The Bible — World English Bible

1 Corinthians 2

In brief

1 Corinthians 2 continues Paul's answer to a church drawn to fine rhetoric. Paul recalls that he came without eloquence, determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified, so that faith would rest on the power of God. He then speaks of a hidden wisdom of God, which the rulers of this world did not recognize and which the Spirit reveals to believers. The chapter ends with a promise: we have the mind of Christ.

The chapter in 4 parts

  1. v. 1-5Paul proclaims Christ crucified, without eloquence
  2. v. 6-9A mysterious wisdom of God that the world did not know
  3. v. 10-13The Spirit searches the depths of God and reveals them
  4. v. 14-16The natural person, the spiritual person and the mind of Christ

1When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

2For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

3I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

4My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

6We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world who are coming to nothing.

7But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,

8which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.

9But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”

10But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.

12But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.

13We also speak these things, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.

14Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.

16“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.

Key verses

Verse 2
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Paul says he decided to know nothing but Jesus Christ crucified. The cross is not a stage in his preaching, it is its center.

Verse 5
that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Paul did not want the Corinthians' faith to depend on the talent of a speaker. It must rest on the power of God.

Verse 9-10
But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.” But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

What God has prepared escapes the human eye, ear and mind. He reveals it through the Spirit, who searches even the depths of God.

Verse 16
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.

The end of the chapter affirms that believers have the mind of Christ. This is not a superior knowledge, but a way of understanding the things of God given by the Spirit.

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What the sermons say

The Cross of Christ: The Wisdom the World OverlooksBill Cameron reads the whole chapter: Paul chooses to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified, and the cross is the center of the faith. He invites us to check whether our faith rests on human wisdom or on the power of God.Read the summary →The Cross: True Wisdom Revealed by the SpiritOn 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, the message answers the question of true wisdom: it is the cross of Jesus Christ, prepared before the ages and recognized by those in whom the Spirit works.Read the summary →God Is Holding Something Back for YouThe preacher cites 1 Corinthians 2:9 to say that God has already prepared graces for his children. He ties their reception to obedience.Read the summary →The Anointing: Four Things It Changes in Your LifePaul Ettori draws on 1 Corinthians 2:9-13: through the Spirit, you gain access to God's thoughts toward you, and he teaches you better than any school.Read the summary →Holy Spirit, Come: Why Praying in Tongues Transforms Your LifeIn a prayer vigil, the message cites 1 Corinthians 2:10: the Spirit knows the depths of God. Letting him lead means no longer steering everything by our intelligence alone.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about 1 Corinthians 2

What does 1 Corinthians 2:9 mean, what no eye has seen?

Paul says that what God prepares for those who love him goes beyond what a person can see, hear or imagine. The next verse adds that God reveals it through the Spirit. In context, it is first about the wisdom of God in Christ, that is, salvation, more than material blessings. Many believers also draw hope for the future from it.

What does Paul mean by “Jesus Christ and him crucified”?

Paul says he wanted to proclaim only Jesus Christ and him crucified in Corinth. In a city fond of fine speeches, he puts the cross at the center, because it is there that God acted to save. This deliberate choice keeps faith safe from the speaker's skill and places it on the power of God.

Who is the spiritual person in 1 Corinthians 2?

Paul contrasts the natural person, who does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, with the spiritual person, who judges them in the light of the Spirit. He is not speaking of an elite, since he affirms that all believers have received the Spirit who comes from God. Being spiritual means living under the teaching of the Spirit and having the mind of Christ.

Articles quoting 1 Corinthians 2

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World English Bible translation — public domain.