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Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

And when I came to you, brothers, I (A)did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]witness of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, and my word and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in (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)being abolished. But we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory, (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 heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 [b](T)But 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 men knows the depths of a man except the (W)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the depths of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have received, not the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the depths graciously given to us by God, 13 of which depths we also speak, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [c]combining spiritual depths with spiritual words.

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

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some early mss mystery
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:10 Some early mss For
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual things for spiritual men
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or an unspiritual
  5. 1 Corinthians 2:16 In OT, Yahweh, cf. 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