“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
– 1 Corinthians 1:17
1 Corinthians 1:17, what a powerful verse. Paul just summarizing what Jesus sent him to do, and obviously, and we know this from first Corinthians chapter one verse one, Paul was unique in that he was an apostle of God, but there’s a sense in which this same thing here in First Corinthians one could be said of every follower of Jesus. Christ has sent us to preach the gospel, to proclaim the good news of his love in Christ, not with words of eloquent wisdom, “lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” You think about it, how often do you maybe not share the Gospel because you think, oh, I might mess it up. I might not say things right,” or, “I can’t share it as good as other people. I think about this person or that person that pastor, they know how to say this, they’ve got better words. I’m just not like that?”
It is freeing to know that we can share the good news of the gospel in confidence, knowing that He uses His gospel to bring people to Himself from every tribe and tongue.
Don’t think that. Don’t think that for a second. That’s the beauty of the Gospel. It has power in it. God created you. You’ve sinned against God. God has sent his son to pay the price for your sin. He’s died and rose from the grave. You turn from your sin and trust in him as savior and Lord of your life. You will be forgiven of your sin and reconciled to God forever. Just the pure basic Gospel has power. You share that. It has the power to save people’s lives for all of eternity. Believe that. This is so freeing for me when I preach. I hope it’s freeing for all of us as we think about our lives. Today, the opportunities you and I will have today to share the Gospel with somebody, just plainly share it and trust its power. It has power.
It’s pretty awesome when you share this news to know that this news has inherent supernatural power to save. And this is what Jesus has sent us to do. This is why we’re on this earth. Yes, to glorify him in all kinds of ways, but to preach, to proclaim. So when you hear preach here, don’t just think stand up on a stage behind a podium or a table or whatever and speaking to thousands or hundreds of people. No, no, no, no, proclaim.
1 Corinthians 1:17 Describes the Power of The Message of The Gospel
This is just speak, tell, herald. You have good news. When you have good news that you can’t wait to share with someone, that’s the picture here. So share it. And as you do, know that it has power, what you’re sharing has power, to transform lives for all of eternity. So God help us, help us, help us, we pray, to be faithful, to proclaim the good news today, to share the Gospel of your love today.
Please, oh God, we pray for opportunities, at work, at restaurants and just wherever we find ourselves, at ball fields or in activities here or there, the gym. Wherever we might be today, we know that you have sent us to proclaim this Gospel, so help us to proclaim it and help us not to think, how can I make this as eloquent as possible? Lord, deliver us from that kind of thinking. Help us to think, I trust the power of what I’m sharing. And God we pray, we pray that you would use our sharing of this Gospel today to lead people to life transformation for all of eternity. And God we pray that for the Munnar people in India, 847,000 of them, no known followers of Jesus. God, we pray, send somebody to the Munnar people in India the day might hear the Gospel and see its power, transform their lives.
God, we pray for the spread of the Gospel through us as sent ones, right where we live, and we pray that you will lead us to every single people group in the world. As your church, we pray for the spread of the Gospel to the Munnar. Show the power of the Gospel in our lives today, and among the Munnar. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
