The Message About Christ on the Cross

2 ¹Dear brothers [and sisters], when I came to you, I told you the truth of God. But I did not use fancy words or great wisdom. ²I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. ³When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. ⁴My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit* gives. ⁵I did this so that your faith would be in God's power, not in the wisdom of a man.

God's Wisdom

⁶We teach wisdom to people that are mature. But this wisdom we teach is not from this world. It is not the wisdom of the rulers of this world. Those rulers are losing their power. ⁷But we speak God's secret wisdom. This wisdom has been hidden [from people]. God planned this wisdom for our glory. He planned it before the world began. ⁸None of the rulers of this world understood this wisdom. If they had understood it, then they would not have killed the Lord of glory on a cross. ⁹But like it is written [in the Scriptures*], "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no person has imagined what God has prepared for those people that love him." Isaiah 64:4

¹⁰But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.* The Spirit knows all things. The Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God. ¹¹It is like this: No person knows the thoughts that another person has. Only that person's spirit that lives inside him knows those thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God. Only the Spirit of God knows those thoughts. ¹²We did not receive the spirit of the world. But we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so that we can know the things that God has given us. ¹³When we speak these things, we don't use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things. ¹⁴A person that is not spiritual does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks that those things are foolish. That person cannot understand the things of the Spirit, because those things can only be judged spiritually. ¹⁵But the spiritual person is able to make judgments about all things. Other people cannot judge that person.

[The Scripture* says]: ¹⁶"Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who can tell the Lord what to do?" Isaiah 40:13

But we have the mind of Christ.

Spirit, Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, he does God's work among people in the world.

Scriptures

Holy Writings--the Old Testament.