1Cor 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, came not according to excellence of speech or of wisdom, announcing to you the mystery of God. 2 For I did not determine to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and this One crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling; 4 And my speech and my proclamation were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 In order that your faith would not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6 But we do speak wisdom among those who are full-grown, yet a wisdom not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nought; 7 But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, 8 Which none of the rulers of this age have known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
In verses 1-5, Paul says that he did not come with excellence of wisdom and that his speech was not in persuasive words of wisdom. But in verse 6 he says that he speaks wisdom among those who are full-grown. When Paul wrote this Epistle, he certainly realized that the believers at Corinth were far from full-grown. Why, then, does he say that he speaks wisdom among those who are full-grown? His purpose in doing this was to belittle the Corinthians. Here Paul seems to be saying, "You Corinthians think you have attained something great, but actually you are still babes. We do speak wisdom, but we speak wisdom among those who are full-grown. Furthermore, the wisdom we speak is not a wisdom of this age, neither of the rulers of this age. The common people do not have this wisdom, and those in the ruling class do not have it either. In fact, the rulers of this age are being brought to nothing." In verse 7 Paul continues, "But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages for our glory." God's wisdom is Christ (1:24), who is the hidden mystery (Col. 1:26-27), predestined, predesignated, and foreordained before the ages, in eternity, for our glory. Glory in this verse refers to Christ, who is the Lord of glory (v. 8). Christ is our life today (Col. 3:4) and He will be our glory in the future (Col. 1:27). To this glory God has called us (1 Pet. 5:10), and into it He will bring us (Heb. 2:10). This is the goal of God's salvation. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 139-140. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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