2When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony ^bof God to you, I did not come with brilliance ^cof speech ^dor wisdom. ²For I didn’t think it was a good idea to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ^e³I came to you in weakness, ^fin fear, ^gand in much trembling. ^h⁴My speech ⁱand my proclamation were not with persuasive ^jwords of wisdom ^kbut with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit, ⁵so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power. ^l

Spiritual Wisdom

⁶However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, ^mbut not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers ⁿof this age, who are coming to nothing. ^o⁷On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined ^pbefore the ages for our glory. ^q⁸None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ^r⁹But as it is written:

What eye did not see and ear did not hear,

and what never entered the human mind—

God prepared this for those who love Him. ^s^t

¹⁰Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, ^ueven the depths of God. ^v¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts ^wof a man except the spirit ^xof the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows ^ythe thoughts ^zof God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. ¹³We also speak these things, not in words ^ataught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. ^b¹⁴But the unbeliever ^cdoes not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated ^dspiritually. ¹⁵The spiritual person, however, can evaluate ^eeverything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated ^fby anyone. ¹⁶For

who has known the Lord’s mind,

that he may instruct Him? ^g^h

But we have the mind of Christ. ⁱ

Read in Logos

Footnotes

b2:1 Other read mystery
k2:4 Other read human wisdom
w2:11 Or things
z2:11 Or things
b2:13 Or things with spiritual words
c2:14 Or unspiritual; natural
d2:14 Or judged, or discerned
e2:15 Or judge, or discern
f2:15 Or judged, or discerned

Cross references

c2:1 1Tm 2:2
d2:1 Col 4:6
e2:2 1Co 1:23–24; Gl 6:14
f2:3 2Co 11:30
g2:3 Rv 11:11
h2:3 Php 2:12
i2:4 Mt 12:37
j2:4 Php 1:25
l2:5 Mk 5:30; Lk 1:35; 6:19; Ac 19:11; 2Co 13:4; 2Tm 1:7; Rv 11:17
m2:6 Mt 5:48
n2:6 Lk 12:58
o2:6 Heb 2:14
p2:7 Eph 1:5
q2:7 Lk 24:26; 1Pt 5:1, 4
r2:8 Ps 24:7
s2:9 Is 52:15; 64:4; Lk 10:27; 1Jn 4:20
t2:9 Is 52:15; 64:4
u2:10 Ps 17:3; Jn 14:26
v2:10 Rm 8:39; 11:33; Eph 3:18
x2:11 Rm 1:9
y2:11 1Jn 4:8
a2:13 Mt 12:37
g2:16 Is 40:13
h2:16 Is 40:13
i2:16 Col 2:2