Day 300: 1 Corinthians 2:1–5

When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom (v. 1).

I suspect that Paul’s visit to Athens affected him far more than we realize. Few people believed and received Christ. Paul was overwhelmed by the polytheistic beliefs of the residents. They wanted to argue philosophies rather than consider the truth. The Athenians did not throw Paul out of the city or persecute him in any obvious way. The few converts appear to have produced little fruit. Apparently no church was established. Paul spent most of his days in Athens alone. Although 1 Thessalonians 3:1 indicates Timothy and Silas might have come as he asked, they were quickly sent elsewhere. After a brief stay in Athens, he simply moved on in frustration.

Paul had plenty of time to think on his way to Corinth. He spent several grueling days alone. During those long hours, I believe he convinced himself that every effort in Athens had failed. As we often do, I suspect he became so focused on the negative that he lost sight of the positive.

Have you ever noticed how lengthy times of solitude affect us differently depending on our state of mind? Aloneness exaggerates our emotions and sensitivities. For example, we can sometimes sense the presence of God and hear His voice far more clearly when we have several days alone. But on the other hand, solitude can also exaggerate negative feelings. We find ourselves almost thinking too much! We look back on a situation and decide nothing good came from it at all. Insecurity turns into immobilization, and intimidation turns into terror! If you have ever had a lengthy time alone in which your mind “ran away with you” on the wings of negative thoughts, then you probably understand something of what Paul was feeling.

I believe the more Paul thought about his experiences in Athens, the worse he felt. First Corinthians 2:1 may suggest that Paul felt intimidated by the Athenians, and these feelings accompanied him to Corinth. Athens attracted intellectuals who could debate eloquently and were eager to flaunt their knowledge. As he tried to preach to them, the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers disputed with him. Some sneered, “What is this pseudo-intellectual trying to say?” (Acts 17:18 hcsb).

Paul had been the pride of his graduating class—the child prodigy! You can imagine the beating his ego took in Athens. I think Paul felt like a failure. First Corinthians 2:2 says by the time he reached Corinth, he had “determined to know nothing . . . except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (hcsb). Thank goodness, he knew the only thing he really had to know! He determined to base his life and ministry on Christ—his one certainty!

In 1 Corinthians we see an insight Paul eventually gained from his experience. Are these words evidence that he may have been thinking back on the Athenians? “For to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is God’s power. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts’” (1 Cor. 1:18–19 hcsb).

God used this entire experience to show Paul an important lesson. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 he wrote, “But the natural man does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually” (hcsb). Paul ultimately gained the insights he wrote about in 1 Corinthians, but as he traveled to Corinth he was still in turmoil. On the miles between Athens and Corinth, Paul probably hashed and rehashed his experiences. He wished he had said this or that. Sometimes we can’t explain exactly what we believe. Other times we think of just the right answer when it’s too late. We end up feeling foolish because we weren’t persuasive.

Obviously Paul’s experience had a great impact on his next opportunity. He entered Corinth “in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3 hcsb). The word “weakness” comes from an original word used for a sickness. It suggests that Paul was so scared he was physically ill. The word for “trembling” indicates something we’ve all experienced: hands shaking from nervousness. The opposite word is “confidence.” By the time Paul reached Corinth, he had lost his confidence. Possibly he wondered if the fruit he had seen in other cities had come from God’s blessings on Barnabas or Silas.

Does seeing Paul’s experience in this light help you to relate to him as a fellow struggler on the road to serve Christ? You probably didn’t know the apostle Paul shared the same feelings. Neither did I. I hope you can find encouragement in his experience.

The enemy would have enjoyed preventing Paul from ministering in Corinth because of feelings of inadequacy, but Satan was unsuccessful. God instead used Paul’s feelings to give a great “demonstration of the Spirit and power” (1 Cor. 2:4 hcsb). The word for “demonstration” in this passage is apodeixis, meaning “proof.” What a wonderful term! Do you see what Paul meant? He was so intimidated by the time he reached Corinth, the abundant fruit ultimately produced through his preaching was proof of the Holy Spirit’s power! God sometimes uses us most powerfully when we feel the least adequate.