1 Corinthians 2

1 And when I came to you, my brothers, I did not come with wise words of knowledge, putting before you the secret of God.

For my own part, friends, when I came to you, it was with no display of eloquence or philosophy that I came to tell the hidden purpose of God;

2 For I had made the decision to have knowledge of nothing among you but only of Jesus Christ on the cross.

for I had determined that, while with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ – and him crucified!

3 And I was with you without strength, in fear and in doubt.

Indeed, when I came among you, I was weak, and full of fears, and in great anxiety.

4 And in my preaching there were no honeyed words of wisdom, but I was dependent on the power of the Spirit to make it clear to you:

My message and my proclamation were not delivered in the persuasive language of philosophy, but were accompanied by the manifestation of spiritual power,

5 So that your faith might be based not on man's wisdom but on the power of God.

so that your faith should be based, not on the human wisdom, but on the power of God.

6 But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing: (aiōn g165)

Yet there is a philosophy that we teach to those whose faith is matured, but it is not the philosophy of today, or of the leaders of today – whose downfall is at hand. (aiōn g165)

7 But we give the news of the secret wisdom of God, which he had kept in store before the world came into existence, for our glory; (aiōn g165)

No, it is a divine philosophy that we teach, one concerned with the hidden purpose of God – that long hidden philosophy which God, before time began, destined for our glory. (aiōn g165)

8 Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross: (aiōn g165)

This philosophy is clearly not known to any of the leaders of today, since, had they known it, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord! (aiōn g165)

9 But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him.

It is what scripture speaks of as – ‘What eye never saw, nor ear ever heard, what never entered people’s minds – all these things God has prepared for those who love him.’

10 But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God.

Yet to us God revealed it through his Spirit; for the Spirit fathoms all things, even the inmost depths of God’s being.

11 For who has knowledge of the things of a man but the spirit of the man which is in him? in the same way, no one has knowledge of the things of God but the Spirit of God.

For what person is there who knows what a person is, except the person’s own spirit within them? So, also, no one comprehends what God is, except the Spirit of God.

12 But we have not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God, so that we may have knowledge of the things which are freely given to us by God.

And as for us, it is not the spirit of the world that we have received, but the Spirit that comes from God, so that we may realize the blessings given to us by him.

13 And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.

And we speak of these gifts, not in language taught by human philosophy, but in language taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things in spiritual words.

14 For the natural man is not able to take in the things of the Spirit of God: for they seem foolish to him, and he is not able to have knowledge of them, because such knowledge comes only through the Spirit.

The merely intellectual person rejects the teaching of the Spirit of God; for to them it is mere folly; they cannot grasp it, because it is to be understood only by spiritual insight.

15 But he who has the Spirit, though judging all things, is himself judged by no one.

But the person with spiritual insight is able to understand everything, although they themselves are understood by no one.

16 For who has knowledge of the mind of the Lord, so as to be his teacher? But we have the mind of Christ.

For who has so comprehended the mind of the Lord as to be able to instruct him? We, however, have the mind of Christ.