1 Corinthians 2
What Happens in This Chapter
Paul reminds the church in Corinth how he first came to them. He says he did not use clever speech, and he spoke only about Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. He explains that the wisdom he teaches comes from God and was hidden before, and that God's Spirit is the one who shows it to people. He says people without God's Spirit do not accept these things, but believers have the mind of Christ.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
1Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I told you God's message. I did not use fancy speech or clever ideas.
2For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
2While I was with you, I chose to talk about one thing only. That was Jesus Christ, and how he died on a cross.
3And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
3When I was with you, I felt weak. I was afraid, and I was shaking.
4And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
4My words and my teaching did not use smooth talk to win you over. Instead, God's Spirit showed his power.
5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
5That way, your trust does not rest on clever people. It rests on God's power.
6Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
6Still, we do speak wisdom to people who are grown up in their faith. It is not the wisdom of this world. It is not the wisdom of the rulers of this world, who will soon be gone.
The King James Bible says "them that are perfect." In 1611 that word meant grown up or full-grown, not without any mistakes.
7But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
7We speak God's wisdom, which was kept secret and hidden for a long time. God planned it before the world began, so that we would share his glory.
8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
8None of the rulers of this world understood it. If they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on a cross.
9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
9The Bible says it this way: No eye has seen it. No ear has heard it. No one ever imagined it. It is what God has made ready for the people who love him.
10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
10But God has shown it to us through his Spirit. The Spirit knows all things, even the deep things of God.
11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
11Who knows what a person is thinking? Only that person's own spirit inside him. In the same way, only God's Spirit knows what God is thinking.
12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
12We did not receive the spirit of this world. We received the Spirit who comes from God. Now we can understand the gifts God has freely given us.
13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
13So this is what we talk about. We do not use words that human cleverness teaches us. We use words the Holy Spirit teaches us, telling God's truths in the Spirit's own words.
The King James Bible says "Holy Ghost." That does not mean a ghost. It is an older way of saying "Holy Spirit," which is God himself with us.
14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
14A person who does not have God's Spirit will not accept the things that come from God's Spirit. They sound silly to him. He cannot understand them, because only God's Spirit makes them clear.
15But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
15The person who has God's Spirit can weigh up all these things. But no one else can judge him.
16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
16The Bible asks, "Who has ever known what the Lord is thinking? Who could teach him anything?" But we have the mind of Christ.
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