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First Corinthians 2:1-9

Did you know the world through its wisdom has never known God (1 Cor 1:21)? Yes, you knew that; the
dark, finite mind of men in the flesh can never conceive of the eternal God. For men to know God, God
had to choose to make a revelation of Himself to them; and thats what God did, in Christ.
To those willing to simply receive Gods revelation by faith, Christ then became for them wisdom from
God - lighting up the way of salvation, to them - becoming for them righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption. To as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God (Jn 1:12)
- Gods born-again sons.
Salvation is entirely the work of God - of the Father who purposed it, of the Son who accomplished it, of
the Spirit who proclaims it - through the preaching of the gospel. No man can boast in his own abilities.
He must humble himself - and come Gods way, through the cross of Christ.
The cross is, in a sense, a message of weakness - a crucified Savior. And those who believed it in Corinth
were the weak ones - the uneducated, the lowly, the despised - the nobodies.
And even those who werent weak in their worldly circumstances had to receive the message in weakness without working for it, without reasoning it out; just believing what God said.
God deliberately designed it in just that way - for mans sake, as a preparation of heart, to receive the
Incorruptible Seed, Christ; and for Gods sake, to show forth His power - for He will not share His glory
with another.
To underline this point, Paul now continues to show the weakness of even the one who delivered the gospel
to Corinth - himself.
[First Corinthians 2:1-5]
Paul had the Corinthians recall their own personal experience as evidence of the power of God, to save
them through the message of the cross. Now he is bringing back to their minds the messenger - that was
him - and just how Gods message was first delivered to them, in Corinth.
In verse 1, Paul says that when he came to Corinth, he didnt declare the testimony of God - the gospel with excellence of speech or of wisdom.
Paul is alluding here to the eloquent arguments of rhetoric. Rhetoric was considered the desirable delivery
form used in educated Greek circles to present their philosophical reasoning - what Paul simply labels as
wisdom, here.
Paul had not been educated in rhetoric - he was a Greek-speaking Jew, but he had been raised at the feet of
the rabbi Gamaliel, in Jerusalem, and was trained as a Jewish teacher of the Law.
And although Paul was acquainted with Greek philosophies of his day, he certainly didnt use them to
declare the testimony of God. Why not? Because they reasoned God right out of the argument. Therefore,
Paul did not employ that reasoning.

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Now, for those of you who have practically photographic memories, you might say, Wait a minute - I
remember reading in the book of Acts that Paul reasoned with the people, when he was in Greek cities
(Acts 17:2,17; 18:4,19; 19:8,9; 20:7). And you would be recalling that correctly; Luke writes of it in
several places in his account.
But Luke wasnt talking about philosophical reasoning, or rhetoric. The Greek word for reason that Luke
used simply means to have a dialog; a discussion, with questions and answers. Paul did do that, because it
allowed him to explain his message to those who had absolutely no acquaintance with it, or even with the
Scriptures.
But here, what Paul is bringing out is that he did not use language which in form and content was designed
to make a convincing argument, or an emotional appeal. And while we understand that Paul was not
trained to do so, his point is that he didnt even try to do so.
In fact, in verse 2, Paul says he was determined not to know anything among the Corinthians, except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. To simply, plainly preach the gospel was Pauls fixed, deliberate purpose in
Corinth - as it was everywhere. But he spells this out to the Corinthians, in order to show them that there
was no power in how the message was communicated.
Nor was there power in the messenger, himself. Verse 3 actually begins with the word and, in the Greek:
And I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. This is not referring to Pauls
preaching, but to him the preacher, personally.
In addition to the lack of power in his preaching - as the Corinthians would have seen it - Paul lacked
power in his person. But what specifically is Paul referring to, here?
The word weakness can refer to any kind of weakness of the flesh, but it is the most common word used
for illness or infirmity of the body. Since Paul was having the Corinthians recall his condition or
circumstances while he was ministering to them, it must have been something that was visible to them, that
they would have seen on a regular basis - over the period of a year and a half.
This strongly suggests a bodily illness. But is there any evidence in Scripture that Paul had such an
affliction? In fact, there is.
Turn to Galatians chapter 4. Paul was recalling for the Galatian assemblies the conditions under which he
first came to them.
[Galatians 4:13-15]
v. 13 The word translated infirmity here is the same word in our passage in First Corinthians - a sickness
in Pauls body. Paul is saying that this sickness is what brought him to that region of Asia Minor - to
Galatia.
Lukes account in Acts chapter 13 suggests that Paul may have contracted this illness when he first came to
the coastal area of Asia Minor - Perga in Pamphylia. Its interesting that in that low-lying area, malaria was
a frequent issue - a disease that can generate debilitating chronic illness.

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When Paul and Barnabas departed from Perga, they proceeded directly inland, following a road that passed
through a range of mountains, until they came to their next destination, Antioch in Galatia, 100 miles to the
north, and 4000 feet in altitude - an alpine lake region. It would seem that the Lord had the missionaries
proceed to this cooler, healthier climate partly to aid in Pauls recuperation.
v. 14-15 Despite Pauls sickness, the Galatians readily received him, as he began to share the gospel with
them. They viewed Paul as a messenger sent by God; to them, his words to them were heaven-sent.
They were so thankful to Paul for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them that Paul says they
would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him - a figure of speech for giving what is
dearest.
Now, Paul may have just been expressing their overwhelming gratitude. But curiously, malaria can cause a
yellowing of the eyes from jaundice, as well as excruciating pain behind the eyes; perhaps Pauls eyes were
afflicted by whatever disease he had, and what he is saying is that the Galatians wished to help him in his
sickness, seeing as he had helped them -with their sin-sickness.
In this letter, Paul calls the sickness a trial in his flesh; later, he will write in another letter to the
Corinthians about a thorn in the flesh, which was given to him - most likely reflecting the chronic aspect of
the disease.
Turn to Second Corinthians chapter 12. In this letter, Paul expressed his relief that the church in Corinth
had finally rejected some false teaching that had gripped the assembly, brought in by unbelieving Jews who
were determined to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Paul reasserted his authority as a genuine apostle of Jesus Christ, in contrast to the artificial boasts of the
false teachers. And he speaks of a particular revelation that the Lord made to Him, personally - he was
caught up to the third heaven, and heard inexpressible words, which it was not permissible for a man to
utter (2 Cor 12:1-4).
This was just one of many revelations that the Lord made to Paul - revelations that might cause a man to be
exalted above measure. But the Lord used something to ensure that this did not happen, with Paul.
[Second Corinthians 12:7-10]
v. 7 A thorn in the flesh is something which causes severe pain or constant irritation; some kind of
affliction. Paul calls this thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan; it delivers affliction, from the enemy of
God. To buffet is to beat with the fists. Paul was beat upon, by this affliction - repeatedly. But he
recognized that this affliction maintained in him in a state of humility.
v. 8 Notice that Paul speaks about this affliction as this thing - a singular affliction, that repeatedly beat
him up. And Paul prayed to the Lord to deliver him from the affliction. The word depart means to be
removed; he was asking the Lord to remove it, from him - remove this thorn from his flesh.
v. 9-10 The Lord did answer Pauls prayers; but the answer was No. And Paul began to see that the Lord
was using this affliction, to keep him from being exalted beyond measure. In fact, Paul realized that this
very weakness enabled Christs power to be seen all the more through him, and Paul rejoiced in that.

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The word for weakness and infirmity here is the same word as in our passage in First Corinthians. It would
seem that Paul is speaking about a chronic illness, which the Lord permitted to continue in him. The Lord
gave Paul the grace to endure it, and in this way, showed forth His power in and through Paul. And Paul
was willing for it; he was willing to endure anything, out of love for His Lord - and for His glory.
[Return to First Corinthians]
So Paul rejoiced in his infirmity; not because he enjoyed ill-health, but because he recognized that his
weakness was the perfect backdrop to show forth the power of Christ.
And that is why Paul calls his weakness to mind for the Corinthians, here - a debilitating illness, which they
would well-remember - an illness that kept his body in a weakened state, all the while that he preached the
powerful message of the cross, to them.
But Paul is calling to mind something else, as well - that he was with the Corinthians in fear, and in much
trembling. The use of these terms together amplifies their meaning. We could say instead that Paul was
greatly afraid while he was with them - and they were aware of this.
This fear of Pauls would not have had to do with concern over the reception of his manner of preaching, in
Corinth. Everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel, and was quite used to his message being rejected.
Nor could this fear be referring to Pauls fear of the Lord - his reverential humility before God. That was a
condition of heart, that the Corinthians would not really see. Paul was talking about a fear they were aware
of, in him. The account in Acts lays out just such a fear, on the part of Paul.
Turn to Acts chapter 18. Paul had been sharing the gospel in the synagogue in Corinth for some weeks, but
then the unbelieving Jews began to oppose and revile him.
This is when Paul began to preach and teach in the house next door to the synagogue, owned by a Gentile
named Justus. After that, one of the elders in the synagogue, Crispus, put his faith into Christ, and the
whole city became aware of it, with many of the pagan Gentiles now believing.
It was at this time that the Lord spoke to Paul in a dream.
[Acts 18:9-11]
v. 9-10 Now, why would the Lord come to Paul in a dream, and say to him Do not be afraid? Because
Paul was afraid. There would have been no reason for the Lord to say it, if he wasnt afraid.
What was Paul afraid of? We tend to think, Paul wasnt afraid of anything; but Paul was a real person, and
in this case, he was really afraid.
Notice what the Lord said to Paul, in verse 10. At this time, Paul was afraid of being attacked, hurt, maybe
killed. Hadnt he almost been killed in Lystra? The mob there had stoned him, and left him for dead (Acts
14:19-20). Perhaps Paul had been imagining that maybe the same thing would now happen in stirred-up
city of Corinth; only maybe theyd be successful, this time.
Imagined things are always just maybes, arent they? Theyre possibilities, that our minds imagine are real.
And they can seem very real, indeed - and lead to fear - fear that can immobilize our obedience, to the
Lord.

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Then, into Pauls mind, while he slept, came the Lord, in a vision. First came His command: Dont be
afraid - speak; then came His reassurance: no one will attack you to hurt you; and finally, a reminder of
the mission: I have many people in this city. And that was all.
Paul had a choice. He could believe what he had been imagining, and forfeit his ministry in Corinth; or he
could believe the Lord - and obey Him. Now, Paul was an overcomer, and we dont even have to read what
it is he did, but we will read it anyway.
v. 11 So Paul trusted in the Lord. The many people that the Lord had in Corinth were therefore reached,
with the gospel message.
Paul continued to experience opposition from the unbelieving Jews, to the point that they brought up
charges against him; but by then, Paul believed that no one could attack him to hurt him; not even with
legal charges; and they were dismissed. This was Pauls personal victory, that had overcome the world in
Corinth - his faith (1 Jn 5:4).
[Return to First Corinthians]
The reason why Paul was bringing up these personal issues, with which the Corinthians were familiar, was
to make a point of the fact that Paul was just a weak man - in body and soul. He was not some dynamic,
powerful preacher, to whom the Corinthians would be naturally drawn.
In fact, Paul would eventually quote some of the Corinthians as having commented about him, his bodily
presence is weak, and his speech is contemptible (2 Cor 10:10).
His person and his manner of speech may not have impressed the Corinthians, but the Subject of his
message was a different story. Lets read verses 4 and 5 again.
v. 4-5 No doubt the Corinthians had heard many an eloquent message, that had moved them. They had
listened to many well-developed philosophies, that had seemed reasonable to them, in the past. But did any
of that change them - really change them? No.
But when the contemptible Paul preached his simple message of a crucified Savior, there was a genuine
transformation in those who believed it. First of all, they had peace in their lives, for the first time, ever peace with God. And they tasted what it was to have a satisfied heart - for the Lord had made them
complete.
They began see their lives from a different perspective - they had some real direction, now. Also, they were
becoming enlightened to what pleased God - and what didnt. It was the Holy Spirit in them that gave them
that light, and when their desire to please God was greater than their desire to please themselves, that light
became power - the power to obey Him.
The Holy Spirit also gave them the spiritual graces, which equipped them for the ministry they now had, to
reconcile others to God. And the power of those graces was manifested as the believers expressed Gods
love, to those on the outside, drawing them into Gods circle of love.
It was in this way that the message of the cross stood above and apart from all other messages that had
been delivered, in Corinth. The believers in Corinth received the assurance that their faith had been rightly
placed in Jesus Christ by this demonstration of the Spirit and the power of God - within them, and through
them, to others.

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Paul has now completely dispensed with the notion that any wisdom of man could add to the message of
the cross, which is the very power of God. But he is not finished with his point. Paul wants to show the
believers in Corinth that the wisdom of man is diametrically opposed to the gospel.
We continue in verse 6.
[First Corinthians 2:6-9]
In verse 6, Paul is saying that although he doesnt speak with mans wisdom, what he speaks is still wisdom
- and the mature recognize it as such.
But who are the mature? This translation of the Greek word teleios causes a great deal of confusion. From
this word, we have the concepts of mature Christians, and baby Christians - the spiritually mature, the
spiritually immature - none of which are correct, according to the Scriptures.
So lets understand what this term means. From the Greek, the word means finished; that which has
reached its end, or goal; perfect or complete. What do we call a man who had been perfected or completed;
who has reached the goal God intended for him? A son of God. So those who are mature refers to sons of
God; genuine believers.
In chapter 3, Paul will provide a contrast to the mature; those who are babes; infants. In the Greek, this
term is used metaphorically for unenlightened ones; those who are still trying to absorb the elemental truths
of the gospel. So who would babes represent? Men in the flesh, who have taken in the gospel, but have not
yet believed into Christ. And we will discuss them further when we get to chapter 3.
The mature - the sons of God - recognize the gospel to be the wisdom of God, the power to save; they have
experienced that personally.
In verse 6, Paul makes a complete distinction between Gods wisdom and mans wisdom. He calls mans
wisdom here the wisdom of this age - this present age, dominated by men in the flesh, in the world system.
The whole system, along with its rulers who represent it in its wisdom, is already coming to nothing; this
world is passing away (1 Jn 2:17).
In what sense? Because with the coming of Christ, the new age is being ushered in; His glorious kingdom
is already being established. Those who have believed are the subjects of that kingdom - a kingdom of
righteousness and peace.
Prior to this present age, God in His wisdom had beforehand determined His plan - to obtain glorified sons
of God through Christ crucified - the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8).
That wisdom was a mystery - not meaning mysterious, but hidden; hidden until such time as God chose to
reveal it. It was concealed in the story God planted in the stars; in the types of the OT, the symbolism of
the tabernacle and the offerings, and in the prophecies God gave. It was hidden, but God willingly gave His
wisdom to anyone who was seeking to understand it.
With the coming of Christ, the wisdom which had been hidden by God became fully revealed, to men Gods way of salvation. Paul and other preachers were entrusted as stewards of this mystery, to preach the
good news to mankind, that they might be saved.

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Now we come to the Divine irony. To the rulers of this age, the wisdom of God remained a mystery; it
remained hidden from their eyes. Why was that? Because they were so worldly-wise. They thought they
already had insight into the divine, and into life. That worldly wisdom blinded them to the truth, so that
they could not see (2 Cor 4:4)
They could not see that Jesus was the Lord of glory; the One whom God sent, to make the way of salvation.
And in their blindness, they put the Lord of glory to death; they crucified Him. Crucifixion - the ultimate
dishonor, to a man - is what they did to the Lord of glory and honor. Their error could not have been
greater. But thats what their wisdom dictated to them, to do.
As if that wasnt irony enough, God used their great error to accomplish His plan. Turn to Acts chapter 2.
Peter was speaking to the Jewish pilgrims on the day of Pentecost.
[Acts 2:22-24] The Jewish rulers and the people delivered up their own Messiah to death, but God
foreknew what they would do, and determined ahead of time to use their evil deed to bring about His good
purposes, for men.
Now turn to Acts chapter 4. Peter and John had just been released from prison, the Sanhedrin having
threatened them not to preach about Jesus anymore. They rejoined their brethren, and together they prayed.
[Acts 4:23-28] All the worldly-wise are indicted, here - both Jew and Gentile, both ruler and people. What
they together had done - crucified the Lord of glory - was exactly what God had determined beforehand
would be done. This doesnt mean they werent responsible; its just that God foreknew what they would
do, and He used it to bring about His purposes.
[Return to First Corinthians]
Paul supports his thoughts here with an OT quote found in verse 9. This is often taken completely out of
context, to suggest that God has a wonderful surprise in store for believers, in heaven - in fact, this verse is
frequently read at funerals. And Im sure God does have wonderful surprises in store for us - but thats not
what this verse is about, or why Paul quotes it here.
The quote is from Isaiah 64. Isaiah was prophesying about the remnant of Israel, who will be waiting upon
God to reveal Himself, and to deliver them out of the Great Tribulation. Paul quotes a part of this prophecy
loosely, here.
The idea is that man cannot discover Gods purposes with his eyes or his ears - that is, through his senses.
Nor has anything God planned ever entered mans heart; meaning, its never come up in mans mind; hes
never thought of it.
This is just what Paul has been saying throughout the whole passage; that the world in its wisdom has never
known God, or His purposes. And next time, Paul will go on to show that Gods purposes must instead be
revealed to man. And they have, in fact; theyve been revealed to those who believe; a revelation which
God makes, through His Spirit.
Reading: John 3:1-8, John 14-16, 1 John 2:20-29, 4:1-6.