, to open their hearts and minds to the truth. We are unable to change people’s hearts. If we imagine that it is up to us to change people’s hearts then we will start trying to manipulate people. It is our job to deliver the message in a clear and intelligible manner, it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict people. 

1 Samuel 7:10-12 - The Lord thundered against the Philistines

7:10,11

While the sacrifice was being made, the Philistines approached to engage in battle.  However, the Lord thundered against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, so that they were routed. If we look at the battles in the Old Testament we some where standard military tactics were used and the battle was won. We see others where miraculous means won the battle. It is not always one or the other. Here we have the miraculous sort. After the Lord had thrown them into confusion, the men of Israel pursued and slaughtered the Philistines.

7:12

Stones were often set up as reminders or memorials to things that God had done. Samuel saw this event as significant so he set up a stone calling it “Ebenezer”, which means “stone of help”. The significant elements were (i) Israel repented and took actions in keeping with repentance, i.e. getting rid of their idols; (ii) they sought the Lord’s help; (iii) a sacrifice was made; (iv) Samuel called upon the Lord; (v) the Lord delivered them from their enemies.

1 Corinthians 2:1,2 - I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ

2:1

Paul has just urged them to “boast in the Lord”, he now reminds them of how he brought the gospel to them. Paul practised what he preached. He did not”come with eloquence or human wisdom”. Paul did not seek to emulate the rhetorical skills that were greatly valued in those days. Paul proclaimed the “testimony about God”. 

2:2

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. We need to remember what the basis of the gospel is, what our message is. This does not mean that we pay no attention to how well put together a sermon or teaching is. There is no virtue in a garbled, incoherent mess of a sermon. However, we need to be clear about where our confidence lies. Moreover, when we preach or teach it most definitely is not just about us, it is not just a matter of the message we give. Rather, we are working together with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus Christ, and His work on the cross.

1 Samuel 7:8,9 - Do not stop crying out to the Lord

7:8

The people looked to Samuel to cry out to the Lord for them. So they had turned to the Lord, but their faith was far from complete. Now we need to look at the good and the bad in this. The Israelites were at various points reliant on Moses and now on Samuel praying for them, interceding for them. We have Christ interceding for us (Rom 8:34). We too can intercede on behalf of others. The “bad” is that they were seeing themselves as distant from the Lord. The gospel brings us close to God. We can pray directly to the Lord, Christ still intercedes for us, but God wants a close relationship with us.

7:9

To add to how this points towards Christ and the gospel, Samuel now offers a suckling lamb as a sacrifice. Now Christ offered Himself as the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Samuel’s lamb was accepted, and the Lord answered him. How much more is the sacrifice of the Son of God accepted, and how much more are His prayers answered?

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 - Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord

1:27

Instead of choosing the wise and influential, God chose the foolish things, the weak things. He chose you and me. And He did this to shame the wise and the strong of this world. The gospel is a God thing not a man thing. It is God working that we should rely on, not on our own supposed wisdom or strength.

1:28,29

Instead God chose the lowly and despised things of the world, you and me. He chose the things that are not to nullify the things that are. He did this “so that no one may boast before Him”. This was not an act of egotism on God’s part, but to face us up to reality. All things come from God, and we need to trust in Christ alone. We are utterly dependent upon Him. We would not even exist unless God had created us. God is facing us up to reality.

1:30,31

We are in Christ purely because of God’s sovereign choice. I will say yet again, this does not mean we are passive,  we are active in this, mostly in believing in Christ. Christ is the wisdom of God, It is because of the “weakness” and “foolishness” of the cross that we are saved. Humanly speaking, no one is in a weaker position than a man upon a cross. The disciples warned Jesus against the foolishness of going to Jerusalem where He would be handed over to men. Christ is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. So we should boast in Christ alone, and Paul quotes from Jer 9:24 to hammer home his point.

1 Samuel 7:5-7 - I will intercede with the Lord for you

7:5,6

Samuel then calls all Israel to Mizpah. Jerusalem was not in Israelite hands at this point, and Mizpah was a key city. Samuel would intercede for them there. Pouring out water was not mentioned in the Law, but seems to have been an act of self-denial. The people also fasted and confessed their sins. 

7:7

News of the Israelites assembling reached the Philistines, and they decided to attack Israel. They may have seen this as the best way to quell any “rebellion” from Israel, or just an opportunity to crush them. The people of Israel were afraid. They had been under oppression by the Philistines for many years, and had suffered many defeats. Now they had turned back to God, having got rid of their idols, and having God’s promise that He would deliver them, they had no need to fear. Yet the fear was so deeply ingrained that it still remained. Likewise for all of us there are things that we still fear, yet have no need to do so. It takes time to learn to live in the light of God’s kingdom.

1 Corinthians 1:25,26 - Not many of you were wise

1:25

The gospel may seem like foolishness to some, but it is actually wider than all human wisdom. It deals with mankind as we are, it deals with the truth, not with a fantasy. Likewise, the cross seems like weakness, for it was the most painful and humiliating form of death invented. Yet through the cross sin was defeated, the devil was defeated, and death was defeated. The cross has not been defeated in two thousand years, and it will never be defeated.

1:26

Paul now seems to switch tact a little, but in fact it is strongly related to the matters he has just been talking about. There was a kind of celebrity culture, in which the rich, famous and eloquent were looked up to, and were idolised. And this culture was being carried into the church. The same thing happens today. If some sort of famous person becomes a Christian, then they are paraded by the church, or are considered to be of special value. There is some good motive behind this, in that the thinking is “if the world sees that this famous person believes the gospel, then more people will believe in Jesus”. However, the thinking is flawed. First it is unfair on the famous convert. He or she is a vulnerable human being just like you and me, and putting them on a pedestal can cause them harm. Secondly, it is denying that the cross is the power of the gospel, it is putting celebrity status above that of the cross. Thirdly, churches sometimes look very silly because of this. The celebrity’s faith may be very weak, or they may have a number of suspect views. Finally, it devalues the “ordinary Christian”. In essence it takes the focus off Christ. This is not to say that celebrities should never speak at “Christian events”, but that it should be done with true Biblical wisdom. Paul reminds the Corinthians that not many of them were rich, wise, influential or of noble birth. If God so greatly valued the things that the Corinthians valued, then He wouldn’t have chosen them!