1 Corinthians 2—The Work of the Spirit
I grew up going to church in northwest Iowa, a town called Sioux City, but it wasn’t until my freshman year that I recall hearing a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus. The good news of salvation and forgiveness of sins. That freshman year, I heard my parents and their friends talk about it. I heard their pastor in multiple sermons. I even began to secretly read the Bible. (Secretly because in my pride, I didn’t want anyone to know I was curious about God and eternal life.)
Although I understood the words being said—everything was in plain English—it simply didn’t seem to make sense to me. Looking back, I might say that I thought the gospel message was foolish.
Towards the end of the summer before my sophomore year, finally everything clicked in my head and my heart. And I finally surrendered my stubborn pride and believed that Jesus Christ was my Lord and my Savior. Looking back, I really can give only God the credit for opening my eyes to understand and believe. There was nothing mystical or magical about it. God’s Spirit simply worked in my proud and dark heart and mind to finally get it and so believe.
My story relates to the core message of our passage today.
We are in a sermon series in the NT letter called, 1st Corinthians. The human author, the Apostle Paul, is in the middle of a 4-chapter sermon, of sorts, to this church that is being corrupted by worldly philosophies about how to find enlightenment and hope from human reasoning. To discover deeper things about God and eternity from human wisdom.
Paul basically says, “It simply doesn’t work that way.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul’s Manner in the Message
Paul is a messenger of the gospel of Christ. So he is writing to the church to clarify the what’s, why’s, and how’s of his work.
1 Corinthians 2 (CSB)
1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
Vs. 1-2
Paul is acknowledging he is not at all like the philosophers and orators of the Corinthian world.
Their ambition was to entertain. To tickle ears. To impress. To offer innovative and clever speeches. To solve real human soul problems by human logic and reasoning.
Paul’s ambition, though, as a preacher of the gospel, was radically different. His goal was to present Jesus to the people. To open hearts to the God of heaven. To point people to the One and the Only One who could give eternal life and forgiveness before a holy God.
This does not mean Paul didn’t have clarity or communication skills or a desire to persuade. His point is that such things are secondary to the message itself. Paul preached, not a philosophy or TED Talk. He preached a Person.
This is why we talk about Jesus all the time on Sunday mornings. Our sermons, music, prayers, and more. Our service is not intended to be clever or innovative in itself. God forbid that our goal is ever to entertain you or to get “Likes” on social media.
As for Paul’s desire to know nothing except Jesus Christ, he said something similar to the Colossian church who was facing similar pressures to adopt worldly philosophies.
Colossians 1:28, 2:3 CSB We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ…In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Jesus, not clever, innovative philosophies, is the true key to life.
Vs. 3
Paul says he came to the City of Corinth in weakness and in fear and trembling. That surprises me, because I have in my head that Paul was this super-Christian who never struggled with things I do. Fear and weakness? Oh, surely Paul was never even tempted to be that way. But here he is in raw honesty. He came to Corinth quaking with fear.
We might wonder why? Paul doesn’t elaborate, but without stretching speculation too far, we can assume why by looking at the Book of Acts. When Paul first came to Corinth, he was in the middle of his Second Missionary Journey. He had been in the Greek cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens just before coming to Corinth. (See Acts chapters 16, 17, and 18.)
In those cities he suffered severe persecution because of his proclamation of Jesus. In Philippi, he was arrested, severely beaten, imprisoned, locked up in chains. Then in Thessalonica a mob started a riot. In Athens he faced indifference and scoffing.
After all this, he came to Corinth. I speculate that he was wondering, “What kind of suffering am I going to encounter in this city. More beating, imprisonment, and riots? More scoffing?” So for Paul to come to Corinth in “weakness, fear, and much trembling” is not hard to imagine.
He was coming to proclaim Light to the world, yet knowing the world loves their darkness, even to the point of violence against the messenger of that Light.
Vs. 4-5
If people believed the gospel message because Paul was entertaining or clever, then the people’s faith would be founded upon cleverness and innovation and human reasoning rather than on the power of the God of heaven through the work of his Spirit in human hearts. (We will read much more about the work of the Spirit in a few minutes.)
So Paul didn’t preach to entertain nor to speak in mere human wisdom. He spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit to point people to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
1 Corinthians 2:6-9 The Message
Lest we think the gospel is a foolish and weak message, Paul tells us that actually it is the wisest, most powerful message. For it is sent from heaven, promised long before our age, and then revealed in the Person of Jesus.
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived— God has prepared these things for those who love him.
Vs. 6-7
Verse 7 tells us about God’s “hidden wisdom”. A mystery. That’s a curious way to say it.
What he means is that God’s wisdom encompassed an eternal plan of salvation through the Son of God, but it was hidden. It wasn’t fully understood. When we read the OT, we can find dozens and dozens of places where the gospel message is spoken of through prophecy. Even as far back as Genesis 3 and Genesis 12. Elements of this coming Messiah were spoken to Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and many other places.
The “mystery” (vs. 7) comes in, not as something spooky. Rather the mystery of the gospel is something knowable but not yet fully known. When we read the 4 Gospel accounts of Jesus (Mattew, Mark, Luke, and John), who Jesus was and what he was doing was fairly clear, yet for the most part virtually no one truly got it….not until just after the resurrection.
It makes me think of a puzzle. They had the box with all the pieces in it, but no one yet had put it all together.
It took the actual resurrection and the kindness of God to open up eyes and hearts fully to complete the puzzle.
And also in vs. 7,, this gospel is “a wisdom predestined before the ages for our glory.” Paul is saying, this is not some new idea of the day, like the clever Greek philosophers would invent. This gospel message is not something God had to concoct in the early centuries of human existence because his Plan A wasn’t working. This gospel plan began in heaven before the earth was created! Remarkable!
Numerous NT Scriptures verify this eternal plan of God to save the world.
2 Timothy 1:9 CSB He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
Knowing that God has had a plan for millennia and worked it out in power and wisdom ought to stir in us an amazement and worship. Who else is so wise and powerful….who else stands outside of time…who else can move people and nations throughout history…to make something like this happen?
And all of it, Paul says, was done for our glory. Certainly it is for God’s glory. But that’s not Paul’s emphasis here. God saves people and brings them glory. He lifts them up. He exalts them.
You might wonder if that is unbiblical, but here it is. The key is, God has done this, not us. Romans 8:30 says that in Christ we’ve been predestined, called, justified, and glorified.
We all yearn for attention and love and greatness and even glory, but we are quite limited in activating such things. But God himself through the gospel gives us all that straight from heaven. Not because of our work but because of the work of his Son. Not because of our merit but because of his mercy.
The gospel lifts us up from the pit of destruction into heavenly glory. This is the wisdom and power of the message of Christ.
The message of the cross is so wise and powerful because Jesus is no ordinary person. For vs. 8 says, he is “the Lord of glory.”
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit’s Role in the Message
In our last section, vs. 10-16, we will discover a key word as we read.
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.
13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.
15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.
16 For “who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The key word I see here is “the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit. He is mentioned 7 times in 7 verses.
The key issue here is, how do we really understand God and the gospel of Jesus Christ and so find life forever?
We begin by considering who God is: He is infinite. All-knowing. All-powerful. All-wise. He is glorious. Majestic. Holy. Pure. Just. Righteous. He is Maker of heaven and earth, speaking it into existence out of nothing with just a word from his mouth. He sits on his glorious throne in the heavenly places.
So how could we mere finite beings, who until a few years ago did not even exist…and in a few more years we will die…how could we possibly understand and know this infinite God? How could we as sinful, dark, deceived creatures possibly understand or desire the Holiest One who dwells in unapproachable light?
That’s what Paul is getting at.
The answer is, only God can reveal God to us. And he does that through his Spirit.
Vs. 10-11
The first phrase (vs. 10) is key: “God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit.” None of us know Jesus and are saved because we are smart enough and holy enough to figure it out on our own. Every one of us is utterly dependent upon the Spirit to open our eyes to truly know God.
This is so clear in the Gospels with the twelve disciples. The twelve disciples had been with Jesus for a couple of years. They touched him, heard him, saw him. No one could have a better seat to witness God’s Eternal Son, to truly know him. He even told them 3 times about his suffering, death, and resurrection, and their all-wise reply was, “Huh???”
Finally just hours after the resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples. And they still didn’t get it.
Luke 24:44–45 CSB He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
They needed Jesus’s help to get it.
So if the disciples—who walked and talked directly with Jesus—couldn’t understand the gospel without the help of God, how much more with us.
When I read this passage, I think about my story of salvation that I shared at the outset this morning. I simply didn’t get it. But now it’s obvious to me now that the Holy Spirit simply opened my mind to finally understand and believe. Just like the disciples here in Luke 24.
Though each of us have our unique stories, if you truly are a Christian, at the highest level your story is the same as the disciples’ and mine: God’s Spirit enabled and empowered you to know and believe the Son of God, his death and resurrection and the hope of life he promises.
We have to remember what Paul is instructing the Corinthians about.
They are enamored with and being deceived by clever earthly wisdom that promises life and light but cannot deliver. The gospel has origin in the stratosphere, not on earth. And it can be understood only with the help of the God who resides in the stratosphere.
To attempt to save ourselves by our own logic and cleverness sounds wonderful at a glance. In my flesh I would love to think I’m that smart and that good. But not only is saving ourselves impossible, to attempt to save ourselves and rely on human wisdom and effort is a burden we truly should not want. To attempt to save ourselves leaves us striving. Wondering, “Am I good enough? Clever enough? If I am, what if I stop being so good and so clever?”
Or perhaps my being “good enough” is simply being better than you and the average person? That is the pride and arrogance Paul just wrote about in chapter 1 that we read last week.
Then in verse 16, for the fourth time so far in the letter, Paul proves his point by quoting the Old Testament.
He quotes Isaiah 40, which is one of the more remarkable passages in all the Bible about the vastness and greatness of God. It’s been a favorite of mine for decades.
His point here and in Isaiah 40 is, “Is there really any human who can teach God’s Spirit something? Is there anyone so wise on earth that God needs to consult him or her?” No human being is so clever or intelligent or philosophically brilliant that they can out-think and out-smart the Lord of all creation with their own plan of enlightenment.
It’s really laughable, though not in a funny way.
Paul concludes with the simple statement, “We have the mind of Christ.” He is not saying he is an elite, special-class of Christian. He is simply saying, “We—all of us Christians—have the Spirit of Christ.” Jesus Christ and his Spirit have given us all we need for salvation and sanctification.
I want to give some clarity and caution here: In this section (vs. 10-16), Paul is clearly talking about the Spirit’s help for us to understand the gospel and be saved.
Some of us may have been taught that the Holy Spirit gives some kind of “special knowledge” to some Christians. That some Christians through special abilities or anointings have a higher, loftier knowledge of the things of God. Perhaps even special revelation. I don’t believe that is true according to the NT.
If you want to make that case from other Scriptures, let’s have that conversation. But clearly Paul is NOT talking about that here.
Again, Paul’s point here in Chapter 2 is instructing the Corinthians and us on how we can understand the gospel and so be saved: We can do it only by God’s help. The cleverness and skill of the world’s philosophers will NEVER cut it.
Application
So what can we take from our passage today?
Because God is the One who saves…
…since He saves, He opens hearts, and therefore our salvation is not dependent on human wisdom or skill…
- For those of us who are genuine Christians, we should breathe a sigh of relief with a shout of joy that God has mercifully revealed himself to us.
We didn’t deserve it. We could never earn it.
And the only way we can truly know in intimacy the Creator of heaven and earth is if he reveals himself to us and opens our eyes, like the disciples in Luke 24. Let us rejoice.
Second, because God is the One who saves…
- Have compassion on this world, not a critical spirit.
When we see evil in the world, it is right and good to object to it. Even at times to speak against it. We definitely never want to rejoice in sin and just be OK with it. But we must not cross a line where we turn into proud, critical people who despise others for their sin. For we are no different than the rest of the world except for the undeserved kindness and mercy God has shown to us when he opened our eyes to Jesus and saved us.
Even the Lord Jesus, who had and has every right and all authority to judge, had compassion on Jerusalem, the same city who was going to crucify him in a few days:
Luke 19:41–42 CSB As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
Jesus’s heart was broken for the people he came to die for.
So for us, rather than criticizing and condemning the world around us, we humbly remember where we were headed until the Spirit of God opened our eyes.
An English preacher (John Bradford) from the 1500’s was watching prisoners being taken away to the death penalty. As he saw them, it is reported he said,
“There but for the grace of God go I.”
He humbly meant, “I would be just like everyone else: lost, blind, and doomed for destruction. Only by the kindness and mercy of God have my eyes been opened.”
Again, we can and should be opposed to the evil ways of this world, and be grieved that God’s name is mocked. Yet we must do that with a spirit of humility and compassion.
Third, because God is the One who saves….
- Know our proper role in evangelism.
We can speak and we must. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing…” People must hear the gospel in order to believe.
Yet the destiny of someone’s soul does not hinge on our eloquence or grand wisdom. Ultimately, the Spirit must open eyes and soften hearts. The Twelve disciples spent 2-3 years with Jesus, watching, listening, touching. Yet in the most important ways, they simply didn’t get it. Jesus had to open their minds to finally understand.
We still should strive to learn the Scriptures, to have more wisdom concerning objections to Christianity, to be bold and not afraid, and to love people more genuinely.
Yet ultimately, we do not save. That burden is on the Holy Spirit. And if we don’t give the right answers to objections to someone’s questions, or if we fumble in our words, our friend is not going to perish because of us. That is a burden we are not meant to bear.
We speak. God saves.
So let us pray that the Holy Spirit would open eyes and soften hearts so that others would find life forever in Jesus.
Conclusion
Paul understood God’s mercy and power very well. For before he was saved, he hated Jesus and all of Jesus’s people.
But God had mercy on him.
1 Timothy 1:13–16 CSB …I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus… I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.
Paul never forgot where he came from. He always kept clearly in mind that apart from God’s grace and mercy, he deserved severe judgment for his crimes against a holy God. And no human wisdom or philosophy could ever save him from the wrath of God. So his life serves as one of the greatest examples of how merciful God can be.
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