Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

Jesus spoke as one having authority which amazed the multitudes (Mark 1:22). Jesus promised his disciples that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would come to them if He would go away, "But I tell you the truth, it is to you advantage if I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; …(13)But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you to all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." (John 16:7-8 & 13). Jesus told His disciples before He was raised up to heaven, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20). And so it is, "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21).

That brings us to our question, "How does Paul describe his speaking ability?". Paul was an early critic of the Christians, ravaging the church and having them put in prison (Acts 8:3). Then he was confronted by Jesus who commanded him to go into Damascus and he would be told what he must do. Paul was obedient and went before Ananias who asked him to be baptized and wash away his sins (Acts 22:16). Paul then went into Arabia preaching the word and was not even acquainted with Peter until three years later when he returned to Jerusalem (Galatians 1:11-20).

Concerning his receiving the word of God, Paul says, "For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12). Paul was known by the churches as, "'He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.' And they were glorifying God because of me." (Galatians 1:23-24). Paul not only did not receive the word from the apostles, as he is now one, "born out of due season" (1 Corinthians 15:8), but he even condemned Peter to his face for giving in to the fear of the Jews and moved over from eating with the Gentiles to the Jews and even others followed his poor example (Galatians 2:11-15). In Damascus he was let down through a window over the city wall in a basket to escape for fear of his life as Aretas the king had orders to seize him (2 Corinthians 11:32-33). Paul stood before the council which wanted to condemn him to death and said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day." (Acts 23:1), to which he was struck on the mouth.

Then he stood before King Agrippa and Festus proclaiming the gospel to them and Festus said to Paul, "Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad." (Acts 26:24), while the king said to him, "'In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.' And Paul said, 'I would to God that whether in a short time or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these chains.'" (Acts 26:28-29). Paul spoke before men of all walks of life with great courage which fulfilled prophecy of our Lord who told Ananias, "Go for he is a chosen instrument of mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." (Acts 9:15-16). And indeed Paul did suffer as he recounts being imprisoned, beaten without number, stoned, shipwrecked, in danger of the sea, rivers, robbers, the wilderness, false brethren, in hunger and thirst, in cold and exposure, and the pressure of his concern for the churches standing against all persecution and false teachings (2 Corinthians 11:18-31).

And so to answer our question we turn to the Corinthian letter where we read, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

So there we have the answer to our question as Paul may have not spoken with superior speech and wisdom of this world, but he did speak to the mature man, not of this age, of the mystery of God to those who are spiritually appraised, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:(6-11)12-14).

May we be as spiritually minded as those who looked for the wisdom of God. "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing, foolishness, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18).