Reflections on 1 Corinthians 2

1 Corinthians 02 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise.
   
2. In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.
   
3. At first, I was weak and trembling with fear.
   
4. When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power.
   
5. That way you would have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.
   
6. We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn't the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear.
   
7. We speak of God's hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the world began.
   
8. The rulers of this world didn't know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross.
   
9. But it is just as the Scriptures say, "What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!"
   
10. God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God.
    
11. You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind.
    
12. But God has given us his Spirit. That's why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. That's also why we can recognize the blessings that God has given us.
    
13. Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people.
    
14. That's why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish.
    
15. People who are guided by the Spirit can make all kinds of judgments, but they cannot be judged by others.
    
16. The Scriptures ask, "Has anyone ever known the thoughts of the Lord or given him advice?" But we understand what Christ is thinking.
    
    

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    In Paul's letter to the Romans he contrasts faith and works. Salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ and not by anything we do. In this first letter to the Corinthians he contrasts faith and wisdom. If salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, then it is not discerned through wisdom. Therefore, Paul did not attempt to persuade through wisdom. He did not want the faith of those who came to Christ through his preaching to be based on wisdom, but rather on "God's Power." (2:5)
    
    This does not mean there is no wisdom in Paul's preaching, but it is wisdom only to those who are attuned to God's Spirit. To those who are not so attuned, it is a mystery. It is foolishness to such a person. Paul says such a person "is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually." (2:14) On the other hand, the spiritual person "can evaluate everything, yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone." (2:15)
    
    It follows, then, that the more one pursues God through dependence on their own wisdom and intellect, the more foolish will the gospel seem to them.  If such a one continues their pursuit through wisdom, the outcome will likely be the devising of their own religious system or adoption of one devised by another. Something that suits them. But God, who can only be reached through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, will remain out of their reach.