I Corinthians 2 --- Wisdom of the Holy Spirit

Disclaimer:
All the following reviews were based on the book "1 Corinthians, NT commentary" by Simon J. Kistemaker, Baker books, September 2004.

1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

• "...I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom..."
  Paul arrived at Corinth when he first started the church there in a downcast mood after his encounter with philosophers and their unfavorable response to his message in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). The wisdom mentioned is a worldly wisdom.

3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

• "..in weakness and fear, and with much trembling..."
  This is due to the reception he got in Corinth were soon turned hostile, so much so that Paul had to cease teaching in local synagogues.
  On another note, we also know that Paul was a person that had to cope with physical ailments:
  
  1. due to punishment and affliction by non-believers (II Cor 11:23-28, 12:7).
  2. Physically he's probably a man small in stature (II Cor 10:10) and plagued with poor eyesight (Gal 4:15, 6:11).
  
  

6 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.

• "...We do.."
  'We' refers to all of those who belongs to apostolic circle, among whom are his fellow workers in the Corinthian church: Silas and Timothy.
• "...among the mature..."
  'Mature' refers to all believers in whom the holy spirit effectively works.
• "...the rulers of this age..."
  'Rulers' refers to earthly rulers who include all the political and intellectual leaders of the world, including Caiaphas and Pilate who crucified Jesus.
  

7No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

• "...God's secret wisdom.."
  In NT, the term wisdom and salvation are closely related. The word wisdom signifies "the wise acts of God in the salvation of man."
  This wisdom is now revealed through the person and work of Christ, through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the holy spirit (I Peter 1:10-12). Eventhough the secret wisdom of salvation is no longer hidden, it's still a concept that the human mind cannot fully grasp (Eph 3:17-19).

9However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"—

• Paul apparently quotes from memory, it's taken (with certain degree of freedom) from Isaiah 64:4 (also Isa. 52:15, 65:17 and Jer 3:16).
• "...God has prepared for those who love him..."
  Or we can say as "...God has prepared *salvation* for those who love him...", also see Rom 8:28.

10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

• We can say that the wisdom/salvation is the work of the trinity: God originates salvation, the salvation is the person and work of Christ, and the salvation is known to believers through the holy spirit.

11 ...In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

• "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" Isa. 55:8.
• Paul is not saying that the spirit of God is engaged in acquiring knowledge concerning *the thoughts of* God.

12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

• "We.." refers to both Paul and the readers of the letter.
• "what God has freely given us..." refers to the things that we come to know regarding our salvation.
  

13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

• "We.." refers to both Paul and fellow preachers.

14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

• "does not accept" implies an active part played by the subject, 'does not accept', 'reject'.

15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

• the spiritual man is able to appraise all things spiritually.
• the spiritual man cannot be judged by non-believers, due to non-believers are not capable to judge anything spiritually.

16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"But we have the mind of Christ.

• "We.." refers to both Paul and the readers of the letter.
• This is not saying that a christian is free from falling into errors. Only Jesus' life can be characterized as being without error. But the holy spirit, living inside believers, will lead them closer to perfection.