1 CORINTHIANS 2

CORINTH: RICH GREEK CITY/STATE

(Acts 18:1 [KJV])
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

(Acts 18:8 [KJV])
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

(Acts 19:1 [KJV])
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

(1 Corinthians 1:2 [KJV])
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

(2 Corinthians 1:1 [KJV])
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy [our] brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

(2 Corinthians 1:23 [KJV])
Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

(2 Corinthians 6:11 [KJV])
O [ye] Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

(2 Timothy 4:20 [KJV])
Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

• Lots of good, fresh water
• Lots of good, arable soil
• Lots of good clay for ceramics, pottery, etc., hence "Corinthian Pottery"
• Shops, fountains, carved stone temples to the Greek gods, porticos, metal workshops abounded
• As a part of a major shipping lane, Corinth has four ports, on the Gulf of Corinth, between two seas
• A temple to Apollo was there
• Another temple was one to Aphrodite, an acropolis known as Acrocorinth, which was associated with prostitutes for the seafaring men, which made it a rich city
• Perusing the two letters Paul wrote to them, it is obvious that they were apostate and backslidden.

(1 Corinthians 2:1 [KJV])
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

• If one has truth, one does not need to be eloquent, charismatic, popular, famous, a good orator, huge following, well accepted
• They have to only have the testimony of God, which is what Paul declared to them at Corinth

(1 Corinthians 2:2 [KJV])
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

• Knowing Jesus Chrrist and Him crucified means not needing excellency of speech (great orator)

(1 Corinthians 2:3 [KJV])
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

• Whatever they were going through, in their hardships, persecutions, Paul was there with them, alongside, going through it with them

(1 Corinthians 2:4 [KJV])
And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

• The sign gifts, especially speaking in other tongues, were prevalent then
• Acts Chapter 2 is when it started, even before Paul

(1 Corinthians 2:5 [KJV])
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

• This is because, especially today, when people like the enticing words of the wisdom of men, excellency of speech, that is where they put their faith, because that iswher the famous orators want their faith-in themselves (the orators) or in themselves (the hearers) or in their own faith, as in "faith in their faith"

(1 Corinthians 2:6-8 [KJV])
Howbeit 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: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

• "Them that are perfect". Earthly, saved people are perfect in God's eyes, because they are in Christ, Who God sees when He looks at us.
• In a mystery...because the world sees the Gospel as mysterious to them, since it is the exact opposite of all other religions on earth
• Princes....let's just call them rulers. Today, people like to refer to them as elites. So yes, had they but known then and were to want to know today of the wisdom of God, they would have then crucified the flesh and today would crucify their flesh instead of the LORD of glory, the LORD Jesus Christ
• Those in the past who died without Christ are regretting their entire existence now, for all eternity. Those today who have replaced them will follow suit.
• All of this glorious life of a prince of this world ends with that last heartbeat, the last breath. This is why Paul says, "that come to nought"
• All of those princes work for the prince of the power of the air in this world

(Matthew 9:34 [KJV])
But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

(Matthew 12:24 [KJV])
But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

(Matthew 20:25 [KJV])
But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

(Mark 3:22 [KJV])
And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

(John 12:31 [KJV])
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

(John 14:30 [KJV])
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

(John 16:11 [KJV])
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

(Ephesians 2:2 [KJV])
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

PRINCE, n. prins. [L. princeps.]

1. In a general sense, a sovereign; the chief and independent ruler of a nation or state. Thus when we speak of the princes of Europe, we include emperors and kings. Hence, a chief in general; as a prince of the celestial host.
2. A sovereign in a certain territory; one who has the government of a particular state or territory, but holds of a superior to whom he owes certain services; as the princes of the German states.
3. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as princes of the blood. In England, the eldest son of the king is created prince of Wales.
4. The chief of any body of men.
5. A chief or ruler of either sex. Queen Elizabeth is called by Camden prince, but this application is unusual and harsh. Prince of the senate, in ancient Rome, was the person first called in the roll of senators. He was always of consular and censorian dignity. In Scripture, this name prince is given to God, Dan 8; to Christ, who is called the prince of peace, Isa 9, and the prince of life, Acts 3; to the chief of the priests, the prince of the sanctuary, Isa 43; to the Roman emperor, Dan 9; to men of superior worth and excellence, Eccl 10; to nobles, counselors and officers of a kingdom, Isa 10; to the chief men of families or tribes, Num 17; to Satan, who is called the prince of this world, John 12., and prince of the power of the air, Eph 2.

PRINCE, v.i. To play the prince; to take state.

(1 Corinthians 2:9 [KJV])
But 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.

• For us Christians, the future is unseen, unheard and not imagined as of yet, but we know it is bright, glorious, rosy, perfect, something we do not even know how to dream of
• God prepared it for us, like He prepared the Garden for Adam and Eve-paradise.
• Not Utopia like the world thinks, but paradise like God makes.

(1 Corinthians 2:10 [KJV])
But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

• What God revealed to us in His Word is via the Spirit of God

(John 14:26 [KJV])
But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

(John 15:26 [KJV])
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

(John 16:13 [KJV])
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

(1 Corinthians 2:11 [KJV])
For 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.

• The Spirit of God knows the things of God because the Spirit of God IS God

(1 Corinthians 2:12 [KJV])
Now 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.

• We had the spirit of the world before we received the Spirit of God....not a good spirit, but an anti-Christ one
• We received the Spirit of God when we got saved
• He guides us into all truth
• One truth is the gift freely given by grace, which is salvation for believing in the Death, Burial, Resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ in our place

(1 Corinthians 2:13 [KJV])
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

• Truth, the gospel, words of wisdom, seasoned with salt, from the Spirit of God, from the Word of God.
• These are the tings we speak and are commanded to speak.
• Man's wisdom, from the "wisest" of carnal, earthly men, only teach us about this world and have nothing to do, can not compare to the wisdom of God via the Spirit of God, Who is our teacher of the Word of God

(1 Corinthians 2:14 [KJV])
But 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.

• Carnal, fleshly can only mock God's Word, because they have the spirit of the world in them which is against God
• Without the Spirit of God Himself, the Word of God is so foreign to mankind, so evil, he cannot and would not ever accept a word of it

(1 Corinthians 2:15 [KJV])
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

• We are called to discern and judge all things to compare them to what God said because, without God's Word, we are lost, confused, deceived by this world-the Christian world, the "Christian" world, and THE world
• We can only do this in the Spirit and not in our flesh
• Jesus is THE Judge, not us, of us. The world can "judge us" all it wants, which means noothing in the light of eternity, for our rewards-because our sins were judged at the Cross of Christ

(1 Corinthians 2:16 [KJV])
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

• The implied answer here is no one hath known the mind of the LORD, and can tell Him anything He does not know.
• Our mind is spiritual, the mind of Christ, when we get saved, get the Holy Spirit, read and follow God's Word.

1 Corinthians 3