Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit
2 And when I came to you, brethren, I (A)did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [b]message and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [c]rest on the wisdom of men, but on (H)the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are (I)mature; a wisdom, however, not of (J)this age nor of the rulers of (K)this age, who are (L)passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a (M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God (N)predestined before the (O)ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom (P)which none of the rulers of (Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified (R)the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written,
“(S)Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 [d](T)For to us God revealed them (U)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the (V)depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the (W)spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we (X)have received, not the spirit of (Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, (Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [e]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But [f]a (AA)natural man (AB)does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (AC)foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [g]appraised. 15 But he who is (AD)spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For (AE)who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But (AF)we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 One early ms reads mystery
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Lit word
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 Lit be
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 One early ms reads But
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual things for spiritual men
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or an unspiritual
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or examined
Cross references
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 : 1 Cor 1:17; 2:4, 13
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 : 1 Cor 2:7
- 1 Corinthians 2:2 : 1 Cor 1:23; Gal 6:14
- 1 Corinthians 2:3 : 1 Cor 4:10; 2 Cor 11:30; 12:5, 9f; 13:9
- 1 Corinthians 2:3 : Is 19:16; 2 Cor 7:15; Eph 6:5
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 : 1 Cor 1:17; 2:1, 13
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 : Rom 15:19; 1 Cor 4:20
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 : 2 Cor 4:7; 6:7; 12:9
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 : Eph 4:13; Phil 3:15; Heb 5:14; 6:1
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 : Matt 13:22; 1 Cor 1:20
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 : Matt 13:22; 1 Cor 1:20
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 : 1 Cor 1:28
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 : Rom 11:25; 16:25f; 1 Cor 2:1
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 : Rom 8:29f
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 : Heb 1:2; 11:3
- 1 Corinthians 2:8 : 1 Cor 1:26; 2:6
- 1 Corinthians 2:8 : Matt 13:22; 1 Cor 1:20
- 1 Corinthians 2:8 : Acts 7:2; James 2:1
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 : Is 64:4; 65:17
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 : Matt 11:25; 13:11; 16:17; Gal 1:12; Eph 3:3, 5
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 : John 14:26
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 : Rom 11:33ff
- 1 Corinthians 2:11 : Prov 20:27
- 1 Corinthians 2:12 : Rom 8:15
- 1 Corinthians 2:12 : 1 Cor 1:27
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 : 1 Cor 1:17; 2:1, 4
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 : 1 Cor 15:44, 46; James 3:15; Jude 19 mg
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 : John 14:17
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 : 1 Cor 1:18
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 : 1 Cor 3:1; 14:37; Gal 6:1
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 : Is 40:13; Rom 11:34
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 : John 15:15