Wisdom of Words...

1 Corinthians 1:17 reads...

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect...

How does "Wisdom of Words" make Christ's cross, "of no effect"?

As we share the gospel of Christ, we hope to demonstrate who He is. We hope to discuss and share the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, demonstrated to be our Messiah by the raising from the dead. He is the Christ, the anointed God-Man King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has risen bodily from the dead!

Now, when we discuss and share this message about Jesus, we need to avoid flowery words, human arguments and fleshly debating trickery. As we share this most beautiful truth, we must avoid placing confidence in our words, our own intelligence and our own reasonings rather than the Cross of Christ. When the emphasis is on "wisdom of words" to sway the hearer, we risk an emphasis on our persuasion rather than Jesus the Christ.

The Holy Spirit causes us to believe.

Let us trust in God, the Holy Spirit to open the ears of hearers in the world; boldly, confidently, but humbly sharing the Gospel of Christ. Let us rely on reasoned arugments from the scriptures rather than personal eloquence or verbal prowess.