English · KJV

1 Corinthians 2:6

“The Hidden Wisdom of God”1 Corinthians 2:6–9

King James Version
Howbeit 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:

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
Howbeit G1161 we speak G2980 wisdom G4678 among G1722 them that are perfect G5046: yet G1161 not G3756 the wisdom G4678 of this G5127 world G165, nor G3761 of the princes G758 of this G5127 world G165, that come to nought G2673:

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
Among 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.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
We 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:

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
We 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.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
And we speake wisedome among them that are perfect: not the wisedome of this world, neither of the princes of this world, which come to nought.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
And wisdom we speak among the perfect, and wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age--of those becoming useless,

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
20 Greek words
  1. ΣοφίανSophianWisdomG4678N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
  2. δὲdehoweverG1161CONJConjunction
  3. λαλοῦμενlaloumenwe speakG2980V-PAI-1PVerb Present Active Indicative 1st Plural
  4. ἐνenamongG1722PREPPreposition
  5. τοῖςtoistheG3588T-DPMDefinite article Dative Plural Masculine
  6. τελείοιςteleioismatureG5046A-DPMAdjective Dative Plural Masculine
  7. σοφίανsophianwisdomG4678N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
  8. δὲdehoweverG1161CONJConjunction
  9. οὐounotG3756PRT-NNegative Particle Negative
  10. τοῦtou[the]G3588T-GSMDefinite article Genitive Singular Masculine
  11. αἰῶνοςaiōnosageG165N-GSMNoun Genitive Singular Masculine
  12. τούτουtoutouof thisG3778D-GSMDemonstrative pronoun Genitive Singular Masculine
  13. οὐδὲoudenorG3761CONJ-NConjunction Negative
  14. τῶνtōnof theG3588T-GPMDefinite article Genitive Plural Masculine
  15. ἀρχόντωνarchontōnrulersG758N-GPMNoun Genitive Plural Masculine
  16. τοῦtou[the]G3588T-GSMDefinite article Genitive Singular Masculine
  17. αἰῶνοςaiōnosageG165N-GSMNoun Genitive Singular Masculine
  18. τούτουtoutouof thisG3778D-GSMDemonstrative pronoun Genitive Singular Masculine
  19. τῶνtōnwhoG3588T-GPMDefinite article Genitive Plural Masculine
  20. καταργουμένων·katargoumenōnare coming to naughtG2673V-PPP-GPMVerb Present Passive Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

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Study this verse

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This verse

Paul speaks a true wisdom among mature believers, a wisdom set apart from the wisdom of this age and of its rulers, who are being brought to nothing.

“Howbeit we speak wisdom”

After telling the Corinthians how plainly he preached, Paul says that he does speak sophía, wisdom, and a deep one.

“among them that are perfect:”

Among the mature, téleios, believers grown past the first truths of the gospel (Hebrews 5:14).

“yet not the wisdom of this world,”

“World” here is the present age, with its human thought and learning, which Corinth prized.

“nor of the princes of this world,”

The rulers, árchōn, who hold the power of this age. Verse 8 shows who they were at the cross.

“that come to nought:”

Both the wisdom and the rulers are being made idle and abolished, katargéō, as Isaiah said God “bringeth the princes to nothing” (Isaiah 40:23).

Passage study1 Corinthians 2:6–9

The Hidden Wisdom 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.

Summary

Paul has reminded the Corinthians that he came to them without excellency of speech or of wisdom. In these four verses he says that there is a wisdom he speaks, and it is God’s own. He speaks it among believers who are mature. It was hidden in a mystery, and God ordained it before the world began for the glory of his people. The rulers of this age were blind to it, and in that blindness they crucified the Lord of glory. What God has prepared for those who love him lies past the reach of eye, ear and heart, and in the very next verse Paul says that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The wisdom Paul speaks among the mature

The opening chapters of this letter (1 Corinthians 1–3) were written to a church split into parties around favourite teachers (1 Corinthians 1:12) and impressed by clever speech. Corinth was a wealthy, cosmopolitan Roman city, busy with trade and with schools of philosophy, where eloquence was highly prized and a sharp mind was a mark of standing. Into that city Paul brought the message of a crucified Messiah: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18–25). He came plainly, he says, “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1–5).

“Howbeit” turns the argument. Having set aside the wisdom of fine words, Paul says that he does speak a wisdom, and a deep one. The Greek word, sophía, covers wisdom higher or lower, worldly or spiritual, and Paul uses it twice in this one verse for both kinds. One comes from God. The other belongs to “this world”, or more exactly this present age, and to its rulers, and Paul passes judgment on both in three words: they “come to nought”.

That verb, katargéō, means to make idle or inactive, to render inoperative, to abolish. The wisdom and the power of this age, however impressive in their day, are being made idle by God. Isaiah said the same of the rulers of his own time: “He bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity” (Isaiah 40:23). Against that wisdom stands “the wisdom that is from above”, which James describes as “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17).

Does “perfect” mean sinless?

“Perfect” here means mature. The word téleios comes from télos, an end or goal, and describes what is complete and fully grown. Paul speaks this wisdom among believers who have grown past the first truths of the gospel and can take in deeper things. A few verses later he tells the Corinthians, who prized wisdom so highly, that he had to speak to them “as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ”, and fed them with milk because they were unready for meat (1 Corinthians 3:1–3). Hebrews draws the same line: “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). The mature believer is one whose discernment has been trained by use, and every such believer still has sin to confess.

God’s wisdom in a mystery, ordained before the world

“But we speak the wisdom of God.” Paul speaks for himself and the other apostles, and he names where their message comes from. He speaks it “in a mystery”. In Scripture a mystḗrion is a secret once hidden and now made known by God. It lies out of reason’s reach until God unveils it, and it is given to some and withheld from others, as Jesus told his disciples: “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew 13:11).

“Even the hidden wisdom” says it again with a stronger word. The verb apokrýptō means to conceal away, to hide fully, to keep secret. This wisdom was kept from the natural mind and from the rulers of this age until God made it known through the preaching of the gospel and the light of his Spirit. Paul writes elsewhere of “the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” and is “now made manifest” (Romans 16:25–26), and in Colossians he names what it holds: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26–27).

“Which God ordained before the world” takes us back before creation. The verb proorízō means to mark out in advance, to determine beforehand, and the KJV elsewhere renders it “predestinate”. God’s plan to save through Christ was fixed in eternity, and it was his purpose from the beginning, just as he “hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). He made that plan known step by step through the Old Testament and unveiled it fully in Christ.

“Unto our glory” gives the goal of it all. The wisdom of the rulers comes to nothing, and the wisdom of God ends in glory for his people. That glory lies ahead of us, for we are “joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:17), and God has predestinated us “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). It also begins now, in the change God works in those who receive his wisdom and the dignity he gives them.

Why was this wisdom hidden, if it was meant for our glory?

God kept it hidden until the time he had appointed to reveal it, because its unveiling was part of his plan from the start. It was hidden from the rulers of this age, and in their ignorance they carried out the very thing God had purposed, as verse 8 goes on to say. Then, at the moment God chose, it was made known, and its end is our glory.

The rulers who crucified the Lord of glory

“Which” in verse 8 points back to the hidden wisdom of verse 7. The “princes” are rulers. The word árchōn means a ruler, chief, magistrate or official, one first in rank or power. “Knew” is ginṓskō, to know, come to know, perceive or understand. The men with the most power and learning in the world were blind to God’s plan and to the identity of the man standing before them. John records that Jesus did many miracles before the people and they stayed in unbelief, so that Isaiah’s word about blinded eyes was fulfilled (John 12:37–40). The LORD said long before, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

To Rome and to Israel alike, crucifixion was a shameful death kept for criminals and rebels. Israel looked for a conquering king, and the law said “he that is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). So Paul calls Christ crucified “unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

“For had they known it” is the turn of the verse. The rulers thought they were removing a threat, and in fact they did what God’s “determinate counsel and foreknowledge” had set (Acts 2:23). God used human sin and blindness to accomplish his will, so that the worst act of human evil became the means of salvation, and the one they crucified was “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Their ignorance also left room for mercy. Peter told the people of Jerusalem that they had acted through ignorance and called them to repent and be forgiven (Acts 3:17–19).

Who are the princes of this world?

They are the rulers of this present age, archontes tou aiōnos toutou in Greek, and at the cross they were the men who condemned Jesus: Pontius Pilate the Roman governor, King Herod, and the high priests and elders of the Sanhedrin. They stood at the height of political and religious power. Believers differ on whether Paul means more than these men. Some hold that the phrase also takes in the unseen spiritual powers that work behind earthly rulers and blind people to the truth, the ones Paul elsewhere calls “the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Ephesians 6:12). On that reading the cross was their defeat as well, for there Christ “spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). On either reading these rulers were blind to God’s plan, and their authority is passing away.

Why call Jesus “the Lord of glory”?

The title declares that Jesus is God. The word dóxa means glory, splendour, majesty and honour, and in the Old Testament glory (kavod) belongs to the presence and splendour of the LORD himself. Jesus is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3), the image of the invisible God by whom all things were created (Colossians 1:15–17). Paul sets “the Lord of glory” beside “crucified”, and the two words hold the whole wonder of the cross. Philippians tells how he “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant”, and “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”, and how God then exalted him so that every tongue should “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5–11). His humbling showed his glory, a glory of self-giving love that triumphs over sin and death.

What eye hath not seen

“As it is written” uses gráphō, to write, and with it Paul appeals to Scripture as settled authority. The words that follow give Isaiah 64:4 in Paul’s own phrasing, and he may also have in mind Isaiah 65:17, where God promises new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah spoke of God’s unmatched acts on behalf of his people, and Paul applies the prophet’s words to the salvation God has now revealed in Christ, because God’s character and purposes hold through every age.

The verse climbs in three steps. Sight and hearing are how we learn about the world around us. The heart, kardía, is the seat of thought, will and understanding. So the things God has prepared lie out of reach of both observation and the deepest human thought or imagination.

God “hath prepared” them. The verb hetoimázō means to make ready, to provide, to set in order, and it speaks of God’s forethought and deliberate care. He made these things ready “for them that love him”, and the word for love is agapáō, a love of the will that shows itself in commitment and obedience. The promise is held out to those who love God, whatever their learning or standing. Scripture makes the same promise in other places: “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28), the faithful man “shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12), and Jesus said, “he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). The God who prepared all this “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

What are “the things which God hath prepared”?

They are the hidden wisdom of verse 7, the gospel of Christ crucified, together with everything God gives through it. They include the deep things of God that the Spirit reveals to believers, for the next verse says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10–16). They also include the glory still to come, the inheritance that waits for us when “the glory which shall be revealed in us” arrives (Romans 8:18–25). So the verse speaks of heaven and of salvation now. In both, what we could never have imagined, God has made known.

Christ, the wisdom of God

Every line of these verses leads to Christ. Paul has already called him “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24), and he writes that in Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2–3). The hidden wisdom has a name and a face. God has made “known unto us the mystery of his will”, that he might “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9–10). The only begotten Son has declared the Father (John 1:18), and the Spirit who reveals the deep things of God is “the Spirit of his Son”, whom God has sent into our hearts (Galatians 4:6). The blessings God prepared, salvation, reconciliation, adoption and eternal life, were all secured by Christ on the cross, the very cross where the rulers of this age thought they had won.

Wisdom that outlasts the age

Every age is full of voices offering wisdom: the media, the universities, political leaders and people of influence. These verses give us a way to weigh them, by asking where a wisdom comes from and where it ends. The rulers of this age are being brought to nothing, so their power and their brilliance lose their hold on us, and we can rest our hope in God’s truth.

Paul speaks this wisdom among the mature, and maturity comes by use. We grow through Scripture, prayer and the fellowship of the church, as the Holy Spirit opens our understanding. And since the wisdom that saves is a gift revealed by God, we receive it with humility and gladness. What God has prepared for those who love him is larger than anything we can picture, and it was settled before the world began.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers 1 Corinthians 2:6–16. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 11 verses
Passage under comment1 Corinthians 2:6–16
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

In this part of the chapter the apostle shows them that though he had not come to them with the excellency of human wisdom, with any of the boasted knowledge and literature of the Jews or Greeks, yet he had communicated to them a treasure of the truest and the highest wisdom: We speak wisdom among those who are perfect (1 Corinthians 2:6), among those who are well instructed in Christianity, and come to some maturity in the things of God. Those that receive the doctrine as divine, and, having been illuminated by the Holy Spirit, have looked well into it, discover true wisdom in it. They not only understand the plain history of Christ, and him crucified, but discern the deep and admirable designs of the divine wisdom therein. Though what we preach is foolishness to the world, it is wisdom to them. They are made wise by it, and can discern wisdom in it. Note, Those who are wise themselves are the only proper judges of what is wisdom; not indeed the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, but the wisdom of God in a mystery (1 Corinthians 2:6, 1 Corinthians 2:7); not worldly wisdom, but divine; not such as the men of this world could have discovered, nor such as worldly men, under the direction of pride, and passion, and appetite, and worldly interest, and destitute of the Spirit of God, can receive. Note, How different is the judgment of God from that of the world! He seeth not as man seeth. The wisdom he teaches is of a quite different kind from what passes under that notion in the world. It is not the wisdom of politicians, nor philosophers, nor rabbis (see 1 Corinthians 2:6), not such as they teach nor such as they relish; but the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom of God - what he had a long time kept to himself, and concealed from the world, and the depth of which, now it is revealed, none but himself can fathom. It is the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, though now made manifest to the saints (Colossians 1:26), hid in a manner entirely from the heathen world, and made mysterious to the Jews, by being wrapped up in dark types and distant prophecies, but revealed and made known to us by the Spirit of God. Note, See the privilege of those who enjoy the gospel revelation: to them types are unveiled, mysteries made plain, prophecies interpreted, and the secret counsels of God published and laid open. The wisdom of God in a mystery is now made manifest to the saints. Now, concerning this wisdom, observe,

I.The rise and origin of it:

It was ordained of God, before the world, to our glory, 1 Corinthians 2:7. It was ordained of God; he had determined long ago to reveal and make it known, from many ages past, from the beginning, nay, from eternity; and that to our glory, the glory of us, either us apostles or us Christians. It was a great honour put upon the apostles, to be entrusted with the revelation of this wisdom. It was a great and honourable privilege for Christians to have this glorious wisdom discovered to them. And the wisdom of God discovered to them. And the wisdom of God discovered in the gospel, the divine wisdom taught by the gospel, prepares for our everlasting glory and happiness in the world to come. The counsels of God concerning our redemption are dated from eternity, and designed for the glory and happiness of the saints. And what deep wisdom was in these counsels! Note, The wisdom of God is both employed and displayed for the honour of the saints-employed from eternity, and displayed in time, to make them glorious both here and hereafter, in time and to eternity. What honour does he put on his saints!

II.The ignorance of the great men of the world about it:

Which none of the princes of this world knew (1 Corinthians 2:8), the principal men in authority and power, or in wisdom and learning. The Roman governor, and the guides and rulers of the Jewish church and nation, seem to be the persons here chiefly meant. These were the princes of this world, or this age, who, had they known this true and heavenly wisdom, would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This Pilate and the Jewish rulers literally did when our Redeemer was crucified upon the sentence of the one and the clamorous demands of the other. Observe, Jesus Christ is the Lord of Glory, a title much too great for any creature to bear: and the reason why he was hated was because he was not known. Had his crucifiers known him, known who and what he was, they would have withheld their impious hands, and not have taken and slain him. This he pleaded with his Father for their pardon: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, Luke 23:34. Note, There are many things which people would not do if they knew the wisdom of God in the great work of redemption. They act as they do because they are blind or heedless. They know not the truth, or will not attend to it.

III.It is such wisdom as could not have been discovered without a revelation, according to what the prophet Isaiah says (Isaiah 64:4), Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for those that love him - for him that waiteth for him, that waiteth for his mercy, so the Septuagint. It was a testimony of love to God in the Jewish believers to live in expectation of the accomplishment o evangelical promises. Waiting upon God is an evidence of love to him. Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, Isaiah 25:9. Observe, There are things which God hath prepared for those that love him, and wait for him. There are such things prepared in a future life for them, things which sense cannot discover, no present information can convey to our ears, nor can yet enter our hearts. Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:10. But the apostle speaks here of the subject-matter of the divine revelation under the gospel. These are such as eye hath not seen nor ear heard. Observe, The great truths of the gospel are things lying out of the sphere of human discovery: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard them, nor have they entered into the heart of man. Were they objects of sense, could they be discovered by an eye of reason, and communicated by the ear to the mind, as matters of common human knowledge may, there had been no need of a revelation. But, lying out of the sphere of nature, we cannot discover them but by the light of revelation. And therefore we must take them as they lie in the scriptures, and as God has been pleased to reveal them.

IV.We here see by whom this wisdom is discovered to us:

God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:10. The scripture is given by inspiration of God. Holy men spoke of old as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Peter 1:21. And the apostles spoke by inspiration of the same Spirit, as he taught them, and gave them utterance. Here is a proof of the divine authority of the holy scriptures. Paul wrote what he taught: and what he taught was revealed of God by his Spirit, that Spirit that searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, and knows the things of God, as the spirit of a man that is in him knows the things of a man, 1 Corinthians 2:11. A double argument is drawn from these words in proof of the divinity of the Holy Ghost: - 1. Omniscience is attributed to him: He searches all things, even the deep things of God. He has exact knowledge of all things, and enters into the very depths of God, penetrates into his most secret counsels. Now who can have such a thorough knowledge of God but God? 2. This allusion seems to imply that the Holy Spirit is as much in God as a man's mind is in himself. Now the mind of the man is plainly essential to him. He cannot be without his mind. Now can God be without his Spirit. He is as much and as intimately one with God as the man's mind is with the man. The man knows his own mind because his mind is one with himself. The Spirit of God knows the things of God because he is one with God. And as no man can come at the knowledge of what is in another man's mind till he communicates and reveals it, so neither can we know the secret counsels and purposes of God till they are made known to us by his Holy Spirit. We cannot know them at all till he had proposed them objectively (as it is called) in the external revelation; we cannot know or believe them to salvation till he enlightens the faculty, opens the eye of the mind, and gives us such a knowledge and faith of them. And it was by this Spirit that the apostles had received the wisdom of God in a mystery, which they spoke. "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians 2:12); not the spirit which is in the wise men of the world (1 Corinthians 2:6), nor in the rulers of the world (1 Corinthians 2:8), but the Spirit which is of God, or proceedeth from God. We have what we deliver in the name of God by inspiration from him; and it is by his gracious illumination and influence that we know the things freely given to us of God unto salvation" - that is, "the great privileges of the gospel, which are the free gift of God, distributions of mere and rich grace." Though these things are given to us, and the revelation of this gift is made to us, we cannot know them to any saving purpose till we have the Spirit. The apostles had the revelation of these things from the Spirit of God, and the saving impression of them from the same Spirit.

V.We see here in what manner this wisdom was taught or communicated:

Which things we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, 1 Corinthians 2:13. They had received the wisdom they taught, not from the wise men of the world, but from the Spirit of God. Nor did they put a human dress on it, but plainly declared the doctrine of Christ, in terms also taught them by the Holy Spirit. He not only gave them the knowledge of these things, but gave them utterance. Observe, The truths of God need no garnishing by human skill or eloquence, but look best in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches. The Spirit of God knows much better how to speak of the things of God than the best critics, orators, or philosophers. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual - one part of revelation with another, the revelation of the gospel with that of the Jews, the discoveries of the New Testament with the types and prophecies of the Old. The comparing of matters of revelation with matters of science, things supernatural with things natural and common, is going by a wrong measure. Spiritual things, when brought together, will help to illustrate one another; but, if the principles of human art and science are to be made a test of revelation, we shall certainly judge amiss concerning it, and the things contained in it. Or, adapting spiritual things to spiritual - speaking of spiritual matters, matters of revelation, and the spiritual life, in language that is proper and plain. The language of the Spirit of God is the most proper to convey his meaning.

VI.We have an account how this wisdom is received.

1.The natural man receiveth not the things of God, for they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned, 1 Corinthians 2:14. The natural man, the animal man. Either,

(1.)The man under the power of corruption, and never yet illuminated by the Spirit of God, such as Jude calls sensual, not having the Spirit, Jude 1:19. Men unsanctified receive not the things of God. The understanding, through the corruption of nature by the fall, and through the confirmation of this disorder by customary sin, is utterly unapt to receive the rays of divine light; it is prejudiced against them. The truths of God are foolishness to such a mind. The man looks on them as trifling and impertinent things, not worth his minding. The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not, John 1:5. Not that the natural faculty of discerning is lost, but evil inclinations and wicked principles render the man unwilling to enter into the mind of God, in the spiritual matters of his kingdom, and yield to their force and power. It is the quickening beams of the Spirit of truth and holiness that must help the mind to discern their excellency, and to so thorough a conviction of their truth as heartily to receive and embrace them. Thus the natural man, the man destitute of the Spirit of God, cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Or,

(2.)The natural man, that is, the wise man of the world (1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Corinthians 1:20), the wise man after the flesh, or according to the flesh (v. 26), one who hath the wisdom of the world, man's wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:4-6), a man, as some of the ancients, that would learn all truth by his own ratiocinations, receive nothing by faith, nor own any need of supernatural assistance. This was very much the character of the pretenders to philosophy and the Grecian learning and wisdom in that day. Such a man receives not the things of the Spirit of God. Revelation is not with him a principle of science; he looks upon it as delirium and dotage, the extravagant thought of some deluded dreamer. It is no way to wisdom among the famous masters of the world; and for that reason he can have no knowledge of things revealed, because they are only spiritually discerned, or made known by the revelation of the Spirit, which is a principle of science or knowledge that he will not admit.

2.But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged, or discerned, of no man, 1 Corinthians 2:15. Either,

(1.)He who is sanctified and made spiritually-minded (Romans 8:6) judgeth all things, or discerneth all things - he is capable of judging about matters of human wisdom, and has also a relish and savour of divine truths; he sees divine wisdom, and experiences divine power, in gospel revelations and mysteries, which the carnal and unsanctified mind looks upon as weakness and folly, as things destitute of all power and not worthy any regard. It is the sanctified mind that must discern the real beauties of holiness; but, by the refinement of its facilities, they do not lose their power of discerning and judging about common and natural things. The spiritual man may judge of all things, natural and supernatural, human and divine, the deductions of reason and the discoveries of revelation. But he himself is judged or discerned of NO MAN. God's saints are his hidden ones, Psalm 83:3. Their life is hid with Christ in God, Colossians 3:3. The carnal man knows no more of a spiritual man than he does of other spiritual things. He is a stranger to the principles, pleasures, and actings, of the divine life. The spiritual man does not lie open to his observation. Or,

(2.)He that is spiritual (who has had divine revelations made to him, receives them as such, and founds his faith and religion upon them) can judge both of common things and things divine; he can discern what is, and what is not, the doctrine of the gospel and of salvation, and whether a man preaches the truths of God or not. He does not lose the power of reasoning, nor renounce the principles of it, by founding his faith and religion on revelation. But he himself is judged of no man - can be judged, so as to be confuted, by no man; nor can any man who is not spiritual, not under a divine afflatus himself (see 1 Corinthians 14:37), or not founding his faith on a divine revelation, discern or judge whether what he speaks be true or divine, or not. In short, he who founds all his knowledge upon principles of science, and the mere light of reason, can never be a judge of the truth or falsehood of what is received by revelation. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him (1 Corinthians 2:16), that is, the spiritual man? Who can enter so far into the mind of God as to instruct him who has the Spirit of God, and is under his inspiration? He only is the person to whom God immediately communicates the knowledge of his will. And who can inform or instruct him in the mind of God who is so immediately under the conduct of his own Spirit? Very few have known any thing of the mind of God by a natural power. But, adds the apostle, we have the mind of Christ; and the mind of Christ is the mind of God. He is God, and the principal messenger and prophet of God. And the apostles were empowered by his Spirit to make known his mind to us. And in the holy scriptures the mind of Christ, and the mind of God in Christ, are fully revealed to us. Observe, It is the great privilege of Christians that they have the mind of Christ revealed to them by his Spirit.

Historical interpretation

Two Centuries of Reception

11 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

11 quotes · AD 202–420
Ante-NicenePost-Nicene
200300400

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 202IrenaeusReporting Valentinian ViewsAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Heresies (Book I, Chapter 8)
They also assert that by Anna, who is spoken of in the gospel [Luke 2:36] as a prophetess, and who, after living seven years with her husband, passed all the rest of her life in widowhood until she saw the Saviour, and recognised Him, and spoke of Him to all, was most plainly indicated Achamoth, who, having for a little while looked upon the Saviour with His associates, and dwelling all the rest of the time in the intermediate place, waited for Him till He should come again, and restore her to her proper consort. Her name, too, was indicated by the Saviour, when He said, "Yet wisdom is justified by her children." [Luke 7:35] This, too, was done by Paul in these words, "But we speak wisdom among them that are perfect." [1 Corinthians 2:6]
d. AD 202IrenaeusAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Heresies (Book III, Chapter 2)
When, however, they are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn round and accuse these same Scriptures, as if they were not correct, nor of authority, and [assert] that they are ambiguous, and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by those who are ignorant of tradition. For [they allege] that the truth was not delivered by means of written documents, but vivâ voce: wherefore also Paul declared, "But we speak wisdom among those that are perfect, but not the wisdom of this world." [1 Corinthians 2:6] And this wisdom each one of them alleges to be the fiction of his own inventing, forsooth; so that, according to their idea, the truth properly resides at one time in Valentinus, at another in Marcion, at another in Cerinthus, then afterwards in Basilides, or has even been indifferently in any other opponent, who could speak nothing pertaining to salvation. For every one of these men, being altogether of a perverse disposition, depraving the system of truth, is not ashamed to preach himself.
d. AD 202IrenaeusAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Heresies (Book V, Chapter 6)
Now God shall be glorified in His handiwork, fitting it so as to be conformable to, and modelled after, His own Son. For by the hands of the Father, that is, by the Son and the Holy Spirit, man, and not [merely] a part of man, was made in the likeness of God. Now the soul and the spirit are certainly a part of the man, but certainly not the man; for the perfect man consists in the commingling and the union of the soul receiving the spirit of the Father, and the admixture of that fleshly nature which was moulded after the image of God. For this reason does the apostle declare, "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect," [1 Corinthians 2:6] terming those persons "perfect" who have received the Spirit of God, and who through the Spirit of God do speak in all languages, as he used Himself also to speak.
d. AD 215Clement of AlexandriaAnte-NiceneSourceThe Stromata Book 5
But we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery; which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.".
Akin to this is what the holy Apostle Paul says, preserving the prophetic and truly ancient secret from which the teachings that were good were derived by the Greeks: "Howbeit we speak wisdom among them who are perfect; but not the wisdom of this world, or of the princes of this world, that come to nought; but we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery.".
to be made, intimating that the truly sacred mystic word, respecting the unbegotten and His powers, ought to be concealed? In confirmation of these things, in the Epistle to the Corinthians the apostle plainly says: "Howbeit we speak wisdom among those who are perfect, but not the wisdom of this world, or of the princes of this world, that come to nought. But we speak the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery."
d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceOn Modesty
And accordingly the Jew at the present day, no less than the younger son, having squandered God's substance, is a beggar in alien territory, serving even until now its princes, that is, the princes of this world. Seek, therefore, the Christians some other as their brother; for the Jew the parable does not admit.
d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceOn the Pallium
When this Mantle itself, arranged with more rigorous care, and sandals after the Greek model, serve to flatter Aesculapius, how much more should you then accuse and assail it with your eyes, as being guilty of superstition-albeit superstition simple and unaffected? Certainly, when first it clothes this wisdom which renounces superstitions with all their vanities, then most assuredly is the Mantle, above all the garments in which you array your gods and goddesses, an august robe; and, above all the caps and tufts of your Salii and Flamines, a sacerdotal attire.
d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Marcion Book V
By all these statements, therefore, does he show us what God he means, when he says, "We speak the wisdom of God among them that are perfect." It is that God who has confounded the wisdom of the wise, who has brought to nought the understanding of the prudent, who has reduced to folly the world's wisdom, by choosing its foolish things, and disposing them to the attainment of salvation.
d. AD 253Origen of AlexandriaAnte-NiceneSourceON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.3.1
When Paul talks about the wisdom of the rulers of this world he seems to be talking not about one wisdom common to them all but about different kinds of wisdom which are peculiar to each.
d. AD 384AmbrosiasterPost-NiceneSourceCOMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES
The mature are those who preach the cross as wisdom because of the witness of Christ’s power at work. They know that actions speak louder than words. Their wisdom is not of this age but of the age to come, when the truth of God will be manifested to those who now deny it.
d. AD 407John ChrysostomPost-NiceneSourceHomily on 1 Corinthians 7
"Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect:" for when I, accounted foolish and a preacher of follies, get the better of the wise, I overcome wisdom, not by foolishness but by a more perfect wisdom; a wisdom, too, so ample and so much greater, that the other appears foolishness. Wherefore having before called it by a name such as they named it at that time, and having both proved his victory from the facts, and shewn the extreme foolishness of the other side: he thenceforth bestows upon it its right name, saying, "Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect." "Wisdom" is the name he gives to the Gospel, to the method of salvation, the being saved by the Cross. "The perfect," are those who believe. For indeed they are "perfect," who know all human things to be utterly helpless, and who overlook them from the conviction that by such they are profited nothing: such were the true believers.

"But not a wisdom of this world." For where is the use of the wisdom which is without, terminating here and proceeding no further, and not even here able to profit its possessors?

Now by the "rulers of the world," here, he means not certain demons, as some suspect, but those in authority, those in power, those who esteem the thing worth contending about, philosophers, rhetoricians and writers of speeches. For these were the dominant sort and often became leaders of the people.

"Rulers of the world" he calls them, because beyond the present world their dominion extends not. Wherefore, he adds further, "which are coming to nought;" disparaging it both on its own account, and from those who wield it. For having shewn that it is false, that it is foolish, that it can discover nothing, that it is weak, he shews moreover that it is but of short duration.
d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceSt. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TEN
[Daniel 10:13] "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days." In my opinion this was the angel to whose charge Persia was committed, in accordance with what we read in Deuteronomy: "When the Most High divided the nations and distributed the children of Adam abroad, then He established the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God" (Deuteronomy 32:8). These are the princes of whom Paul also says: "We speak forth among the perfect a wisdom which none of the princes of this world knew. For if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). And so the prince or angel of the Persians offered resistance, acting on behalf of the province entrusted to him, in order that the entire captive nation might not be released. And it may well be that although the prophet was graciously heard by God from the day when he set his heart to understand, the angel was nevertheless not sent to proclaim to him God's gracious decision, for the reason that the prince of Persia opposed him for twenty-one days, enumerating the sins of the Jewish people as a ground for their justly being kept in captivity and as proof that they ought not to be released.

"And behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to my assistance." That is, while the angel of the Persians was resisting thy petitions and my representations on thy behalf as I presented thy prayers to God, then there came to my assistance the angel Michael, who has oversight of the people of Israel. By chief princes we are of course to understand archangels.

"And I remained there close by the king of the Persians." He designates the angel or prince by the term "king of the Persians," and shows that he had tarried with Michael for a little as he spoke in opposition to the prince of the Persians.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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