1 Corinthians 2
Christian Standard Bible
Paul’s Proclamation
2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery[a] of God to you, I did not come with brilliance(A) of speech(B) or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(C) 3 I came to you in weakness,(D) in fear,(E) and in much trembling.(F) 4 My speech(G) and my preaching were not with persuasive(H) words of wisdom[b] but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.(I)
Spiritual Wisdom
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature,(J) but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers(K) of this age, who are coming to nothing.(L) 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined(M) before the ages for our glory.(N) 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(O) 9 But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.[c](P)
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything,(Q) even the depths of God.(R) 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts[d] except his spirit(S) within him? In the same way, no one knows(T) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words(U) taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.[e] 14 But the person without the Spirit[f] does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated[g] spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate[h] everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For
But we have the mind of Christ.(W)
1 Corinthians 2
Common English Bible
2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I didn’t come preaching God’s secrets to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. 2 I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. 3 I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. 4 My message and my preaching weren’t presented with convincing wise words but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. 5 I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God.
Definition of wisdom
6 What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. 7 We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. 8 It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! 9 But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being.[a] 10 God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. 11 Who knows a person’s depths except their own spirit that lives in them? In the same way, no one has known the depths of God except God’s Spirit. 12 We haven’t received the world’s spirit but God’s Spirit so that we can know the things given to us by God. 13 These are the things we are talking about—not with words taught by human wisdom but with words taught by the Spirit—we are interpreting spiritual things to spiritual people. 14 But people who are unspiritual don’t accept the things from God’s Spirit. They are foolishness to them and can’t be understood, because they can only be comprehended in a spiritual way. 15 Spiritual people comprehend everything, but they themselves aren’t understood by anyone. 16 Who has known the mind of the Lord, who will advise him?[b] But we have the mind of Christ.
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