1 Corinthians 2:13
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
This is a confusing verse in the original Greek, so translations help us here. Paul preaches the gospel, not with his own words or understanding, but through the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is great satisfaction when one has the sense that what one says is the product of wrestling with God in prayer and coming to clear ideas and convictions about what one is saying. Not every sermon I have preached is like this. Sometimes God speaks in spite of my weak efforts. A word that comes to my mind about all this is “confidence.” We can have confidence that what we are speaking has the authority of God behind it because our thoughts are firmly planted and supported in Scripture. This will necessitate good interpretive methodology to make sure that we are no imposing our own ideas on the Bible but we are listening carefully to what the Bible says. Another word that comes to my mind is “conviction.” Because we have listened carefully and what we say is accurate and relevant, we can know with relative certainty and conviction that the Holy Spirit is with us as we speak.
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