I Corinthians 2 · The Lantern

And I brethren when I came to you came not in gloriousnes of wordes or of wysdome shewynge vnto you the testimony of God.

What Paul calls the testimony here is God the Word incarnate, hidden from all ages with God. Heretics played fast and loose with these things. They preached their wicked doctrine with great eloquence, following the wisdom of the world. They emptied Christ's cross of its power. They were embarrassed to be ridiculed by the world.

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.

After indicating the suitable way to present Christian doctrine, the Apostle now shows that he observed it. In regard to this he does three things: first, he shows that he did not make use of worldly greatness with them; secondly, he shows in which cases he employs spiritual excellence (v. 6); thirdly, he indicate the reason (v. 7).

Nether shewed I my selfe that I knewe eny thinge amonge you save Iesus Christ eve the same that was crucified.

But answer me at once, you that murder truth: Was not God really crucified? And, having been really crucified, did He not really die? And, having indeed really died, did He not really rise again? Falsely did Paul "determine to know nothing amongst us but Jesus and Him crucified; " falsely has he impressed upon us that He was buried; falsely inculcated that He rose again.

For the apostle also says, "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified;" because he was speaking to those who were not able to receive higher things concerning the Godhead of Christ.

Then he discloses the reason for this, saying: For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ. For this work there was no need to make a display of wisdom but to show His power: "We preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 4:5).

And I was amoge you in weaknes and in feare and in moche treblinge.

And my wordes and my preachinge were not with entysynge wordes of manes wysdome: but in shewinge of ye sprete and of power

that youre fayth shuld not stonde in ye wysdome of me but in yt power of God.

That we speake of is wysdome amonge them that are perfecte: not the wysdome of this worlde nether of the rulars of this worlde (which go to nought)

When, however, they are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn round and accuse these same Scriptures, as if they were not correct, nor of authority, and [assert] that they are ambiguous, and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by those who are ignorant of tradition.

"Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect:" for when I, accounted foolish and a preacher of follies, get the better of the wise, I overcome wisdom, not by foolishness but by a more perfect wisdom; a wisdom, too, so ample and so much greater, that the other appears foolishness.

Then when he says, We impart wisdom, he shows with whom he uses the loftiness of spiritual wisdom: first, he states what he intends; secondly, he clarifies it (v. 6b). He says, therefore: Among you I have only preached Christ crucified, but we impart wisdom, i.e., profound doctrine, among the mature (perfect).

but we speake ye wysdome of God which is in secrete and lieth hyd which God ordeyned before the worlde vnto oure glory:

which wysdome none of ye rulars of the worlde knewe. For had they knowe it they wolde not have crucified the Lorde of glory.

These men are not the planting of the Father, but are an accursed brood. And says the Lord, "Let every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted be rooted up." For if they had been branches of the Father, they would not have been "enemies of the cross of Christ," but rather of those who "killed the Lord of glory." But now, by denying the cross, and being ashamed of the pas…

Pilate, Caiaphas and the rest were condemned by their ignorance, because they should have known the truth. There are two kinds of heretics who misinterpret this passage. The first are the Apollinarians, and the second are the Arians. The Apollinarians are wrong because they do not accept that Christ's human nature was perfect.

Having explained the wisdom he speaks among the perfect, the Apostle now gives the reason behind the explanation: first, insofar as he described it in relation to unbelievers; secondly, in relation to believers (v.10). As to the first he does two things: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it (v.8).

But as it is written: The eye hath not sene and the eare hath not hearde nether have entred into the herte of man ye thinges which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we shall be righteous; but if we do not serve Him, because we believe not the promise of God, we shall be miserable.

For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another.

Then when he says, But as it is written, he proves by Scripture that the rulers of this world did not know God's wisdom as to what it prepared for the glory of believers, saying: what no eye has seen or ear heard or the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for them that love him, where our version has: "The eye has not seen, O God, besides you, what things you have pre…

But God hath opened them vnto vs by his sprete. For ye sprete searcheth all thinges ye the bottome of Goddes secretes.

But as for us, we still dwell upon the earth, and have not yet sat down upon His throne. For although the Spirit of the Saviour that is in Him "searcheth all things, even the deep things of God," [1 Corinthians 2:10] yet as to us "there are diversities of gifts, differences of administrations, and diversities of operations;" and we, while upon the earth, as Paul also declares,…

What kind of things then are these? That by what is esteemed to be the foolishness of preaching He shall overcome the world, and the nations shall be brought in, and there shall be reconciliation of God with men, and so great blessings shall come upon us! How then have we known?

Then when he says, But to us, he proves the above explanation of divine wisdom in relation to the faithful: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it (v. 10b).

For what man knoweth the thinges of a ma: save ye sprete of a man which is with in him? Even so ye thinges of God knoweth no man but ye sprete of god.

For no spirit given by God requires to be asked; but such a spirit having the power of Divinity speaks all things of itself, for it proceeds from above from the power of the Divine Spirit. But the spirit which is asked and speaks according to the desires of men is earthly, light, and powerless, and it is altogether silent if it is not questioned.

As it is written, For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? On what principle is it said here, Behold I know your thoughts? But the spirit of a man is then unknown to another, when it is not shewn forth either by words or deeds.

Then when he says, for what person knows, he proves what he had said of the Spirit of God by a comparison with man's spirit, saying: For what person knows a man's thoughts, i.e., which are hidden in his heart, but the spirit of the man, which is in him, i.e., the intellect? Hence the things which lie within cannot be seen.

And we have not receaved the sprete of ye worlde: but the sprete which cometh of god for to knowe the thinges that are geve to vs of god

The "spirit of the world" is the one by which different people are possessed. It does not know the truth but can only guess at it, and therefore it both deceives others and is itself deceived by appearances.

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.

Then when he says, But we have received, he shows how knowledge of the Holy Spirit is obtained, saying: But we, filled with the Holy Spirit, have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God. By the word "spirit" is understood a definite vital power, both cognitive and dynamic.

which thinges also we speake not in the conynge wordes of manes wysdome but with the conynge wordes of the holy goost makynge spretuall coparesons of spretuall thinges.

For he who is still blind and dumb, not having understanding, or the undazzled and keen vision of the contemplative soul, which the Saviour confers, like the uninitiated at the mysteries, or the unmusical at dances, not being yet pure and worthy of the pure truth, but still discordant and disordered and material, must stand outside of the divine choir.

This does not mean that Paul did not have any human wisdom but that he preached in the wisdom of the Spirit.

Above the Apostle had said: "We speak wisdom among the perfect." Therefore, after indicating that it is a mark of this wisdom not to be known by worldly men, but to be known by the saints, he now discloses the way in which the saints speak this wisdom among the perfect.

For ye naturall man perceaveth not the thinges of the sprete of god. For they are but folysshnes vnto him. Nether can he perceave them because he is spretually examined.

But he that is spretuall discusseth all thinges: yet he him selfe is iudged of no ma.

...he who is truly spiritual will interpret by pointing out, in regard to every one of the things which have been spoken, to what special point in the dispensation of the Lord is referred, and [by thus exhibiting] the entire system of the work of the Son of God, knowing always the same God, and always acknowledging the same Word of God, although He has [but] now been manifested…

Next, pursuing his contrast, he states the cause of this, saying, "he knoweth not because they are spiritually discerned:" i.e. the things asserted require faith, and to apprehend them by reasonings is not possible, for their magnitude exceeds by a great deal the meanness of our understanding.

Then when he says, But the spiritual man, he gives the reason why spiritual things are imparted to spiritual men. First, he gives the reason; secondly, he clarifies it (v. 16). The reason given is this: Spiritual things should be entrusted to one who can discern: "The ear discerns with words" (Jb 12:11); but the spiritual man is such.

For who knoweth the mynde of the Lorde other who shall informe him? But we vnderstonde the mynde of Christ.

I Corinthians2