Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

And I Came To You Proclaiming Christ Crucified Without Human Eloquence Or Wisdom

2 And I, having come^[a] to you, brothers, did not come in accordance with superiority^[b] of speech or of wisdom while proclaiming to you the mystery of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ— and this One having been crucified. ³ And I was^[c] with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my proclamation was not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration^[d] of ^[e] the Spirit and power, ⁵ in order that your faith might not be in the wisdom of humans but in the power of God.

Yet We Are Speaking God’s Wisdom To The Mature

⁶ Yet we are speaking wisdom among the mature, but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age— the ones being brought-to-nothing. ⁷ Rather we are speaking God’s wisdom in a mystery; the wisdom having been hidden which God predestined before the ages for our glory, ⁸ which none of the rulers of this age has understood. For if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But it ^[f] is just as it has been written: “Things which an eye did not see and an ear did not hear, and which did not come-up^[g] on the heart of a human— which God prepared for the ones loving Him”.

God Revealed This Wisdom To Us Through His Spirit

¹⁰ And God revealed it ^[h] to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the things of the person except the spirit of the person within him? In this manner also, no one has known the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² And we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, in order that we might know the things having been freely-given to us by God—

¹³ things which we also are speaking not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining^[a] spiritual things with spiritual words. ¹⁴ But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him and he is not able to understand, because they are spiritually examined^[b]. ¹⁵ But the spiritual person examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one^[c]. ¹⁶ For “who knew the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct Him?” [Isa 40:13], and we have the mind of Christ!

You Are Salt And Light. Salt Must Be Tasty. Light Must Shine

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should become-tasteless, with what will it be salted^[a]? It no longer has strength for anything except, having been thrown outside, to be trampled-underfoot by people. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city lying on a hill is not able to be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they burn a lamp and put it under the basket, but on the lampstand— and it shines on all the ones in the house. ¹⁶ In this manner, let your light shine in front of people so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in the heavens.

I Came To Fulfill The Law. Your Righteousness Must Abound More Than The Pharisees

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish^[b] the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill^[c]. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one iota^[d] or one stroke^[e] will by no means pass away from the Law until all things take-place^[f]. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks^[g] one of the least of these commandments and in this manner teaches people— he will be called least in the kingdom of the heavens. But whoever does and teaches them— this one will be called great in the kingdom of the heavens. ²⁰ For I say to you that unless your righteousness abounds more^[h] than [that of] the scribes and Pharisees, you will by-no-means^[i] enter into the kingdom of the heavens!