1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
— 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, ESV

Saul of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul, was a brilliant theologian, but only a mediocre public speaker.  He readily admits his oratorical skills lacked “lofty speech” and were hindered by “weakness,” “fear,” and “much trembling.”  Most of us who attempt to engage in public speaking can relate to his testimony.

But it wasn’t his testimony Paul was preaching.  It was “the testimony of God.”  God has a story to tell, and He tells it majestically through the ministry of this remarkable man.  God used Paul to write half of our New Testament, while simultaneously planting the first generation of Christian churches.  

Chapter two of First Corinthians continues Paul’s theme of uniting the church around the cross of Christ.  But the theme is broadened by a wider and wiser look at who began the cross, who bore the cross, and who brings the cross to bear upon a believer’s life.  In all three cases it is our one, true, and triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The name of God appears 21 times in the 16 verses of this chapter.  “God,” which we interpret as God the Father, is found 10 times.  God the Son, “Jesus Christ,” “Our Lord” is expressly mentioned 4 times.  And God the Holy “Spirit” is found 7 times.  

This is a lot of good news about God.  It offers an explanation of the ministry of the Trinity.  The names and descriptions reflect how God worked in and through the Apostle Paul, and an admonition of how God works in your life, my life, and the life of any true Christian.

The Ministry of the Trinity in the Apostle Paul (vs. 1-5)

I imagine when Paul came to Corinth, he could have been singing this song: “We’ve a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light” (H. Ernest Nichol).  Paul’s story is God’s story of truth, mercy, peace, light, and more, in more ways than one.  It is the story of three in one, in keeping with the doctrine of the Trinity.

The Story of God the Father

Paul told “the testimony of God” (vs. 1).  God the Father is the sovereign author and owner of His own story, which is told throughout the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is a story of “truth and mercy, peace and light.”  It is also a story of love, “How deep the Father’s love for us” (Stuart Townend). 

Love is the one word answer to many questions about God.  Why did God create us?  He wanted someone to love.  Why is God a Trinity?  It is the best way to express and apply His love.  Why does God save us after we sin against Him?  Because He loves us.  Why did God send His Son to die on the cross?  It is the same answer, spelled out in John 3:16, and it never gets old, because God loves us.

The Story of God the Son

Paul said he had no story to tell “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (vs. 2).  Jesus did much more than merely get Himself crucified, but the cross is the crux of the gospel.  It is the central part of the greatest story of the deity and humanity, perfection and oblation, righteousness and forgiveness, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

In the crucifixion, Jesus completed a perfect, sinless, righteous life for the unrighteous.  In the crucifixion, Jesus offered up His death as an atoning sacrifice for sinners.  By faith in the loving sacrifice of the cross, we become right with God and the stain of our sin is completely removed.  

The Story of God the Spirit

Saul would have never become Paul, and Paul would have no story to tell if not for the Holy “Spirit” of “power” (vs. 4).  It is by the power of God the Holy Spirit that Paul came to believe in God the Son sent from God the Father.  By that same power, Paul overcame his weakness to gain the confidence that he was not speaking for or about himself, but for and about God, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

You and I can share this same confidence.  We can overcome our weaknesses in preaching, teaching, and sharing the gospel.  Like Paul, lead with love, emphasize sacrifice, and trust in the power of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The ministry of the Trinity in Paul is available to all who truly believe.

The Ministry of the Trinity in Us All (vs. 6-16)

Apart from the name of God, the most common word found in this chapter is “wisdom.”  It appears seven times.  Perfect!  

Perfect wisdom comes from a personal relationship with the triune God.  With it one grasps the simplicity of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Then, it digs deeper to understand the complexity of saving faith.

Paul expounds on the doctrine of the Trinity by relating it to the steps of salvation.  Each member of the Trinity plays a leading part.  We are chosen by the Father, we are saved by the Son, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe and behave in a manner worthy of the Trinity.

God the Father Ordains Salvation

The decision to save a certain soul is something “God decreed before the ages” (vs. 7; see also Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8).  Jesus echoed this to His first followers, “You did not choose Me, but I choose you” (ref. John 15:16).  I’ve heard misguided preachers tell people to take the first step towards God, then God will take the rest.  Just the opposite is true, according to Scripture.  God takes the first step before we can take any steps in following Christ.

The doctrines of election and predestination are not popular with the masses, but they should be precious to the wise child of God.  They cut to “the depths of God” (vs. 10).  Meditating upon them causes us to love Him deeper and serve Him better.  

God the Son Accomplishes Salvation

Wisdom grows and love flows when we consider what God did to save us, after He chose us.  He chose to allow sinful, unbelieving people to “crucify the Lord of glory” (vs. 8).  In this cross-centered letter to the Corinthians, Paul constantly reminds all Christians of the price Jesus paid on the cross for our salvation.  

In Christ we are justified by faith.  Through Christ we are sanctified by the Spirit and the word.  With Christ we will be glorified in Heaven, a place being prepared for us so wonderful it is indescribable.  Here Paul simply concurs with Isaiah, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him” (vs. 9; ref. also Isaiah 64:4).  

God the Spirit Applies Salvation 

All of these things, from election to predestination to justification to sanctification to glorification, “God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (vs. 10).  Just as we can only know the Father through the Son, so it is that we can only know the Son through the Spirit.  

First, “the Spirit searches everything” (vs. 10), and convicts us deeply concerning our sin.  Then the Spirit leads us to salvation by helping us “understand the things freely given to us by God” (vs. 12).  Free grace grants free and willing repentance and faith.   We are born again by the Spirit.  We live Spirit-filled, changed lives patterned after “the mind of Christ” (vs. 16).  And the Spirit, like the Son and the Father, will never depart from us.

All of this makes this chapter one of the richest theological treasures in the Bible.  It highlights the wisdom and work of one of the most influential men in Christian history, the Apostle Paul.  It also shows how mere Christians like us can grow in wisdom and be better fit for our work by understanding the ministry of the Trinity.

Remember Jesus’ farewell address.  We refer to it as “The Great Commission” (ref. Matthew 28:18-20).  It is a trinitarian commandment to be and make disciples “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  

The Apostle Paul has done his part, in Corinth and a hundred other places.  We must do ours, in our city, state, country, and world.  It begins with accepting the doctrine of the Trinity.  It grows with an understanding of the persons in the Trinity.  It multiplies when we bring people to the Trinity, to God the Father, by telling them about God the Son, in the power of God the Holy Spirit.  

This is the ministry of the Trinity.