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Texts -- 1 Corinthians 2:1-10 (NET)

Context
2:1 When I came to you , brothers and sisters , I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God . 2:2 For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ , and him crucified . 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling . 2:4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom , but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power , 2:5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God .
Wisdom from God
2:6 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature , but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age , who are perishing . 2:7 Instead we speak the wisdom of God , hidden in a mystery , that God determined before the ages for our glory . 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory . 2:9 But just as it is written , “Things that no eye has seen , or ear heard , or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him .” 2:10 God has revealed these to us by the Spirit . For the Spirit searches all things , even the deep things of God .

Pericope

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Hymns

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  • Muliakan Allah yang Esa [KJ.45]
  • Takkah Patut Ku Bernyanyi [KJ.290]
  • [1Co 2:2] Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know
  • [1Co 2:2] Blest Be The Dear Uniting Love
  • [1Co 2:2] Jesus Only (kirkland)
  • [1Co 2:2] Let The World Their Virtue Boast
  • [1Co 2:7] How Great The Wisdom
  • [1Co 2:9] Bright Glory To Come
  • [1Co 2:9] Eye Hath Not Seen
  • [1Co 2:9] For Those We Love Within The Veil
  • [1Co 2:9] Have You On The Lord Believed?
  • [1Co 2:9] How Sweet To Reflect On Those Joys
  • [1Co 2:9] In Heaven All Is Gladness
  • [1Co 2:9] My Future
  • [1Co 2:9] Not Half Has Ever Been Told
  • [1Co 2:9] O Eden, Dear Eden
  • [1Co 2:9] Over Yonder
  • [1Co 2:9] Some Sweet Day
  • [1Co 2:9] Thy Word, O God, Declareth
  • [1Co 2:9] We Speak Of The Realms Of The Blest
  • [1Co 2:9] What Must It Be To Be There!
  • [1Co 2:10] Deeper, Deeper

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

Tongues; Apostle Paul; How do we Please God?; World (Kosmos); Trinity Explained; Greek Words; What was Before unknown; Christ’s Triumph; Matthew 17:20; Categories of Angels; Satan Judged

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 64:1 The prophet called on God to make another appearance among His people, as He had done at Mt. Sinai and at other times (cf. Exod. 19:18-20; Judg. 5; Ps. 18; Mic. 1:3-4; Hab. 3). The Israelites' condition was so desperate ...
  • This part of the prophecy of the preparation of the Promised Land sets forth what God would do for Israel. It contains the opposite of the curses against Israel warned of in chapter 6, and it contrasts Israel's glorious desti...
  • 4:10 Mark alone noted that those who asked Jesus to explain the parables included the Twelve plus other disciples (v. 10). Evidently their question concerned why Jesus was using parables to teach as well as what they meant. H...
  • This incident followed the preceding one immediately (v. 21). The subject of joy continues, and the section on the responsibilities and rewards of discipleship reaches its climax here. Jesus expressed His joy to the Father in...
  • Luke omitted the story of Jesus' anointing in Bethany (Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:2-8). He had already narrated a similar event that happened on another occasion (7:36-50). By his omission Luke allowed the story of t...
  • "John is interested in the way the coming of Jesus divides people."3479:35 The healed man had responded positively and courageously to the light that he had so far, but he did not have much light. Therefore Jesus took the ini...
  • 14:8 The Eleven regarded Jesus very highly. Notwithstanding they did not yet realize that He was such an accurate and full revelation of God the Father that to see Jesus was to see the Father. Philip asked for a clear revelat...
  • Most Greeks rejected the possibility of physical resurrection.721Many of them believed that the most desirable condition lay beyond the grave where the soul would finally be free of the body (e.g., Platonists). The response o...
  • 18:1 Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia and was a Roman colony. The Romans razed Corinth in 146 B.C., but it was rebuilt a century later in 46 B.C. Its site lay about 50 miles southwest of Athens at a ver...
  • Even though the Jews had the advantages of the Mosaic Law and circumcision, their boasting and fruitlessness offset these advantages. Divinely revealed religion is no substitute for trust and obedience toward God. Verses 17-2...
  • In verses 13-25 Paul continued to describe his personal struggle with sin but with mounting intensity. The forces of external law and internal sin (i.e., his sinful nature) conflicted. He found no deliverance from this confli...
  • Corinth had a long history stretching back into the Bronze Age (before 1200 B.C.).1In Paul's day it was a Roman colony and the capital of the province of Achaia. The population consisted of Roman citizens who had migrated fro...
  • A phrase in 1:2 suggests the theme of this great epistle. That phrase is "the church of God which is at Corinth."Two entities are in view in this phrase and these are the two entities with which the whole epistle deals. They ...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-9A. Salutation 1:1-3B. Thanksgiving 1:4-9II. Conditions reported to Paul 1:10-6:20A. Divisions in the church 1:10-4:211. The manifestation of the problem 1:10-172. The gospel as a contradiction to human wi...
  • The surface manifestation of this serious problem was the party spirit that had developed. Members of the church were appreciating their favorite leaders too much and not appreciating the others enough. This was really a mani...
  • Paul set up a contrast between cleverness of speech and the Cross in verse 17. Next he developed this contrast with a series of arguments. Boasting in men impacts the nature of the gospel. He pointed out that the gospel is no...
  • "This paragraph is crucial not only to the present argument (1:10-4:21) but to the entire letter as well. Indeed, it is one of the truly great moments in the apostle Paul. Here he argues, with OT support, that what God had al...
  • Paul offered the example of his preaching among the Corinthians as a further illustration of what the wisdom of God can do in contrast to what the words that humans regard as wisdom can do."The matters of literary contextand ...
  • Paul's reference to the Holy Spirit's power (vv. 4-5) led him to elaborate on the Spirit's ministry in enlightening the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. The Corinthians needed to view ministry differently. The key to...
  • The apostle proceeded to tell the Corinthians that they had not been viewing things from the spiritual point of view. He was referring specifically to their exaltation of one or another of God's servants above the others (1:1...
  • The apostle now combined the threads of his argument, which began at 1:18, and drew a preliminary conclusion. If his readers insisted on taking the natural view of their teachers and continued to form coteries of followers, t...
  • The apostle now returned to the subject of himself and the other teachers of the Corinthians as servants of God. He did so to say more about what it means to be a servant of God. In this section he clarified the essential fea...
  • Paul concluded this first major section of the epistle (1:10-4:21) by reasserting his apostolic authority, which had led to his correcting the Corinthians' shameful conduct and carnal theology. He changed the metaphor again a...
  • The second characteristic in the Corinthian church reported to Paul that he addressed concerned a lack of discipline (cf. Gal. 5:22-23). This section of the epistle has strong connections with the first major section. The lac...
  • Sexual immorality is wrong, Paul concluded, because it involves sinning against one's body, which in the case of believers belongs to the Lord through divine purchase.6:18 In conclusion, believers should flee from fornication...
  • The first subject with which he dealt was marriage. He began with some general comments (vv. 1-7) and then dealt with specific situations."The transition from chapter 6 to chapter 7 illustrates the necessity Paul was under of...
  • At this point Paul moved back from specific situations to basic principles his readers needed to keep in mind when thinking about marriage (cf. vv. 1-7). He drew his illustrations in this section from circumcision and slavery...
  • Paul began by comparing the way of love and the way of knowledge to show their relative importance.8:1 The key phrase peri de("now concerning"or "now about") as well as a change in subject matter mark off a new section of thi...
  • "He [Paul] develops an airtight case based on a solid theological foundation (8:6). But then comes the alla(however' [v. 7]), and the argument moves in an entirely different direction."At issue is the nature of the community....
  • Though idolatry was the cause of Israel's failure and the focus of Paul's warning to this church, four other evil characteristics of Israel also seem to have marked the Corinthians. These characteristics also resulted in the ...
  • Paul had been dealing with matters related to worship since 8:1. He had forbidden the Corinthians from participating in temple meals but had allowed eating marketplace meat under certain circumstances (8:1-11:1). Then he deal...
  • The apostle began his discussion by clarifying the indicators that a person is under the control of the indwelling Spirit of God. With this approach, he set the Corinthians' former experience as idolaters in contrast to their...
  • 12:4 Although there is only one Holy Spirit He gives many different abilities to different people. Everything in this pericope revolves around these two ideas. "Gifts"(Gr. charismata, from charismeaning "grace") are abilities...
  • In these first three verses Paul showed that love is superior to the spiritual gifts he listed in chapter 12."It is hard to escape the implication that what is involved here are two opposing views as to what it means to be sp...
  • Paul moved on to point out that Christian love (agape) characterizes our existence now and forever, but gifts (charismata) are only for the present. The Corinthians were apparently viewing the gifts as one evidence that they ...
  • Paul brought his revelation of the resurrection to a climax in this paragraph by clarifying what all this means for the believer in Christ. Here he also dealt with the exceptional case of living believers' transformation at t...
  • Adams, Jay. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980.Andrews, J. N. "May Women Speak in Meeting?"Review and Herald. January 2, 1879. Reprinted in Advent...
  • As Paul defended himself against the charge of cowardice leveled by his critics, so he also claimed ability to deal forcefully with them in person as well as by letter. He referred to this to explain his conduct further and t...
  • In the first subsection he explained his need to present this evidence.11:1 Paul found it necessary to remind and reveal to the Corinthians some of the evidences of the Lord's commendation of his ministry (cf. 10:18). He call...
  • 13:1 There are at least four possibilities about what Paul meant by the two or three witnesses that would confirm his credibility and his critics' guilt. First, he may simply have been saying that the church would pass judgme...
  • 4:1-3 Already Paul had compared the Law to a prison warden (3:22) and a baby sitter (3:24). Now he compared it to a trustee appointed to care for a young child and his property, a guardian. The purpose of all three comparison...
  • 1:17 Paul returned to his concept of God as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3; cf. Matt. 6:9). He combined with this fact the idea that all glory belongs to the Father (vv. 6, 12, 14; cf. Acts 7:2; 1 Cor. 2:8).Paul as...
  • Paul began to pray for his readers again (cf. vv. 1, 14), but he interrupted himself to tell them more about the church. What he said in this section gives background information concerning the church as a mystery.3:1 "For th...
  • Paul gave thanks to God for Timothy's past faithfulness to his Lord and encouraged him to continue faithful. He did so to strengthen Timothy's resolve in view of ever increasing apostasy and the decision of many to abandon Pa...
  • The writer now focused on the issue of sacrifice."The argument moves a stage further as the author turns specifically to what Christ has done. The sacrifices of the old covenant were ineffectual. But in strong contrast Christ...
  • v. 10 The things the false teachers did not understand but reviled probably refer to aspects of God's revealed will that they chose to reject (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7-16)."Jude, like his brother James, denounces the sins of the tongue...
  • 9:13 Someone near the four horns (symbolic of power) of the golden altar in heaven, probably the angel identified with it in 8:3, gave a command after the sixth angel blew the sixth trumpet (cf. 8:2, 6). Instead of seeing som...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'--1 Cor. 2:2.MANY of you are aware that to-day I close forty years of ministry in this city--I cannot say to this congregation, for there are ...
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