1 Corinthians 2
2
The new wisdom
1So I never thought in coming amongst you to be able by my own persuasiveness, logic or rhetoric to make a message of God, a revelation of the mystery of His being, understood by you. It could never have come to you through such human means as that. 2And so I judged that to know nought but Jesus Christ and him crucified was the way, the only way of this Gospel, which is demonstrated divinely by the Spirit and by power, not by persuasive preaching. 3I was as nothing in myself, only conscious of my weakness, and full of deep reverence and fear, 4yes, even of what I had to say, which could not express itself in clever words; 5and so your faith was built not on any man’s personal influence and wisdom, but on divine power and its demonstration. 6Yet it is a wisdom that I speak, a deep and holy wisdom known to the perfect, unknown to the passing world of the flesh, and unknown to the powers that control that world, powers and influences which even now, are breaking up and vanishing. 7This wisdom of God is spoken by me in a mystery. Unknown to the former generations of the world, it was to be our glory, our light, and God’s fore-ordination of it preceded all other things. 8Unknown too to all powers of the mortal state, for they crucified its Lord. Had they known this hidden delectable wisdom, would they have crucified him? 9They knew it not, “for eye,” says the scripture, “hath not seen it, ear hath not heard it, the heart of mankind has not received the things that God makes ready for those that love Him.” (Isa. 44:4.)
Deep things can only be apprehended spiritually
10So it was through the Spirit, through revelation that we learned them. The very depths of God are searched by the Spirit, which also sheds light on all things; and the Spirit alone can know and reveal them, nought else; 11no more than one can tell any man’s thoughts that he thinks in himself [none can tell them save the thinker himself], so none knoweth God’s thoughts, but God Himself, the Spirit. 12And in our hearts and minds there now doth work not that spirit, which is the influence and animal intelligence of the world, but the divine Spirit, and this it is which reveals to us those things that are bestowed on man by God. 13It is that legacy which passes from God to man, those messages and bestowals which man receives from God which I teach you of, and how can I make it known by an utterance invented in the schools of learning, how can I teach it except as the Spirit teaches it, representing spiritual things in a spiritual method, to be spiritually discerned? Only thus can it be taught, for the materially minded man, who thinks through the senses, is totally and utterly ignorant of God’s spiritual messages. They are to him absolute foolishness, and he cannot reach them, for they are only made known to the spiritual character. 14Now the true spiritual man has all experience at his feet to dispose of, to reject or accept according to the dictates of the Spirit, he himself being beyond the reach of the things wherein this judgment operates. 15For it is as spiritual beings, and not carnal, that we possess the mind of Christ. None teacheth us or judgeth us. 16“Who has known the mind of the Lord or being His counsellor hath taught Him?”
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1 Corinthians 2: GWC
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Translated in 1916, published in 1937.
1 Corinthians 2
2
1And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellencie of woordes, or of wisedome, shewing vnto you the testimonie of God. 2For I esteemed not to knowe any thing among you, saue Iesus Christ, and him crucified. 3And I was among you in weakenesse, and in feare, and in much trembling. 4Neither stoode my woorde, and my preaching in the entising speach of mans wisdom, but in plaine euidence of the Spirite and of power, 5That your faith should not be in the wisdome of men, but in the power of God. 6And we speake wisedome among them that are perfect: not the wisedome of this world, neither of the princes of this world, which come to nought. 7But we speake the wisedome of God in a mysterie, euen the hid wisedom, which God had determined before the world, vnto our glory. 8Which none of the princes of this world hath knowen: for had they knowen it, they would not haue crucified the Lord of glory. 9But as it is written, The thinges which eye hath not seene, neither eare hath heard, neither came into mans heart, are, which God hath prepared for them that loue him. 10But God hath reueiled them vnto vs by his Spirit: for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deepe things of God. 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, saue the spirite of a man, which is in him? euen so the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God. 12Nowe we haue receiued not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit, which is of God, that we might knowe the thinges that are giuen to vs of God. 13Which things also we speake, not in the woordes which mans wisedome teacheth, but which the holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spirituall things with spirituall things. 14But the naturall man perceiueth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishnesse vnto him: neither can hee knowe them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But hee that is spirituall, discerneth all things: yet he himselfe is iudged of no man. 16For who hath knowen the minde of the Lord, that hee might instruct him? But we haue the minde of Christ.
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