It is instructive to remember how Paul described his coming to Corinth: “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling…” We can be certain he was not afraid of the Corinthians. He was arriving in Corinth, the second most intellectual city of the ancient world, having come from Athens, the most intellectual city. If he was tempted to be clever, if ever he was tempted to preach with Greek wisdom and use the kind of arguments that would appeal to philosphers, it would be in Athens and it would be in Corinth. He had already preached on the Aeropagus in Athens to one group of philosphers (see Acts 17:22); now as he arrived at the next most intellectual city in the ancient world, he made a crucial decision about the manner of his preaching: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. He resolved not to come with “plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power”. He was anxious to avoid looking learned or philosphical.
Michael Eaton (Ed. Greg Haslam)
From the book “Preach the Word!: The Call and Challenge of Preaching Today”