In 1 Corinthians 1:17-3:23, Paul ‘according to the wisdom given unto him’,[1] explains how he preached the gospel and taught the wisdom of God. For the next couple of ‘Analysis’ columns, the text of 1 Corinthians 1-2 will be examined to see how the ‘wisdom of God’ is revealed. We will intend to answer the following questions:
- How does God reveal his wisdom?
- What is the ‘mystery’ of 1 Corinthians 2:7?
- Why is the wisdom of God ‘hidden’ (1 Cor 2:7)?
- Who are the ‘princes of this world’ (1 Cor 2:6)?
- Is the Holy Spirit required to understand the wisdom of God (1 Cor 2:13)?
- What does it mean to ‘compare spiritual things with spiritual’ (1 Cor 2:13)?
The analysis of this, and other related, texts will have implications on how we approach the scriptures and interact with human ‘wisdom’. In this column, a brief overview of the passage will be given and the historical background will be highlighted.
Paul, by the inspiration of God, is explaining how he ‘preach[ed] the gospel’ (1 Cor 1:17) to the Corinthians (2:1). He explains that he did not do this with ‘wisdom of words’ but with the ‘wisdom of God’ (1:17, 2:7). In 1 Cor 1:17-31 the apostle explains how the preaching was received by the wise and foolish of this world. In 1 Cor 2:1-16, the Spirit through Paul then references his visit to Corinth and explains how the wisdom of God is ‘revealed’, how it is ‘received’ and how it interacts with the ‘natural man’.
To highlight the chasm that exists between these two types of wisdom, the Spirit contrasts the two types of wisdom throughout 1:17-3:19 (a full list of these references is tabulated below).
| Wisdom of God | Wisdom of Men |
|---|---|
|
|
In 1 Cor 2:1, Paul makes reference to an occasion when he ‘came to you [Corinth – 1:2]’. The text highlights a couple of other details about this visit:
- When Paul visited he came ‘in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling’ (2:3)
- He preached Christ ‘unto Jews…and unto the Greeks’ (1:23)
A number of verbal connections highlight that this visit is historically described in Acts 18,[2]
| Acts 18 | Corinthians 1 & 2 |
|---|---|
| “Paul…came to Corinth” (v. 1) | “when I came to you” (2:1; cf. 1:2 ‘at Corinth’) |
| “persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” (v. 4) | “we preach…unto Jews…and Greeks” (1:23) |
| “testified…that Jesus was Christ” (v. 5) |
“we preach Christ crucified” (1:23) “save Jesus Christ” (2:2) |
| “hearing believed” (v. 8) |
“save them that believe” (1:21) “your faith…” (2:5) |
| “Be not afraid” (v. 9) | “in fear” (2:3) |
| “but speak” (v. 9) | “we speak” (2:6, 7, 13) |
| “teaching the word of God among them” (v. 11) | “the Holy Spirit teacheth” (2:13) |
In Acts 18, Paul arrives in Corinth and whereupon he ‘reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks’ (Acts 18:4; cf. 1 Cor 1:23). The Jews opposed Paul’s teaching, which led him to turn to the Gentiles (Acts 18:6-7).[3] By comparing 1 Cor 2:1, where Paul states that he was with the Corinthians ‘in fear’, with Acts 18:9 ‘be not afraid’, it seems that Paul feared what the Jews would do to him (cf. Acts 17:5-9, 13).
The Lord’s vision in Acts 18:9-10 is to encourage him to stay in Corinth, in the face of Jewish opposition. Paul is told not to be afraid and is instructed to ‘speak and hold not thy peace’ (Acts 18:9). This vision evidently gave Paul the strength to continue his preaching at Corinth because he remains there for eighteen months ‘teaching the word of God among them’ (Acts 18:11). Hence, in 1 Corinthians 2 the Spirit references speaking and teaching:[4]
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom…Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Cor 2:6, 7, 13)
Whilst Acts 18 tells us that the Lord encourages Paul to ‘speak’, 1 Corinthians 2 explains what Paul ‘spoke’ – the wisdom of God.
By highlighting the historical background to 1 Corinthians 2, the context in which the Spirit is speaking, is established. Acts 18 shows that Paul spoke by teaching the word of God. Therefore, all of the details in 1 Corinthians 2 about how Paul spoke and taught all come under the umbrella term of ‘teaching the word of God’.
[1] Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8 ‘For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit’.
[2] Verbal connections within the Greek text are bolded.
[3] This model of preaching first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles is seen elsewhere (e.g. Acts 13:46; Acts 28:28; cf. Rom 1:16).
[4] Acts 18 and 1 Corinthians 2 use the same Greek terms for ‘speak*’ and ‘teach*’.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One