1 Corinthians 2:1-9

Introduction

Paul just finished talking about how their, and his, salvation did not come due to anything they have done. Therefore, there should be no boasting except in the Lord!

Now he is going to transition to talking about his time with the Corinthians and how he reached them.

Verses 1-2

No Eloquent Speech

First note Paul points out is that he didn’t come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. What does this mean? While he will expound on it more in a moment, we can take at face-value as well: Paul didn’t come as a great speaker using hard-to-understand language.

We need to remember this example Paul sets as we teach about the Gospel, whether to unbelievers to convert them or to the church to aid in their growth: there is no need to confuse them or manipulate them.

There are some big time preachers who are truly incredible. I listen to them preach God’s Word and they are so captivating it amazes me. But we don’t all need to be like those “greats” in order to share the Gospel with others. You just need to know what it is yourself. Eloquent speech; large words; these actually tend to deter from the truth of the Gospel rather than draw.

Only Christ Crucified

The second note Paul gives about his approach to the Corinthians is

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2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

This is profound. The summary of who Paul is, what bled from him and his words as he spoke and acted, is Christ crucified.

Why Christ crucified? Why not him resurrected? Each part of the work of Christ is extremely important and significant—none should be minimized or dismissed.

Jesus was born of a virgin

Jesus lived a perfect life

Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly

Jesus fulfilled prophecy

Jesus was killed on the cross

Jesus resurrected three days later

Jesus ascended into Heaven

Jesus will return

These 8 points are imperative to the Gospel. If someone says they believe that Jesus did these things, but wasn’t born of a virgin; if someone says they don’t believe Jesus ascended; if someone says Jesus didn’t fulfill any prophecy, then they drastically misunderstood the Gospel.

Paul isn’t minimizing any other part, but simply emphasizing the crucifixion of Christ—it was in this moment that OUR sin was nailed to the cross, saving our souls.

Paul had a very checkered past. He was a persecutor of Christians and approved of their martyrdom. I am sure he used to feel much guilt and shame for his sin after coming to know Christ. But now, he knows Jesus killed his sin and he is a new man. And so, he celebrates the crucifixion and preaches it to the Corinthians.

Let our own lives bleed the crucifixion of Christ in all we do as well.

Verses 3-5

In Weakness

Paul gives more notes on how he came to the Corinthians. The third note is that he came

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in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

What does he mean by this? When we are sharing the Gospel with others, do we need to be weak, scared, and trembling? Not exactly. There are a couple things we need to consider with this verse:

Corinth was a hostile city to Paul

Paul was literally scared. Look what Jesus had to say to Paul to reassure him in Acts 18:

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9 The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

Paul needed reassurance because he was actually scared, it seems, to preach in this city. But the Lord provided.

Paul was literally weak and fearful as he preached.

2. Preaching the Gospel is a High Calling

The second part of this is Paul’s humility. He understood the weight that comes with preaching God’s Word. It is not something that should be done pridefully. This is to misunderstand the entire Gospel.

When we evangelize and share our faith with others, we shouldn’t do so flippantly, without thought. We should be extremely humble in our sharing of the Gospel with others. We should imitate Paul in coming to others in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

Filled With God’s Spirit

The fourth note that Paul gives in how he came is

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with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

He emphasizes again that he didn’t come with great speaking skills, but then says he did come with the Spirit’s power. He then gives a reason for this:

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5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

This is so important. Paul came demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit, so that God would outshine any “wisdom” or “great speaking” that Paul may bring.

His goal was not fame or puffing up; Paul’s goal was glory to God. And he wanted the Corinthians, who were a very prideful people, to have faith in the power of God, not man.

As we have discussed, they were very enamored by man’s abilities and this led to many factions and much disunity. This is why Paul flips it on their heads and says “See God’s power, not mine.”

Verse 6-7

The Mysteries of God

In verse 6, Paul transitions into more theological information about what he was teaching.

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6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

Paul didn’t want people to think that the teachings on the mysteries of God are completely easy to understand. Even he knew that these were still very deep mysteries, not surface-level elementary.

He also specifies that this is not wisdom of this age. He didn’t come teaching anything that the world would want to hear. It was foolishness to the world, truly.

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7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.

There is very much a depth to God’s wisdom that we cannot understand. Look what Moses said at the end of Deuteronomy:

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29 The hidden things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

There is that which is hidden and that which has been revealed. The salvation of Gentiles was hidden, but has now been revealed.

Paul says that God predestined this hidden wisdom before the ages for our glory. What does this mean? It means that this wisdom was hidden from man, and now Paul, and the Apostles, speak it in full. It was predestined to be preached by them at this time.

While the Gospel is certainly available to everyone, it was never meant to be easily understood and accepted by everyone. Jesus spoke in parables for this very purpose: to make sure those who knew Christ truly sought Him out to know Him, rather than just jump on a band wagon, not giving it their everything.

What the Apostles were preaching, salvation available through Jesus the Messiah for all people Jew and Gentile; reconcilement to everyone’s Creator despite their sin against Him; this was hidden for centuries and now was revealed through the Apostles. This is how it was always meant to come out.

Verses 8-9

Further flipping everything of the world on its head, Paul tells us:

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8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The greatest of the world didn’t fully understand this Gospel, and this ignorance and arrogance was seen through their murder of Jesus Christ. Paul calls Him the Lord of Glory. This is because He is worthy of all glory in the universe, and He is the only One.

How much more can you miss it than killing the Messiah?

And Paul ends this section with a reference to the book of Isaiah.

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What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,

and no human heart has conceived—

God has prepared these things for those who love him.

This is how the world is meant to be: only God can truly and fully understand all things. And he takes what no one could ever know and prepares it for those who love Him. This is great news for the believer and not good news for the unbeliever. The believer can take joy knowing God cares about him and is preparing wisdom for him.

The unbeliever will see from this that they have nothing, only worldly wisdom (aka worldly foolishness). Thus is why they must seek Christ and love Him truly. In loving Christ, they know Him. I knowing Him, we are truly blessed.