And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human 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 with great fear and 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 human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Paul was a very smart man by the world’s standards. In another book he discusses his old worldly qualifications, a Pharisee of Pharisees, perfect in legalistic righteousness, etc. However, he gave all of this up for Jesus. He sacrificed the temporal for the eternal.

As a result, he no longer has a need to prove himself in front of others. He focused only on Jesus Christ and his gospel message. The clarity of purpose in mission for Paul is a great model for us, as well.

Paul also says he came with “fear and trembling” as he preached the gospel. Why was this and what does this mean?

He came with fear and trembling because he was chosen to speak the words of the God of this universe. It was respect mixed with a cautious and diligent effort to represent God well. This is how we as teachers should teach.

He also did not try to persuade people, but he let God‘s Word stand on its own two feet. This is also an important point for us to consider, as well. Some pastors and Christians try to coax people into accepting Jesus. This does them no good. It has to be a conscious decision on their part to surrender everything in their life to follow Jesus. Just saying a magic prayer is not enough.

So Paul chose to not use eloquent words and fancy speech, even though he could. He preferred to stay simple and appeal to as many people as possible with the gospel. And then let the Holy Spirit do his work. For it is the Holy Spirit that pursues, opens hearts, and draws people to salvation. God‘s power is enough to move the right hearts to repentance.

Lord, thank you for this clarification by Paul on “how to witness to others that don’t know you”. This is such a great model. Help me to follow in Paul’s footsteps and stay focused on the truth and the cross of Christ.