Lessons #41 and 42
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Manners of Paul’s preaching in Corinth (1 Cor 2:1-5)
1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior 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 and fear, and with much 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 men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
This section of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 is concerned with the manners of Paul’s preaching in Corinth. In this section, the apostle denies relying on human abilities as he preached to the Corinthians but confessed the demonstration of the Spirit and power He provides. This is because he wanted the faith of Corinthian believers to depend on God’s power and not human wisdom. This concern of the apostle leads to the message of this passage we believe the Holy Spirit wants us to convey to you. This message is this: You should not rely on human abilities in presenting the gospel instead depend on the ministry of the Holy Spirit so those you witness to will trust in God’s power and not human abilities. It is this message that we will expound but we will do so not necessarily by sequential consideration of the verses in our passage. The verse we consider will depend on the point we expound but rest assured that by the time we finish our exposition of the message, we would have considered every verse of this section.
We assert that the section we are considering is concerned with the manners of Paul’s preaching in Corinth. How are we even sure that the passage is concerned with the apostle’s preaching in Corinth let alone the manners of his preaching, you may ask? We are certain the apostle is concerned with preaching in Corinth because there are words in the passage of our focus that lead us to be certain that the apostle is concerned with his preaching in Corinth. He used twice a Greek word that literally means “come” in verse 1 and once in verse 3 that indicates the apostle was concerned with his visit to Corinth. He used Greek words in verses 1 and 4 that are concerned with preaching of the gospel translated “proclaimed” in verse 1 and “preaching” in verse 4, indicating it is his preaching in Corinth that was his concern in the passage before us. We will consider the Greek words the apostle used at the appropriate time but for the moment, we want to point out that there are words in the passage that help us to understand the apostle was concerned with his preaching to the Corinthians. The manners in which he did this would become clearer as we consider the passage of our study. Nonetheless, the idea of manner is evident in the NIV in the repeated use of the preposition “with” in verses 1, 2, and 4. Even in the English, the preposition “with” indicates the manner or attitude in which a person does something. Thus, the repeated use of the preposition “with” in the NIV should convince the English reader that the apostle was concerned with the manner of his preaching in Corinth. Hence, there should not be any doubt that the section we are considering focused on the manners of the apostle’s preaching in Corinth.
The fact the apostle was concerned with his visit to the Corinthians to preach the gospel is evident in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 2:1 When I came to you, brothers. Of course, the English versions such as the ESV that are more literal in their translation began the clause with the phrase And I as reflected in the Greek. Greek sentences or clauses often begin with the word “and” but this approach is not generally followed in the English hence those English versions that are not literal in their translation, such as the NIV, omitted translating the first word in the Greek of verse 1 of the passage we are considering. Such omission does not mean that such English versions uttered anything in the Scripture since they reflect merely the usual English practice of not beginning a sentence with the word “and.” That aside, the apostle was concerned with the time of his visit to the Corinthians as reflected in the use of the word “came” in the NIV.
The word “came” is translated from a Greek word (erchomai) that may mean “to go” in the sense of proceeding on a course, with a destination in view, as it is used to describe Jesus’ movement towards the fig tree He eventually cursed in Matthew 21:19:
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
The word may refer to movement from one point to another so that it means “to come.” However, although the word may mean “to come” but there are nuances conveyed when the word “come” is used. For example, the word “come” may mean “to become”, as it is used to describe the state of the woman the Lord healed in Mark 5:26:
She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
The verbal phrase grew worse translated in the LEB as became worse is more literally came back for the worse. The word “come” may have the sense of “to return, come back” as it is used in quoting the Lord’s promise to Abraham in Romans 9:9:
For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
The word “come” may mean “to appear or make public appearance” as that is the sense of the use of our Greek word to reference Jesus’ Second Coming in 1 Corinthians 4:5:
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
The word “come” may have the sense of “to happen, to take place” as our Greek word is used by Apostle Paul to reference events that took place that have enabled him to preach the gospel, as he stated in Philippians 1:12:
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:1, the Greek word means “to come” in the sense of the apostle’s first travel to Corinth, reported in Acts 18:1–4:
1After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
It is this first travel of the apostle to Corinth that he had in mind when he addressed the Corinthians as those he came to at a given time that they would remember.
The apostle addressed the Corinthians with the word “brothers” because they are believers in Christ in contrast to the time when he first came to them when they were unbelievers until he preached the gospel to which they responded. By the way, the use of the word “brothers” should be understood as a reference to believers in Christ regardless of gender. Let me prove this. The word “brothers” is translated from a Greek word (adelphos) that may mean a male from the same womb as the one who used the word or the one that is referenced, as Apostle Paul used it to indicate that James is Jesus’ half-brother in Galatians 1:19:
I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
The word may refer to a fellow believer, male or female, as a word that believers in Christ used to address one another. Thus, Apostle Paul could describe Timothy who was not related to him or to the Corinthians, in the sense of coming from the same mother or father as his and their brother in 2 Corinthians 1:1:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
It is true that in most references where our Greek word is used to describe fellow believers, it is usually male believers mentioned but, in some passages, the meaning could not possibly mean only male believers instead referred to male and female believers. This is certainly the case in the use of our Greek word in plural in Romans 8:29:
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
The phrase many brothers certainly referred to both male and female believers then and at the present time since those God predestined consist of male and female believers. It is in the same sense of male and female believers that Apostle Paul used our Greek word in his final address to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6:23:
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly, the apostle was not wishing peace to only male believers in Ephesus since he addressed those who are believers in Christ. In the same manner, when the apostle describes the elect of God, he would have meant male and female believers as the apostle used the Greek word in 1 Thessalonians 1:4:
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
Election is not limited to male individuals but to male and female persons. Therefore, although our Greek word is not directly used to describe female believers but that is the sense of Greek word when it is used in plural to address believers. By the way, regarding our status, not function, as believers in Christ, there is no distinction in male and female, as stated in Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
That there is no distinction in status as believers at the present time concurs to the truth there is no such thing as gender in the eternal state. Believers who are ignorant of the Scripture say such nonsense regarding a believer who has died as “he /she has gone to be with the wife or husband.” Such a declaration is an emotional statement that is woefully false and not in keeping with the Scripture. The Lord Jesus clearly taught of this truth that there is no gender in heaven when those who did not believe in resurrection came to Him with a hypothetical case of a woman who married seven brothers and eventually died, as described in Matthew 22:23–30:
23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
Anyway, the point we want to stress is that in Christ there is no difference in status between male and female believers as that would conform to their final state in heaven. This aside, the fact is that when the apostle used the word brothers in addressing the Corinthians in verse 1 of the second chapter of 1 Corinthians, he meant all believers in Corinth regardless of their gender. It is to these believers that he described the manners of his preaching of the gospel which he presented both negatively and positively.
The first guideline when preaching the gospel is that you should not depend on your superior communication skills or cleverness as you present the gospel to others. This guideline is based on the first thing Apostle Paul stated was not part of his manner when he preached the gospel to the Corinthians, as we read in the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 2:1 I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
The apostle indicated that when he came to the Corinthians it was not with superior oratory or superior speech. It is this fact that is given in the phrase with eloquence or superior wisdom of the NIV that is literally with superiority of word or of wisdom. The word “superiority” we used, is translated from a Greek noun that is related to a Greek verb (hyperechō) that literally means to be at a point higher than another on a scale of linear extent, hence means “to rise above, to surpass.” This literal usage is found only in the Septuagint. Thus, it is used to describe poles in the Solomon temple in 1 Kings 8:8:
These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.
The translators of the Septuagint translated the Hebrew verb (ʾārǎḵ) used in this verse that means “to be long” with the Greek verb we mentioned so that the clause These poles were so long in the Septuagint reads literally as the dedicated things rose above/reached out. Figuratively, the Greek verb means to be in a controlling position hence “to have power, to be in authority, to be highly placed” so that as a participle it is used as an adjective with the meaning “governing” in Romans 13:1:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
The verb may mean to surpass in quality or value and so means “to be better than, surpass, excel.” Thus, it is used in the instruction regarding how believers should consider others in Philippians 2:3:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
It is in the sense of “to surpass” that the Greek verb is used to describe the peace God gives those who instead of being anxious commits their problems to the Lord in prayer, as we read in Philippians 4:7:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The clause which transcends all understanding is more literally that surpasses all understanding. We get the idea that the Greek verb related to the Greek noun used in our passage has the meaning of “to have power over someone” or “to surpass” that carry over to the Greek noun used in our passage.
The Greek noun (hyperochē) used in our passage appears only twice in the Greek NT, both in the epistles of Apostle Paul. A meaning is “authority” as a state of one in a high official rank, as it is used to describe those who are to be the beneficiaries of believers’ intercessory prayer in 1 Timothy 2:2:
for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
Another meaning is “superiority, preeminence” as a state of excelling. It is this meaning that is applicable to our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:1. Of course, the word “superiority” is applicable to the word “word” and “wisdom” that we used in the literal translation. The translation of the NIV is misleading since it associated the Greek word only with “wisdom” in the translation superior wisdom when literally the Greek reads with superiority of word or of wisdom so that there is the implication that the apostle is concerned that his manner of proclaiming of the gospel message does not involve excellence or superiority of word or wisdom.
The word “word” in our literal translation with superiority of word or of wisdom is translated from a Greek word (logos) that concerns communication of what is in a person’s mind so that it means “word.” However, it has several nuances. It may mean “question” as that is the sense of the word in Jesus’ interaction with the chief priests and Jewish elders who questioned His authority in Matthew 21:24:
Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The phrase one question is literally one word. It may mean “message” as it is used to describe the response of those who heard the sermon Peter delivered on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:41:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The phrase his message is literally his word. The Greek word may mean “speech” as it is used to describe Moses by Stephen in his sermon, as recorded in Acts 7:22:
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The literal phrase powerful in speech is literally powerful in words. The Greek word may mean “report, news” as it is used to indicate that the early church received report of conversion of Gentiles in Antioch, as we read in Acts 11:22:
News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
The sentence News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem is literally the word was heard in the ears of the assembly that is in Jerusalem. It may mean a subject under consideration hence “matter” as that is the sense of the word when it is used to describe the subject considered by the apostles and elders in the first church council in Jerusalem, as we read in Acts 15:6:
The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
The verbal phrase to consider this question may be translated to look into this matter. The Greek word may mean “statement”, as that is the sense of its usage in Luke’s record of the response of the elders of the Ephesian church to what Paul said to them in Acts 20:38:
What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
The phrase his statement is literally the word. The Greek word may mean “command” as it is used by Apostle Paul to quote from the OT Scripture about the summation of the law in Galatians 5:14:
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The phrase in a single command is literally in one word. The Greek word may mean “instruction” as it is used in what Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians regarding his letter to them in 2 Thessalonians 3:14:
If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
The phrase our instruction is literally our word. It may mean “preaching” when it is used with the Greek word that means “teaching”, as it is used in 1 Timothy 5:17:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
The clause those whose work is preaching and teaching is literally those laboring in word and teaching. The Greek word may mean “reason, ground, motive” as the word is used to encourage believers to be able to defend what they believe in 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
The phrase the reason for the hope is literally the word for the hope. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:1, the Greek word is used in the sense of “speech” or “oratory”, that is, the form of his proclamation so that the apostle denied being an excellent rhetorician since oratorical ability was something valued among the Greeks and so among the Corinthians. Indeed, he conveyed that he did not display any kind of superiority that is evident in his use of words or speech.
The apostle having denied preaching to the Corinthians using superior or excellent oratory then states or superior wisdom. There is the question of how we should understand the phrase or superior wisdom. The question is whether this phrase says essentially the same thing as the one that precedes it or saying something opposite. This problem arises because of the conjunction or used in the phrase or superior wisdom.
The word “or” is translated from a Greek particle (ē) that is used in two general ways. First, it is used as a marker of alternative so means “or” but when used with negative statements it may mean “nor, or”. It is with meaning “nor” that it is used in Romans 1:21:
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
It is with the meaning “or” that is used in a negative statement that is used by Apostle Paul to describe his continuous striving towards spiritual maturity in Philippians 3:12:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
The Greek particle may be used for opposites that are mutually exclusive as the word is used between standing or failing in the spiritual life in Romans 14:4:
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
The Greek particle may be used for related and similar terms, where one can take the place of the other or one supplements the other as in the situation of where the expression “stumbling block” may be replaced by the word “obstacle” in Romans 14:13:
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
A second general way the Greek particle is used is as a marker of comparison with the meaning “than, rather than.” It is in the sense of “rather than” that it is used in the response of Apostles Peter and John to the religious authorities that forbade them from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in Acts 4:19:
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.
In our passage, it is in the sense of a marker of alternative that the Greek particle is used but that does not settle the problem of whether it is used to indicate whether the phrase is an explanation, that is, a synonym to what precedes or whether it states the opposite. It is our interpretation that it is used as a synonym or an explanation of what preceded. To support our interpretation, we should consider the word “wisdom” that the apostle used.
Our examination of the word “wisdom” should begin with considering related Greek words to the one used in our passage as they help to get a better understanding of what the apostle had in mind in the Greek word translated “wisdom” in our passage. We begin with a Greek verb (sophizō) that may mean to cause a person to develop understanding to a relatively sophisticated degree hence means “to make wise, teach, instruct” as it is used in 2 Timothy 3:15:
and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
It may mean to be skilled in formulating or creating something in an artful manner, frequently with the implication of self-serving cleverness and so means “to reason out, concoct ingeniously/slyly” or “to devise craftily” as Apostle Peter used it to deny that the apostles concocted ingeniously stories when they preached the gospel in 2 Peter 1:16:
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
Thus, the Greek verb related to the word “wisdom” conveys the meaning of making wise or concocting ingeniously or devising craftily.
Another Greek word related to the Greek word translated “wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 2:1 is a Greek adjective (sophos) that was primarily used in classical Greek for a clever person who knows how to do something or construct something, such as buildings, poems, and speeches. Thus, the word pertains to knowing how to do something in a skillful manner and so means “clever, skillful, experienced.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used the word to describe himself as skilled master builder in 1 Corinthians 3:10:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
The phrase an expert builder of the NIV is more literally a skilled/wise master builder. The Greek adjective may pertain to the understanding that results in wise attitudes and conduct hence means “wise.” It is in this sense of “wise” in understanding that leads to proper conduct that Apostle Paul used the word in Romans 16:19:
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
So, the Greek adjective conveys the meaning “clever, skillful, experienced” or “wise.”
but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
Wisdom is manifested in Stephen’s speech so that it can be said he spoke wisely or with wise words. The Greek word may have the sense of “good judgment” in practical matters, as the word is used to give the qualifications of those the early church chose to administer their affairs, as recorded in Acts 6:3:
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
Wisdom here in Acts 6:3 has the sense of good judgment or knowledge that allows one to do things properly. The Greek word may refer to personified wisdom, that is, “Wisdom”, as it is used in Matthew 11:19:
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
Wisdom here is personified which agrees with the concept of personification of wisdom in the OT Scripture, as for example, wisdom personified called out, but people did not respond adequately hence the declaration of Proverbs 1:23:
If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
The phrase my rebuke refers to the correction, reprimand or scolding Wisdom gives to the foolish, hence wisdom is personified. Considering the range of meanings of the Greek word and its related words, it is probably the case that our Greek word is used by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:1 in the sense of activity that involves ingenuity. Thus, the apostle may be saying the same thing that Peter said in that he did not come to the Corinthians with superior crafted speech that reveals ingenuity or cleverness.
It is then our interpretation that the phrase superior wisdom refers to clever and ingenuity of speech or cleverly crafted speech or presentation. This being the case the word or, as we have already interpreted, is to be understood as used for further explanation of what the apostle meant in the phrase with eloquence of the NIV or more literally with superiority of word.
Our interpretation that involves cleverly, crafted speech as being an explanation of what the apostle had in mind when he used the word “wisdom” should not be difficult to accept since what the apostle said next is concerned with communication. For he writes as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
The apostle is concerned with his public preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You see the word “proclaimed” is translated from a Greek word (katangellō) that means to make known in public, with implication of broad dissemination, hence “to proclaim, announce.” Thus, it is used in offering forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ as part of presentation of the gospel in Acts 13:38:
“Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
It is the word that is used in Apostle Paul’s proclaiming Christ to the Jews in the synagogue in Thessalonica, in Acts 17:3:
explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said.
Thus, it is public preaching of the gospel that the apostle is concerned that was not carried out using cleverly, crafted speech.
We have, of course, asserted the apostle preached publicly the gospel without well-rehearsed speech because of the sentence as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. There is a manuscript problem as to what it is the apostle indicated he proclaimed. This is because a set of manuscripts read the word “testimony” as reflected in the NIV while others read the word “mystery” so that we have the verbal phrase proclaiming the mystery of God in the revised edition of the NAB. Although there is a manuscript variation in the Greek, I believe that the reading that contains the word “mystery” is the original reading. There are two reasons for accepting this reading as the original reading. First, it is this reading that is found in the oldest known manuscript, implying that it is the reading that was probably in the original. Second, it is the word that makes most sense in the passage based on what the apostle wrote in his other epistles. To substantiate this reason, we will examine the two Greek words involved.
The word “testimony” is translated from a Greek word (martyrion) that was used in the Septuagint to refer to “the tent of meeting, tent/tabernacle of testimony” as it was used in Stephen’s sermon when he referred to the OT Scripture in Acts 7:44:
“Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
The Greek word may mean that which serves as testimony or proof hence “testimony, proof.” The testimony may be in form of a statement given to someone as the apostle used the word to refer to what he said to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1:10:
on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
The proof or testimony may be an action so that the redeeming death of Jesus Christ is God’s testimony, as stated in 1 Timothy 2:6:
who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
The word “mystery” is translated from Greek noun (mystērion) that was used in ancient Greece for secret religious ceremonies that were only known to those who were initiated into a given cult who were not at liberty to disclose them to others. Whatever these ceremonies were, they were unknown to the initiates until they became members of the given group. Thus, the word does not mean something that is difficult or impossible to explain as people often think of the word “mystery.” No, the word refers to the content of that which has not been known before, but which has been revealed to a restricted group of persons because they belong to a unique group of people. It is a word that was used frequently in Jewish apocalyptic literature for the secrets made known to God’s elect but hidden from others. A typical example of such secret is the Messianic kingdom or final judgment. So, the word as used in the NT means divine secret that was previously undisclosed so that there was no way any person could know it apart from divine revelation, but it has now been revealed to some persons. The secret of God revealed is now in the NT Scripture as an open secret that only those who are spiritually enlightened and know the Scripture would become aware. That the Greek word refers to secrets disclosed to a select few but hidden from others is reflected in Jesus’ use of the word in answering the questions of the disciples in Matthew 13:11:
He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Here our Greek word is translated “secrets” so that it refers to truths that were then revealed to the disciples and not to the crowd. The phrase the secrets of the kingdom refers to Jesus’ teaching about the various aspects of the kingdom of God that were only revealed to the disciples.
Examination of the two Greek words as used by the apostle will indicate that the apostle used the Greek word translated “testimony” when he speaks of Christ in the preaching of the gospel. An example is his usage of it in 1 Corinthians 1:6:
because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Another example is where the apostle used the word regarding testimony about Christ, as in 2 Timothy 1:8:
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
The instruction do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord is literally do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. But when the apostle wants to describe the gospel proclamation as that connected with God, it is the Greek word translated “mystery” that he used. He calls Christ the “mystery of God” in Colossians 2:2:
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
He used the Greek word to describe preaching of the gospel in Colossians 4:3:
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Because of this observation, it is likely the apostle used a Greek word that means “mystery” in our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:1.
In any case, the apostle wrote, according to the NIV, the testimony about God but since we have indicated the original read “mystery” then the literal translation would be the mystery of God. This translation would indicate that when the apostle wrote the literal phrase mystery of God, he meant the preaching of Christ since he described Christ as God’s mystery revealed in the passage we cited previously, that is, Colossians 2:2:
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
Hence, the apostle conveyed the truth that he did not rely on cleverly, prepared oratorical speech when he preached Christ to the Corinthians. Consequently, the first negative guideline of the message of the passage we are considering is that that you should not depend on your superior communication skills or cleverness when you present the gospel to others.
04/20/18