Upon What Does Your Faith Stand? (2)

Having seen last time that our faith must "not stand in the wisdom of men," we now consider the true basis of faith, "the power of God" (I Cor. 2:5). First, Jesus Christ is "the power of God" (1:24). He is the omnipotent God, as the incarnation of the eternal Son, and the rock on which the whole universal church is built. He is surely sufficient ground for your faith! Second, it is especially the cross of Christ which is the power of God, for "the cross ... is the power of God" (1:18). Thus Paul proclaimed "Christ, and him crucified" (2:2). The power of the cross bound Satan, founded the kingdom of God and breaks the dominion of sin in the believer’s heart. Your faith must be grounded in God’s redemption in Christ Jesus! Third, Christ crucified is the power of God as the One who works by His Holy Spirit. Thus Paul speaks of "the Spirit and of power," that is, the powerful Spirit (2:4). The power of the Spirit here does not refer to His might in the creation (cf. Gen. 1:2) or His driving out demons. Rather it speaks of His work in the hearts of the children of God assuring us of God’s truth and saving us from our sins. Fourth, Christ crucified works by His Spirit centrally through the preaching of the true gospel. Thus the apostle declares, "my speech and my preaching" was "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (I Cor. 2:4). By the proclamation of the gospel the Spirit of Christ powerfully blesses God’s Word to our hearts.

This truth—that Christ crucified speaking by the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel is the power of God—has important implications. First, faith is not a matter of rational proof ("Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him;" 2:9), but of divine revelation ("But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit;" 2:10). Faith is not wrought by human persuasion ("excellency of speech or of wisdom;" 2:1) but by divine testimony (2:1) which is "confirmed" in us (1:6). Second, since saving faith is not established or built upon rational arguments (which not all can follow), the simplest Christian can be assured of the truth of the Bible’s inspiration and message. This is important for if this conviction could only be wrought by complicated arguments, much reading of books, study of ancient Near Eastern culture, etc., many of us could never attain such assurance. Third, faith is not directly proportional to learning. It is not the case that the most learned Christians have the greatest faith, or that the least learned Christians have the weakest faith. We have all seen instances of comparatively simple folk with great faith and much assurance of the certainty of the Christian gospel, for "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith" (James 2:5)?