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1 Corinthians

Chapter 2

The Crucified Christ and the Spirit's Wisdom

Paul reminds the Corinthians that when he first came to them, he did not rely on eloquence or display but resolved to center only Jesus Christ and him crucified so that their faith would rest on God's power. He then explains that there is true wisdom after all, but it is God's hidden wisdom revealed by the Spirit and received only through the Spirit, who gives believers the mind of Christ.

This chapter continues the argument of chapter 1 by showing that Paul's rejection of worldly rhetoric is not a rejection of wisdom itself. Rather, it distinguishes between the wisdom of this age and the wisdom God reveals by the Spirit through the crucified Christ.

2 sections·333 words·~1 min read

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1 Corinthians 2

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vv. 1-5

Paul’s Message by the Spirit’s Power

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W1hen 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.

vv. 6-16

Spiritual Wisdom

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A6mong 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: 10But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit.

11The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For 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.

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  1. 01vv. 1-5Paul’s Message by the Spirit’s PowerPaul recalls his arrival in Corinth as marked by weakness, fear, and a deliberate refusal to impress them with eloquence. His purpose was that their faith would be anchored not in the force of his words but in the Spirit's power and in the crucified Christ alone.
  2. 02vv. 6-16Spiritual WisdomPaul now explains that the gospel does contain wisdom, but it is not the wisdom prized by this age or its rulers. It is God's hidden wisdom, revealed through the Spirit, grasped only by those who have received the Spirit from God, and it leaves believers able to discern spiritual things because they share in the mind of Christ.
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