…I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
(1 Corinthians 2:1b-2)

Last week, we started exploring a key conflict in the church at Corinth: the celebration of local teachers which tiptoed dangerously close to worshipping them. In chapter 2, Paul builds on this theme further by distancing himself from those teachers and pointing to a greater knowledge which must inform the Church’s direction.

Paul starts his argument by pointing to his own lack of eloquence and reminding the Corinthians he wasn’t a great speaker when he first came to Corinth. According to Paul, he was fearful and weak, but he was empowered by a greater purpose: to proclaim the message of Jesus. Paul’s conviction and the Holy Spirit’s guidance enabled his ministry in Corinth; persuasive words and worldly wisdom were unimportant by comparison.

From here, Paul establishes a contrast between the wisdom of this world (which the Corinthians have latched onto) and the wisdom revealed through the Spirit (which Paul pursues). Paul will spend many of the later chapters of this letter detailing and debunking the popular wisdom of his era: socio-economic classism, harmful sexual practices, abuse of worship, and a bevy of other issues. In this chapter, however, he devotes more attention to the proper wisdom which must replace earthly wisdom.

Paul describes God’s wisdom as a mystery even to the most learned, but to those who are sensitive to the movements of the Spirit, it becomes plain. Paul speaks of the Spirit searching the thoughts of God and helping us to understand the many ways God has provided for us. This wisdom isn’t passed on from teacher to teacher (as was a point of pride in Greek philosophy); rather, it can only come from the Holy Spirit, who teaches believers to understand the world more as Christ does and to pursue right action.

Paul ends this chapter with a beautiful and comforting thought:
We have the mind of Christ.
With the Spirit’s guidance and the wisdom which flows forth from God, we have access to a deeper understanding of this world and the forces keeping it spinning— faith, hope, love, the divine breath which fills us all. The Spirit becomes our teacher in this wisdom (which the world’s wise mistake for foolishness), and we are empowered to explore spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. Of course, there’s still quite a bit of mystery in all this. What does it look like to have the mind of Christ? How do we know we have it? How do we discern between our own opinions and those granted by the Spirit? These become a matter of prayer, as we invite the Spirit to teach us as only the Spirit can.

Next week, we’ll dive deeper into this concept of wisdom from the Spirit and see how it plays out in a church setting. See you then!