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Paul’s Message of Wisdom

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.[b] For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:1a Greek brothers.
  2. 2:1b Greek God’s mystery; other manuscripts read God’s testimony.

Preaching in the Power of God

When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come and tell you about God’s secret[a] with rhetorical language or wisdom. For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah,[b] and him crucified. It was in weakness, fear, and great trembling that I came to you. My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Other mss. read testimony
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:2 Or Christ