Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I (A)did not come as someone superior in [a]speaking ability or [b]wisdom, as I proclaimed to you (B)the [c]testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I also was with you in (D)weakness and (E)fear, and in great trembling, and my [d]message and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of [e]wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not [f]rest on the [g]wisdom of mankind, but on (H)the power of God.

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are (I)mature; a wisdom, however, not of (J)this age nor of the rulers of (K)this age, who are (L)passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory; the wisdom (P)which none of the rulers of (Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified (R)the Lord of glory; but just as it is written:

(S)Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the human heart,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 [h](T)For to us God revealed them (U)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the (V)depths of God. 11 For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the (W)spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have not received the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [i]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

14 But [j]a (AA)natural person (AB)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (AC)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But the one who is (AD)spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is [k]discerned by no one. 16 For (AE)who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But (AF)we have the mind of Christ.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Lit speech
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or cleverness
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms mystery
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:4 Lit word
  5. 1 Corinthians 2:4 Or cleverness
  6. 1 Corinthians 2:5 Lit be
  7. 1 Corinthians 2:5 Or cleverness
  8. 1 Corinthians 2:10 One early ms But
  9. 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual things for spiritual people
  10. 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or an unspiritual
  11. 1 Corinthians 2:15 Or judged

Fraţilor, şi eu, când am venit la voi, n-am venit vestindu-vă taina lui Dumnezeu prin cuvinte elevate sau printr-o înţelepciune strălucită, pentru că am hotărât să nu ştiu nimic între voi decât pe Isus Cristos şi pe El răstignit. Eu am venit la voi în slăbiciune, în frică şi în mare tremur, iar cuvântul şi predicarea mea nu se bazau pe vorbele convingătoare ale înţelepciunii, ci pe dovada Duhului şi a puterii, ca astfel credinţa voastră să nu fie întemeiată pe înţelepciunea oamenilor, ci pe puterea lui Dumnezeu.

Înţelepciunea care vine prin Duhul

Totuşi ceea ce vorbim noi printre cei maturi este o înţelepciune, dar nu a veacului acestuia şi nici a conducătorilor acestui veac, cărora li se va pune capăt, ci vorbim despre înţelepciunea tainică[a] a lui Dumnezeu, care a fost ascunsă şi pe care Dumnezeu a destinat-o, înainte de a fi veacurile, pentru gloria noastră. Nici unul dintre conducătorii acestei lumi n-a înţeles-o, pentru că, dacă ar fi înţeles-o, nu L-ar fi răstignit pe Domnul slavei. Totuşi, aşa cum este scris:

„Nici un ochi n-a văzut,
    nici o ureche n-a auzit
şi la mintea omului nu s-a suit
    ceea ce a pregătit Dumnezeu pentru cei care-L iubesc.“[b]

10 Dumnezeu însă ne-a descoperit aceste lucruri prin Duhul, pentru că Duhul cercetează totul, chiar şi lucrurile adânci ale lui Dumnezeu. 11 Cine dintre oameni cunoaşte lucrurile omului, dacă nu duhul omului, care este în el? Tot astfel, nimeni nu cunoaşte lucrurile lui Dumnezeu, în afară de Duhul lui Dumnezeu. 12 Însă noi n-am primit duhul lumii, ci Duhul de la Dumnezeu, ca să putem cunoaşte lucrurile care ne-au fost oferite prin har de către Dumnezeu. 13 Nu vorbim prin cuvinte învăţate prin înţelepciunea omenească, ci prin învăţături de la Duhul, întrebuinţând lucrurile duhovniceşti pentru cei duhovniceşti. 14 Dar omul firesc nu primeşte lucrurile Duhului lui Dumnezeu, căci pentru el sunt o nebunie, şi nu le poate înţelege, pentru că trebuie judecate duhovniceşte. 15 Cel duhovnicesc însă judecă toate lucrurile, iar el nu poate fi judecat de nimeni. 16 Căci

„Cine a cunoscut gândul Domnului,
    ca să-L poată sfătui?“[c]

Noi însă avem gândul lui Cristos.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corintieni 2:7 În NT, prin taină se înţelege ceva ce înainte nu fusese cunoscut, dar care acum este descoperit de Dumnezeu poporului Său; taina este descoperită tuturor, însă numai cei ce au credinţă o înţeleg; contrar religiilor misterelor, foarte răspândite în acea vreme în lumea greco-romană, care susţineau că tainele erau cunoscute numai de cei iniţiaţi
  2. 1 Corintieni 2:9 Vezi Is. 64:4
  3. 1 Corintieni 2:16 Vezi Is. 40:13

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom(A) as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(B) I came to you(C) in weakness(D) with great fear and trembling.(E) My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,(F) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,(G) so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.(H)

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,(I) but not the wisdom of this age(J) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.(K) No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery(L) that has been hidden(M) and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age(N) understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(O) However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—(P)

10 these are the things God has revealed(Q) to us by his Spirit.(R)

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts(S) except their own spirit(T) within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit(U) of the world,(V) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom(W) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God(X) but considers them foolishness,(Y) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit(Z) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”[d](AA)

But we have the mind of Christ.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts proclaimed to you God’s mystery
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13