1 Corinthians — Chapter 2
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1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
4My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
5so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
6Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.
8None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
16“For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought:
7but we speak God`s wisdom in a mystery, [even] the [wisdom] that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory:
8which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:
9but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And [which] entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.
10But unto us God revealed [them] through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.
12But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
13Which things also we speak, not in words which man`s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual [words].
14Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.
15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man.
16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God.
2For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling.
4My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.
6Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing.
7Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory.
8None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.”
10God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.
13And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
14The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one.
16For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.
7But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,
8which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.
9But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”
10But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.
12But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.
13Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.
14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.
16“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
Summary
Paul recalls that when he first came to Corinth, he deliberately set aside eloquence and clever argument, resolving to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ crucified, preaching in weakness and fear so their faith would rest on God's power rather than human wisdom (vv. 1-5). Yet he does speak wisdom to the mature — not the wisdom of this age's rulers, but God's hidden wisdom, planned before the ages, which those rulers failed to recognize when they crucified the Lord of glory (vv. 6-8). No eye or ear has grasped what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it through the Spirit, who searches even the depths of God (vv. 9-11). Because believers have received God's Spirit rather than the world's spirit, they can understand what God has freely given them, expressing spiritual truths in Spirit-taught words (vv. 12-13). The natural person cannot accept these things, since they are spiritually discerned, but the spiritual person evaluates all things while being subject to no one's judgment — for believers possess the mind of Christ (vv. 14-16).
Authorship & Background
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik examines Paul's deliberate weakness, the Spirit's revelation, the natural vs. spiritual man, and the mind of Christ.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 1 Corinthians -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Christ Crucified as the Whole Message (v.2) — Paul determined to know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Is Christ crucified still the center of your faith, or have other things quietly displaced Him?
- Weakness That Displays God's Power (vv.3-5) — Paul came in weakness and trembling, deliberately avoiding persuasive rhetoric, so the Corinthians' faith would rest on God's power rather than human eloquence. What is your own faith resting on — a compelling voice, or the power of God?
- A Wisdom Beyond Human Imagination (v.9) — Paul describes a hidden wisdom that no eye has seen and no mind has conceived, prepared by God for those who love Him. How does trusting that God's plan exceeds your imagination shape the way you face uncertainty?
- The Limits of Natural Understanding (v.14) — Paul explains that a person without the Spirit cannot receive or understand spiritual truth, no matter how intelligent they are. How does this shape the way you pray for and talk with someone who isn't yet a believer?
- Access to the Mind of Christ (v.16) — Through the Spirit, believers are given the mind of Christ, able to grasp spiritual truth on His terms rather than the world's. Are you drawing on that access through Scripture and prayer, or defaulting to worldly reasoning?