Thursday, April 15
“And so it was with me…”
Scripture: Joshua 19-20, Psalm 45, 1 Corinthians 2
1 Corinthians 2:1–2 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. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Observation
Having just resolved the tribalism over their leaders by pointing everyone back to Jesus, Paul continues, “And so it was with me.” He has reminded them that Jesus—the crucified and resurrected One—has saved them and they must boast only in Him, not in any human leader.
“And so it was with me.” Paul came not with any human wisdom or eloquence, but resolved to only proclaim “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The Corinthians were impressed by the rhetoric of their day, messages of human philosophy and wisdom. They were wondering about the wisdom of Paul’s message. But Paul’s message was singular: Jesus, the crucified and resurrected One. He is our wisdom, our salvation, our hope, and our boast. No one else. Nothing else.
1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
So Paul resolved to “know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” He proclaimed a wisdom that was not from man, but from God: Jesus. He didn’t want to impress them with his wisdom or eloquence, but with Jesus.
Application
“And so it was with me.” I want to be someone who points others to Jesus, not to myself. I want others to be impressed with Jesus, not me.
2 Corinthians 4:5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
Someone said, “No one can impress others that he is clever and Christ is Lord at the same time.” Paul’s boast wasn’t in himself, his wisdom, his eloquence, but in Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Lord. “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Today, I want to impress others with Jesus, not me. “And so it was with me.”
Prayer: Lord, help me to be like Paul, eager to impress others with Jesus, not myself. Help me to boast in the Lord!