1 Corinthians 2
2
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
1And I, when I came to you, brothers,#2:1 Or brothers and sisters #ver. 4, 13; [2 Cor. 1:12]; See ch. 1:17 did not come proclaiming to you #See Rom. 16:25the testimony#2:1 Some manuscripts mystery (or secret) of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except #Gal. 6:14Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And #Acts 18:1, 6, 12 I was with you #2 Cor. 11:30; 12:5, 9; 13:4, 9; Gal. 4:13in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of #ch. 4:20; Rom. 15:13, 19; 1 Thess. 1:5; 2 Pet. 1:16the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men#2:5 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women but #2 Cor. 4:7; 6:7; [Zech. 4:6; 2 Cor. 10:4; 12:9]in the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6Yet among #Phil. 3:15; [ch. 3:1] the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not #[James 3:15] a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, #ch. 1:28who are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, #Rom. 16:25, 26; Eph. 3:5, 9; Col. 1:26; 2 Tim. 1:9which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of #Acts 13:27; See Luke 24:20 the rulers of this age understood this, for #See Acts 3:17 if they had, they would not have crucified #James 2:1; [Ps. 24:7-10; Acts 7:2]the Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written,
# [Isa. 64:4] “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has #See Matt. 25:34 prepared #James 1:12for those who love him”—
10these things #Matt. 16:17; Gal. 1:12, 16; Eph. 3:3, 5; See John 14:26 God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even #[Rev. 2:24]the depths of God. 11For who knows a person’s thoughts #Prov. 20:27except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now #Rom. 8:15 we have received not #[1 John 4:4]the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13And we impart this #ver. 1, 4; See ch. 1:17 in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, #2 Cor. 10:12interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.#2:13 Or interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual
14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are #ch. 1:18 folly to him, and #Rom. 8:7he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15The #ch. 3:1; 14:37; Gal. 6:1; [Prov. 28:5]spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16#Cited from Isa. 40:13; See Rom. 11:34 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But #[John 15:15]we have the mind of Christ.
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1 Corinthians 2
2
Paul’s Message of Wisdom
1When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,#2:1a Greek brothers. I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.#2:1b Greek God’s mystery; other manuscripts read God’s testimony. 2For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
6Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God#2:7 Greek But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery.—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”#2:9 Isa 64:4.
10But#2:10 Some manuscripts read For. it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.#2:13 Or explaining spiritual truths in spiritual language, or explaining spiritual truths to spiritual people. 14But people who aren’t spiritual#2:14 Or who don’t have the Spirit; or who have only physical life. can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?”#2:16 Isa 40:13 (Greek version).
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
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