Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Watchman Nee, a well-known Chinese Christian teacher and leader of the 20th century. His main premise in the book is the importance of “breaking the outer man” so that the spirit of the inner man can be released and advance Christ’s kingdom.
Without this breaking, he contends, Christian workers will never be effective because they must rely on their cleverness, knowledge, talent, and emotions. These human strengths can hinder rather than help the flow of authentic spiritual ministry.
The Apostle Paul agrees with this idea in 1 Corinthians.
Paul begins this instructional letter by thanking God for enriching the believers of Corinth with great speech and knowledge, observing that they “lack no spiritual gift(1:7).”
But he moves quickly to a rebuke. He has discovered that they have become fractured, putting their faith in human leaders, and becoming jealously sectarian.
Paul goes to great lengths in his opening chapters to drive home the point that he has laid aside his need to provide lofty rhetoric. He writes that he didn’t come to them with eloquence or human wisdom, but “in weakness, with great fear and trembling (2:3).”
This giant of faith, who had studied the Law and the Prophets his entire life, was determined to preach only “Jesus Christ and him crucified (2:2).”
His lesson, taught by words, by largely by example, is that we are never to be impressed with the worldly knowledge and word-smithing, because in light of God’s majestic word, all of the world’s wisdom is foolishness.
Effective ministry of the word is not rooted in our cleverness, intellectual acumen, or advanced rhetoric. The gospel doesn’t require these abilities to make its impact on a human soul. When we allow the Holy Spirit to lead, we can use the simplest of words and actions, and people are touched and changed.
This is challenging and convicting to me, as a person of many words. Sometimes I try too hard to demonstrate my cleverness. Paul nudges me and makes me consider that if I am wise by the world’s standards, I should become a fool to the world so that God can make me truly wise.
This is Paul’s extraordinary summary statement on the topic:
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Cor. 1:26-31).
Have you ever seen a more counter-Western-culture statement? In the digital media world, people battle with words, hoping that their use of language and “content” will stand out and gain them followers. Without followers, how can we monetize our work?
Ah…there’s the rub. The love of money. Can we create what God inspires us to create without being overly concerned about the response of the world? Can we trust God to meet our needs if the world doesn’t respond with financial support? We can’t serve God and mammon.
That last sentence of Paul’s statement is powerful. If we are going to boast, our only valid boast is in what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do. We boast that we have a relationship with him, and that is enough. God scans the landscape, looking not for the most clever, but for those whose “hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Cor. 16:9).
