‘And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, and my word 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 stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'
Paul stresses the great concern that he had had that his words to them might not be just persuasive and clever words, but that his preaching should be in demonstration of the Spirit and power. He had wanted to ensure that they did not respond because of his persuasion, or as a result of elegant ideas, but because of the Spirit's persuasion and testimony to the cross as He revealed His power among them. For he knew that if they only believed for his sake their faith would soon fail. But if it was founded in the work of the Spirit and on the word of the cross it would stand firm, for all God's power would be behind it.
‘I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.' This was how he felt inside as he had contemplated the message he had brought them. ‘Weakness' may indicate a physical indisposition of one kind or another. The word often means illness. But it may simply mean a sense of lack. We must not, however, overstress the fear and much trembling. It is one of his favourite descriptions to describe genuine concern, and regularly means simply that, that he was acting in genuine and careful concern. See 2 Corinthians 7:15 where the Corinthians had received Titus ‘with fear and trembling' and Philippians 2:12 where the Philippians are told to ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God Who works in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.' In both cases it is clear that it is a slight exaggeration to stress great concern and effort. See also Ephesians 6:5.
Thus Paul is stressing how genuine his aim had been. He had come to them in weakness, either because he had recognised that the success that really mattered would not come from his strength and power but from the power of the word of the cross, or because of some indisposition, and he had come ‘in fear and trembling' because he was very concerned that his ministry should be in the power of the Spirit. When a minister does not come to preach in ‘weakness, fear and much trembling' we may need to question his genuine calling.
‘My word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of men's wisdom.' The word of the cross is powerful to save (1 Corinthians 1:18) when accompanied by the Spirit, and God saves men ‘through the foolishness of what is preached' (1 Corinthians 1:21), that is, through the foolishness of the preaching of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17), which in turn is the word of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18), once they respond in belief and trust. But both require the Spirit as the necessary condition. Thus he was careful to avoid a word and preaching which simply expressed and taught human endeavour, and used persuasive words containing men's carefully constructed wisdom so as to sway their beliefs, and engaged in eloquent and flowery language, which might blur the message of the cross.
‘But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' By coming to God in weakness and godly fear and opening himself to God he became a channel of the Spirit. Thus his preaching was powerful and effective, and produced powerful results (compare Galatians 3:5). It was a demonstration of power. It was a demonstration of the Spirit at work. Notice the continual stress on ‘power' in the whole passage (1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5). The word of the cross was God's word active in power (Isaiah 55:11). The combination with this of a man faithful to the message of the cross and submissive to the Spirit resulted in powerful preaching, because it was such preaching that applied the power of God to men's hearts. It gave men spiritual wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:11-16), it brought men under the Kingly Rule of God (1 Corinthians 4:20), it dealt firmly with open sin (1 Corinthians 5:3-5). This then resulted in the spiritual gifts which were manifested among the Corinthians (12-14). All had demonstrated that God was there.
‘That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.' This was why he feared, this was the reason for his great concern, the fear that because of clever words and highflown ideas men would be ‘convinced' but would not be genuinely responsive to God Himself, being like reeds swaying in the wind, uncertain as to quite why they had responded, and just as easily convinced when others spoke a different message. So rather than this he concentrated on submission to the Spirit and the preaching of the word of the cross (for which see 1 Corinthians 1:18). Then he knew that any response of faith would be permanent because it resulted only from the powerful activity of God.
In all this Paul is not denying that he preached as effectively as he could, and as carefully as he could. Indeed that is his point. That he concentrated all his skills on ensuring ‘with greatest care' that the central message was plain and that it got over. Away with impressing people. He wanted them to know exactly what he was saying. He wanted them to receive and understand the message of Christ and Him crucified. And above all he wanted it to be not in his own power, but in the power of the Spirit.