1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Expanded Bible
The Message of Christ’s Death
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God’s ·secret[a] [mystery; C something God had not previously disclosed; Eph. 1:9] with ·fancy [superior; eloquent] words or a show of human wisdom. 2 [L For] I ·decided [resolved] that while I was with you I would ·forget about everything [L not know anything] except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling. 4 My ·teaching [message; speech] and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that ·persuade [or entice] people but with ·proof of the power that the Spirit gives [or proof powerfully revealed by the Spirit; or demonstrations of the Spirit and of power]. 5 This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.
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- 1 Corinthians 2:1 God’s secret Some Greek copies read “God’s message.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Amplified Bible
Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the [a]testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do]; 2 for I made the decision to [b]know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection]. 3 I came to you in [a state of] weakness and fear and great trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom [using clever rhetoric], but [they were delivered] in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit [operating through me] and of [His] power [stirring the minds of the listeners and persuading them], 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom and rhetoric of men, but on the power of God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms reads mystery.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2 In reality, Paul was a highly-trained student of the Old Testament writings, Jewish law, and of logic and rhetoric; and evidently he was conversant in Roman law as well. When preaching the gospel, however, he focused on the message itself and the power of God, and not on rhetorical techniques of persuasion (see vv 4, 5; cf 1:17).
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