1 Corinthians 2
2
The Message of Christ’s Death
1Dear brothers, when I came to you, I did not come as a proud man. I preached God’s truth, but not with fancy words or a show of great learning. 2I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. 4My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives. 5I did this so that your faith would be in God’s power, not in the wisdom of a man.
God’s Wisdom
6Yet I speak wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this world or of the rulers of this world. (These rulers are losing their power.) 7But I speak God’s secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. God planned this wisdom for our glory, before the world began. 8None of the rulers of this world understood it. If they had, they would not have killed the Lord of glory on a cross. 9But as it is written in the Scriptures:
“No one has ever seen this.
No one has ever heard about it.
No one has ever imagined
what God has prepared for those
who love him.” Isaiah 64:4
10But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.
The Spirit knows all things, even the deep secrets of God. 11It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only a person’s spirit that lives in him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God. Only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts. 12We did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us. 13When we speak, we do not use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things. 14A person who is not spiritual does not accept the gifts that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish. He cannot understand the Spirit’s gifts, because they can only be judged spiritually. 15But the spiritual person is able to judge all things. Yet no one can judge him. The Scripture says:
16“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has been able to teach him?” Isaiah 40:13
But we have the mind of Christ.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
1 Corinthians 2
2
1And that’s how it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I didn’t use fancy words or human wisdom to preach the truth to you about God’s love. 2My goal while I was with you was to talk about only one thing: Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3When I came to you, I was weak and afraid and shaking all over. 4I didn’t preach my message with clever and compelling words. Instead, my preaching showed the Holy Spirit’s power. 5This was so that your faith would be based on God’s power and not on human wisdom.
God’s Wisdom Through the Holy Spirit
6However, when we speak to those who are mature in the faith, we do share our wisdom. But it’s not the wisdom of this world or its rulers, who are fading away. 7No, we share God’s wisdom, which is a mystery that has been hidden until now. But before time began, God planned that this wisdom would bring us heavenly glory. 8None of the rulers of this world understood God’s wisdom. If they had, they wouldn’t have nailed the Lord of glory to the cross. 9It is written that
“no eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
and no human mind has imagined”
the things God has prepared for those who love him.
10But God has shown these things to us through his Spirit.
The Spirit understands all things, even the deep things of God. 11Who can know the thoughts of another person? Only that person’s own spirit. In the same way, only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts. 12What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we can understand what God has freely given us. 13That’s what we speak about, and we don’t use words that we’ve learned from human wisdom. We use words that the Holy Spirit has taught us, and we use them to explain spiritual truths. 14The person who doesn’t have the Spirit doesn’t accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. Those things seem foolish to them, and they can’t understand them, because they can’t be understood without the Spirit’s help. 15But the person who does have the Spirit can make judgments about everything, though no human being can judge them. It is written,
16“Who can ever know the Lord’s mind?
Can anyone teach him anything?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
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