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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
October 28
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Today's Pathway:
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In today's passage Paul opens by stating that his preaching was all about Christ not about himself. While the meaning of this verse seems to be obvious, I think that it is worth thinking about Paul's statement about not preaching himself. Certainly when a Bible preacher speaks he should be talking about Jesus. But what does it mean when a man is preaching "himself"? It means that he is either making himself an important part of the message, or that the message is really designed to draw men to the preacher himself. Charles Hodge defined it this way,
"To preach one's self is to make self the end of preaching; i.e., preaching with the design to attract to ourselves the admiration, the confidence or homage of men."
The fact is that some pastors preach in such a way that they will receive the glory and the benefit, not the congregation. David Guzik wrote,
"Not everyone who opens a Bible and starts talking is preaching Christ Jesus the Lord. Many well-intentioned preachers are actually preaching themselves instead of Jesus. If the focus is on the funny stories or the touching life experiences of the preacher, he may be preaching himself. Often, people love it when the preacher preaches himself. It is revealing, it seems intimate, and it is often entertaining. It is also tempting for the preacher, because he sees how people respond when he focuses the message on himself. But the bottom line is that the preacher himself can’t bring you to God and save your eternal soul; only Jesus can."
Paul adds at the end of verse 5 that his preaching indicated that he considered himself to be not only a servant of the Lord, but also a servant of those he was ministering to. Paul was not trying to usurp the authority that belonged to God alone. He was not using his pulpit to exert control over his listeners. He was simply serving them for the sake of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:19,
"For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more."
Those souls that Paul "gained" were souls for whom Christ died, and so for the sake of the Gospel Paul was willing to serve all that he could in order to see them reconciled to God.
In verse 6 Paul alludes back to the creation of the world. In Genesis 1:1-3 we read,
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep... And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
At the time of creation there was nothing but darkness, and then God spoke light into existence. In the same way God has shone the light of the Gospel into the hearts of men so that they can know the glory of God as it is found in Jesus Christ. Just as the universe was originally created in total darkness, so the unsaved man is born in total spiritual darkness. Just as the universe could not produce light by itself, so man can not produce spiritual light by himself. Only God could bring light to His creation, and only God can bring light to unregenerate men. How is this accomplished? John 1:4,5,9 says this of Jesus:
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
Jesus Himself stated,
"I am the light of the world" (John 9:5).
Men have always needed to see the glory of God, whether it was reflected by the face of Moses (II Corinthians 3:13-14) or through the Gospel of Christ. When a preacher serves his listeners by proclaiming the pure Word of God he reveals to them the glory of God, and that, and that alone, is what will bring men into a right relationship with the Lord.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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