Bible Commentaries

Knowing Christ And Him Crucified
- First Corinthians Two -

In I Corinthians chapter two Paul explained the plain and simple nature of his preaching at Corinth. He did not appeal to them through the excellence of speech or of wisdom. He proclaimed to them the testimony of God. In very uncomplicated and forthright terms He preached Christ and Him crucified. He did not want their faith to stand in human wisdom, but in the power of God

Paul had communicated to the Corinthians a treasure in the truest sense. "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) The point of this statement is that God had prepared great things in Christ for those that love Him. The "deep things" of God involve the message of salvation by the cross. A failure to understand the wisdom of the message of the cross can only mean a failure to connect to God through Christ. Paul knew that by revelation he had, "the mind of Christ."

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 : When Paul preached the gospel at Corinth he did not use big words or try to sound wise. He spoke to them about salvation in everyday language that they could understand. A good preacher can take the message of salvation through Jesus and make it so that little children can understand. Paul used such simplicity in preaching because he was "determined not to know any thing among the Corinthians, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."

Our Heavenly Father loved us enough to overthrow the diabolical work of Satan at the cost of the death of His Son, Jesus. The purpose for Christ coming to earth and being crucified was so that sinful mankind could be brought back to God. This purpose is clearly stated in Hebrews 2:14. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

At first when Paul was at Corinth he was weak and trembling with fear. He was going through struggles of the flesh that every man feels. He said when he preached he simply allowed the Spirit of God to use him to show the power of the Almighty. He desired that they have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.

We speak the wisdom of God - 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 : Paul acknowledged that he did use wisdom in speaking to the spiritually mature. However it was not "the wisdom of this world." The wisdom of the world will soon disappear and it will bring salvation to no one. Your life will be a waste if you allow someone with human wisdom to do your thinking for you. The mature children of God will be led by the wisdom of God revealed in His written word.

God made a decision, before the world began, that if sin entered the word man could be saved though the gospel, that message that was for generations a hidden mystery. God's patience and His long-suffering is seen as He through the many passing years brought about an arrangement whereby the lost would have an opportunity to hear the word of God, obey that message from the heart and come to salvation. The Devil does his best to bring about total disregard for this salvation message. The world never seems to understand that in the sacrificial death of Jesus that Satan was defeated and now sins can be forgiven.

Things freely given us of God - 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 : The benefits of the gospel are beyond what could ever be imagined in this life and in the life to come. Paul described gospel benefits saying, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) We have all the benefits of the gospel in this age and an inheritance that is waiting for us in the world to come. Included in these blessing are peace, contentment, joy, love and a wealth that we simply cannot comprehend. We must not allow our sins and our poor choices to carry us away from God's great blessings.

The many unseen things of the gospel have been revealed through God's Spirit to the apostles. They in turn wrote those things down in our Bible so that we might know both the mind of God and the promises of God. The Holy Spirit has revealed the mystery of the deep things of God through the apostles. The only way that we could possibly know the mind of God was through revelation. "It is not possible to measure the arm of God with the finger of man."

God has given His Spirit to His people. "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." (Acts 5:32) Those that have the Spirit of Christ do not think the same way that the people of the world think. Those that have the Spirit of God recognize how blessed they are by God. They study God's word and follow His teaching to enjoy true peace. When you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your mind through the word of God you will find truths that will help you in everyday life.

But we have the mind of Christ - 1 Corinthians 2:13-16 : Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that the words that he spoke to them were Spirit inspired words. They were not words that he thought up by human wisdom. The only words that could be used by Paul and the other apostles, in delivering eternal truth, were those words given directly by inspiration of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspired these words comparing spiritual things with the spiritual words.

Inspiration for writing the word of God was not given to every man. God selected a certain few men and filled them with the Holy Spirit. There are others that think they are teaching the word of God, however they are only teaching the traditions of men. They are not setting forth that message given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

These men inspired with the Holy Spirit could discern God's revealed truth from the words of men. The wisdom of the flesh does not determine with certainly what is right and what is wrong. The spiritual or inspired man had a discernment of truth that was not possessed by uninspired men. The inspiration of God allowed these men to "have the mind of Christ" or to understand what Christ was thinking. Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to write the instructions to help the Corinthian church. These same instructions now provide direction for our lives.