Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

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. For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I also was with you in (D)weakness and (E)fear, and in great trembling, 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, so that your faith would not [f]rest on the [g]wisdom of mankind, but on (H)the power of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Lit speech
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or cleverness
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms mystery
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:4 Lit word
  5. 1 Corinthians 2:4 Or cleverness
  6. 1 Corinthians 2:5 Lit be
  7. 1 Corinthians 2:5 Or cleverness

Paul’s Approach to Ministry in Corinth

And I, when I[a] came to you, brothers, did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony[b] of God. For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with the persuasiveness[c] of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, in order that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts have “mystery”
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:4 Some manuscripts have “with persuasive words”