This post was translated using ChatGPT and Gemini.
LITERAL COMMENTARY
1 Cor 2:1–2. And I, when I came to you, brothers, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of Christ.
What the Apostle had said in the preceding chapter—that God chose the things that are foolish in the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the strong—he now confirms by his own example. My manner of preaching and acting, he says, both among others and especially among you, O Corinthians, accords with this divine economy. For when I came to you to announce the Gospel, which is the testimony concerning Christ, I displayed no eminence of eloquence or worldly wisdom in my preaching. Setting aside lofty and ornate styles of speech and the arguments of worldly philosophy, I set before you the mysteries of Christ and the teachings of salvation in a simple manner.
For I judged not myself to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. That is, I did not profess among you to know anything except those things which pertain to faith in Christ, to his death on the cross for the redemption of the human race, and to the resurrection that followed. For these things I judged sufficient to explain to you at first, as to little ones, reserving the exposition of higher and deeper mysteries for another time. For he was speaking to those who were not yet able to grasp higher truths concerning the divinity of Christ, to whom shortly afterward he also says: I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to carnal (cf. 1 Cor 3:1).
Thus, among them he “did not know” what they were not able to know through him, and he professed to know only what it was fitting that they should know through him. Finally, he did know among the perfect what he did not know among little ones; for there he says: We speak wisdom among the perfect. For by this manner of speaking, one is said “not to know” what one conceals—just as a ditch is said to be blind (caeca) because it is hidden. Nor do the Scriptures speak in any manner that is not found in human usage, since they speak, indeed, to human beings.
1 Cor 2:3. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. For as long as I lived among you, I remained in a humble and abject condition, earning my livelihood with my own hands so as to be a burden to no one; indeed, I was already exposed to various persecutions and dangers. Compare Galatians 4:13, where our Apostle says: You know that it was because of bodily weakness that I preached the Gospel to you formerly, and you did not despise or reject the trial in my flesh. And 2 Corinthians 11:30: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of the Damascenes to seize me (cf. 2 Cor 11:32). And again in chapter 12:10: For this reason I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
That Paul feared dangers was due to the weakness of nature, not to any fault; but his virtue and strength of soul lay in this, that he yielded to no danger, but overcame all difficulties, plots, threats, terrors, persecutions, and tortures.
1 Cor 2:4–5. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That is, my manner of speaking in preaching the Gospel was not such as worldly wisdom is accustomed to use; it was not furnished with rhetorical art or polished eloquence, nor did it rely on the subtlety of disputation adapted to persuasion. Rather, my preaching was effective through the power of the Holy Spirit, which miracles made manifest. He says in demonstration of the Spirit and of power in order to indicate true miracles, by which the preaching of the Gospel was confirmed—works brought forth by the power of the Holy Spirit, excluding deceptive signs such as those of magicians.
So that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. That is, lest your faith appear to be founded and grounded in secular wisdom and learning, and your conversion be attributed to human philosophy and eloquence, rather than to divine grace alone—to the power of God alone, to the omnipotence of God, who bends and inclines human hearts wherever he wills, transferring them from unbelief to faith, from stubbornness to obedience, from hatred to love.
MORAL COMMENTARY
1 Cor 2:1. And I, when I came to you, brethren, came not with loftiness of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of Christ.
This is the model for the Evangelical Preacher which our own ministers ought to imitate. What wonder is it if many produce no fruit by their preaching, when they place the entire power of their preaching in the artifice of secular eloquence, in the exquisite measurement of periods, in the allurements of words, and in the excursions and arguments of human reason? They announce nothing less to the faithful people than the testimony of Christ; they do not teach His Gospel, but rather their own inventions. Indeed, they do not know Jesus crucified; they are ignorant of the science of His cross. They more willingly set before themselves Academic Orators to be imitated than Prophets, Apostles, and Apostolic men.
1 Cor 2:2. For I judged not myself to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
He who knows this one thing perfectly is ignorant of nothing necessary for salvation and eternal beatitude. One must study this book—written within and without by the Spirit of God—diligently and assiduously, so that we may learn the science of salvation and hand it down to the Christian people. Let a simplicity of speech, truly not entirely devoid of a natural grace of eloquence but adorned without affectation, accompany and sustain a humility that is conspicuous in every part of the preacher’s life and conduct. Let him fear lest his own pride, through the seeking of human glory and applause and the ostentation of eloquence, should hinder the work of God. Let him fear lest he offend anyone by degenerate conduct.
1 Cor 2:3. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
The greater his humility, the more fervent his prayer, the less his confidence in human means, and the less his affectation of secular eloquence, the greater the place given to the Spirit and power of God for the conversion of souls.
1 Cor 2:4. And my speech and my preaching was not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in shewing of the Spirit and of power:
1 Cor 2:5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
God alone commands the human mind and reason by highest right; He is the Lord of the human heart. Therefore, His authority and power alone can lead the mind captive and subject the will to the yoke of faith. Faith is not the fruit of human wisdom, but the gift of divine power and grace—God illuminating the mind, convicting it, and making the will obedient to His word and confident in His power and omnipotence alone.
For human wisdom and eloquence often deceive men and draw them into error; the wisdom of God alone cannot err, nor lead anyone into error; the power of God alone cannot fail. For this reason, he [Paul] wished it to be known and persuaded as an axiom to all professors and cultivators of the Christian Religion: that our faith should rest upon this one thing... that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God
CONTINUE
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