Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Corinthians 2

1 Corinthians Chapter 2

The design of this chapter is the same as the concluding part of 1 Corinthians 1:17–31, to show that the gospel does not depend for its success on human wisdom or the philosophy of men. This position the apostle further confirms:

1. In 1 Corinthians 2:1–5, by a reference to his own example, as having been successful among them, and yet not endowed with the graces of elocution or by a commanding address; yet,

2. Lest it should be thought that the gospel was real folly and should be despised, he shows in the remainder of the chapter (1 Corinthians 2:6–16) that it contained true wisdom. It was a profound scheme—rejected, indeed, by the men of the world, but seen to be wise by those who were made acquainted with its real nature and value (1 Corinthians 2:5–16).

The first division of the chapter (1 Corinthians 2:1–5) is a continuation of the argument to show that the success of the gospel does not depend on human wisdom or philosophy. This he proves:

1. By the fact that when he was among them, though his preaching was attended with success, yet he did not come with the attractions of human eloquence (1 Corinthians 2:1).

2. This was in accordance with his purpose, not designing to attempt anything like that, but having another object (1 Corinthians 1:2).

3. In fact, he had not shown that, but the contrary (1 Corinthians 2:3–4).

4. His design was that their conversion should not appear to have been brought about by human wisdom or eloquence, but to have been manifestly the work of God (1 Corinthians 2:5).

And I, brethren. Keeping up the tender and affectionate style of address.

When I came to you. When I came at first to preach the gospel at Corinth (Acts 18:1 and following).

Came not with excellency of speech. He came not with graceful and attractive eloquence. The apostle here evidently alludes to that precise and studied choice of language, to those gracefully formed sentences, and to that skill of arrangement in discourse and argument, which was so much an object of regard with the Greek rhetoricians. It is probable that Paul was never much distinguished for these (compare to 2 Corinthians 10:10), and it is certain he never made them an object of intense study and solicitude (compare to 1 Corinthians 2:4, 13).

Or of wisdom. That is, of the wisdom of this world; of that kind of wisdom which was sought and cultivated in Greece.

The testimony of God. This is the testimony or the witnessing which God has borne to the gospel of Christ by miracles, and by attending it everywhere with His presence and blessing.

In 1 Corinthians 1:6, the gospel is called the testimony of Christ; and here "the testimony of God" may either mean the witness which the gospel bears to the true character and plans of God, or the witnessing which God had borne to the gospel by miracles, and so on.

The gospel contains the testimony of God in regard to His own character and plans, especially in regard to the great plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Several manuscripts, instead of "testimony of God," here read "the mystery of God." This reading would accord well with the scope of the argument, but the present reading is probably the correct one. See Mill. The Syriac version also has mystery.

For I determined. I made a resolution. This was my fixed, deliberate purpose when I came there. It was not a matter of accident or chance that I made Christ my great and constant theme, but it was my deliberate purpose.

It should be remembered that Paul made this resolution knowing the peculiar fondness of the Greeks for subtle discussions and for graceful and finished eloquence; that he formed it when his own mind, as we may judge from his writings, was strongly inclined by nature to an abstruse and metaphysical kind of discussion, which could not have failed to attract the attention of the acute and subtle reasoners of Greece; and that he made it when he must have been fully aware that the theme he had chosen to dwell upon would be certain to excite derision and contempt. Yet, he formed and adhered to this resolution, though it might expose him to contempt, and though they might reject and despise his message.

Not to know. The word know here, eidenai, is probably used in the sense of to attend to, be engaged in, or regard. I resolved not to give my time and attention while among you to the laws and traditions of the Jews; to your orators, philosophers, and poets; to the beauty of your architecture or statuary; to a contemplation of your customs and laws; but to attend to this only: making known the cross of Christ.

The word eidō (to know) is sometimes used this way. Paul says that he intended that this should be the only thing on which his mind should be fixed, the only object of his attention, the only object on which he sought for knowledge to be spread there. Doddridge renders it, appear to know.

Any thing among you. Anything while I was with you; or, anything that may exist among you and that may be an object of interest to you. I resolved to know nothing of it, whatever it might be. The former is probably the correct interpretation.

Save Jesus Christ. Except Jesus Christ. This is the only thing I intended to have any knowledge of among you.

And him crucified. Or, "even (kai) Him that was crucified." He resolved not only to make the Messiah the grand object of his knowledge and attention there, but EVEN a crucified Messiah; to maintain the doctrine that the Messiah was to be crucified for the sins of the world, and that He who had been crucified was in fact the Messiah. (See Barnes on 1 Corinthians 1:23).

We may remark here:

1. This should be the resolution of every minister of the gospel. This is his business. It is not to be a politician; not to engage in the conflicts and controversies of men; it is not to be merely a good farmer or scholar; not to mingle with his people in festive gatherings and enjoyments; not to be a man of taste and philosophy, distinguished mainly for refined manners; not to be a profound philosopher or metaphysician; but to make Christ crucified the grand object of his attention, and to seek always and everywhere to make Him known.

2. He is not to be ashamed anywhere of the humbling doctrine that Christ was crucified. He is to glory in this. Though the world may ridicule, though philosophers may sneer, though the rich and the gay may deride it, yet this is to be the grand object of interest to him; and at no time, and in no society, is he to be ashamed of it.

3. It matters not what the amusements of society around him are, or what fields of science, gain, or ambition are open before him; the minister of Christ is to know Christ and Him crucified alone. If he cultivates science, it is so that he may more successfully explain and vindicate the gospel.

   If he becomes in any way familiar with the works of art and taste, it is so that he may more successfully show to those who cultivate them the superior beauty and excellence of the cross. If he studies the plans and pursuits of people, it is so that he may more successfully meet them in those plans and more successfully speak to them of the great plan of redemption.

4. The preaching of the cross is the only kind of preaching that will be attended with success. Preaching that has much in it concerning the Divine mission, dignity, works, doctrines, person, and atonement of Christ will be successful. So it was in the time of the apostles, so it was in the Reformation, so it was in the Moravian missions, and so it has been in all revivals of religion.

   There is a power in that kind of preaching that philosophy and human reason do not possess. "Christ is God's great ordinance" for the salvation of the world; and we confront the crimes and alleviate the woes of the world, exactly in proportion as we hold up the cross as appointed to overcome the one and to pour the balm of consolation into the other.

Regarding the term "know," it can also imply "make known." For the phrase save Jesus Christ, compare Galatians 6:14.

And I was with you. Paul continued there at least a year and six months (Acts 18:2).

In weakness. In conscious feebleness; diffident of my own powers, and not trusting to my own strength.

And in fear, and in much trembling. Paul was aware that he had many enemies to encounter (Acts 18:6); and he was aware of his own natural disadvantages as a public speaker (2 Corinthians 10:10). He knew, too, how much the Greeks valued a manly and elegant species of oratory; and he, therefore, delivered his message with deep and anxious solicitude about its success.

It was at this time, and in view of these circumstances, that the Lord spoke to him by night in a vision, and said, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city (Acts 18:9–10).

If Paul was conscious of weakness, other ministers may well be; and if Paul sometimes trembled in deep solicitude about the result of his message, other ministers may well tremble also. It was in such circumstances, and with such feelings, that the Lord met him to encourage him. And it is when other ministers feel this way, that the promises of the gospel are inestimably precious.

We may add, that it is then, and then only, that they are successful. Notwithstanding all Paul's fears, he was successful there. And it is commonly, perhaps always, when ministers go to their work conscious of their own weakness; burdened with the weight of their message; diffident of their own powers; and deeply solicitous about the result of their labours, that God sends down his Spirit, and converts sinners to God. The most successful ministers have been men who have evinced most of this feeling; and most of the revivals of religion have commenced, and continued, just as ministers have preached, conscious of their own feebleness, distrusting their own powers, and looking to God for aid and strength.

And my speech. The word speech here—if it is to be distinguished from preaching—refers, perhaps, to his more private reasonings; his preaching, to his public discourses.

Not with enticing words. Not with persuasive reasonings, peithois logois, of the wisdom of men. Not with that kind of oratory that was adapted to captivate and charm, and which the Greeks so much esteemed.

But in demonstration. In the showing, apodeixei, or in the testimony or evidence which the spirit produced.

The meaning is that the spirit furnished the evidence of the Divine origin of the religion which he preached, and that it did not depend for its proof on his own reasonings or eloquence.

The proof, the demonstration which the Spirit furnished, was undoubtedly the miracles which were performed, the gift of tongues, and the remarkable conversions which attended the gospel.

The word Spirit here refers, doubtless, to the Holy Spirit, and Paul says that this Spirit had furnished demonstration of the Divine origin and nature of the gospel. This had been by the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 2:5–7; compare to 1 Corinthians 14) and by the effects of His agency in renewing and sanctifying the heart.

And of power. That is, of the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:5); the Divine power and efficacy which attended the preaching of the gospel there (compare to 1 Thessalonians 1:5). The effect of the gospel is the evidence to which the apostle appeals for its truth. That effect was seen:

1. In the conversion of sinners to God, of all classes, ages, and conditions, when all human means of reforming them were futile.
2. In its giving them peace, joy, and happiness; and in its transforming their lives.
3. In making them different men—in making the drunkard sober; the thief honest; the licentious pure; the profane reverent; the indolent industrious; the harsh and unkind gentle and kind; and the wretched happy.
4. In its diffusing a mild and pure influence over the laws and customs of society, and in promoting human happiness everywhere.

And in regard to this evidence to which the apostle appeals, we may observe:

1. That it is a kind of evidence which anyone may examine, and which no one can deny. It does not need labored, abstruse argumentation, but it is everywhere in society. Everyone has witnessed the effects of the gospel in reforming the vicious, and no one can deny that it has this power.
2. It is a mighty display of the power of God. There is no more striking exhibition of His power over mind than in a revival of religion. There is nowhere more manifest demonstration of His presence than when, in such a revival, the proud are humbled, the profane are awed, the blasphemer is silenced, and the profligate, the abandoned, and the moral are converted to God, and are led as lost sinners to the same cross, and find the same peace.
3. The gospel has thus demonstrated from age to age that it is from God. Every converted sinner furnishes such a demonstration, and every instance where it produces peace, hope, and joy shows that it is from heaven.

That your faith. That is, that your belief in the divine origin of the Christian religion.

Should not stand. Greek, "should not be;" that is, should not rest upon this, or be sustained by this. God intended to provide you with a firm and solid demonstration that the religion that you embraced was from him; and this could not be if its preaching had been accompanied by the graces of eloquence, or the abstractions of refined metaphysical reasoning. It would then appear to rest on human wisdom.

In the power of God. In the evidence of divine power accompanying the preaching of the gospel. The power of God would accompany the presentation of truth everywhere; and would be a demonstration that would be irresistible, that the religion was not originated by man, but was from heaven. That power was seen in changing the heart; in overcoming the strong propensities of our nature to sin; in subduing the soul, and making the sinner a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Every Christian thus has, in his own experience, proof that the religion that he loves is from God, and not from man. Man could not subdue these sins; and man could not so entirely transform the soul. And although the unlearned Christian may not be able to investigate all the evidences of religion; although he cannot meet all the objections of cunning and subtle unbelievers; although he may be greatly perplexed and embarrassed by them, yet he may have the fullest proof that he loves God, that he is different from what he once was, and that all this has been accomplished by the religion of the cross.

The blind man who was made to see by the Savior (John 9) might have been wholly unable to tell how his eyes were opened, and unable to meet all the quibbles of those who might doubt it, or all the subtle and cunning objections of physiologists; but of one thing he certainly could not doubt, that whereas he was blind, he then saw (John 9:25).

A man may have no doubt that the sun shines, that the wind blows, that the tides rise, that the blood flows in his veins, that the flowers bloom, and that this could not be unless it was from God, while he may have no power to explain these facts, and no power to meet the objections and quibbles of those who might choose to embarrass him.

So men may know that their hearts are changed; and it is on this ground that no small part of the Christian world, as in everything else, relies for the most satisfactory evidence of their religion. On this ground humble and unlearned Christians have often been willing to go to the stake as martyrs—just as a humble and unlearned patriot is willing to die for his country. He loves it; and he is willing to die for it. A Christian loves his God and Savior; and is willing to die for his sake.