Corinth was a city of the Greeks,a people who highly valued rhetoric, the art or science of using words effectively in speaking or writing. In the classical age they produced men who developed themselves in rhetoric to the point where they are still remembered today. One of them, Demosthenes, who lived in the 4th Century B.C., was perhaps the greatest orator of them all. In order to perfect his ability, he is said to have filled his mouth with pebbles on the beach and then practiced speaking articulately above the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks. The Greeks valued rhetoric so much, and so many tried to excel in it, that eventually it was overplayed and became somewhat ridiculous. This was the prevalent situation when Paul brought the gospel to Athens, Corinth, and other Grecian cities. The once great art had been degraded to artificial eloquence and mere showiness in language and style. And yet, it was what the people desired and esteemed. They thought that any speaker who did not employ it was unskilled and not worthy of an audience.
In the Corinthian correspondence, especially, Paul emphasized that the power of God is not dependent upon such displays of speech. In I Cor. 1:21 he stated that, when he brought the gospel to them, he "did not come to you with superiority of speech ... proclaiming to you the testimony of God." In 13:1 he stated that "if I come with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." And in 4:20, quoted above, he contrasts eloquent speech with power, meaning the power of God. It is true that God's power is demonstrated through His word, the gospel, (Rom. 1:16). But that refers to the word of revelation per se and not to the manner in which men speak in their use of phrases, expressions, gestures, tones, and all that might be called "pulpit delivery." The power of God is contained in the word of truth itself, not in the style of vocal presentation. The Corinthians failed to realize that, and their failure is repeated even now.
When someone today delivers a sermon in a dramatic way from the pulpit, most audiences are very impressed by the artful expressions, vigorous gestures, and dramatic voice projection. The louder and more commanding the voice, the more rapid the speech, and the more energized the personality, the more effective we think the speaker to be. It is just this evaluation that the Spirit, through Paul and other New Testament writers, counsels us to avoid. The power of a sermon or lesson lies in its truth to revelation, its sincerity of purpose, and its honest effort to draw attention to God rather than to the speaker. When a teacher or preacher has done a really superb job, the audience will be awed by God and not by the speaker. We must put our confidence in the power of God, not in the skill of men, to make things work, to build things up, and to establish continuity of success. In I Cor. 3:21-23 we read this: "Let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." When we go to church to receive a lesson or hear a sermon, we should not go to hear a certain brother but rather an exposition of truth from the word of God. If we put the stress on the speaker and his style of delivery more than on the content of what God has revealed, we are reversing the statement of I Cor. 4:20. We must also consider what we are told in I Cor. 3:7, "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth."
