Chapter Two

¹ Chapter Two. And I, when I came to you, brethren, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. Not only, he says, were the disciples of the gospel chosen as unlearned and lowborn, but I myself also, the herald of the gospel, came not with prepared words and human wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God—that is, the death of Christ. Observe, then, that the herald too is unlearned and a plain man, and the thing preached is death and a cross; and yet it conquered. It is plain, therefore, that there is an ineffable power which makes these things to be thus. But what? Even if Paul had wished, could he have been [a man] of wisdom? He himself could not, for he was truly a plain man; but Christ could, who bestowed greater things on him, yet it was not expedient for the preaching. For Christ is the more glorified, conquering through the plainness of Paul, than if he had conquered through wisdom and speech.

² For I judged not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Both Christ, he says, willed this, that I should be a plain man; and I myself judged this very thing good, to know nothing of the outward wisdom, save only that Jesus Christ was crucified, and to preach him to you.

³ And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. Not only, he says, did I come to you mean in respect of speech, but I also spent my time among you in weakness, and fear, and trembling—that is, persecuted, and tried, and assailed by countless fears. For he too, as a man, feared the dangers, or rather even trembled. Whence his praise is the greater, that, being of the same nature with us, he surpassed it by his resolve. And he says these things, showing the power of Christ, that, though there were so many hindrances, yet it prevailed; and it cast down the haughtiness of the Corinthians, who trusted in wisdom, and wealth, and power.

⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. My preaching, he says, was not made clever with outward plausibility and eloquence, but in demonstration of the Spirit—that is, having as its demonstration the Holy Spirit itself; partly, perhaps, because in some unspeakable way it wrought faith in the hearers through the gracing of the word; and partly because he also performed signs and wonders. “And of power”—that is, of the signs. For the greatest demonstration to faith is to see the dead raised. And since powers are wrought deceitfully even by demons, having first said “of the Spirit,” he then added “of power,” showing that the things done were spiritual. And you may take the “of power” also in another way. For since he said, I came not in wisdom, but also in weakness, with reference to the wisdom he said “in demonstration of the Spirit,” and with reference to the “in weakness,” the “of power”—that is, Though persecuted and beaten, yet I was shown to be the more powerful; which is itself the greatest demonstration of the word.

⁵ That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. By “wisdom of men” he means plausibility and eloquence; and by “power of God,” both the strengthening of the weak and persecuted, and the display of signs, which indeed established your faith, O Corinthians—not plausibility and eloquence, but the power of God.

⁶ Yet we speak wisdom among the perfect; but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nought. He named the preaching “folly” above, even as the Greeks too named it; but since he demonstrated through facts that this is the true wisdom, thenceforth he takes courage to name the preaching concerning Christ “wisdom” also; for it is of the greatest wisdom to bring death to nought by death. And by “the perfect” he means the faithful; for these are perfect, who have despised all things and soared toward heaven. And by “wisdom of this age” he names the outward wisdom, as temporary and dissolved together with this age. And by “rulers of this age” [he means] not demons, as some have understood, but the wise, and the writers, and the orators, who became also popular leaders and rulers. And as being themselves temporary, he names them “of this age,” and “coming to nought”—that is, ceasing, and not enduring forever.

⁷ But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom. He calls the preaching according to Christ a “mystery”; for though it is a preaching, yet it is also a mystery, inasmuch as not even the angels knew it before it came to pass, and inasmuch as, seeing one thing, we understand another. For I see a cross and a passion, and I understand power; I hear of a servant, and I worship a Master. And this wisdom is hidden, from the unbelievers wholly, but from the faithful not wholly. For we see now as in a mirror.

⁸ Which God foreordained before the ages to our glory. He said “foreordained,” that he might show the love of God toward us. For we are the more loved by those who are prepared long beforehand to do us good; thus God too, before the ages, foreordained the salvation through the cross, which is the greatest wisdom. And “to our glory,” inasmuch as he made us partakers of it. For it is the glory of a servant to share with his Master in a hidden mystery.

⁹ Which none of the rulers of this age has known. By “rulers” he now means Pilate and Herod. And if you should say also the chief priests and scribes, you would not err. And “of this age,” because of the temporariness of their rule, as has been said above.

¹⁰ For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. If they had known the hidden wisdom, and the mysteries of the divine economy—such as the things concerning the incarnation of God, the things concerning the cross, the things concerning the calling and adoption of the nations, the things concerning the regeneration and sonship, and the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven [they would not have crucified him]. But the chief priests too, had they known that their city would be taken and they themselves led away captive, would not have crucified him. And here he named Christ “Lord of glory”; for since the cross seemed to be a dishonor, he shows that nothing was harmed in respect of glory by the cross, but rather he was the more glorified.

¹¹ But as it is written: The “came to pass” is wanting; for in many places the Apostle uses the elliptical form.

¹² Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, the things which God prepared for those who love him. But what did God prepare for those who love him? The knowledge of Christ, and the salvation of the incarnation. For these things neither human eye saw, nor human ear heard, nor did human heart conceive. For the prophets did not see with human eyes, nor hear with human ears, nor, using a human mind, understand the things concerning Christ; but all these things were divine to them. For the Lord, he says, added to me an ear, a spiritual one, that is; and the rest likewise. But where is this passage written? Perhaps it is likely that it was indeed written thus in these very words, and that the book is now not to be found; or perhaps the most wise Paul paraphrased into this form the passage, They to whom it was not told concerning him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.

¹³ But to us God revealed them through his Spirit. As though someone had said: If it entered not into the heart of man, how have you learned it? he says, “God revealed it to us through the Spirit,” not through human wisdom. For this could not see the mysteries of God.

¹⁴ For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? So also the things of God none knows, save the Spirit of God. So great, he says, was the mystery, and so hidden, that we could not have learned it from another, had not the Spirit taught us, who knows even the depths of God. For “searches” is not indicative of ignorance, but of exact comprehension; just as it is said of the Father also, “He who searches the hearts,” instead of, he who knows their depths. And in another sense, as taking delight in the contemplation of the mysteries of God, the Spirit is said to search them. And he shows also through what follows the exact knowledge of the Spirit. For as the human spirit knows the things in the man, so also, he says, the Spirit of God [knows] the things of God. And we learn from this that the Spirit is not of another essence than the Father, just as neither is that of the man of another [essence] than himself.

¹⁵ But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. By “spirit of the world” he named human wisdom; this we did not receive, lest it should make our preaching empty and useless. “But the Spirit which is of God”—that is, the consubstantial with God, that which is of his essence—this we had as teacher.

¹⁶ That we might know the things that are freely given us by God. The Spirit, he says, is light, and we received this light, that we might see the things hitherto veiled, being illumined by it. What things? The things freely given by God—that is, the things concerning the economy of Christ: how he died for us, how he made us sons of God, how he seated us at the right hand of the Father in himself. So that those who have not the Spirit cannot see.

¹⁷ Which things also we speak, not in words taught of human wisdom, but in [words] taught of the Holy Spirit. By so much, he says, are we wiser than the wise men among the Greeks, as those were taught by men, while we speak the things we speak, having been taught by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ Comparing spiritual things with spiritual. That is, If certain spiritual questions arise, we compare them—that is, we resolve them by means of certain other spiritual notions or histories. For example, that Christ rose is a question. This, then, being a spiritual question, is compared and resolved out of another spiritual thing—that is, the history concerning Jonah. And that a virgin gave birth, this too is a question, and it is resolved from the barrenness of Sarah, of Rebecca, of Elizabeth, who conceived not by natural sequence, so far at least as the power of each womb was concerned; and from the fact that Eve came to be from Adam without seed, and from other things contemplated in the first bringing into being. And you may understand “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” also thus, instead of, comparing and resolving the spiritual things for spiritual men; for these alone are able to contain such things.

¹⁹ But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him. The natural man is he who gives all to the reasonings of the soul, and does not think he has need of the help from above, nor is willing to receive anything by faith, but reckons all things folly that do not admit of demonstration. Him, then, who supposes that all things come to pass by natural sequence, and holds that nothing comes to pass above nature, he calls “natural”—that is, [governed by] nature. For the soul is occupied about the economy of nature. And just as the eyes of the body, though most beautiful and most useful, have not strength to see without light, so also the soul, fashioned to be receptive of the Holy Spirit, cannot without him behold the divine things.

²⁰ And he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned. That is, he does not consider that the things spoken need faith, and that it is not possible to grasp them by reasonings. For this is the “they are spiritually discerned,” instead of, they have their resolution through faith and the Spirit.

²¹ But the spiritual man discerns indeed all things, yet he himself is discerned of no one. The spiritual man, he says, knows all things: both the things here, that they are temporary; and the things there, that they are abiding; and the things of the faithful, that they will obtain salvation; and the things of the unbelievers, that they will be punished. Wherefore he also convicts these. He himself, however, is discerned by none of these—that is, convicted; just as he that sees both beholds his own things and the things of those who see not, while they see neither their own things nor his.

²² For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? The spiritual mind he names “the mind of the Lord.” And the “instruct” stands for, set right. Since, then, he had said before that the spiritual man is discerned of no one, he now says that I said this with reason: “For who has known the mind of the Lord, who shall instruct him”—that is, set him right? For if no one can know the mind of the Lord, which the spiritual man has, much less [can he] teach and set it right.

²³ But we have the mind of the Lord. Marvel not, he says, that I called the spiritual man “the mind of the Lord,” and his mind [the mind of the Lord]; for we all have the mind of Christ—that is, All things that we know, Christ revealed to us; and the mind which we have concerning the divine things is Christ’s—that is, The knowledge which we have concerning the spiritual things of the faith, we have from Christ; so that with reason we are discerned of no one. But some have named “the mind of Christ” the Father, others the Spirit also.