3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Most resumes are designed to present a persona that is far better than reality. Social media profiles do the same. We accentuate the good and ignore our weaknesses when we are in control of the narrative. Paul took a different position of himself when writing to the struggling church at Corinth. He presented himself accurately as a weak and timid creature, far from our popular notion of him as a fierce warrior. He was not a superhero but merely a conductor of the Spirit and power. Verse 5 gives the reason for his brutal honesty about his weaknesses. It is so they will follow Christ and not men, not Paul, not Apollos, or Cephas.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow to see how easy it is for us to fall into this trap. As children, our parents seemed infallible to us. As immature believers, we run the same risk of assigning infallibility to our favorite preachers or authors. Come and learn how to have the mind of Christ and the power of the Spirit. Then we will not only assign infallibility, but worship to our Lord.
Dear Lord, thank you for revealing the mystery of your goodness, mercy, and power. Help us to look solely to you for the strength and power we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church