Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Virginia Beach: Chapel Messages

SELAH MOMENT
Sept. 16, 2007

If life is all about Christ, then life is all about living in dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

This is how the apostle Paul lived not only in theory but in sincere practice.

For example, consider how he detailed his Spirit-dependent manner of life to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:1-4.

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.

So what’s the point? Why is it so important that I live a Christ-dominated life by means of the Spirit’s power? After all, I am not an apostle; I am not a preacher of the Word. What’s at stake?

The focus of someone else’s faith is at stake.

Take note of this in reading 1 Corinthians 2:4-5: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

Paul made it a priority to pursue an intimate knowledge of Christ and to teach and preach in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that others might locate their faith and trust in the power of God and not in the wisdom of man.

In the remainder of 1 Corinthians 2, Paul goes on to contrast the wisdom of God with the wisdom of this world (1 Cor 2:6-16).

Man in all of his wisdom does not understand the glorious Christ, the mind of God, or the wonderful things made available to us in Christ. Because of this he thinks and talks in accordance with the spirit of the age. He encourages others to locate their hope and trust in the best of this world.

The exhortation of the Lord in 1 Corinthians 2 is to know and learn, to be, and to speak in a Holy Spirit dependent manner.

What’s at stake with this manner of life? The faith of your family, your children, and your church is at stake.

May God help us to live a Holy Spirit dependent life that encourages others to locate their faith and trust in the power of God and not in human wisdom.