| 1 | As for myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony
and
evidence
or
[a]
mystery and secret
of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy
and
wisdom; |
| 2 | For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified. |
| 3 | And I was in (
[b]passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [
[c]after I had come] among you. |
| 4 | And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [
[d]a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them], |
| 5 | So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God. |
| 6 | Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age
or
of this world nor of the leaders
and
rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing
and
are doomed to pass away. |
| 7 | But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God—[that wisdom] which God devised
and
decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. |
| 8 | None of the rulers of this age
or
world perceived
and
recognized
and
understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. |
| 9 | But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [
[e]who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. |
| 10 | Yet to us God has unveiled
and
revealed them by
and
through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring
and
examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the
[f]divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. |
| 11 | For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. |
| 12 | Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize
and
comprehend
and
appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. |
| 13 | And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining
and
interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit]. |
| 14 | But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept
or
welcome
or
admit into his heart the gifts
and
teachings
and
revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned
and
estimated
and
appreciated. |
| 15 | But the spiritual man tries all things [he
[g]examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern
or
appraise
or
get an insight into him]. |
| 16 | For who has known
or
understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide
and
instruct Him
and
give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah)
and
do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. |
Cross references:
-
1 Corinthians 2:9 : Isa. 64:4; 65:17.
-
1 Corinthians 2:16 : Isa. 40:13.
|