1 Corinthians 2:1–9

The Message about the Crucified Christ

2When I came to you, my brothers and sisters, to preach God’s secret truth,^b I did not use big words and great learning. ²For while I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially his death on the cross. ^3*So when I came to you, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, ⁴and my teaching and message were not delivered with skilful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God’s Spirit. ⁵Your faith, then, does not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.

God’s Wisdom

⁶Yet I do proclaim a message of wisdom to those who are spiritually mature. But it is not the wisdom that belongs to this world or to the powers that rule this world—powers that are losing their power. ⁷The wisdom I proclaim is God’s hidden wisdom, which he had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made. ⁸None of the rulers of this world knew this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ^9*However, as the scripture says:

“What no one ever saw or heard,

what no one ever thought could happen,

is the very thing God prepared for those who love him.”