Wisdom, Power, or BOTH?

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

The Apostle Paul was making a valid point. The church he had planted was doomed to division and destruction if they did not deal with their problems. One of those problems was elevating one preacher/teacher above another. Which was really a way of discrediting the ministry of Paul among them. What he is attempting to point out is the way in which he chose to minister to the believers. Simple, straight-forward, and in demonstration of the power of God.

What I do not want to get into is a debate concerning wisdom and the power of God. That can be a foolish argument. Even though there is much to be said concerning the wisdom of men when it is not grounded in the revelation of Jesus Christ. What I want us to focus on today is that you and I can operate in great wisdom alongside the demonstration of God's power. In fact, I believe that we should.

We were having a discussion last night where we talked about the many changes we have seen in our lifetime. In the last 41 years we have seen an incredible increase in Bible translations, more and more tools to study the Bible, libraries filled with commentaries on Scripture and the Christian faith, archaeological and historical discoveries, as well as greater insight into the teachings of the Early Church Fathers. Ignorance of the truth should never be said of today's church. The question is not whether we should operate in wisdom or power. It should be whether or not we are operating in both.

Paul taught the Corinthian Church that the Holy Spirit had been given to us so that we may understand the things that God had freely given. Which is an incredible treasure of revelation. This is the type of wisdom that the Father would have us operate in. A wisdom that has explored the depths of the Father's heart. A wisdom built upon the foundation of the finished work of Christ and the hidden wisdom of God. A wisdom that partners with the power of the Holy Spirit. Demonstrating this power at work in our lives by the way we live and the things we share.

This world changing apostle valued the demonstration of God's power at work in him because it testified of the reality he preached. He was doing more than communicating facts. Remember, he didn't have a Bible. What he had was a revelation. An awareness of what God had done in Christ before the foundation of the world. A message that he tried to communicate and demonstrate. In this way he became a living testimony to what God had done.

You and I should live in both wisdom and power. Everything that was available in Paul's life and ministry is ours in Jesus. The Messiah even promised His disciples that everything that He did - they would do - and even more. Imagine what our lives would look like as we grow in wisdom and in our experience of the Holy Spirit. Think about the beauty of both at work in us. I believe the church would look very different.

I truly believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was meant to be an ever increasing revelation. An unfolding of the Father's heart for humanity. A testimony of His unconditional love. Part of our journey is to see this revelation increase. To see His Kingdom expand. To fill the whole Earth with His glory. Let us walk in the wisdom and power of God.

Till the whole world knows...