Humility and Power

Scripture:
1 Cor. 2:3-5 – “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

Observation:
Paul is continuing to encourage the church in Corinth by talking about putting their reliance upon God and not themselves. At the end of chapter 1 he says, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” I think he is saying this to start counteracting a growing sense of pride and arrogance in the church. It sounds like the Corinthians were “thinking more highly of themselves than they should” (Romans 12:3) and relying upon themselves and what they are able to do rather than on God alone. So Paul is saying “even when I came and preached it was not out my ability or skill. It wasn’t based on me being good at it. It was based on the power of the Spirit of God.” I love how he says that he came weak and even scared. For me this is a glimpse into Paul’s humility. I don’t naturally think of Paul as humble but he was. And it was from the platform of his humility that God had room to display great power. Paul said that all that mattered was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So based on that alone he opened his mouth and began to preach and is showed that GOD was great.

Application:
I know that I depend on my talent and skill too much. I judge God’s use of me whether I play music good or teach well. If I am completely honest I would say that I judge God’s work through me whether or not other people tell me I am good. I am reminded today that the power of God is not about me being good at something. It comes through Jesus Christ and Him alone. My motivation doesn’t need to be seen as having “power” but the glory of Jesus Christ. If I will make that my aim then I will come to him in everything embracing weakness and pursuing humility with great passion. I need to ask myself, “Am I doing this thing so that people will see me as good or God as good?” I believe that the greatest platform for God to do whatever He wants in my life is a heart of humility. I hope I become more humble and pursue to know nothing other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Prayer:
Strip away all pride from my life. Search every motive. Examine every action. Convict me. Lead me to repent. Help me to be humble.

— Doug Hunt, Pastor of Worship/Programming