When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, 4 and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive [words of] wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Paul had previously gone to Corinth to proclaim the simple Gospel message of Christ crucified. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul wrote, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning (1 Cor. 1:17).” He avoided human wisdom and eloquence while proclaiming to them the mystery of God explaining that Christ crucified was a different savior than they had been expecting. The mystery of God refers to the saving power of God achieved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, ‘mystery’ referred to the saving events that will occur in the age to come (end times) but Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that salvation was already occurring through the risen Christ.
He had not come to them with eloquent words or human wisdom like the philosophers of the present age since the Corinthians could subsequently be persuaded differently with more clever human wisdom. Paul demeaned his role so that the Corinthians could understand that they had been convicted and converted through the powerful Spirit of God when they heard his words. Their faith was due to divine wisdom, not human wisdom.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to hear and understand your word in the way you intend as we seek a deeper, personal knowledge of you. May the saving action begun in Christ Jesus inspire greater love for you and a desire to lead others to salvation by our words and deeds. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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