1 Corinthians2

Paul declares that he did not preach with human eloquence or wisdom, but focused solely on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, relying on the Spirit's power. He explains that God's hidden wisdom, unknown to worldly rulers, is revealed by the Holy Spirit to believers. The natural man cannot comprehend these spiritual truths, which are only spiritually discerned.

Paul's Method in Corinth: Christ Crucified

1
As for me, brothers, when I arrived among you, it was not with surpassing eloquence or wisdom that I came announcing to you the previously concealed truth about God; ​
2
for I had decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Yeshua the Messiah, and even him only as someone who had been executed on a stake as a criminal. ​
3
Also I myself was with you as somebody weak, nervous and shaking all over from fear; ​
4
and neither the delivery nor the content of my message relied on compelling words of “wisdom” but on a demonstration of the power of the Spirit,
5
so that your trust might not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power. ​

The Hidden Wisdom of God

6
Yet there is a wisdom that we are speaking to those who are mature enough for it. But it is not the wisdom of this world or of this world’s leaders, who are in the process of passing away. ​
7
On the contrary, we are communicating a secret wisdom from God which has been hidden until now but which, before history began, God had decreed would bring us glory. ​
8
Not one of this world’s leaders has understood it; because if they had, they would not have executed the Lord from whom this glory flows. ​
9
But, as the Tanakh says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no one’s heart has imagined all the things that God has prepared for those who love him.” ​

Revealed by the Holy Spirit

10
It is to us, however, that God has revealed these things. How? Through the Spirit. For the Spirit probes all things, even the profoundest depths of God. ​
11
For who knows the inner workings of a person except the person’s own spirit inside him? So too no one knows the inner workings of God except God’s Spirit. ​
12
Now we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God, so that we might understand the things God has so freely given us.
13
These are the things we are talking about when we avoid the manner of speaking that human wisdom would dictate and instead use a manner of speaking taught by the Spirit, by which we explain things of the Spirit to people who have the Spirit. ​
14
Now the natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God — to him they are nonsense! Moreover, he is unable to grasp them, because they are evaluated through the Spirit. ​
15
But the person who has the Spirit can evaluate everything, while no one is in a position to evaluate him. ​
16
For who has known the mind of Adonai? Who will counsel him? But we have the mind of the Messiah! ​

Study Notes for 1 Corinthians 2

Verse 1

Paul emphasizes that his focus was not on Greek rhetorical style ('excellency of speech'), which the Corinthians valued, but solely on proclaiming God’s revealed truth ('the testimony of God').

Verse 2

This declaration summarizes the heart of the gospel (kerygma). The focus on 'him crucified' highlights the scandalous and foolish nature of the message from a worldly perspective (1:23).

Verse 3

Paul’s physical and emotional vulnerability ('weakness, fear, trembling') ensured that the power of the message was clearly divine, not dependent on his own charisma or persuasive ability.

Verse 5

The purpose of Paul's simple delivery was pedagogical: to ensure that the foundation of the Corinthians' faith rested on God's supernatural power demonstrated through the resurrection, not on persuasive human logic.

Verse 6

'Perfect' (teleios) refers not to sinless perfection, but to spiritual maturity. Paul speaks profound theology to believers who are ready to receive it, contrasting with the elementary message needed for new converts.

Verse 7

God's wisdom is described as a 'mystery,' meaning a truth previously hidden but now revealed in Christ. This plan of salvation was ordained before creation to bring ultimate glory to the redeemed.

Verse 8

The 'princes of this world' likely refers to both human authorities (like Pilate) and spiritual, demonic powers. Had they understood God's plan, they would not have participated in the crucifixion, which secured their own downfall.

Verse 9

This is a loose citation, likely from Isaiah 64:4, adapted to emphasize that the blessings of God (the wisdom revealed in Christ) exceed human imagination or discovery.

Verse 10

In contrast to human inability (v. 9), God reveals this deep wisdom through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has full access to the divine mind ('searcheth all things').

Verse 11

This analogy emphasizes that just as a person’s inner spirit knows their thoughts, only the Spirit of God possesses the capacity to know and reveal God’s essential nature and plans.

Verse 13

Paul insists that the manner of teaching (the words and concepts used) is also Spirit-guided, not merely the content. 'Comparing spiritual things with spiritual' means interpreting spiritual truths using Spirit-taught language.

Verse 14

The 'natural man' (psychikos) refers to the unregenerate person whose soul is governed by earthly senses and intellect, lacking the Holy Spirit. Divine truths appear as utter 'foolishness' to them because they lack the necessary spiritual faculty for discernment.

Verse 15

The spiritual man is able to evaluate and understand all spiritual matters, but cannot be adequately judged by those who remain unspiritual (the natural man).

Verse 16

Paul quotes Isaiah 40:13 rhetorically, then provides the astonishing Christian answer: believers *do* know the mind of the Lord because they possess the Holy Spirit, who grants them the 'mind of Christ.'

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