2:1  AS FOR myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony {and} evidence {or mystery and secret} of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy {and} wisdom;

2:2  For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.

2:3  And I was in (passed into a state of) weakness and fear (dread) and great trembling [after I had come] among you.

2:4  And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],

2:5  So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

2:6  Yet when we are among the full-grown (spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding), we do impart a [higher] wisdom (the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden); but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age {or} of this world nor of the leaders {and} rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing {and} are doomed to pass away.

2:7  But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God--[that wisdom] which God devised {and} decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

2:8  None of the rulers of this age {or} world perceived {and} recognized {and} understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

2:9  But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].

2:10  Yet to us God has unveiled {and} revealed them by {and} through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring {and} examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny].

2:11  For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

2:12  Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize {and} comprehend {and} appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God.

2:13  And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining {and} interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].

2:14  But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept {or} welcome {or} admit into his heart the gifts {and} teachings {and} revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned {and} estimated {and} appreciated.

2:15  But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern {or} appraise {or} get an insight into him].

2:16  For who has known {or} understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide {and} instruct Him {and} give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) {and} do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.