v 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.
v 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
Paul was not a ‘clever’ preacher with a good sales pitch to persuade people to follow Jesus. Nor did he ramble on about ‘hidden mysteries’ which would be revealed to you once you committed yourself to follow Jesus. Such plainness did not always endear him to his listeners! Read 1 Corinthians 11 to see where his plain speaking led him! “I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.” His plain speaking of the truth caused him pain, but he did not give up on it. He had an overwhelming desire to present the whole truth about Jesus to the whole world. He publicly declared his commitment to this process on Acts 20 where we find him saying “ I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. “ Again, no hint whatever of holding back in his preaching. His determination to tell the whole Gospel-truth is very evident. For him, there could never be a second stage of announcing the Good News – there were no mysteries which could only be explained to a select few.
That openness about Christian Faith holds true today. There is no select inner circle of Christians that has access to special knowledge. You don’t have to hold a degree in Theology to become a fully-fledged Christian believer! (I hope I can hear your deep sigh of relief about that!)
—