A verse by verse commentary on I Cor. 2, with quotations from many different authors.

1. 1 CORITHIAS 2 COMMETARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
1. When I came to you, brothers, I did not come
with eloquence or superior wisdom as I
proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a]
1. Paul is not a very good braggar, for he states not. that I am eloquent and wise, but
rather, I am not these things at all. This is not the sort of thing you admit on your
resume to get into public speaking. When you hear people bragging about their
preacher it is usually that they are really good speakers and they have wisdom
above the average. obody, except Paul, proclaims that they are not all that great,
and that there are plenty of speakers with more flowery language and brilliant
ideas. You can just hear the Paul group in the church cringing when this is read to
the congregation. What in the world is our hero thinking of? He is ruining his
reputation and making us lool like losers for choosing to make him our idol. His
critics must also be in a state of shock, for they are wondering how can we put a
man down who has already flattened himself?
Paul's point here is not to put himself down and exalt his humility, but to make it
clear that the power that saved them and made them a part of the kingdom of God
was not anything human. His preaching won them to Christ as their Savior and he
did not need to be eloquent or especially wise for this to happen because the power
that saved them is divine and not human.That is one of his key messages he is
conveying to the Corinthians. They are all excited about human characteristics such
as human eloquence and human wisdom, which is part of their culture with Greek
orators and Greek philosophers being the main headlines in their daily paper. The
heroes of their culture made them assume that these same sort of heroes were to be
the kinds of leaders they were to follow as Christians. That is why they were divided
into factions each saying their man was the best to follow because he had greater
eloquence or greater wisdom than the others. They were idolizing human gifts and
characteristics, and it is Paul's task to show them that none of these things was the
cause or basis of their salvation. They were saved by the truth of the Gospel and the
power of the Holy Spirit who made that truth real to them, and not by clever words
and superior wisdom.
The history of man is filled with eloquent speakers who can persuade men to to do
just about anything. Con men are doing it right now and succors are being duped

2. into parting with their hard earned cash as you read this. Eloquence and superior
wisdom are good things that can just as easily be used for evil as good, and they are,
for they are just human values. Apollos was an eloquent speaker (Acts 18:24-28),
but is was not his eloquence that saved anyone. It was a positive thing, but it was
still only a human element. The Gospel that Paul preached is on a higher level is
what he is stressing. And the purpose of this is to help the Corinthians see the
importance of making a distinction between the human and the divine. It is focus on
the human that is leading to division. If they will focus on the divine there will be
unity, for all then will be focused on that which Paul specialized in, Christ and him
crucified. It is this simple truth that will make them one. So he is saying by this self-depreciation
here that they are to stop their idolatry of worshipping human factors
and focus on Christ and what he has done for them. He is not saying that eloquence
and human wisdom are not good, but that they are not the foundation on which you
build the Christian life. When Christians focus on anything but Christ they divide
into factions and create conflict and competition. Jesus Christ is the only way to be
saved and the only way to continue in salvation, and that is why Paul is making it
clear that eloquence and human wisdom are to be taken off the high shelf of their
value system, and that they are to put Christ there as the supreme value.
2. JAMISON, 1Co 2:1 -
1Co_2:1-16. Paul’s subject of preaching, Christ crucified, not in worldly, but in
heavenly, wisdom among the perfect.
And I — “So I” [Conybeare] as one of the “foolish, weak, and despised” instruments
employed by God (1Co_1:27, 1Co_1:28); “glorying in the Lord,” not in man’s wisdom
(1Co_1:31). Compare 1Co_1:23, “We.”
when I came — (Act_18:1, etc.). Paul might, had he pleased, have used an ornate
style, having studied secular learning at Tarsus of Cilicia, which Strabo preferred as a
school of learning to Athens or Alexandria; here, doubtless, he read the Cilician Aratus’
poems (which he quotes, Act_17:28), and Epimenides (Tit_1:12), and Menander (1Co_
15:33). Grecian intellectual development was an important element in preparing the way
for the Gospel, but it failed to regenerate the world, showing that for this a superhuman
power is needed. Hellenistic (Grecizing) Judaism at Tarsus and Alexandria was the
connecting link between the schools of Athens and those of the Rabbis. No more fitting
birthplace could there have been for the apostle of the Gentiles than Tarsus, free as it
was from the warping influences of Rome, Alexandria, and Athens. He had at the same
time Roman citizenship, which protected him from sudden violence. Again, he was
reared in the Hebrew divine law at Jerusalem. Thus, as the three elements, Greek
cultivation, Roman polity (Luk_2:1), and the divine law given to the Jews, combined just
at Christ’s time, to prepare the world for the Gospel, so the same three, by God’s
marvelous providence, met together in the apostle to the Gentiles [Conybeare and
Howson].
testimony of God — “the testimony of Christ” (1Co_1:6); therefore Christ is God.
3. DUKE STOE
Which wisdom you hold to will also determine your verdict on God's spokesman.

3. Read 2:1-5. Paul didn't pass the test for what the Corinthian wise deemed an
adequate public speaker. In Greek culture, rhetoricians were a major form of
entertainment. But Paul was deemed inadequate on that scale:
1. They were usually impressive in appearance (HADSOME WELL-DRESSED).
Paul was unimpressive (2 Cor. 10:10). Early sources say he was
short, bald, hook-nosed, and bow-legged and hunch-backed from his floggings.
2. Their speaking style was full of bells and whistles. Plutarch says:
They made their voices sweet with musical cadences and modulations of tone and
echoed resonances.
Paul's speech, in their view, was contemptible (2 Cor. 10:10) because he spoke in
a normal voice.
3. Their content was full of lofty phrases, abstract philosophy, and flattery of the
audience. But Paul focused on one message (vs 2) which confronted people with
their need for forgiveness, and on making that message clear and understandable.
They swaggered with self-confidence (PEACOCKS). But Paul was acutely aware of
his human inadequacy for the task, so he spoke in weakness and in fear and in
much trembling. I get the impression that Paul would been canceled by many
Christian TV shows!!!
But Paul knew that on the scale that matters (God's perspective), he was effective.
Paul knew that effective spokespersons for Christ are like a good PICTURE-FRAME:
he focused their attention not on himself, but on Christ. He didn't speak
his own philosophy of life; he proclaimed God's message. He didn't rely on human
flash and glitter; he relied on God's Spirit to empower him and convict his audience.
And people didn't go home entertained; but many went home converted to Christ!
Christ's most effective spokespersons have always been this way. Your short-comings
and fears don't disqualify you from being an effective spokesperson for
Christ. If you sincerely share the good news and how Christ has changed your life,
and if you depend on God to empower you as you step out in faith, you will be
effective and some will come to Christ through your witness.
4. BARCLAY, 1 Cor.2:1-5
So, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come announcing God's secret to you
with any outstanding gifts of rhetoric or wisdom, for it was my deliberate decision to
know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him upon his Cross. So I was
with you in weakness and in diffidence and in much nervousness. My story and my
proclamation were not made with persuasive words of wisdom; it was by the Spirit
and by power that they were unanswerably demonstrated to be true, so that your
faith should not depend on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

4. Paul remembers back to the time when first he came to Corinth, and three things
stand out.
(i) He came speaking in simplicity. It is worth noting that Paul had come to Corinth
from Athens. It was at Athens that, for the only time in his life, as far as we know,
he had attempted to reduce Christianity to philosophic terms. There, on Mars' Hill,
he had met the philosophers and had tried to speak in their own language (Ac.17:22-
31); and it was there that he had one of his very few failures. His sermon in terms of
philosophy had had very little effect (Ac.17:32-34). It would almost seem that he had
said to himself, ever again! From henceforth I will tell the story of Jesus in utter
simplicity. I will never again try to wrap it up in human categories. I will know
nothing but Jesus Christ, and him upon his Cross.
It is true that the sheer unadorned story of the life of Jesus has in it a unique power
to move the hearts of men. Dr. James Stewart quotes an example. The Christian
missionaries had come to the court of Clovis, the king of the Franks. They told the
story of the Cross, and, as they did, the hand of the old king stole to his sword hilt.
If I and my Franks had been there, he said, we would have stormed Calvary and
rescued him from his enemies. When we deal with ordinary, untechnical people, a
vivid, factual picture has a power that a close knit argument lacks. For most people,
the way to the recesses of a man's inmost being lies, not through his mind, but
through his heart.
(ii) He came speaking in fear. Here we have to be careful to understand. It was not
fear for his own safety; still less was it that he was ashamed of the gospel that he was
preaching. It was what has been called the trembling anxiety to perform a duty.
The very phrase which he uses here of himself Paul also uses of the way in which
conscientious slaves should serve and obey their masters. (Eph.6:5). It is not the man
who approaches a great task without a tremor who does it really well. The really
great actor is he who is wrought up before the performance; the really effective
preacher is he whose heart beats faster while he waits to speak. The man who has no
nervousness, no tension, in any task, may give an efficient performance; but it is the
man who has this trembling anxiety who can produce an effect which artistry alone
can never achieve.
(iii) He came with results and not with words alone. The result of Paul's preaching
was that things happened. He says that his preaching was unanswerably
demonstrated to be true by the Spirit and by power. The word he uses is the word
for the most stringent possible proof, the kind against which there can be no
argument. What was it? It was the proof of changed lives. Something re-creating
had entered into the polluted society of Corinth.
John Hutton used to tell a story with gusto. A man who had been a reprobate and a
drunkard was captured by Christ. His workmates used to try to shake him and say,
Surely a sensible man like you cannot believe in the miracles that the Bible tells
about. You cannot, for instance, believe that this Jesus of yours turned water into
wine. Whether he turned water into wine or not, said the man, I do not know;

5. but in my own house I have seen him turn beer into furniture.
o one can argue against the proof of a changed life. It is our weakness that too
often we have tried to talk men into Christianity instead of, in our own lives,
showing them Christ. A saint, as someone said, is someone in whom Christ lives
again.
2. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1. Paul was really narrow minded, for he resolved to know nothing but Jesus Christ
and him crucified. This is a very limited agenda, and we cannot take Paul literally
here, for he had to, in the 18 months he was there teching, have more subjects to
deal with than Christ and the cross. It is obvious that what Paul means is that this
was his focus and foundation and that no other subject can be allowed to detract
from this or push it from the center of attention. This is the center which gives unity
to the body of Christ, and once believers begin to make some other subject their
center piece, they produce division. The cause for all division in the church is being
off center. Take your eyes off Christ and the cross and focus them on some other
object or issue and you are immediately off center and prepared to be a divisive
influence in the body of Christ. You do not ever hear of Christians who are of
differing opinions about who their Savior is, and about whether or not he dies on
the cross for their sins. These are the very center and heart of the Christian faith. If
you debate these you are not a Christian, for these are the essencial truths that make
a Christian what he is. All believers are one when Christ and the cross are their
center. It is only when they leave that center that they begin to debate and fight over
who is right and who is a heretic. This has happened to the Corinthians and that is
why Paul is calling them back to the center. It is the only way to restore unity and
stop the foolishness of their divisions into cults.
Paul is saying that he does not want them to be impressed with him, or Apollos, or
anyone else, but only Christ and what he did for them on the cross.
2. Paul was a very clever and intelligent man always using his wisdom. In Acts
21:37-39 we see his use of Greek to change a situation. In Acts 23:6-9 he set the
Pharisees against the Saducees. In Acts 22:25 he used his rights to change things.

6. He argued, debated, and persuaded, and was a man of superior wisdom. He did not
come to Corinth using these skills, however, but preached the Gospel and let God’s
spirit work in men’s hearts with the truth.
ot always was Paul simple and easy, for even Peter had a hard time grasping all of
Paul’s writings. In II Peter 3:16 we see this, for Peter was a fisherman, but Paul was
an educated scholar with a much broader cultural experience. Paul did not begin to
build with the attic, or the second story, but with the foundation. He did go on to
build higher once that was laid.
3. This text is abused if one uses it to squelch the dealing with all of the issues of life.
Paul did and the Bible does, and Christians must wrestle with all of life in reading,
preaching and discussion. Paul is just saying here that his priority in his ministry
with them was bringing them to Christ. All other issues are unimportant compared
to this. In the Corinthian Epistle Paul deals with profound theology, all he is saying
here is that method is not superior to content. It is the content of the Gospel that
matters most and not the method of its communication. You can do it with
eloquence and clever argument, but the risk is that the cleverness rather than the
content could become the basis for the response. The goal is that men trust Christ
and not that they be intellectually or emotionally moved. Luther said, “He preaches
best who aims at being understood rather than at being admired.”
Those who take this as a limit of all conversation to Christ, and even that to his
crucifixion become so narrow that neither Christian nor non-Christian could long
enjoy their company. Do not blame Paul who could talk and write of everything, for
this conclusion is a perversion of his noble purpose.
4. Leonardo DaVinci took a friend to see his masterpiece of the Last Supper. The
friends first comment was the most striking thing in the picture is the cup. The
artist immediately took his brush and wiped out the cup saying, “othing in my
painting shall attract more attention than the face of my master.” This is what Paul
is saying here. He wanted nothing to cloud the vision of Christ on the cross.
Paul specialized in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The idea being that he did
not come to deal with all of the issues of life in his preaching. He gets into these in
his writing, but these were not subjects for winning the lost. Paul is not saying there
is not a million other valuable subjects, but he is saying that he laid the foundation
before he began to build. Evangelism is narrow in its focus. Discipleship is a focus
on many other issues. Spurgeon says it is possible to preach the sermon on the
mount and be a great teacher but not when anyone to the Christ of the cross. That
has to be your focus first for evangelism.
5. Religion is real and has a powerful impact on man. It leads to all sorts of
experiences and many of them good, but the point is, none of it saves. Someone
defined it, “Religion is an effort to conceive the inconceivable to utter the
unutterable. It is a struggle of the finite to grasp the infinite.” It is like a baby
trying to pick up sunbeams off the floor, only to have them slip forever through the

7. tiny fingers, and leave the hands empty. Religion can be fascinating but it will not
save.
Simplicity. Kiss-keep it simple stupid, and not keep it simply stupid. This is not to
say that Paul never mentioned the weather or Corinthian sports and world events,
but that his supreme theme and focus was Christ crucified. Maclaren said, “It is
perfectly possible to know the things said about him and not to know him about
whom these things are said.” Paul laid a solid foundation and did not build starting
with the third floor.
6. CLARKE 1Co 2:2 -
I determined not to know any thing among you - Satisfied that the Gospel of God
could alone make you wise unto salvation, I determined to cultivate no other knowledge,
and to teach nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified, as the foundation of all true
wisdom, piety, and happiness. No other doctrine shall I proclaim among you.
7. BARES, Verse 2. For I determined. I made a resolution. This was my fixed,
deliberate purpose when I came there. It was not a matter of accident, or chance, that I
made Christ my great and constant theme, but it was my deliberate purpose. It is to be
recollected that Paul made this resolution, knowing the peculiar fondness of the Greeks
for subtle disquisitions, and for graceful and finished elocution; that he formed it when
his own mind, as we may judge from his writings, was strongly inclined by nature to an
abstruse and metaphysical kind of discussion, which could not have failed to attract the
attention of the acute and subtle reasoners of Greece; and that he made it when he must
have been fully aware that the theme which he had chosen to dwell upon would be certain
to excite derision and con- tempt. Yet he formed and adhered to this resolution, though it
might expose him to contempt, and though they might reject and despise his message.

8. ot to know. The word know here ~eidenai~ is used probably in the sense of attend to,
be engaged in, or regard. I resolved not to give my time and attention while among you
to the laws and traditions of the Jews; to your orators, philosophers, and poets; to the
beauty of your architecture or statuary; to a contemplation of your customs and laws; but
to attend to this only--making known the cross of Christ. The word ~eidw~ (to know) is
sometimes thus used. Paul says that he designed that this should be the only thing on
which his mind should be fixed; the only object of his attention; the only object on which
he there sought that knowledge should be diffused. Doddridge renders it, appear to
know.
Any thing among you. Anything while I was with you; or, anything that may exist among
you, and that may be objects of interest to you. I resolved to know nothing of it, whatever
it might be. The former is, probably, the correct interpretation.
Save Jesus Christ. Except Jesus Christ. This is the only thing of which I purposed to have
any knowledge among you.
And him crucified. Or, even (~kai~) him that was crucified. He resolved not only to
make the Messiah the grand object of his knowledge and attention there, but EVE

9. a
crucified Messiah; to maintain the doctrine that the Messiah was to be crucified for the

10. sins of the world; and that he who had been crucified was in fact the Messiah. See Barnes
1 Corinthians 1:23. We may remark here,
(1.) that this should be the resolution of every minister of the gospel. This is his business.
It is not to be a politician; not to engage in the strifes and controversies of men; it is not to
be a good farmer or scholar merely; not to mingle with his people in festive circles and
enjoyments; not to be a man of taste and philosophy, and distinguished mainly for
refinement of manners; not to be a profound philosopher or metaphysician; but to make
Christ crucified the grand object of his attention, and seek always and everywhere to
make him known.
(2.) He is not to be ashamed anywhere of the humbling doctrine that Christ was crucified.
In this he is to glory. Though the world may ridicule; though philosophers may sneer;
though the rich and the gay may deride it, yet this is to be the grand object of interest to
him; and at no time, and in no society, is he to be ashamed of it.
(3.) It matters not what are the amusements of society around him; what fields of science,
of gain, or ambition, are open before him; the minister of Christ is to know Christ and
him crucified alone. If he cultivates science, it is to be that he may the more successfully
explain and vindicate the gospel. If he becomes in any manner familiar with the works of
art and of taste, it is that he may more successfully show to those who cultivate them the
superior beauty and excellency of the cross. If he studies the plans and the employments
of men, it is that he may more successfully meet them in those plans, and more
successfully speak to them of the great plan of redemption. (4.) The preaching of the
cross is the only kind of preaching that will be attended with success. That which has in it
much respecting the Divine mission, the dignity, the works, the doctrines, the person, and
the atonement of Christ, will be successful. So it was in the time of the apostles; so it was
in the reformation; so it was in the Moravian missions; so it has been in all revivals of
religion. There is a power about that kind of preaching which philosophy and human
reason have not. Christ is God's great ordinance for the salvation of the world; and we
meet the crimes and alleviate the woes of the world, just in proportion as we hold the
cross up as appointed to overcome the one, and to pour the balm of consolation into the
other.
8. GILL, 1Co 2:2 - For I determined not to know anything among you,.... This
was a resolution the apostle entered into before he came among them, that though he
was well versed in human literature, and had a large compass of knowledge in the things
of nature, yet would make known nothing else unto them, or make anything else the
subject of his ministry,
save Christ, and him crucified: he had a spiritual and experimental knowledge of
Christ himself, and which he valued above all things else; and this qualified him to make
him known to others; and which knowledge he was very willing and ready to
communicate by preaching the Gospel, which is the means of making known Christ as
God's salvation to the souls of men; and on this subject he chiefly insisted, and in which
he took great delight and pleasure; he made known the things respecting the person of
Christ, as that he was God, the Son of God, and truly man. God and man in one person;

11. the things respecting his office, as that he was the Messiah, the mediator, prophet,
priest, and King, the head, husband, Saviour, and Redeemer of his church and people;
and the things respecting his work as such, and the blessings of grace procured by him;
as that justification is by his righteousness, pardon by his blood, peace, reconciliation,
and atonement by his sacrifice, and salvation alone and entirely by him. His
determination was to preach none but Christ; not himself, nor man; nor the power and
purity of human nature, the free will and works of the creature, but to exclude all and
everything from being partners with Christ in the business of salvation. This was the
doctrine he chose in the first place, and principally, to insist upon, even salvation by
Christ, and him, as
crucified: that which was the greatest offence to others was the most delightful to him,
because salvation comes through and by the cross of Christ; and he dwelt upon this, and
determined to do so; it being most for the glory of Christ, and what was owned for the
conversion of sinners, the comfort of distressed minds, and is suitable food for faith, as
he knew by his own experience.
9. MACLARE, Many of you are aware that to-day I close forty years of
ministry in this city—I cannot say to this congregation, for there are very, very
few that can go back with me in memory to the beginning of these years. You will
bear me witness that I seldom intrude personal references into the pulpit, but
perhaps it would be affectation not to do so now. Looking back over these long
years, many thoughts arise which cannot be spoken in public. But one thing I
may say, and that is, that I am grateful to God and to you, dear friends, for the
unbroken harmony, confidence, affection, and forbearance which have
brightened and lightened my work. Of its worth I cannot judge; its imperfections I
know better than the most unfavourable critic; but I can humbly take the words of
this text as expressive, not, indeed, of my attainments, but of my aims. One of
my texts, on my first Sunday in Manchester, was ‘We preach Christ and Him
crucified,’ and I look back, and venture to say that the noble words of this text
have been, however imperfectly followed, my guiding star.
Now, I wish to say a word or two, less personal perhaps, and yet, as you can well
suppose, not without a personal reference in my own consciousness.
Note here, the Apostolic theme—Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Now, the Apostle, in this context, gives us a little autobiographical glimpse which
is singularly and interestingly confirmed by some slight incidental notices in the
Book of the Acts. He says, in the context, that he was with the Corinthians ‘in
weakness and in fear and in much trembling,’ and, if we turn to the narrative, we
find that a singular period of silence, apparent abandonment of his work and
dejection, seems to have synchronised with his coming to the great city of
Corinth. The reasons were very plain. He had recently come into Europe for the
first time and had had to front a new condition of things, very different from what
he had found in Palestine or in Asia Minor. His experience had not been
encouraging. He had been imprisoned in Philippi; he had been smuggled away
by night from Thessalonica; he had been hounded from Berea; he had all but
wholly failed to make any impression in Athens, and in his solitude he came to

12. Corinth, and lay quiet, and took stock of his adversaries. He came to the
conclusion which he records in my text; he felt that it was not for him to argue
with philosophers, or to attempt to vie with Sophists and professional orators, but
that his only way to meet Greek civilisation, Greek philosophy, Greek eloquence,
Greek self-conceit, was to preach ‘Christ and Him crucified.’ The determination
was not come to in ignorance of the conditions that were fronting him. He knew
Corinth, its wealth, its wickedness, its culture, and knowing these he said, ‘I have
made up my mind that I will know nothing amongst you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified.’
So, then, this Apostle's conception of his theme was—the biography of a Man,
with especial emphasis laid on one act in His history—His death. Christianity is
Christ, and Christ is Christianity. His relation to the truth that He proclaimed, and
to the truths that may be deducible from the story of His life and death, is
altogether different from the relation of any other founder of a religion to the
truths that he has proclaimed. For in these you can accept the teaching, and
ignore the teacher. But you cannot do that with Christianity; ‘I am the Way, and
the Truth, and the Life’; and in that revealing biography, which is the preacher's
theme, the palpitating heart and centre is the death upon the Cross. So,
whatever else Christianity comes to be—and it comes to be a great deal else—
the principle of its growth, and the germ which must vitalise the whole, lie in the
personality and the death of Jesus Christ.
3. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with
much trembling.
1. Self-confidence can be a danger if it leads to pride. The Christian must ever be
humble in his approach to the world. To come as a superior looking down on
people will turn them off faster than anything. Your chances of winning a man to
Christ by your pride and conceit is about as great as your chance of writing the
Lord’s Prayer on a soap bubble as it floats through the air.
Weakness-that is in poorness of spirit in which there is not self-confidence, but great
feelings of inadequacy and dependence upon God. Paul did not feel able to do the
work God sent him to do. It was beyond his power and gifts, and so he had to be
dependent upon God’s strength. He never lost the sense of his own inadequacy.
Paul knew he could not convert them with his wisdom, but that it depended upon
the spirit of God. So Paul adds more negatives to his resume, and makes it look like
a joke. Imagine someone praying, Lord, let me be your speaker to the Corinthians.
I am weak and fearful and have little self-confidence, and so I will go there
trembling like a teenager having to give a speech before his peers. I am really not
qualified for this task and I am likely to fail, but please give me the job. And God

13. responds, You are just the man I have been looking for. The job is yours. This
sounds ridiculous, but that is the way God so often works in history. We see it all
through the Bible as he chooses the least likely people to get his will done. If you
want to serve God do not waste your time trying to impress him with your abilities
and qualities. You will be more impressive if you admit your inabilities and lack of
qualities, for this kind of honest humility is what God is looking for.
Angelo Patre said, “Education consists of being afraid at the right time.” Only the
fool never feels fear. There are values in fear, for fear of evil is good, and fear of
starvation brought the Prodigal home. We try to instill certain fears in children so
they are aware of dangers to be avoided. Paul was not like a Greek orator who
stepped on the stage with full confidence he could move the crowd to tears or
laughter.
Balance the fear of your weakness with trust in the strength of God so your
weakness does not leave you paralyzed and unable to function. Many Christians let
fear dominate. They need to see that even those who can speak often have the same
emotions as they do, but under control because they are confident God can use even
their weakness, and so faith overcomes their fear. Fear enables them to avoid being
careless and indifferent.
Paul was not a self-sufficient character who could just step into any situation
without anxiety. We so often think that if it is God’s will for us it will be a snap, but
not so, for God often sends us to do what we cannot do without fear and trembling.
Christian witnessing must always be done in a spirit of humility. We must go with
fear and trembling, for it is not us or our wisdom, and we are not better because we
have been saved. Only the grace of God and not being superior makes us servants
to the lost. Paul’s weaknesses were his strength, for he could identify with and
accept others in their weakness. He is a poor teacher who has never been a weak
learner, for he cannot understand the problems of his students. It is having been
there that helps you feel with them. Paul felt the weight of his own burden and so
was sensitive in helping others bare their burden of weakness.
I can identify with Paul, for many times I would go to the Union Gospel Mission in
St. Paul and feel fear and trembling. I was going to preach to men who had terrible
lives with abandonment and divorce and a history of abuse and alcoholism, and a
whole history of failure and suffering. Who am I to try to preach to these men, for I
have not experienced what they have, and so we are in two different worlds. It was
always a nervous experience and many a time I wished I was not doing it. But God
took my weakness and fearful efforts and many times men came forward to receive
Christ as their personal Savior. I remember one time 17 men came forward and I
ran out of tracts to give them. You don't need to feel adequate to be used of God.
God uses weakness and inadaquacy to achieve his purpose. It is another aspect of
God sense of humor in that he uses poor instruments to get the job done. This is
foolishness, for all know that it is wise to use the best tools to get a quality job done.
God is not so picky, for he will get the job done with tools that others would throw

14. away.
Paul is like a soldier going to war without adequate weapons and with a body that is
shivering and quaking with nervous fear. He is almost a basket case as he tackles
the task of teaching the Corinthians the truth of the Gospel. They were among the
most godless people in Greece, and it would be like any of us going to the worst part
of town where drugs and immorality were a major part of life of everday and trying
to witness. We would be full of fear and trembling, and we would feel totally
inadequate for the job.
The humor here is the humor of honesty. Paul was telling it like it really was and
not trying to hide the reality of his defects.
2. GILL, weakness,.... Meaning either the weakness of his bodily presence, the
contemptibleness of his voice, and the mean figure he made as a preacher among them,
both with respect to the matter and manner of his ministry in the eyes of many; or his
lowly and humble deportment among them, not exerting the power and authority Christ
had given him as an apostle; but choosing rather to work with his own hands, as he did
at Corinth, to minister to his own necessities, and those of others; or the many
persecutions which he endured there for the sake of preaching a crucified Christ; and
which he sometimes calls infirmities; see 2Co_12:9
3.WEAKESS - ASTHEIA USED 23 TIMES I .T.
Definition of Asthenia
Asthenia: Weakness. Lack of energy and strength. Loss of strength. The word asthenia is
not much used in medicine today, although it is a prominent part of myasthenia, a loss of
muscle strength, as in myasthenia gravis.
Asthenia is from the Greek asthenes, from a- (without) + sthenos (strength).
The condition is commonly seen in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome,
sleep disorders or chronic disorders of the heart, lungs or kidneys. Differentiating
between asthenia and true muscular weakness is often difficult, and in time asthenia in
chronic disorders is seen to progress into a primary weakness.
4. JAMES HALLEBECK M.D., The most mysterious element of this triad
(Cachexia, Anorexia, and Asthenia) for me is asthenia (lack of energy). Asthenia and its
opposite, vigor, are familiar to all of us. Everyday, we hope, we start the day refreshed.
By the end of the day we are tired, asthenic, and ready to sleep. Even catching a cold can
dramatically influence our energy levels. We become weak and tired for no reason
identifiable on a blood test. This is a part of our everyday experience. If a cold or a busy
day at work can do that, think what a life-threatening chronic illness and dying can do.
Clinicians, despite being very aware of their own periodic asthenia, have largely ignored

15. asthenia in their patients. Where does this weakness come from? In cancer and in many
other conditions such as advanced dementia and very old age (95), asthenia appears to
be a major cause of death. This is quite remarkable. Arguably, in chronic illnesses that do
not directly destroy vital organs (such as heart, lung, kidney, brain, or liver), asthenia (or
the dwindles in common vernacular) is the leading cause of death, yet we have paid
very little attention to it.
There are some correctable causes of asthenia that are familiar to most clinicians.
Hypothyroidism, anemia, and depression can result in reversible asthenia and should be
diagnosed and corrected when possible. Untreated pain, other metabolic abnormalities
such as adrenal insufficiency, hypokalemia, and steroid-related myopathy may also
manifest as asthenia.
5. GALATIAS, Some object to my explanation of Paul's thorn, saying, But didn't
Paul himself say to the Galatians that he was sick the first time he preached the gospel to
them? Wasn't he speaking of his thorn in the flesh?
Here is what Paul actually wrote in his letter to the Galatians:
But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to
you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did
not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus
Himself (Gal. 4:13-14).
The Greek word translated illness here in Galatians 4:13 is asthenia , which literally
means weakness. It can mean weakness because of sickness, but it doesn't have to. For
example, Paul wrote, the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:25, emphasis
added). The word that is translated weakness in this instance is also the word asthenia . It
would not make any sense if the translators had translated it the illness of God is
stronger than men. (See also Matt. 26:41 and 1 Pet. 3:7, where the word asthenia is
translated weakness and could not possibly be translated sickness ).
When Paul first visited Galatia, as recorded in the book of Acts, there is no mention of
him being ill. There is mention, however, of him being stoned and left for dead, and he
was either raised from the dead or miraculously revived (see Acts 14:5-7, 19-20). Surely
Paul's body, after he was stoned and left for dead, would have been in horrible condition
with cuts and bruises all over it.
Paul did not have a sickness in Galatia that was a trial to his listeners. Rather, his body
was weak from his recent stoning. Most likely, he still carried the reminders of his
persecutions in Galatia when he wrote his letter to the Galatians, because he ended his
epistle with these words:
From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks
of Jesus (Gal. 6:17).
6. There is a Godly fear that is good and a necessity.

16. When Paul says with trembling and fear, it is this Godly fear that he is speaking of:
Psalms 34:9
• O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
Psalms 61:5
• For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those
that fear thy name.
Psalms 103:17
• But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear
him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
And God contrasts this Godly fear with the wicked who have no fear of God and so
transgress without worry about the consequences. It doesn't bother them anymore to
contradict God because they are so use to doing it that their conscience is seared (1st
Timothy 4:2). It's like having scar tissue on your body wherein you no longer have feeling
there anymore. Someone may touch that particular spot and you may not feel it anymore.
That may be a bad analogy, but you get my point. It is when you have the conscience
wiped out so that it doesn't bother you anymore to deny God's Word, or even wrest it.
That is when there is no fear of God.
Psalms 36:1
• ..The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of
God before his eyes.
Psalms 55:19
• God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they
have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
Romans 3:16-18
• Destruction and misery are in their ways:
• And the way of peace have they not known:
• There is no fear of God before their eyes.
That is the fear and trembling which Paul exhorts the Philippians to have that they will
obey when he is not present. The fear which God says that the unsaved do not have.
Paul's presence didn't save them and his leaving won't save them, they are saved by the
hearing of the Word of God. And Paul says they are to be a workman unto salvation. He's
saying, don't be slothful. They should study and rightly divide (2 Timothy 2:15) the
Word. Unlike pastors today who would likely tell them you said the sinners prayer so

17. you are saved. No, Paul tells them, as they obeyed the word when he was there, work out
their own salvation (in the word) in fear and trembling when he's gone. Study as
workman that they can Rightly divide the word of truth. i.e., it can't be divided seven
different ways, there is only the right way to do it. Our salvation comes from the word
and our work in the word comes from God. Faith cometh from Hearing, and Hearing by
the Word of God. That is how we work out our own salvation. By getting into the Word
in obedience, it will save us. If we are slothful in this, we haven't made our calling and
election sure.
So the scenario seems pretty clear. Paul was telling them that he would not be back, and
that they should carry on in the faith that he had taught them from the scriptures just as
they did when he was in Philippi. Continue to obey the scriptures when He is gone, as
they did when He was present. Work out their own salvation through fear of God and
continued obedience because he will not be there to lead. It is this fear and trembling
which will bring them knowledge of salvation through the Word:
Proverbs 1:7
• The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom
and instruction.
The same principle. The Believers obey and gain knowledge because they keep the Word
of God. On the other hand the non-christian (as well as the unsaved who call themselves
Christian) despise wisdom and instruction in The Word. They will not work out their
own salvation by gleaning from the Word, because they don't have God dwelling within
them to will and to do. They will likely think it foolish to strictly obey what God says.
Proverbs 15:33
• The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is
humility.
Pride makes a man look at God's Word saying that it is He that chooses and it's by His
Will, not the will of man, and call that private interpretation. But it is honour (honesty)
and humility given of God which causes one to receive that truth and surrender to
whatever the scriptures say. That is how we work our our own salvation. Through
receiving God's Word in reverential fear of God.
The phrase Work out your own salvation is not a declaration that we are either saved by
our own works or that we have any part in helping Jesus Save us by our own efforts,
rather it is an exhortation to the Church at Philippi (and indeed to us all) to labour in
obedience in the word, in the reverential fear of God, to make sure by the Word that we
truly have salvation. Make your calling and election sure by keeping the Word of God.
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart
from evil. -Proverbs 16:6
7. TREMBLIG TROMOS

18. a trembling or quaking with fear
with fear and trembling, used to describe the anxiety of one who distrusts his ability
completely to meet all requirements, but religiously does his utmost to fulfil his
duty
2Co 7:15 - And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he
remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.
Mr 16:8 - And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and
were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Eph 6:5 - Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with
fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Php 2:12 - Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling.
trembling — (compare Phi_2:12). Not personal fear, but a trembling anxiety to
perform a duty; anxious conscientiousness, as proved by the contrast to “eye service”
(Eph_6:5) [Conybeare and Howson].
8. Calvin, The term weakness he employs here, and in several instances afterwards, (2
Corinthians 11:30; 2 Corinthians 12:5, 9, 10,) as including everything that can detract
from a person’s favor and dignity in the opinion of others. Fear and trembling are the
effects of that weakness There are, however, two ways in which these two terms may be
explained by us. Either we may understand him to mean, that when he pondered the
magnitude of the office that he sustained, it was tremblingly, and not without great
anxiety, that he occupied himself in it; or that, being encompassed with many dangers, he
was in constant alarm and incessant anxiety. Either meaning suits the context sufficiently
well. The second, however, is, in my opinion, the more simple. Such a spirit of modesty,
indeed, becomes the servants of the Lord, that, conscious of their own weakness, and
looking, on the other hand, at once to the difficulty and the excellence of so arduous an
office, they should enter on the discharge of it with reverence and fear For those that
intrude themselves confidently, and in a spirit much elated, or who discharge the ministry
of the word with an easy mind, as though they were fully equal to the task, are ignorant at
once of themselves and of the task. 108108 “ Ne cognoissent ni eux ni la chose qu’ils ont
entre mains ;” — “They know not either themselves or the thing that they have in hand.”
As, however, Paul here connects fear with weakness, and as the term weakness denotes
everything that was fitted to render him contemptible, it follows necessarily that this fear
must relate to dangers and difficulties. It is certain, however, that this fear was of such a
nature as did not prevent Paul from engaging in the Lord’s work, as facts bear witness.
The Lord’s servants are neither so senseless as not to perceive impending dangers, nor so
devoid of feeling as not to be moved by them. Nay more, it is necessary for them to be
seriously afraid on two accounts chiefly — first, that, abased in their own eyes, they may

19. learn wholly to lean and rest upon God alone, and secondly, that they may be trained to a
thorough renunciation of self. Paul, therefore, was not devoid of the influence of fear, but
that fear he controlled in such a manner as to go forward, notwithstanding, with
intrepidity through the midst of dangers, so as to encounter with undaunted firmness and
fortitude all the assaults of Satan and of the world; and, in fine, so as to struggle through
every impediment.
4. My message and my preaching were not with
wise and persuasive words, but with a
demonstration of the Spirit's power,
1. This does not mean they were foolish and unpersuasive words, but that this was
not the essence of his message-that it was really a super speech that would keep the
philosopher's spell bound. If one responds to the Gospel by clever argument you
may be shaken by clever argument also. There is no escape here from the fact that
Paul says experience of direct power from God is more important than mere
intellectual grasp of truth. You cannot separate Revelation and experience. It is
possible to move men by cleverness, but this is a poor foundation, for when they see
you are still weak and not perfect their foundation begins to crumble and their faith
is shaken. There is a danger of being lovers of good men as the basis of one's faith.
It was the power of the Holy Spirit that was seen at work and not the power of
human wisdom. Paul was weak, but his message was not, for it was not a product of
human reason but of divine revelation. The power is in the source. Paul's power
was like that of George Whitefield who prayed-
My life, my blood, I here present,
If for thy cause they may be spent.
Fulfill thy soverign counsel, Lord,
Thy will be done, thy name adored.
Give me thy strength, O God of power;
Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,
Thy faithful witness will I be,
Tis fixed: I can do all for thee!
When men are your foundation you live in constant danger, for any man, the best of
them can fall, and be fools, and if that is your foundation you build on sand. It is
not that we are not to love and relate to men, but that is never to be the basis of our

20. faith. It is to be Christ and no other. George Whitefield was once approached by a
man who was drunk. How do you do Mr. Whitefield, don't you remember me?
You converted me 7 years ago in London. Whitefield responded, I should not
wonder, you look like one of my converts, for it the Lord had converted you, you
would have been a sober man.
Whitefield was an eloquent powerful preacher, and like all such he had his converts
who were moved to make decisions based on human factors and not by the Spirit of
God. That is why only 10 percent of Billy Graham's converts become true
Christians. The psychology of the crowd, the music, and films and all kinds of other
elements enter the scene, and people walk the isle for all the wrong reasons. It
cannot be entirely avoided and so the key is to follow up and make sure people get
their faith on the solid rock of Christ.
2. BARES,

21. ot with enticing words. Not with persuasive reasonings ~peiyoiv logoiv
~ of the wisdom of men. Not with that kind of oratory that was adapted to captivate and
charm, and which the Greeks so much esteemed.
But in demonstration. In the showing, ~apodeixei~ or in the testimony or evidence
which the spirit produced. The meaning is, that the spirit furnished the evidence of the
Divine origin of the religion which he preached, and that it did not depend for its proof on
his own reasonings or eloquence. The proof, the demonstration which the Spirit
furnished, was, undoubtedly, the miracles which were wrought, the gift of tongues, and
the remarkable conversions which attended the gospel. The word Spirit here refers,
doubtless, to the Holy Spirit; and Paul says that this Spirit had furnished demonstration of
the Divine origin and nature of the gospel. This had been by the gift of tongues, 1
Corinthians 2:5-7, comp. 1 Corinthians 14, and by the effects of his agency in renewing
and sanctifying the heart.
And of power. That is, of the power of God, 1 Corinthians 1:5; the Divine power and
efficacy which attended the preaching of the gospel there. Comp. 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
The effect of the gospel is the evidence to which the apostle appeals for its truth. That
effect was seen,
(1.) in the conversion of sinners to God, of all classes, ages, and conditions, when all
human means of reforming them was vain.
(2.) In its giving them peace, joy, and happiness; and in its transforming their lives.
(3.) In making them different men--in making the drunkard, sober; the thief, honest; the
licentious, pure; the profane, reverent; the indolent, industrious; the harsh and unkind,
gentle and kind; and the wretched, happy.
(4.) In its diffusing a mild and pure influence over the laws and customs of society; and in
promoting human happiness everywhere. And in regard to this evidence to which the
apostle appeals, we may observe,
(1,) that [it] is a kind of evidence which any one may examine, and which no one can

22. deny. It does not need laboured, abstruse argumentation, but it is everywhere in society.
Every man has witnessed the effects of the gospel in reforming the vicious, and no one
can deny that it has this power.
(2.) It is a mighty display of the power of God. There is no more striking exhibition of his
power over mind than in a revival of religion. There is nowhere more manifest
demonstration of his presence than when, in such a revival, the proud are humbled, the
profane are awed, the blasphemer is silenced, and the profligate, the abandoned, and the
moral are converted unto God, and are led as lost sinners to the same cross, and find the
same peace.
(3.) The gospel has thus evinced from age to age that it is from God. Every converted
sinner furnishes such a demonstration, and every instance where it produces peace, hope,
joy, shows that it is from heaven.
3. HENRY, He did not affect to appear a fine orator or a deep philosopher; nor did he
insinuate himself into their minds, by a flourish of words, or a pompous show of deep
reason and extraordinary science and skill. He did not set himself to captivate the ear by
fine turns and eloquent expressions, nor to please and entertain the fancy with lofty
flights of sublime notions. Neither his speech, nor the wisdom he taught, savoured of
human skill: he learnt both in another school. Divine wisdom needed not to be set off
with such human ornaments
4. Calvin, And my preaching was not in the persuasive words. By the persuasive words
of man’s wisdom he means that exquisite oratory which aims and strives rather by artifice
than by truth, and also an appearance of refinement, that allures the minds of men. It is
not without good reason, too, that he ascribes persuasiveness (τό πιθάνον) 109109 This
passage has largely exercised the ingenuity of critics, from the circumstance that the
adjective πειθοῖς , occurring nowhere else in the New Testament, or in any of the writings
of classical authors, it is supposed that there has been some corruption of the reading.
Some suppose it to be a contraction or corruption of πείθανοις or πίθαςοις , and
Chrysostom, in one or two instances, when quoting the passage, uses the adjective
πίθανοις , while in other cases he has πειθοῖς It is perhaps in allusion to those instances in
which Chrysostom makes use of the adjective πίθαςοις , that Calvin employs the phrase
το πίθανον (persuasiveness.) Semler, after adducing various authorities, suggests the
following reading: — ἐν πειθοῖ σοφαις taking πειθοῖ ; as the dative of ἡ πειθω ,
(persuasion.) Bloomfield considers πειθοῖ , to be a highly probable reading, but prefers to
retain πειθοῖς . — Ed to human wisdom. For the word of the Lord constrains us by its
majesty, as if by a violent impulse, to yield obedience to it. Human wisdom, on the other
hand, has her allurements, by which she insinuates herself 110110 “ Secrettement et
doucement ;” — “Secretly and softly.” and her blandishments, as it were, by which she
may conciliate for herself the affections of her hearers. With this he contrasts the
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, which most interpreters consider as restricted to
miracles; but I take it in a more general sense, as meaning the hand of God powerfully
exercised in every way through the instrumentality of the Apostle. Spirit and power he
seems to have made use of by hypallage, 111111 A figure of speech by which words

23. change their cases with each other. — Ed . (καθ ᾿ ὑπαλλαγὴν,) to denote spiritual power,
or at least with the view of showing by signs and effects in what manner the presence of
the Spirit had shown itself in his ministry. He appropriately, too, makes use of the term
ἀποδείξεως, (demonstration;) for such is our dullness in contemplating the works of God,
that when he makes use of inferior instruments, they serve as so many veils to hide from
us his influence, so that we do not clearly perceive it. On the other hand, as in the
furtherance given to Paul’s ministry, there was no aid furnished from the flesh or the
world, and as the hand of God was as it were made bare, (Isaiah 52:10,) his influence was
assuredly the more apparent.
5. GILL, As he determined, so he acted. As the subject matter of his ministry was not
any of the liberal arts and sciences, or the philosophy and dry morality of the Gentiles,
but salvation by a crucified Christ; so his style, his diction, his language used in
preaching,
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom; with technical words, words of art,
contrived by human wisdom to captivate the affections; and with bare probable
arguments only, a show of reason to persuade the mind to an assent, when nothing solid
and substantial is advanced, only a run of words artfully put together, without any
strength of argument in them; a method used by the false teachers, and which the
apostle here strikes at, and tacitly condemns:
but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; partly by making use of solid
proofs out of the writings of the Old Testament, indited by the Spirit of God, and which
amounted to a demonstration of the truths he delivered; and partly by signs, and
wonders, and miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, those extraordinary instances of
divine power, which greatly confirmed the doctrines he preached: and besides all these,
the Spirit of God wonderfully assisted him in his work, both as to words and matter;
directing him, what to say, and in what form, in words, not which human wisdom
taught, but which the Holy Ghost taught; and accompanying his ministry with his
power, to the conversion, comfort, edification, and salvation of many.
5. so that your faith might not rest on men's
wisdom, but on God's power.
Wisdom From the Spirit
1. Ironside, Christianity is a divine revelation, not a human theory.
Parker, Any man who accepts Christ has the result of controversial study may
reject Christ tomorrow because of some mightier controversialist has undertaken to
teach a contrary doctrine.

24. 2. There is more than one foundation for faith to rest on. Faith does not just hang in
mid air but has a basis. Faith is not a haphazard fly by night emotion that comes
and goes with no identifiable reason. If you have faith it is because you feel you
have a basis for trust. It can be because you are persuaded by human reason and
wisdom. And so you trust and make decisions based on this. The evidence says go
into the stock market and so by faith you go. The other basis is the power of God.
You see God at work, and even if you do not have the human explanation you
believe. God is working and you act in faith to cooperate with that working. Both
are legitimate foundations for acts of faith, but the Christian should be one whose
faith in God is based on what God has done rather than upon what man has said. If
this is the case, your faith then always goes back to the cross and not to human
wisdom.
In winning men to Christ the stress should never be on the better life of the
Christian, or the wisdom of being a Christian, or the impact of Christians on history
etc. All of this is good and important, but it can lead to people becoming Christians
because it sounds like its better than any other club or philosophy to follow. The
focus must be on Christ and the cross so that they become Christians because they
see their need of a Savior and put their trust in Jesus.
Paul is not anti any of the other values of the Christian life. He just wants to make
it clear that the foundation is in one's relationship to Christ and not all of the other
good things. Sad indeed is the man who becomes a Christian because he is
persuaded that the Sermon on the Mount is better than the Ten Commandments.
That is true and biblical, but it is human wisdom that would be his foundation and
not the love of God revealed in Christ and the cross.
3. BARES, Should not stand. Greek, should not be; that is, should not rest upon
this, or be sustained by this. God intended to furnish you a firm and solid demonstration
that the religion which you embraced was from him; and this could not be if its preaching
had been attended with the graces of eloquence, or the abstractions of refined
metaphysical reasoning. It would then appear to rest on human wisdom.
In the power of God. In the evidence of Divine power accompanying the preaching of the
gospel. The power of God would attend the exhibition of truth everywhere; and would be
a demonstration that would be irresistible, that the religion was not originated by man, but
was from heaven. That power was seen in changing the heart; in overcoming the strong
propensities of our nature to sin; in subduing the soul, and making the sinner a new
creature in Christ Jesus. Every Christian has thus, in his own experience, furnished
demonstration that the religion which he loves is from God, and not from man. Man
could not subdue these sins; and man could not so entirely transform the soul. And
although the unlearned Christian may not be able to investigate all the evidences of
religion; although he cannot meet all the objections of cunning and subtle infidels;
although he may be greatly perplexed and embarrassed by them, yet he may have the
fullest proof that he loves God, that he is different from what he once was, and that all

25. this has been accomplished by the religion of the cross. The blind man that was made to
see by the Saviour, (John 9) might have been wholly unable to tell how his eyes were
opened, and unable to meet all the cavils of those who might doubt it, or all the subtle and
cunning objections of physiologists; but of one thing he certainly could not doubt, that
whereas he was blind, he then saw, John 9:25. A man may have no doubt that the sun
shines, that the wind blows, that the tides rise, that the blood flows in his veins, that the
flowers bloom, and that this could not be except it was from God, while he may have no
power to explain these facts, and no power to meet the objections and cavils of those who
might choose to embarrass him. So men may know that their hearts are changed; and it is
on this ground that no small part of the Christian world, as in everything else, depend for
the most satisfactory evidence of their religion. On this ground humble and unlearned
Christians have been often willing to go to the stake as martyrs--just as a humble and
unlearned patriot is willing to die for his country. He loves it; and he is willing to die for
it. A Christian loves his God and Saviour; and is willing to die for his sake.
4.Zodhiates, I am by birth, said a converted Hindu, Of an insignificant and
contemptable caste; so low, that if a Brahmin should chance to touch me, he must go
and bathe in the Ganges to purify himself. Yet God has been pleased to call me, not
merely to the knowledge of the Gospel, but to the high office of teaching it to
others. Then addressing a number of his countrymen, My friends, do you know
the reason of God's conduct? It is this: If God had selected on of you learned
Brahmins, and made you the preacher, when you were successful in making
converts, people would say it was the amazing learning of the Brahmin, and his
great weight of character, that were the cause. But now, when anyone is convinced
by my instrumentality, no one thinks of ascribing any of the praise to me, and God
gets all the glory.
5. If God can make of any ugly seed,
With a bit of earth and air,
And dew and rain, sunshine and shade,
A flower so wondrous fair,
What can he make of a soul like you,
With the Bible and faith and prayer,
And the Holy Spirit, if you do His will,
And trust His love and care.
6. THE ACTIVITY OF GOD'S POWER - v. 5
The gospel is not a wisdom, but a power - it is not a system, but a person.
To convert a person to being religious or moral or Christian, you've converted a mind,

26. not a soul
However, to present the Gospel in its simplicity, depending on the power of God's
Spirit who converts a man to faith in Jesus Christ has not converted the mind
alone, but the soul.
To be solid, salvation must be the work of the power of God, and in order to be that, it
must proceed from a conviction of sin and a personal appropriation of the gift of
Christ's salvation offered through the cross, which the Spirit of God alone can
produce in the human soul.
7. Calvin, That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men. To be is used here as
meaning to consist His meaning, then, is, that the Corinthians derived this advantage from
his having preached Christ among them without dependence on human wisdom, and
relying solely on the Spirit’s influence, that their faith was founded not on men but on
God. If the Apostle’s preaching had rested exclusively on the power of eloquence, it
might have been overthrown by superior eloquence, and besides, no one would pronounce
that to be solid truth which rests on mere elegance of speech. It may indeed be helped by
it, but it ought not to rest upon it On the other hand, that must have been most powerful
which could stand of itself without any foreign aid. Hence it forms a choice
commendation of Paul’s preaching, that heavenly influence shone forth in it so clearly,
that it surmounted so many hindrances, while deriving no assistance from the world. It
follows, therefore, that they must not allow themselves to be moved away from his
doctrine, which they acknowledge to rest on the authority of God. Paul, however, speaks
here of the faith of the Corinthians in such a way as to bring forward this, as a general
statement. Let it then be known by us that it is the property of faith to rest upon God
alone, without depending on men; for it requires to have so much certainty to go upon,
that it will not fail, even when assailed by all the machinations of hell, but will
perseveringly endure and sustain every assault. This cannot be accomplished unless we
are fully persuaded that God has spoken to us, and that what we have believed is no mere
contrivance of men. While faith ought properly to be founded on the word of God alone,
there is at the same time no impropriety in adding this second prop, — that believers
recognize the word which they hear as having come forth from God, from the effect of its
influence.
6. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom
among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age
or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to
nothing.

27. 1. The wisdom of this age may be fine if all there is, is now, but this wisdom has
nothing for the future. The only wisdom that makes sense for an eternal life is
eternal wisdom. Only the humanist who goes around once can get any satisfaction
out of such short range wisdom. There are always different levels in any group, and
so it is in the church. There are babes and there are the mature who get into deeper
things, for there are all kinds of treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.
Here we see the balance that prevents folly as a conclusion. Paul in all his denials of
wisdom is not implying that nonsense was the key to his ministry. He used wisdom
also with those who were mature enough to get into this area and use for the glory of
God. There is nothing that the Christian cannot use if he is mature enough. Paul
had the highest level of wisdom. He rejects only that wisdom of the world which is
the knowledge of God and divine things that men get by reason alone. It is
revelation and not reason that gets us in on the true wisdom.
Men do come up with some truth and insight, but Paul's point is nothing from
reason can ever lead to salvation, even if it is correct, for it falls so far short. Only
God's revelation in Christ can ever save. Reason is worthless as a means of
salvation. These worldly philosphers have no place in the proclamation in the
Gospel because they are not good news. Only Christ has this and so Paul said he
sought to know only Christ. But for those in the kingdom who have come to Christ
there is value in wisdom and pressing on into all areas of the mind. The unsaved
need to cross only, but the saved who have the cross can move on to other things for
they have the solid rock foundation for their faith.
Perfect are the mature as destinct from the infant Christians. When dealing with
these people Paul feels free to set forth the treasures of wisdom in Christ, for in him
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge-Col. 2:3. Perfect means complete
and a Christian can be complete at any stage of growth. The farmer can look at his
crop and say it is perfect even though nothing is yet ready to harvest. It is just
where it ought to be at this point and so it is right on schedule.
2. Though the wise philosophers among the Gentiles accounted the Gospel foolishness; and
though the apostle, by an ironical concession, had called the ministry of it the foolishness of
preaching, and the foolishness of God, and had thought best, for wise reasons, to deliver it
in a plain and simple manner, without the embellishments of human wisdom; yet he
vindicates it from the charge of folly: it was not folly, but wisdom, which he and his fellow
ministers preached, and that of the highest kind, as appears from what follows. Though it
was not esteemed so by all men, yet
among, or with
them that are perfect; adult, at age, opposed to babes and children; such who have their

28. understandings enlightened by the spirit of wisdom and revelation; who have their senses
exercised to discern between divine and human wisdom; and who are perfect in a
comparative sense, having more spiritual knowledge and understanding than others; for
none, in the present state of things, are absolutely perfect in knowledge; they that know
most, know but in part: now to such the Gospel and the doctrines of it appear to be the
highest wisdom; for the apostle's sense is not that he and other Gospel ministers preached
the more sublime doctrines of it to a select set of persons that had more judgment and a
better understanding of things than others: if this could be thought to be the apostle's
meaning, he might be supposed to allude to a custom among the Jews, not to deliver the
sublime things of the law, but to persons so and so qualified.
Says R. Ame (r), they do not deliver the secrets of the law, but to him who has the five
things or characters in Isa_3:3''
So they did not suffer the first chapter of Genesis and the visions of Ezekiel to be read until
thirty years of age (s); and from them the Pythagoreans took their notion of not declaring
their mysteries but to τελειοι, perfect ones, the word here used (t); but the apostle's sense
is, that to such that were perfect, and even to everyone that had the least degree of spiritual
knowledge, the Gospel was wisdom. Some refer this clause not to persons, but things; and
so the Arabic version reads it, we speak wisdom concerning things that are perfect; as
the things of the Gospel are, such as a plenteous redemption, perfect righteousness, full
pardon, plenary satisfaction, and complete salvation and happiness:
yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
meaning not the idolatry, superstition, curious and magic arts introduced by demons,
which principalities and powers, with all their works, are spoiled and destroyed by Christ;
but either the political wisdom and crafty schemes of the civil governors of the world,
against Christ and his Gospel, who were by this time most, if not all of them, dead; or the
vain philosophy of the wise and learned among the Gentiles, who every day were less and
less in vogue, through the quick and powerful spread of the Gospel; or rather the highest
pitch of wisdom and knowledge in divine things, which the doctors and Rabbins among the
Jews attained to in the age before the Messiah's coming; called this world in distinction
from the times of the Messiah, which in Jewish language was, the world to come, as Dr.
Lightfoot observes; who with all their wisdom were confounded and brought to nought by
the superior wisdom of the Gospel.
3. ZEISLER, STEVE, Paul in verse 6, is distinct in that it is unlike the wisdom of the
rulers of this age who are passing away. The wisdom of the world is short-lived; it does
not have any staying power. God's wisdom, on the other hand, will never pass away, is
the inference here. It is eternal; its truth will never fade but will grow more and more
impressive with time.
Do you remember the pet rock craze of a number of years ago? There was an enterprise
that illustrates Paul's idea here that the wisdom of this world is doomed to pass away.
Despite the fact that we are daily besieged with prophecies that certain thoughts,
philosophies, and even material things--like the pet rock diversion-- are here to stay, these
things are doomed to quickly fade away. I heard an interview with the editor of Webster's
Dictionary the other day as he shared some of the difficult decisions he had to make in his
job. Proper names seem to present the most problems, he said. Names such as George

29. Washington and Abraham Lincoln would always find their place in any dictionary, but
that is not true of many of the notables of our own day we hear so much about. Who
knows, he said, if we will even care to be reminded of many of today's prominent figures
even five or ten years in the future? Many who seem important today will interest no one
but the trivia buffs a few years from now.
That is just what the apostle is saying here. Today's leaders of thought, who hold
influence over so many, will soon pass away and will be supplanted by others. But that
will not be the fate of the wisdom that comes from God. That is a wisdom that is eternal.
It will never pass away. Nothing can supplant it.
The most extraordinary example of the lack of good judgment by the worldly wise, of
course, as Paul points out, was the crucifixion of Christ. The rulers of Jesus' day put him
on trial, listened to testimony concerning him, observed his behavior at his trial, and then
condemned him to death. It would be impossible to come up with a more profound
misjudgment. To judge the Messiah himself as an outcast and a criminal--what could be
more lacking in good judgment? asks Paul. As terrible as it was to condemn a merely
innocent man, the man they condemned was, in the apostle's description, the Lord of
glory. How could they have missed that? They had heard of Christ's healings, his
compassion for people, his meekness, his gentleness, his authority, and still they crucified
him.
But the wisdom that comes from God, declares Paul, judges things as they really are and
embraces that which is worthwhile. The wisdom that comes from God, therefore, teaches
us what is important and lasting, what is glorious and worthy, and which things we
should reject.
4. JAMISON, 1Co 2:6-7 -
Yet the Gospel preaching, so far from being at variance with true “wisdom,” is a
wisdom infinitely higher than that of the wise of the world.
we speak — resuming “we” (preachers, I, Apollos, etc.) from “we preach” (1Co_1:28),
only that here, “we speak” refers to something less public (compare 1Co_2:7, 1Co_2:13,
“mystery ... hidden”) than “we preach,” which is public. For “wisdom” here denotes not
the whole of Christian doctrine, but its sublimer and deeper principles.
perfect — Those matured in Christian experience and knowledge alone can
understand the true superiority of the Christian wisdom which Paul preached.
Distinguished not only from worldly and natural men, but also from babes, who though
“in Christ” retain much that is “carnal” (1Co_3:1, 1Co_3:2), and cannot therefore
understand the deeper truths of Christianity (1Co_14:20; Phi_3:15; Heb_5:14). Paul
does not mean by the “mystery” or “hidden wisdom” (1Co_2:7) some hidden tradition
distinct from the Gospel (like the Church of Rome’s disciplina arcani and doctrine of
reserve), but the unfolding of the treasures of knowledge, once hidden in God’s counsels,
but now announced to all, which would be intelligently comprehended in proportion as
the hearer’s inner life became perfectly transformed into the image of Christ. Compare
instances of such “mysteries,” that is, deeper Christian truths, not preached at Paul’s
first coming to Corinth, when he confined himself to the fundamental elements (1Co_
2:2), but now spoken to the “perfect” (1Co_15:51; Rom_11:25; Eph_3:5, Eph_3:6).
“Perfect” is used not of absolute perfection, but relatively to “babes,” or those less ripe in

30. Christian growth (compare Phi_3:12, Phi_3:15, with 1Jo_2:12-14). “God” (1Co_2:7) is
opposed to the world, the apostles to “the princes [great and learned men] of this world”
(1Co_2:8; compare 1Co_1:20) [Bengel].
come to naught — nothingness (1Co_1:28). They are transient, not immortal.
Therefore, their wisdom is not real [Bengel]. Rather, translate with Alford, “Which are
being brought to naught,” namely, by God’s choosing the “things which are not (the
weak and despised things of the Gospel), to bring to naught (the same verb as here)
things that are” (1Co_1:28).
5. Calvin 6. We speak wisdom Lest he should appear to despise wisdom, as unlearned
and ignorant men (Acts 4:13) condemn learning with a sort of barbarian ferocity, he adds,
that he is not devoid of that wisdom, which was worthy of the name, but was esteemed as
such by none but competent judges. By those that were perfect, he means not those that
had attained a wisdom that was full and complete, but those who possess a sound and
unbiased judgment. For תם , which is always rendered in the Septuagint by τελειος means
complete 112112 “Thus we read, ( Genesis 25:27,) that Jacob was איש תם , “a perfect
man,” i.e. without any manifest blemish. See also Job 1:1, 8. The corresponding word
תמים , is frequently applied to the sacrificial victims, to denote their being without
blemish Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 1:3. — Ed He twits, however, in passing, those that had
no relish for his preaching, and gives them to understand that it was owing to their own
fault: “If my doctrine is disrelished by any of you, those persons give sufficient evidence
from that very token, that they possess a depraved and vitiated understanding, inasmuch
as it will invariably be acknowledged to be the highest wisdom among men of sound
intellect and correct judgment.” While Paul’s preaching was open to the view of all, it
was, nevertheless, not always estimated according to its value, and this is the reason why
he appeals to sound and unbiased judges, 113113 “ Il ne s’en rapporte pas a vn chacvn,
mais requiert des luges entiers ;” — “He does not submit the case to every one, but
appeals to competent judges.” who would declare that doctrine, which the world
accounted insipid, to be true wisdom. Meanwhile, by the words we speak, he intimates
that he set before them an elegant specimen of admirable wisdom, lest any one should
allege that he boasted of a thing unknown.
Yet not the wisdom of this world He again repeats by way of anticipation what he had
already conceded — that the gospel was not human wisdom, lest any one should object
that there were few supporters of that doctrine; nay more, that it was contemned by all
that were most distinguished for intellect. Hence he acknowledges of his own accord
what might be brought forward by way of objection, but in such a way as not at all to give
up his point.
The princes of this world By the princes of this world he means those that have
distinction in the world through means of any endowment, for sometimes there are
persons, who, though they are by no means distinguished by acuteness of intellect, are
nevertheless held in admiration from the dignity of the station which they hold. That,
however, we may not be alarmed by these imposing appearances, the Apostle adds, that
they come to nought, or perish. For it were unbefitting, that a thing that is eternal should
depend upon the authority of those who are frail, and fading, and cannot give perpetuity
even to themselves: “When the kingdom of God is revealed, let the wisdom of this world
retire, and what is transient give place to what is eternal; for the princes of this world

31. have their distinction, but it is of such a nature as is in one moment extinguished. What is
this in comparison with the heavenly and incorruptible kingdom of God?”
7. MACARTHUR THE PROFITS OF HUMAN WISDOM
Please don't misconstrue what is being said here. Man has developed some amazing
things scientifically and technologically that have been to our benefit. When I say we
should reject human wisdom, I don't mean that we're to reject every possible application
of human wisdom; rather, we're to object to human philosophy. We're only to reject that
part of man's reasoning which attempts to answer ultimate questions.
Christians aren't saying they have the answer to everything. For example, if my wife's
washing machine breaks down, just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I can fix it. I
have to call someone to fix it--perhaps an unsaved person. There are some things that
human wisdom provides for me that I don't have. If I need my car fixed, I'm not so
concerned about whether a Christian fixes it as I am that a good mechanic does it. Some
of the greatest teachers I've ever had, and some of the most influential people in my life
have been non-Christians who knew their area of education or technology very well. But
when the world tries to understand where man came from, why he's here, where he's
going, and what his meaning is, it can't do it. When men try to define God, morality, real
joy, real peace, and real happiness, they fail. That's what philosophy is: the study of
wisdom, and the search for ultimate wisdom.
Christians are not denying that man's wisdom has made great contributions. In fact, in
some ways, worldly people are lot smarter than Christians are. You say, Are you
kidding? No, that's what Jesus said in Luke 16:8: . . . the sons of this age are in their
generation wiser than the sons of light. In other words, the world is smarter about some
things in their own domain than Christians are about other things in their domain. This is
the principle: If the Christian would apply himself to the gaining of godliness in the same
way that the worldly man applies himself to the gaining of worldly things, God would be
able to do much greater things through the church.
Paul says, . . . we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. . . (1 Cor. 2:6a). Only the
saved have this wisdom. The word perfect [Gk. teleios] in this verse means full grown
and mature. Whenever teleios is used to mean perfect ones, it has to be interpreted in
its context because it can mean a Christian who's very mature, or it could just mean a
Christian. Because Paul is saying that a Christian is one who has true wisdom, and one
who is complete in Christ, we know that the phrase them that are perfect refers to
Christians in general. Paul is not contrasting mature Christians with infantile ones; he's
contrasting Christians with unbelievers. So Paul is saying, We are speaking wisdom
among those who are believers.
8. CLARKE, 1Co 2:6 -
We speak wisdom among them that are perfect - By the εντοιςτελειοις, among
those that are perfect, we are to understand Christians of the highest knowledge and

32. attainments- those who were fully instructed in the knowledge of God through Christ
Jesus. Nothing, in the judgment of St. Paul, deserved the name of wisdom but this. And
though he apologizes for his not coming to them with excellency of speech or wisdom,
yet he means what was reputed wisdom among the Greeks, and which, in the sight of
God, was mere folly when compared with that wisdom that came from above. Dr.
Lightfoot thinks that the apostle mentions a fourfold wisdom.
1. Heathen wisdom, or that of the Gentile philosophers, 1Co_1:22, which was termed
by the Jews יונית חכמה chokmahyevanith, Grecian wisdom; and which was so
undervalued by them, that they joined these two under the same curse: Cursed is
he that breeds hogs; and cursed is he who teaches his son Grecian wisdom. Bava
Kama, fol. 82.
2. Jewish wisdom; that of the scribes and Pharisees, who crucified our Lord, 1Co_
2:8.
3. The Gospel, which is called the wisdom of God in a mystery, 1Co_2:7.
4. The wisdom, τουαιωνοςτουτου, of this world; that system of knowledge which the
Jews made up out of the writings of their scribes and doctors. This state is called העולם
הזה haolamhazzeh, this or the present world; to distinguish it from הבא העולם haolam
habba the world to come; i.e. the days of the Messiah. Whether we understand the term,
this world, as relating to the state of the Gentiles, cultivated to the uttermost in
philosophical learning, or the then state of the Jews, who had made the word of God of
no effect by their traditions, which contained a sort of learning of which they were very
fond and very proud, yet, by this Grecian and Jewish wisdom, no soul ever could have
arrived at any such knowledge or wisdom as that communicated by the revelation of
Christ. This was perfect wisdom; and they who were thoroughly instructed in it, and had
received the grace of the Gospel, were termed τελειοι, the perfect. This, says the apostle,
is not the wisdom of this world, for that has not the manifested Messiah in it; nor the
wisdom of the rulers of this world - the chief men, whether philosophers among the
Greeks, or rabbins among the Jews (for those we are to understand as implied in the
term rulers, used here by the apostle) these rulers came to nought; for they, their
wisdom, and their government, were shortly afterwards overturned in the destruction of
Jerusalem. This declaration of the apostle is prophetic. The ruin of the Grecian
superstition soon followed.
9. BARES, Verse 6. Howbeit. But, ~de~. This commences the second head or
argument in this chapter, in which Paul shows that if human wisdom is wanting in his
preaching, it is not devoid of true, and solid, and even Divine wisdom.--Bloomfield.
We speak wisdom. We do not admit that we utter foolishness. We have spoken of the
foolishness of preaching, 1 Corinthians 1:21; and of the estimate in which it was held by
the world, 1 Corinthians 1:22-28; and of our own manner among you as not laying claim
to human learning or eloquence; but we do not design to admit that we have been really
speaking folly. We have been uttering that which is truly wise, but which is seen and
understood to be such only by those who are had explained and defended--the plan of
salvation by the cross of Christ.

33. Among them that are perfect. ~en toiv teleioiv~. This word perfect is here evidently
applied to Christians, as it is in Philippians 3:15: Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect,
be thus minded. And it is clearly used to denote those who were advanced in Christian
knowledge; who were qualified to understand the subject; who had made progress in the
knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel; and who thus saw its excellence. It does not
mean here that they were sinless, for the argument of the apostle does not bear on that
inquiry; but that they were qualified to understand the gospel, in contradistinction from
the gross, the sensual, and the carnally-minded, who rejected it as foolishness. There is,
perhaps, here an allusion to the heathen mysteries, where those who had been fully
initiated were said to be perfect--fully instructed in those rites and doctrines. And if so,
then this passage means, that those only who have been fully instructed in the knowledge
of the Christian religion will be qualified to see its beauty and its wisdom. The gross and
sensual do not see it, and those only who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit are qualified
to appreciate its beauty and its excellency.

34. ot the wisdom of this world. Not that which this world has originated or loved.

35. or of the princes of this world. Perhaps intending chiefly here the rulers of the Jews. See
1 Corinthians 2:8. They neither devised it, nor loved it, nor saw its wisdom, 1 Corinthians
2:8. That come to nought. That is, whose plans fail; whose wisdom vanishes; and who
themselves, with all their pomp and splendour, come to nothing in the grave. Comp.
Isaiah 14. All the plans of human wisdom shall fail; and this which is originated by God
only shall stand.
10. BARCLAY, 1 Cor.2:6-9
True, we speak wisdom among those who are mature--but it is a wisdom which does not
belong to this world, nor to the rulers of this world whose extinction is inevitable. But we
speak the wisdom of God in a way that only he who is initiated into Christianity can
understand, a wisdom which up to now has been kept hidden, a wisdom which God fore-ordained
before time for our eternal glory, a wisdom which none of the leaders of this
world knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but
as it stands written, Things which eye has not seen, which ear has not heard and which
have not entered into the heart of man, all these God has prepared for them that love
him.
This passage introduces us to a distinction between different kinds of Christian
instruction and different stages of the Christian life. In the early Church there was a quite
clear distinction between two kinds of instruction. (i) There was what was called
Kerygma (GSN2782). Kerygma means a herald's announcement from a king; and this was
the plain announcement of the basic facts of Christianity, the announcement of the facts
of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and his coming again. (ii) There was what was
called Didache (GSN1322). Didache means teaching; and this was the explanation of the
meaning of the facts which had already been announced. Obviously it is a second stage
for those who have already received kerygma (GSN2782).

36. That is what Paul is getting at here. So far he has been talking about Jesus Christ and him
crucified; that was the basic announcement of Christianity; but, he goes on to say, we do
not stop there; Christian instruction goes on to teach not only the facts but the meaning of
the facts. Paul says that this is done amongst those who are teleioi (GSN5046). The King
James Version translates that word as perfect. That is certainly one of its meanings; but it
is not appropriate here. Teleios (GSN5046) has a physical sense; it describes an animal or
a person who has reached the height of his physical development. It has a mental sense.
Pythagoras divided his disciples into those who were babes and those who were teleioi
(GSN5046). That is to say it describes a person who is a mature student. That is the
translation given in the Revised Standard version, and that is the sense in which Paul uses
it here. He says, Out in the streets, and to those who have just newly come into the
Church, we talk about the basic elements of Christianity; but when people are a little
more mature we give them deeper teaching about what these basic facts mean. It is not
that Paul is hinting at a kind of caste distinction between Christians; it is a difference of
the stages at which they are. The tragedy so often is that people are content to remain at
the elementary stage when they should be going on strenuously to think things out for
themselves.
Paul uses a word here which has a technical sense. The King James Version has it, We
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. The Greek word musterion (GSN3466) means
something whose meaning is hidden from those who have not been initiated, but crystal
clear to those who have. It would describe a ceremony carried out in some society whose
meaning was quite clear to the members of the society, but unintelligible to the outsider.
What Paul is saying is, We go on to explain things which only the man who has already
given his heart to Christ can understand.
He insists that this special teaching is not the product of the intellectual activity of men; it
is the gift of God and it came into the world with Jesus Christ. All our discoveries are not
so much what our minds have found out as what God has told us. This by no means frees
us from the responsibility of human effort. Only the student who works can make himself
fit to receive the real riches of the mind of a great teacher. It is so with us and God. The
more we strive to understand, the more God can tell us; and there is no limit to this
process, because the riches of God are unsearchable.
11. ROGER HAHN, Verse 6 begins with an adversative (either but or however in
most translations). Though Paul has painted a negative picture of Greek wisdom, We do
speak wisdom among those who are perfect. Greek philosophical schools often divided
people into three classes: the beginners, those making progress, and the perfect. The word
perfect is teleioi in Greek and is often translated mature (see The English Term
Perfect). By claiming to speak wisdom to the perfect or mature Paul has moved from a
defensive to an offensive posture. The problem with the Corinthians is not just the
message of the cross, which is foolishness to them. The problem is that they are not
advanced (perfect or mature) enough to be able to receive and understand Paul's teaching.
If they were they would have understood the message of the cross as the deeper wisdom
that it really is.

37. Paul also points out in verse 6 that this wisdom belongs to neither this age nor the rulers
of this age who are becoming ineffective. Here Paul reveals one of his most fundamental
ways of thinking about the Christian faith. He saw Christ and the gift of the Spirit as signs
that a new era had burst into history. He used the Jewish language of this present evil
age to describe human history as it had been known. The age to come described the
final epoch of human history when Messiah would establish God's sovereign rule on
earth. Paul believed that Christ had already begun this final age and the present age was
in the process of disappearing from the scene. This age might put confidence in human
wisdom concocted by persuasive words. The political and spiritual rulers of this evil age
might be trumpeting their final say. But genuine wisdom was the wisdom of God's future
reign that was already invading the present. From Paul's perspective investment in human
wisdom and human powers was to commitment oneself to a sinking ship.
The already present but not yet recognized wisdom of God was a mystery that had been
hidden since the beginning of time (before the ages) according to verse 7. God's eternal
plan for wisdom was to unveil the hidden secret in the life, death, and resurrection of
Christ. The result of that is our glory according to Paul. He does not mean that we
receive glory for ourselves, but that we share in God's glory because we are the ones He
has graciously permitted to announce the unveiling of this eternal plan. Given the cultural
assumptions of the ancient world one might have expected God to have chosen the rulers,
the rich and famous people of Jesus' time, to unveil the plan. Paul points out the error of
such an assumption. The rulers crucified the Lord Christ who incarnates the ultimate full
glory of God. Obviously they did not understand and they did not qualify for the rich
privilege granted to the church.
To explain how believers beat out the rulers for this privilege Paul appeals to the Old
Testament in verse 9. Scholars are puzzled by this Scripture quotation. No verse of the
Old Testament exactly matches the citation of verse 9. It appears to be an amalgamation
of Isaiah 64:4 and the Greek version of Isaiah 65:16. The point of this quotation is that
God had prepared marvelous things for those who love Him. The first phrase of verse 10
takes the matter to its climax: these things God has revealed to us through the [Holy]
Spirit.
One of the signs of the new era of God's rule was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Early
Christianity saw Pentecost and the gift of the Spirit on all believers as the confirmation of
Christ's Messiahship and God's sovereign rule. Thus Paul was quick to explain the
wisdom of the cross as that which was taught by the Holy Spirit. The reference in verse
10 to the deep things of God includes at least the wisdom of the message of the cross.
In fact, it is only the Holy Spirit who understands these deep things of God according to
verse 11. Since only the can understand what a human being is thinking, likewise only