Clarity

Wherever and whenever the good news of Jesus is preached, the power of the Holy Spirit becomes active and He makes the message powerful as individuals need. Sometimes the words chosen by the preacher may better connect with the background and thought processes of those listening. Perhaps the preacher was motivated to choose those words just for this reason. When a preacher sits down to prepare a sermon many thoughts may cross his mind, but one needs to be, “Spirit, what do you want communicated at this time?” Frequently, humans assign value or importance to a topic being presented relative to the perceived expertise and wisdom of the presenter. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that the power of the words he spoke was not based on any human wisdom, but on God’s power. In this passage, "demonstration of the Spirit's power" probably refers to unexpected or incomprehensible actions linked to the Gospel presentation. However, in the context of this passage, Paul was primarily focused on a greater truth, the story about a crucified Savior doesn't appear to be wise and persuasive by human standards of wisdom (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1-3), yet the Holy Spirit was active in helping people understand the amazing story of Jesus. The Spirit's work in the message of the cross gives it seemingly inexplicable power to reach into people's hearts and call them to Jesus. Nevertheless, for those of us who are familiar with the Holy Spirit's work, this power really is not mysterious; it is a reminder of God's grace to give us not only the gift of Jesus but also the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us understand the gift of Jesus!