I Corinthians 2
2
Christ Crucified
1And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2For I determined not to know anything among you #1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 6:14except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3#Acts 18:1I was with you #(2 Cor. 4:7)in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4And my speech and my preaching #2 Pet. 1:16were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, #Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 4:20but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the #Rom. 1:16; 1 Thess. 1:5power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8which none of the rulers of this age knew; for #Luke 23:34had they known, they would not have #Matt. 27:33–50crucified the Lord of glory.
9But as it is written:
#(Is. 64:4; 65:17)“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10But #Matt. 11:25; 13:11; 16:17; (Gal. 1:12; Eph. 3:3, 5)God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11For what man knows the things of a man except the #Job 32:8; Eccl. 12:7; (1 Cor. 6:20; James 2:26)spirit of the man which is in him? #Rom. 11:33Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but #(Rom. 8:15)the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14#Matt. 16:23But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16For #Job 15:8; Is. 40:13; Rom. 11:34“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” #(John 15:15)But we have the mind of Christ.
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I Corinthians 2: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 2
2
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
1And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the #One early ms reads mystery.testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do]; 2for I made the decision to #In reality, Paul was a highly-trained student of the Old Testament writings, Jewish law, and of logic and rhetoric; and evidently he was conversant in Roman law as well. When preaching the gospel, however, he focused on the message itself and the power of God, and not on rhetorical techniques of persuasion (see vv 4, 5; cf 1:17).know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]. 3I came to you in [a state of] weakness and fear and great trembling. 4And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom [using clever rhetoric], but [they were delivered] in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit [operating through me] and of [His] power [stirring the minds of the listeners and persuading them], 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom and rhetoric of men, but on the power of God.
6Yet we do speak wisdom among those spiritually mature [believers who have teachable hearts and a greater understanding]; but [it is a higher] wisdom not [the wisdom] of this present age nor of the rulers and leaders of this age, who are passing away; 7but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom once hidden [from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom] which God predestined before the ages to our glory [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. 8None of the rulers of this age recognized and understood this wisdom; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9but just as it is written [in Scripture],
“Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”
10For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things [diligently], even [sounding and measuring] the [profound] depths of God [the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding]. 11For what person knows the thoughts and motives of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So also no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God. 13We also speak of these things, not in words taught or supplied by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual thoughts with spiritual words [for those being guided by the Holy Spirit].
14But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]. 15But the spiritual man [the spiritually mature Christian] judges all things [questions, examines and applies what the Holy Spirit reveals], yet is himself judged by no one [the unbeliever cannot judge and understand the believer’s spiritual nature]. 16For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].
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