1 Corinthians 2
English Standard Version (ESV)
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,[a] did not come proclaiming to you the testimony[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men[c] but in the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.[d]
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts mystery (or secret)
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
New King James Version (NKJV)
Christ Crucified
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of [b]human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, 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. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God [c]ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written:
“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.”
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man 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 the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the [d]Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But 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. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 NU omits Holy
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 NU mystery
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 NU omits human
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 predetermined
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“Get with the times”, “The right side of history”, “We must move forward”, “Truth is progressive” and more is the attitude of the natural man who sees life and the forward march of mankind towards enlightenment and self-determination. If there is a problem, we can rationally and logically overcome it with our intellect and wisdom. While this self-reliance can work when dealing with how to wrap your pipes for the cold we have been experiencing, it is a flawed and doomed to fail experiment in the realms of relationships with others and especially with God. Man is a flawed starting point due to sin, selfishness and pride. Yet the first century saw the best of minds coming up empty, though they touted answers to all man’s inner questions. It was thought that you must be not only eloquent but also wise and persuasive to have anything to offer man for the solution to his problems. while I believe Paul was a very learned and eloquent speaker, his reliance was on the power of God, not his own. It is the wisdom of God that brings about change, but only for those who hear and respond to the call of God. In fact, men who eschew God are unable to even receive or take in the wisdom of God. Which brings us to today. We wonder at times why so many won’t even consider the things of God when the reality is they are natural men. It will require the Holy Spirit to unstop their ears not our persuasive and logical apologetical evangelism. So we should prayer more for hte work of the Holy Spirit in their lives to break up the hardness rather than simply continue to beat our heads against the hard heart of men.
Verse 14. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
When I don’t understand the things of God that I believe I should, I think it’s important that I ask Him because I must just be looking as a natural person. I can’t remember the thinking them foolish part of this verse, but the not understanding, yes. People who don’t accept the things of God are rightly described here, but I also believe many people don’t even consider anything about God as relevant in their lives. That is a formidable hurdle in talking about spiritual things to unbelievers, in my opinion.