something said (including the thought) · noun — dative plural masculine
man’s
ἀνθρωπίνηςanthrōpinēs
G442
human · adjective — genitive singular feminine
wisdom
σοφίαςsophias
G4678
wisdom (higher or lower · noun — genitive singular feminine
but
ἀλλ᾽all᾽
G235
properly · conjunction
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
demonstration
ἀποδείξειapodeixei
G585
manifestation · noun — dative singular feminine
Spirit
πνεύματοςpneumatos
G4151
a current of air · noun — genitive singular neuter
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
power
δυνάμεως,dunameōs
G1411
force (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
1 Thessalonians 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of me…
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effec…
1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully pr…
2 Peter 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewi…
1 Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with…
Colossians 2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
In this passage the apostle pursues his design, and reminds the Corinthians how he acted when he first preached the gospel among them.
I. As to the matter or subject he tell us (Co1 2:2), He determined to know nothing among them but Jesus Christ and him crucified - to make a show of no other knowledge than this, to preach nothing, to discover the knowledge of nothing, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Note, Christ, in his person and offices, is the sum and substance of the gospel, and ought to be the great subject of a gospel minister's preaching. His business is to display the banner of the cross, and invite people under it. Any one that heard Paul preach found him to harp so continually…
my speech--in private.
preaching--in public [BENGEL]. ALFORD explains it, My discourse on doctrines, and my preaching or announcement of facts.
enticing--rather, "persuasive."
man's wisdom--man's is omitted in the oldest authorities. Still "wisdom" does refer to "man's" wisdom.
in demonstration of . . . Spirit, &c.--Persuasion is man's means of moving his fellow man. God's means is demonstration, leaving no doubt, and inspiring implicit faith, by the powerful working of the Spirit (then exhibited both outwardly by miracles, and inwardly by working on the heart, now in the latter and the more important way only, Mat 7:29; Act 6:10; Heb 4:12; compare also Rom 15:19). The same simple po…
And my speech - Ὁ λογος μου, My doctrine; the matter of my preaching.
And my preaching - Το κηρυγμα μου, My proclamation, my manner of recommending the grand but simple truths of the Gospel.
Was not with enticing words of man's wisdom - Ενπειθοις ανθρωπινης σοφιας λογοις, With persuasive doctrines of human wisdom: in every case I left man out, that God might become the more evident. I used none of the means of which great orators avail themselves in order to become popular, and thereby to gain fame.
But in demonstration of the Spirit - Αποδειξει, In the manifestation; or, as two ancient MSS. have it, αποκαλυψει, in the revelation of the Spirit. The doctrine that he preached was revealed by…
The Church Fathers
If our Scriptures had persuaded people to believe because they had been written with rhetorical art or philosophical skill, there is no doubt that our faith would be said to depend on the art of words and on human wisdom rather than on the power of God.
"And my speech and my preaching was not in persuasive words of wisdom:" that is, had not the wisdom from without. Now if the doctrine preached had nothing subtle, and they that were called were unlearned, and he that preached was of the same description, and thereto was added persecution, and trembling and fear; tell me, how did they overcome without Divine power? And this is why, having said, "My speech and my preaching was not in persuasive words of wisdom," he added, "but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Dost thou perceive how "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness stronger?" They for their part, being unlearned and preaching such a Gospel, in their chains and persecution overcame their persecutors. Whereby? was it not by their furnishing that evidence which is of the Spirit? For this indeed is confessed demonstration. For who, tell me, after he had seen dead men rising to life and devils cast out, could have helped admitting it? But seeing that there are also deceiving wonders, such as those of sorcerers, he removes this suspicion also. For he said not simply "of power," but first, "of the Spirit," and then, "of power:" signifying that the things done were spiritual. It is no disparagement, therefore, that the Gospel was not declared by means of wisdom; rather it is a very great ornament. For this, it will be allowed, is the clearest token of its being divine and having its roots from above, out of the heavens.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Luke, Gospel according to — Was written by Luke. He does not claim to have been an eye-witness of our Lord’s ministry, but to have gone to the best sources of information within his reach, and to have written an orderly…
Ministers · Should preach: Not with enticing words of man’s wisdom — Should preach: Not with enticing words of man’s wisdom
Philosophy · Employment of, was not Paul’s method of preaching the gospel — Employment of, was not Paul’s method of preaching the gospel
Power Of The Holy Spirit, The · Exhibited in: Making the gospel efficacious — Exhibited in: Making the gospel efficacious
Preaching · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Reasoning · The gospel — The gospel
Witness Of The Holy Spirit · The faithful preaching of the Apostles accompanied by — The faithful preaching of the Apostles accompanied by
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And my speech, and my preaching,.... As he determined, so he acted. As the subject matter of his ministry was not any of the liberal arts and sciences, or the philosophy and dry morality of the Gentiles, but salvation by a crucified Christ; so his style, his diction, his language used in preaching,
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom; with technical words, words of art, contrived by human wisdom to captivate the affections; and with bare probable arguments only, a show of reason to persuade the mind to an assent, when nothing solid and substantial is advanced, only a run of words artfully put together, without any strength of argument in them; a method used by the false teachers, an…
1 Corinthians 2:3-5
3. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
3. Et ego in infirmirate, [106] et in timore, et in tremore multo fui apud vos:
4. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
4. Et sermo meus, et praedicatio mea, non in persuasoriis humanae sapientiae sermonibus, sed in demonstratione Spiritus et potentiae:
5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
5. Ut fides vestra non sit in sapientia hominum, sed in potentia Dei.
3. And I was with you in weakness He explains at greater length what he had previously touched upon -- that…
Human weakness is no barrier to God’s work (2 Cor 12:7-10). The real power is not in charismatic preaching, finesse of presentation, or logical persuasiveness (cp. 2 Cor 10:10), but in the message itself, centered on Christ and his death for our sins, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, who convicts the human heart.
