1 CORINTHIANS 2
4 Outlines
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
PREACHING PATTERN
This is how Paul preached the Gospel.
PAUL’S DEFERMENT – Vs. 1 - And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God.
Paul deferred from speaking in his own excellent
speech of wisdom.
PAUL’ S DETERMINATION – Vs. 2 - For I determined
not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
PAUL’S DISPOSITION – Vs. 3 - And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
PAUL’S DECLARATION – Vs. 4 - And my speech and
my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power:
PAUL’S DESIGN – Vs. 5 - That
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
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1 Corinthians 2:1-5
PAUL, THE EVANGELIST
HIS PREACHING Vs. 1
HIS PLAN Vs. 2
HIS PRESENCE Vs. 3
HIS PERFORMANCE Vs. 4
HIS PURPOSE Vs. 5
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1 Corinthians 2:1-8
COMMUNICATING THE ANSWER
Everyone who speaks
clearly is a communicator.
Some people are very
good communicators.
Other people do not seem
to be able to express themselves as well.
This world is full of
problems caused by sin. Isaiah 64:6
The answer to the
world's sin problem is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Faith in Him brings
eternal life (John
It is the Christian's job
to communicate the answer of the Gospel to a lost and dying world (Matthew
28:19,20, Mark
One of the greatest
communicators of the Gospel was the Apostle Paul.
He gives us some ideas
of how to communicate the Gospel in our text.
MINDSET - Vss. 1-2
In order to effectively
do anything one needs a proper mindset.
We need to think correctly and be determined to accomplish a specific
goal.
When Paul went to
He went in order to
communicate the testimony or message of God (Vs. 1)
Paul's mindset was to
know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul
knew that Christ was the answer. His whole goal was to communicate the
crucified Christ to these People (Vs. 2).
Actually, this was not
only Paul's mindset for preaching, but for everything he did (Galatians
We fail to communicate
the Gospel effectively because we segregate the cross from the rest of our
lives. Communicating the cross to others
is only a small section of our lives. With Paul, it was the vital part of his
life! He gloried in the cross! May we do the same!
METHOD - Vss. 3-5
What method did Paul use
to communicate the cross?
First of all, Paul shows
he was just like us. Verse 3 tells us that he tended towards being weak,
fearful and scared!
Secondly, we see that
Paul did not use man's wisdom (Vs.4). Man's wisdom did not save Paul, so he
didn't use it. Instead Paul demonstrated the Spirit and power of God! Paul
depended on God's strength to enable him to communicate the cross. May we be
equally dependent on God! The faith of those we are reaching must be in the
power of God, not the wisdom of men (Vs. 5).
MESSAGE - Vss. 6-8
Paul spoke a message of
wisdom to those who were perfect (mature, complete) in Christ.
But it was not the
wisdom of this world that Paul communicated (Vs. 6)
The wisdom of God is a
mystery to this world (Vs. 7).
If the leaders of this
world had understood God's wisdom, they would have never crucified Christ (Vs.
8).
We must make sure that
the message we communicate is God's wisdom of the cross (1 Corinthians
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1 Corinthians 2:9-3:7
TALE OF THREE MEN
There are three types of
men mentioned in this passage.
THE SPIRITUAL MAN
RECEIVES UNDERSTANDING - 2:9-13, 15-16
THE NATURAL (UNSAVED)
MAN IS REFUSED UNDERSTANDING -
THE CARNAL MAN IS
RESTRICTED IN UNDERSTANDING - 3:1-7
The carnal man is saved,
but is limited in understanding because he is not allowing the Spirit of God to
control him. According to vs. 3, men are carnal when there is "envying,
and strife, and divisions" among them.
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