1 Corinthians 2
New American Standard Bible
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 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. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I also was with you in (D)weakness and (E)fear, and in great trembling, 4 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, 5 so that your faith would not [f]rest on the [g]wisdom of mankind, but on (H)the power of God.
6 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; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory; 8 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; 9 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 Corinthians 2:1 Lit speech
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or cleverness
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms mystery
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Lit word
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Or cleverness
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 Lit be
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 Or cleverness
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 One early ms But
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual things for spiritual people
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or an unspiritual
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 Or judged
1 Corinthians 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony[a] of God to you with superior speech or wisdom.(A) 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my proclamation were made not with persuasive words of wisdom[b] but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,(B) 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
The True Wisdom of God
6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are being destroyed.(C) 7 But we speak God’s wisdom, a hidden mystery, which God decreed before the ages for our glory 8 and which none of the rulers of this age understood, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—(D)
10 God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.(E) 11 For what human knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God.(F) 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.[c](G)
14 Those who are unspiritual[d] do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.(H) 15 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.(I)
1 Corinthians 2
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of Christ.
2 For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in shewing of the Spirit and power;
5 That your faith might not stand on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, neither of the princes of this world that come to nought;
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world, unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew; for if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But to us God hath revealed them, by this Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? So the things also that are of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined.
15 But the spiritual man judgeth all things; and he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2
The Message
2 1-2 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s sheer genius, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.
3-5 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
6-10 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:
No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.
But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.
10-13 The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.
14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.
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