1
Corinthians 2 The Voice (VOICE)
2
My brothers and sisters, I did not pose as an expert with all the answers. I
did not pretend to explain the mystery of God with eloquent speech and human
wisdom. 2 I claimed to know nothing with certainty other than the reality that
Jesus is the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who was crucified on our
behalf. 3 I was moved to utter despair during my time with you. I would find
myself trembling in dread and fear. 4 The sermons I preached were not delivered
with the kind of persuasive elegance some have come to expect, but they were
effective because I relied on God’s Spirit to demonstrate God’s power. 5 If
this were not so, your faith would be based on human wisdom and not the power
of God.
Christianity
is not merely a set of ideas and propositions. One can agree with all the
truths in the Bible and still miss the power of God. Paul knows the brothers
and sisters in Corinth might attempt to reduce Christianity to a new philosophy
based on human understanding, but the power of God cannot be fully grasped by
our eight-pound brains. We must approach God humbly as creations, not as those
aspiring to fully explain the Creator of the universe.
6
However, in the presence of mature believers, we do impart true wisdom—not the
phony wisdom typical of this rebellious age or of the hostile powers who rule
this age. Despite what you may think, these ruling spirits are losing their
grip on this world. 7 But we do impart God’s mysterious and hidden wisdom.
Before the ages began, God graciously decided to use His wisdom for our glory.
8 This wisdom has not been grasped by the ruling powers of this age; if they
had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. 9 But as the
Scriptures say,
No
eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard
and it has never occurred to the human
heart
All
the things God prepared for those who love Him.[a]
10
God has shown us these profound and startling realities through His Spirit. The
Spirit searches all things, even the deep mysteries of God. 11 Who can see into
a man’s heart and know his thoughts? Only the spirit that dwells within the
man. In the same way, the thoughts of God are known only by His Spirit. 12 You
must know that we have not received the spirit of this rebellious and broken
world but the Spirit that comes from God, so that we may experience and
comprehend the gifts that come from God. 13 We do not speak of these gifts of
God in words shaped by human wisdom; we speak in words crafted by the Spirit
because our collective judgment on spiritual matters is accessible to those who
have the Spirit. 14 But a person who denies spiritual realities will not accept
the things that come through the Spirit of God; they all sound like foolishness
to him. He is incapable of grasping them because they are disseminated,
discerned, and valued by the Spirit. 15 A person who walks by the Spirit
examines everything, sizing it up and seeking out truth. But no one is able to
examine or size up that kind of spiritual person, 16 for the Scripture asks,
“Does anyone know the mind of the Lord well enough to become His advisor?”[b]
But we do possess the mind of the Anointed One.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
7027
church, purpose and mission of
The
church is called to praise and glorify God, to establish Jesus Christ’s
kingdom, and to proclaim the gospel throughout the world.
God’s
purposes for the church
To
praise God 1Pe 2:9 See also Eph 1:5-6,11-12,14; Heb 13:15; 1Pe 2:5
To
share God’s glory Ro 8:29-30 See also Mt 13:43; Jn 17:24; Ro 9:23; 1Co 2:7; Php
3:21; Col 3:4; 2Th 2:14; Rev 2:26-27; Rev 3:4-5,21
God
will build his church Mt 16:18-19 See also Mt 27:40 pp Mk 15:29; Jn 2:19-22;
1Co 3:9; Eph 2:21-22; Eph 4:11-13; Heb 3:3-6; 1Pe 2:5
To
challenge Satan’s dominion Eph 3:10-11 “rulers and authorities in the heavenly
realms” refers to the powers of evil. See also Mt 16:18; Eph 6:12; 1Jn 2:14
To
go into the world in mission 2Co 5:18 See also Mt 5:13-16; Mt 28:19-20; Mk
16:15; Lk 24:48; Jn 20:21; Ac 1:8; Php 2:15-16; Col 1:27
The
church’s mission
To
preach the gospel to the world Mk 13:10 pp Mt 24:14 See also Mt 28:19; Lk
24:47; Jn 10:16; Ac 13:47
To
do good to all Gal 6:10 See also Mt 25:37-40; Lk 6:35; Ac 9:36; Eph 2:10; 1Ti
6:18; Jas 1:27; 1Pe 2:12
Images
of the church’s mission Mt 5:13-16; Jn 15:5-8 A fruitful plant in a fruitless
world: Mt 7:18-19; Ro 7:4; Eph 5:9-10; Php 1:11; Col 1:6,10; Jas 3:17 Salt in
an insipid world: Mk 9:50; Lk 14:34-35 Light in a dark world: Ro 13:12-14; Eph
5:8; Php 2:15; 1Th 5:5-6
The
growth of the church
Numerical
growth among the first Christians Ac 11:21 See also Ac 2:41,47; Ac 4:4; Ac
5:14; Ac 6:1,7; Ac 9:31,42; Ac 11:24; Ac 12:24; Ac 13:49; Ac 16:5; Ac 17:4; Ac
18:8; Ac 19:20
The
church is to grow to maturity Eph 4:12-13 See also Php 1:6; Php 3:13-15; 2Th
1:3
Aspects
of growth Growth in character: 2Co 9:10; 1Th 3:12 Growth into Christ: Eph 4:15;
Col 1:10; 2Pe 3:18
Heb
6:1 growth in understanding
Prayers
for the growth of the church Eph 3:14-19 See also Eph 1:17-19; Php 1:9-11; Col
1:9-12; 1Th 3:11-13; 2Th 1:11-12
Visions
of the church’s final destiny
Rev
7:9-10 John’s vision of the church in glory. See also Mt 24:31; Jn 10:16; Eph
1:10; 1Th 4:16-17; Heb 12:22-23; Rev 21:2
The
Bible Panorama
1
Corinthians 2
V
1–5: RESOLVE Paul’s determined resolve in preaching to the Corinthians is never
to parade his excellent vocabulary or wisdom, but to concentrate solely on
‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’. He admits that he feels his great weakness,
fear, and trembling and that it is not human wisdom or persuasion that gives
power to the message, but the Holy Spirit, as he concentrates on the message of
the cross, the true preaching of which always is accompanied by God’s power to
save.
V
6–10: REVELATION God’s revealed wisdom is shared with those who are spiritually
mature. The world has rejected this wisdom and this is why ‘the Lord of glory’,
the Lord Jesus Christ, was crucified. But, through His Spirit, God has revealed
the truths of His word and the blessings He has prepared for His redeemed
people. The same Holy Spirit, who reveals the word of God, is at work in the
hearts of men to reveal to them their sin and need for this gospel of Christ
crucified.
V 11–15: RECEPTION The Christian has received
‘the Spirit who is from God’ who teaches him both the truth about God and the
truth about himself, underlines his need, and intensifies his desire for God’s
revelation through His word. The unconverted man (the ‘natural man’) cannot
understand these things, because they are spiritually discerned and only become
real to a person who has turned from sin and received the Holy Spirit by faith
in Christ. God’s enlightenment follows the receiving of the Holy Spirit in
conversion.
V 16: RÉSUMÉ No one can have God’s mind unless
he or she has been converted. The simplest person who trusts Christ, through
grace, receives ‘the mind of Christ’ within through the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit.
