²² Jews demand signs^(A) and Greeks look for wisdom,

2 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]

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,^(A) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,^{(B) 5} so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.^(C)

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,^(D) but not the wisdom of this age^(E) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.^(F)

¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom^(A) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.^[a]

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^(A) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^[a];^(B)

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience^(A) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[a](B) and godly sincerity.^(C) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom^(D) but on God’s grace.

²³ Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility^(A) and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.