Fear, Trembling, and Proof of Spirit and Power: Sharing the Good News of Jesus

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.  For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NASB)

Of all the problems, or rather excuses I have used for not sharing the good news of Jesus, the one that seems to get at the heart of all the others is how I think any such discussion will be perceived.  So, in other words, I fear what others will think of me.  This is something I struggle with in other areas of my life, but that it touches here too means that I 'opt out' of some of the things (and the resulting blessings) my Master has for me.

Paul seemed to have no such problem.  He was not trying to impress anyone, but says that he brought the good news of Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and ascension with 'fear and trembling'.  But with that, he also says that the content was not 'persuasive words' but 'of demonstration of the Spirit and of power.'  This is very different than I see the good news going out today.

Considering these two elements, 'fear and trembling' and 'demonstration of the Spirit and power'; what would that look like in our day?  When I think of demonstrating the Spirit and power, I have thought of the 'charismatic movement', but not favorably.  When I think of fear and trembling, I think of weakness easily marginalized and ignored; more of a nuisance.  I don't think this is what Paul refers to in either element.

First off, I believe that 'fear and trembling' really refers to Paul conviction that what he presents is of immense importance.  His trembling is from the source and content of the message, not how it will be perceived.  The word for 'fear' is the general Greek word, 'phobos' where we get various 'phobias' from.  The word 'trembling' is also a general Greek word for 'shaking' either from fear or even cold.  But the context of the 5 places it's used in the Christian Scriptures lends a contextual meaning of 'anxiety of one who distrusts his ability to completely meet all requirements, but religiously does his utmost to fulfill his duty' (Strong's Concordance).  My question is whether the Corinthian believers understood it that way in Paul's use of it here.

There's much that I can't really understand looking back 2000+ years to try and understand about what was meant, and how it was understood then.  Having said that, I also know my Master's Spirit Who inspired these words, also works in me to understand them.  So, while I don't know for sure, here's what I suspect Paul is doing, and how I think it was understood:  1) I think Paul is using an intentional contrast between prominent speakers, speaking venues, and events and his own presentation of the good news of Jesus; but I believe he's using a degree of hyperbole to make his point.  I suspect his presentations did not all include shaking in fear on his part, nor did that make up the whole of his 'style' whatever that may have been.  So, some, at points, especially when speaking of the mighty acts of God on our behalf, sure, shaking in awe; but not all the time as he spoke.  2) Paul is beginning to make a case that, as the message preached is not about him or how he is perceived, just as the life lived in Jesus is not about them or what others think of them.  In other words, just as he was not afraid to show his consternation over the magnitude of what he preached, so they should not be afraid to live out the 'foolishness' of what has been done for them by their Creator.

Second, I believe the 'demonstration of the Spirit and of power' refers to miraculous things done among them through Paul.  Considering the context of other things he says in this letter, I think that's a fair assessment.  I don't think that everything was 'miraculous' in the same way, so just healing, or just raising dead, or just casting out demons', but I do believe that some of each of those was demonstrated among them.  Such things are not mentioned occurring in Corinth in Acts, but I don't really consider that a problem.  I lean that way because partly I believe Luke, as he wrote Acts, really considers those sorts of things to be commonly associated with Paul.  In fact I suspect, for him, they are such a regular occurrence that he stops mentioning every occurrence of them in Acts.

So, I'm left with a completely absent foundation for my fear.  It doesn't matter what others think of me as I speak of my Master Jesus.  What matters is that I speak of my Master.  And I do not need to wait until I have some sort of 'second blessing' of His Spirit because I believe that will come in the course of my obedience, the consequence of which will be increased boldness to speak.  So, while I know what I'm afraid of, I need to 'man-up', 'stand up' and go forth in spite of my fear.  What I should fear is the 'Sender' of the message, not the receivers.  That I don't is pretty dumb really.  So, the core of my problem is a lack of faith.  Well, that comes from my Master too, so that's no excuse either.  Better get up and get on out there!

Getting God's Attention

Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. (Acts 10:34-35 NASB)

The Philippian jailer would eventually ask Paul, "What must I do to be saved?"  This is a very important question for which to have an answer.  The person of Cornelius presents an interesting twist on it.  I wonder at what point was Cornelius accepted by God as one of His family?  In other words, when was Cornelius no longer in danger of going to hell, and assured of going to heaven?

In the opening verse of this chapter, the angel of the Lord tells Cornelius that his prayers have been heard and his giving has ascended as a memorial before God.  Is this something characteristic of one going to hell?  Would God hear prayers and accept memorials from one who is not His own?  In my opinion, Peter's revelation is also mine.  I realize that those who fear my Master and do what is right (in other words, seek to obey Him) are acceptable to my Master.  There is no partiality with my Master.

To bring this into the present, those around me who look, speak, possibly smell different than I do are acceptable to my Master when they fear Him and seek to obey Him.  I am in no way able to classify people on what they look like, their accent, or where they live.  In some sense I can look at their behavior, but I have to be careful here.  Obedience to my Master will not look the same for everyone.

There are many different legitimate ways to worship my Master.  There are plenty of activities not expressly prohibited by Him or obliquely referred to by Him.  I may not want to do or behave that way, but I must be sure to evaluate on Scriptural grounds rather than personal preferences or my cultural behaviors.  Now, why ask this question?

I have been asked about "people who have never heard of God or Jesus" and how they can be held accountable for salvation.  Paul is pretty clear in Romans that the world has enough clues to God's existence that everyone is responsible before Him.  "So," goes the question, "what about someone who has never heard but responds to this evidence of God in this world?"  Well, at that point, is where I believe this concept in Acts 10 (and Acts 8 with the Ethiopian eunuch) kicks in.  This statement by Peter indicates the criteria, fear God and obey Him.

But I have to concede two points.  First off, both Cornelius and the Ethiopian official had already responded to the Judaism of their day.  In other words, they had embraced something "monotheistic" which had been revealed by God already.  Second, they were both brought into the fold of believers by having the good news of Jesus preached to them.  Even though these events were divinely appointed, Jesus is preached, and they accept. 

Here's my answer to both points: so what?  In the first point, the setting is Palestine, but neither one of these people is from there.  Seeking God would only be found through Judaism at this point; Christianity is local at this point.  The second point I discount because this is the only way they would be brought into this story.  Had either one remained apart from the influence of Jesus' followers, we wouldn't know of them.  What I believe addresses this issue in this account is that the angel tells Cornelius that he's acceptable to God before Jesus is preached to him and he accepts.

So here's the lesson I walk away with, it's not about me nor my ability.  People will not be coming to my Master in droves because of me.  People will seek my Master because of Him.  For whatever lack in their own lives and culture, the answer they find will be my Master.  I get so afraid that I will mess it up some how, that my foibles and weaknesses will be the downfall of someone else.  I don't even try or fear what to say because I don't want to mess up.  And I don't want to be thought of as some religious nut or looked down on for my beliefs, and so on it goes.  It's all a lot of hogwash; ridiculous hogwash.  All my excuses come down to one thing: me.  So, now I see conclusive proof (like I didn't have it before) that it's not about me at all.  See how stupid I am, how can I be trusted with the good news of Jesus if I'm such an idiot?  Simple, it's not about me.  Since I'm without excuses, I guess I need to start jumping into those conversations.