1 Corinthians 2 - The Ultimate Source of Truth!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 1 Corinthians 1

Today, we start the first of two letters Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Because of where Corinth was located on a commercial trade route, it received a lot of visitors. Like a lot of seaports there was a lot commerce and also quite a bit ways to get in trouble, like sexual immorality. 

Corinth was one of the great cities of the ancient world, and a community very much like Southern California. It was prosperous, busy, and growing; it had a deserved reputation for the reckless pursuit of pleasure. Corinth had a rich ethnic mix, and it was a center for sports, government, military, and business. - Guzik

Here are the overarching themes in 1 Corinthians. 

1. God had poured out through the power of the Holy Spirit many supernatural gifts like prophecy and speaking in the church, but as we will see in chapters 12 through 14, the Corinthians got prideful about these gifts, and it became divisive. 

2. There was also division over leaders, as people chose their own personal favorites.

3. The comprehensive teaching on spiritual gifts in chapters 12 - 14 is where we get the most of our theology and practice, including specific teaching on the gift and use of tongues. I.e. its proper use within the body of Christ.

4. Because of its location, many worldly philosophies and heresies threatened the church with false teaching. Paul corrects this by focusing on Jesus alone, and also true wisdom which comes from the Spirit. 

This is a very important letter for the church to learn from today. 

"When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power."

Paul starts with explaining the true nature of his being an apostle of Jesus Christ. His effectiveness as a preacher was based solely on his ability to focus with clarity on the central message of Jesus Christ, and him crucified. His message was not based on fancy words or spellbinding preaching. His effectiveness was grounded in his ability to rely on God through the Spirit's power. In his weakness it was made clear than any wisdom he offered came from God not him. 

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began

Paul describes the nature of true wisdom, which comes from God, whereas the wisdom of the world from its worldly rulers comes from nowhere. God's wisdom was hidden from the beginning of time but now has become known through Jesus whom they rejected. 

“What no eye has seen,

    what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

This a great verse which reveals that we have a very limited amount of understanding when it comes to who God is and what he has in store for us. I often use this verse when I talk about what heaven might look like. Bottom line is not one us can come close to comprehending what God has in store for us in our heavenly home. 

Importantly any wisdom we receive comes through the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples this before he went to be with the Father, 

"It is good for me to go because if I go I will send to you my Spirit who will guide you into all truth."

It is only by the Holy Spirit, who is God, that we can understand the deep mysteries of our faith. These include the nature and purpose of the Trinity, and how Jesus can be both truly God and truly man at the same time. 

Paul close chapter 1 by saying, 

"But we have the mind of Christ."  

Through the Spirit of Christ, we have the mind of Christ. The Spirit guides us to make Christ-like decisions. The Spirit helps to understand what Jesus would do in any given situation, if he were us! Paul says, "Explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words."

This could be a reference to "speaking in tongues", "words of knowledge", or teaching the bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As you can see, the Holy Spirit needs to play a huge role in confronting the false teaching happening in Corinth, and he does the same with our church today.

How much do you rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom? In your weaknesses, do you rely on Holy Spirit, or focus on your own abilities and wisdom? Seek the Holy Spirit's guidance for anything you are facing today!