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Paul's Reliance upon the Spirit

¹ And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the ^(F1)(C1)testimony of God concerning salvation through Christ, I ^(C2)did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do;² for I made the decision to ^(F1)know nothing that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while among you except ^(C1)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection.³ I came to you in a state of ^(C1)weakness and ^(C2)fear and great trembling.⁴ And my message and my preaching were ^(C1)not in persuasive words of wisdom using clever rhetoric, but they were delivered in demonstration of ^(C2)the Holy Spirit operating through me and of His power stirring the minds of the listeners and persuading them,⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom and rhetoric of men, but on ^(C1)the power of God.

⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those spiritually ^(C1)mature believers who have teachable hearts and a greater understanding; but it is a higher wisdom not the wisdom of ^(C2)this present age nor of the rulers and leaders of ^(C2)this age, who are ^(C3)passing away;⁷ but we speak God's wisdom in a ^(C1)mystery, the wisdom once hidden from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom which God ^(C2)predestined before the ^(C3)ages to our glory to lift us into the glory of His presence.^8 (C1)None of the rulers of ^(C2)this age recognized and understood this wisdom; for if they had, they would not have crucified ^(C3)the Lord of glory;⁹ but just as it is written in Scripture,

"^(C1)THINGS WHICH THE EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND THE EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed." ^(VR1)

¹⁴ But the ^(C1)natural unbelieving man ^(C2)does not accept the things the teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(C3)foolishness absurd and illogical to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters.¹⁵ But the ^(C1)spiritual man the spiritually mature Christian judges all things questions, examines and applies what the Holy Spirit reveals, yet is himself judged by no one the unbeliever cannot judge and understand the believer's spiritual nature.¹⁶ For ^(C1)WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND and PURPOSES OF THE LORD, SO AS TO INSTRUCT HIM? But ^(C2)we have the mind of Christ to be guided by His thoughts and purposes. ^(VR1)