返回Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter Two
1 Cor. 2:1. And when I came to you, brethren, I came proclaiming to you the testimony of God not in excellence of speech or wisdom.
Not only, he says, were the disciples of the Gospel chosen from among men who were not wise and not of noble birth, but the preacher of the Gospel himself came proclaiming to you "the testimony of God," that is, the death of Christ, without eloquence and human wisdom. Note then that the preacher was a simple and uneducated man, and the subject of the preaching was the cross and death, and yet they prevailed. Thus it is evident that the power which accomplished all this is ineffable. What then? Could Paul, even if he had wished, not have come with wisdom? He himself could not, because he truly was a simple and uneducated man; but Christ, Who granted him even greater things, could have — only this would not have been advantageous for the preaching. For there is more glory for Christ in the fact that He conquered others through the simplicity of Paul than if He had achieved this through wisdom and eloquence.
1 Cor. 2:2. For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
And Christ, he says, wanted this, that is, for me to be a simple man, and I myself recognized it as good — to not know external wisdom at all, but to know only that Jesus Christ was crucified, and to be able to preach to you about Him.
1 Cor. 2:3. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
Not only, he says, did I come to you poor in speech, but I also lived among you in weakness, and fear and trembling, that is, amid persecutions, trials and countless dangers. For he himself as a human being feared dangers, even trembled at them; therefore he is also worthy of great praise, that being of the same nature as us, he surpassed us by his will. With the words stated above he shows the power of Christ, that is, that He overcame so many obstacles, and at the same time he overthrows the pride of the Corinthians, who relied on wisdom, wealth and strength.
1 Cor. 2:4. 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 adorned with outward persuasiveness and eloquence, but consisted "in demonstration of the Spirit," that is, it had as its proof the Holy Spirit Himself. This means either that the apostle, through his grace-filled ministry of the Word, instilled faith in his listeners in some extraordinary manner, or that he performed signs and wonders; for he adds: "and of power," that is, of signs. Indeed, to see the dead rising was a powerful proof of the truth of the faith. But since demons also produce signs through delusion, the apostle added the word "power," having said "Spirit" first, showing by this that his signs depended on the Holy Spirit. However, the word "power" can also be understood differently, for having said he came not in "wisdom" but in "weakness," the words "in demonstration of the Spirit" he relates to wisdom, and the word "power" he contrasts with weakness, as if saying: although I endured persecutions and was beaten with scourges, I proved to be even stronger, and this serves as the greatest proof for the word.
1 Cor. 2:5. So that your faith should be established not on human wisdom, but on the power of God.
By human wisdom he means persuasiveness and eloquence, while by the power of God, as shown above, he means the strengthening of the weak and the persecuted, as well as the manifestation of signs. It was by these means, O Corinthians, that your faith was established — not by the ability to express oneself persuasively and eloquently, but by the power of God.
1 Cor. 2:6. Yet we do speak wisdom among the perfect, but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.
Above he called the preaching foolishness, because that is what the Greeks called it. But, having proved by the deed itself that it is true wisdom, he finally boldly calls the preaching about Christ wisdom and salvation through the cross; for to destroy death by death is truly a matter of the greatest wisdom. He calls the faithful "perfect"; for they are indeed perfect, because, having despised all earthly things, they strive toward the heavenly. By "wisdom of this age" he means secular wisdom, since it is temporal and ends together with this age; by "rulers of this age" he means not demons, as some have thought, but wise men, orators, rhetoricians, who were together with the leaders and chiefs of the people. Since they too are temporal, he calls them "rulers of this age" and "passing away," that is, ceasing to exist, and not eternal.
1 Cor. 2:7. But we speak the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden.
He calls the preaching about Christ a mystery. For it is both a proclamation and at the same time a mystery, because even the angels did not know of it before it was announced (1 Pet. 1:12), and we, seeing one thing in it, understand another: thus I see the cross and suffering, but understand power; I hear "servant," but worship the Master. This wisdom is hidden from unbelievers completely, but for the faithful only in part; for now we see as in a mirror (1 Cor. 13:12).
1 Cor. 2:7. Which God foreordained before the ages for our glory.
By the word "foreordained" he indicates God's love for us. For he truly loves us who was ready long beforehand to bestow blessings upon us. So also God before the ages foreordained for us salvation through the cross, a salvation constituting the greatest wisdom. He said "for our glory" because He made us partakers of glory. For to be participants together with the Lord in a hidden mystery constitutes glory for a servant.
1 Cor. 2:8. Which none of the rulers of this age knew.
Princes here refers to Herod and Pilate. It would not be wrong, however, to also understand this as meaning the chief priests and scribes. The words "of this age" express, as was shown above, their temporal power.
1 Cor. 2:8. For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
If they had known the hidden wisdom, as was said above, and the mysteries of the divine economy, namely the mystery of God's incarnation, the mystery of the cross, the mystery of the calling and adoption of the Gentiles, the mystery of rebirth, sonship, and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven — in a word, all the mysteries revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit — and likewise if the chief priests had known that their city would be conquered and they themselves would be led into captivity, then they would not have crucified Christ. He called Christ here "the Lord of glory." That is, since they regarded the cross as something dishonorable, he shows that Christ in no way lost His glory through the cross; on the contrary, He was glorified even more, because through the cross He more clearly revealed His love for mankind. So then, if they did not know, ought this sin to have been forgiven them? Yes; if after this they had repented and turned back, the sin would have been forgiven them, just as it was forgiven Paul and others among the Jews.
1 Cor. 2:9. But, as it is written.
The words "and so it happened" are missing. The Apostle in many places employs the figure of omission.
1 Cor. 2:9. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
What then has God prepared for those who love Him? The knowledge of Christ and salvation through the incarnation. This no human eye has seen, nor human ear heard, nor human heart imagined. The prophets, however, did not see with human eyes, nor hear with human ears, nor comprehend the revelations about Christ with a human mind (Isa. 64:4), but everything in them was divine. For it is said: "The Lord... has given me an ear" (Isa. 50:4), that is, a spiritual one, and other things similar to this. And who are those who love God? The faithful. Where, furthermore, is this saying written? Perhaps it was indeed written in these very words, but now that book no longer exists, or perhaps the wise Paul expressed with this saying the following words: "they shall see that which had not been told them, and shall understand that which they had not heard" (Isa. 52:15).
1 Cor. 2:10. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
Someone might ask: if it has not entered the heart of man, then how did you learn of this? He answers: God revealed it to us by the Spirit, and not by human wisdom. For it was neither worthy nor able to see the mysteries of God.
1 Cor. 2:10-11. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man that dwells in him? So also the things of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God.
Such, he says, was this mystery and so hidden that we could not have learned of it from anyone, had the Spirit not taught us, who knows even the depths of God. The word "searches" indicates not ignorance, but perfect knowledge, just as it is also said of the Father: "You search the hearts" (Ps. 7:10), meaning: You know the depth of hearts. It can also be understood this way: the Spirit is said to search the mysteries of God in the sense that He delights in contemplating them. He shows the perfect knowledge of the Spirit in the subsequent words as well. For just as the human spirit knows what is in man, so, he says, the Spirit of God knows what belongs to God. From this we learn, among other things, that the Spirit is not of a different essence compared to the Father, just as the spirit of man is not different compared to the man.
1 Cor. 2:12. But we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God.
He called the spirit of this world human wisdom. It is not this wisdom that we received, lest it render our preaching vain and useless; no, our teacher was the Spirit "from God," that is, a being consubstantial with God, proceeding from His essence.
1 Cor. 2:12. That we might know the things freely given to us by God.
The Spirit, he says, is light, and this very light we have received, so that, being enlightened by it, we might know what was hidden until now. What is this? "That which is given to us by God," that is, everything that pertains to the dispensation of Christ, namely: how He died for us, how He made us children of God, how in Himself He also seated us at the right hand of the Father. Consequently, those who do not have the Spirit do not know those mysteries.
1 Cor. 2:13. Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit.
We, he says, have all the more wisdom in comparison with the Greek sages, in that they were instructed by men, whereas we speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:13. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
That is, if any spiritual questions arise, we judge them, that is, we resolve them by means of other spiritual teachings or narratives. So, for example, the spiritual question: did Christ rise from the dead? We discuss and resolve on the basis of another spiritual teaching, namely the narrative of Jonah. In a similar manner, another question: how could a Virgin give birth? is resolved by the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, and Elizabeth, who conceived not according to the laws of nature, since conception depends on the power of the womb, and likewise by the fact that Eve came from Adam without seed, as well as by other cases considered in relation to the coming of man into the world. However, the words "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" you may also understand thus: discussing and resolving spiritual questions together with spiritual people, for they alone can understand them. Therefore he adds what follows.
1 Cor. 2:14. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness.
The natural man is one who relies in everything on his own reasoning and does not think that he needs higher help, and one who does not wish to accept anything by faith, and considers everything that cannot be proved to be foolishness. So then, the one who thinks that everything occurs by the natural order, and admits nothing supernatural, he calls natural, that is, governed by nature: for his soul occupies itself only with the economy of nature. And just as the bodily eyes, beautiful in themselves and exceedingly useful, cannot see anything without light, so too the soul, having been made capable of receiving the Holy Spirit, cannot without Him contemplate divine things.
1 Cor. 2:14. And he cannot understand, because these things must be judged spiritually.
That is, he does not understand that such matters require faith and cannot be grasped by reason; for this means "these things must be judged spiritually," that is, they have their proofs in faith and in the Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:15. But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is judged by no one.
The spiritual man, he says, knows all things; he knows that everything here is temporary, while the future is permanent; he knows that he will receive salvation, and that the unfaithful will be punished. Therefore he also exposes them, "yet he himself is judged by no one," that is, they cannot expose him, for the one who sees perceives both his own things and those belonging to the unseeing; on the contrary, they, like blind men, see neither their own things nor those that belong to him.
1 Cor. 2:16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may judge Him?
He calls the spiritual mind the mind of the Lord. The word "judge" (συμβιβάσει) stands in place of: correct (διορθώσεται). Having said above: "no one can judge about the spiritual," he now proves that he said this rightly. "For who has known the mind of the Lord" so as to venture to "judge" it, that is, to correct it? For if no one can even know the mind of the Lord, and such is the mind of the spiritual man, then all the more can no one teach him or correct him.
1 Cor. 2:16. But we have the mind of Christ.
Do not be surprised, he says, that I called the spiritual man and his mind the mind of the Lord. All of "we have the mind of Christ," that is, everything that we know has been revealed to us by Christ, and our understanding (τον νουν) concerning divine things we have from Christ; in other words: the knowledge that we have about spiritual matters of faith, we have from Christ, so that truly no one can judge us. Some, however, called the Father the mind of Christ, while others called it the Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:1. And when I came to you, brethren, I came proclaiming to you the testimony of God not in excellence of speech or wisdom.
Not only, he says, were the disciples of the Gospel chosen from among men who were not wise and not of noble birth, but the preacher of the Gospel himself came proclaiming to you "the testimony of God," that is, the death of Christ, without eloquence and human wisdom. Note then that the preacher was a simple and uneducated man, and the subject of the preaching was the cross and death, and yet they prevailed. Thus it is evident that the power which accomplished all this is ineffable. What then? Could Paul, even if he had wished, not have come with wisdom? He himself could not, because he truly was a simple and uneducated man; but Christ, Who granted him even greater things, could have — only this would not have been advantageous for the preaching. For there is more glory for Christ in the fact that He conquered others through the simplicity of Paul than if He had achieved this through wisdom and eloquence.
1 Cor. 2:2. For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
And Christ, he says, wanted this, that is, for me to be a simple man, and I myself recognized it as good — to not know external wisdom at all, but to know only that Jesus Christ was crucified, and to be able to preach to you about Him.
1 Cor. 2:3. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
Not only, he says, did I come to you poor in speech, but I also lived among you in weakness, and fear and trembling, that is, amid persecutions, trials and countless dangers. For he himself as a human being feared dangers, even trembled at them; therefore he is also worthy of great praise, that being of the same nature as us, he surpassed us by his will. With the words stated above he shows the power of Christ, that is, that He overcame so many obstacles, and at the same time he overthrows the pride of the Corinthians, who relied on wisdom, wealth and strength.
1 Cor. 2:4. 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 adorned with outward persuasiveness and eloquence, but consisted "in demonstration of the Spirit," that is, it had as its proof the Holy Spirit Himself. This means either that the apostle, through his grace-filled ministry of the Word, instilled faith in his listeners in some extraordinary manner, or that he performed signs and wonders; for he adds: "and of power," that is, of signs. Indeed, to see the dead rising was a powerful proof of the truth of the faith. But since demons also produce signs through delusion, the apostle added the word "power," having said "Spirit" first, showing by this that his signs depended on the Holy Spirit. However, the word "power" can also be understood differently, for having said he came not in "wisdom" but in "weakness," the words "in demonstration of the Spirit" he relates to wisdom, and the word "power" he contrasts with weakness, as if saying: although I endured persecutions and was beaten with scourges, I proved to be even stronger, and this serves as the greatest proof for the word.
1 Cor. 2:5. So that your faith should be established not on human wisdom, but on the power of God.
By human wisdom he means persuasiveness and eloquence, while by the power of God, as shown above, he means the strengthening of the weak and the persecuted, as well as the manifestation of signs. It was by these means, O Corinthians, that your faith was established — not by the ability to express oneself persuasively and eloquently, but by the power of God.
1 Cor. 2:6. Yet we do speak wisdom among the perfect, but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.
Above he called the preaching foolishness, because that is what the Greeks called it. But, having proved by the deed itself that it is true wisdom, he finally boldly calls the preaching about Christ wisdom and salvation through the cross; for to destroy death by death is truly a matter of the greatest wisdom. He calls the faithful "perfect"; for they are indeed perfect, because, having despised all earthly things, they strive toward the heavenly. By "wisdom of this age" he means secular wisdom, since it is temporal and ends together with this age; by "rulers of this age" he means not demons, as some have thought, but wise men, orators, rhetoricians, who were together with the leaders and chiefs of the people. Since they too are temporal, he calls them "rulers of this age" and "passing away," that is, ceasing to exist, and not eternal.
1 Cor. 2:7. But we speak the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden.
He calls the preaching about Christ a mystery. For it is both a proclamation and at the same time a mystery, because even the angels did not know of it before it was announced (1 Pet. 1:12), and we, seeing one thing in it, understand another: thus I see the cross and suffering, but understand power; I hear "servant," but worship the Master. This wisdom is hidden from unbelievers completely, but for the faithful only in part; for now we see as in a mirror (1 Cor. 13:12).
1 Cor. 2:7. Which God foreordained before the ages for our glory.
By the word "foreordained" he indicates God's love for us. For he truly loves us who was ready long beforehand to bestow blessings upon us. So also God before the ages foreordained for us salvation through the cross, a salvation constituting the greatest wisdom. He said "for our glory" because He made us partakers of glory. For to be participants together with the Lord in a hidden mystery constitutes glory for a servant.
1 Cor. 2:8. Which none of the rulers of this age knew.
Princes here refers to Herod and Pilate. It would not be wrong, however, to also understand this as meaning the chief priests and scribes. The words "of this age" express, as was shown above, their temporal power.
1 Cor. 2:8. For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
If they had known the hidden wisdom, as was said above, and the mysteries of the divine economy, namely the mystery of God's incarnation, the mystery of the cross, the mystery of the calling and adoption of the Gentiles, the mystery of rebirth, sonship, and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven — in a word, all the mysteries revealed to the apostles by the Holy Spirit — and likewise if the chief priests had known that their city would be conquered and they themselves would be led into captivity, then they would not have crucified Christ. He called Christ here "the Lord of glory." That is, since they regarded the cross as something dishonorable, he shows that Christ in no way lost His glory through the cross; on the contrary, He was glorified even more, because through the cross He more clearly revealed His love for mankind. So then, if they did not know, ought this sin to have been forgiven them? Yes; if after this they had repented and turned back, the sin would have been forgiven them, just as it was forgiven Paul and others among the Jews.
1 Cor. 2:9. But, as it is written.
The words "and so it happened" are missing. The Apostle in many places employs the figure of omission.
1 Cor. 2:9. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
What then has God prepared for those who love Him? The knowledge of Christ and salvation through the incarnation. This no human eye has seen, nor human ear heard, nor human heart imagined. The prophets, however, did not see with human eyes, nor hear with human ears, nor comprehend the revelations about Christ with a human mind (Isa. 64:4), but everything in them was divine. For it is said: "The Lord... has given me an ear" (Isa. 50:4), that is, a spiritual one, and other things similar to this. And who are those who love God? The faithful. Where, furthermore, is this saying written? Perhaps it was indeed written in these very words, but now that book no longer exists, or perhaps the wise Paul expressed with this saying the following words: "they shall see that which had not been told them, and shall understand that which they had not heard" (Isa. 52:15).
1 Cor. 2:10. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
Someone might ask: if it has not entered the heart of man, then how did you learn of this? He answers: God revealed it to us by the Spirit, and not by human wisdom. For it was neither worthy nor able to see the mysteries of God.
1 Cor. 2:10-11. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man that dwells in him? So also the things of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God.
Such, he says, was this mystery and so hidden that we could not have learned of it from anyone, had the Spirit not taught us, who knows even the depths of God. The word "searches" indicates not ignorance, but perfect knowledge, just as it is also said of the Father: "You search the hearts" (Ps. 7:10), meaning: You know the depth of hearts. It can also be understood this way: the Spirit is said to search the mysteries of God in the sense that He delights in contemplating them. He shows the perfect knowledge of the Spirit in the subsequent words as well. For just as the human spirit knows what is in man, so, he says, the Spirit of God knows what belongs to God. From this we learn, among other things, that the Spirit is not of a different essence compared to the Father, just as the spirit of man is not different compared to the man.
1 Cor. 2:12. But we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God.
He called the spirit of this world human wisdom. It is not this wisdom that we received, lest it render our preaching vain and useless; no, our teacher was the Spirit "from God," that is, a being consubstantial with God, proceeding from His essence.
1 Cor. 2:12. That we might know the things freely given to us by God.
The Spirit, he says, is light, and this very light we have received, so that, being enlightened by it, we might know what was hidden until now. What is this? "That which is given to us by God," that is, everything that pertains to the dispensation of Christ, namely: how He died for us, how He made us children of God, how in Himself He also seated us at the right hand of the Father. Consequently, those who do not have the Spirit do not know those mysteries.
1 Cor. 2:13. Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit.
We, he says, have all the more wisdom in comparison with the Greek sages, in that they were instructed by men, whereas we speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:13. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
That is, if any spiritual questions arise, we judge them, that is, we resolve them by means of other spiritual teachings or narratives. So, for example, the spiritual question: did Christ rise from the dead? We discuss and resolve on the basis of another spiritual teaching, namely the narrative of Jonah. In a similar manner, another question: how could a Virgin give birth? is resolved by the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, and Elizabeth, who conceived not according to the laws of nature, since conception depends on the power of the womb, and likewise by the fact that Eve came from Adam without seed, as well as by other cases considered in relation to the coming of man into the world. However, the words "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" you may also understand thus: discussing and resolving spiritual questions together with spiritual people, for they alone can understand them. Therefore he adds what follows.
1 Cor. 2:14. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness.
The natural man is one who relies in everything on his own reasoning and does not think that he needs higher help, and one who does not wish to accept anything by faith, and considers everything that cannot be proved to be foolishness. So then, the one who thinks that everything occurs by the natural order, and admits nothing supernatural, he calls natural, that is, governed by nature: for his soul occupies itself only with the economy of nature. And just as the bodily eyes, beautiful in themselves and exceedingly useful, cannot see anything without light, so too the soul, having been made capable of receiving the Holy Spirit, cannot without Him contemplate divine things.
1 Cor. 2:14. And he cannot understand, because these things must be judged spiritually.
That is, he does not understand that such matters require faith and cannot be grasped by reason; for this means "these things must be judged spiritually," that is, they have their proofs in faith and in the Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:15. But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is judged by no one.
The spiritual man, he says, knows all things; he knows that everything here is temporary, while the future is permanent; he knows that he will receive salvation, and that the unfaithful will be punished. Therefore he also exposes them, "yet he himself is judged by no one," that is, they cannot expose him, for the one who sees perceives both his own things and those belonging to the unseeing; on the contrary, they, like blind men, see neither their own things nor those that belong to him.
1 Cor. 2:16. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may judge Him?
He calls the spiritual mind the mind of the Lord. The word "judge" (συμβιβάσει) stands in place of: correct (διορθώσεται). Having said above: "no one can judge about the spiritual," he now proves that he said this rightly. "For who has known the mind of the Lord" so as to venture to "judge" it, that is, to correct it? For if no one can even know the mind of the Lord, and such is the mind of the spiritual man, then all the more can no one teach him or correct him.
1 Cor. 2:16. But we have the mind of Christ.
Do not be surprised, he says, that I called the spiritual man and his mind the mind of the Lord. All of "we have the mind of Christ," that is, everything that we know has been revealed to us by Christ, and our understanding (τον νουν) concerning divine things we have from Christ; in other words: the knowledge that we have about spiritual matters of faith, we have from Christ, so that truly no one can judge us. Some, however, called the Father the mind of Christ, while others called it the Spirit.