List Paul’s reasons for preaching the word of the cross in the way he did. See verses 1:17-2:5. Answer: Paul is preaching to them that it is not through man’s wisdom or worldly knowledge that we prosper. Rather, it is through Christ that we live and do His will. He is coming as an example (2:1-5) to show that one must be chosen and submit fully to the will of God in order to do His works.
See 2:6-3:2. What does Paul teach here about a) “human wisdom”, and b) ‘a secret and hidden wisdom of God’? How is the latter to be possessed, and by whom alone is it understood? Answer: Man’s wisdom is nothing. Man’s wisdom is short sighted. The wisdom of God seems foolish to those who do not have the Spirit. Man cannot know the wisdom of God, except by the Spirit that dwells inside the man. The Spirit gives discernment to the true believer.
Looking back over the passage, pick out the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and the human preacher respectively in man’s salvation. Is the Lord Jesus Christ to you all that Paul speaks of in 1:30-31? Answer: Without a doubt.
Notes:
2:6. There would appear to be three groups of people in Paul’s mind: a) ‘the mature person’ (cf. ‘spiritual’, 3:1); b) ‘infants in Christ’, 3:1; c) the ‘unspiritual’ person of 2:14.
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