Dual Panel1IN the same way, my brothers, when I came to proclaim to you God's secret purpose, I did not come equipped with any brilliance of speech or intellect.
2You may as well know now that it was my secret determination to concentrate entirely on Jesus Christ himself and the fact of his death upon the cross.
3As a matter of fact, in myself I was feeling far from strong; I was nervous and rather shaky.
4What I said and preached had none of the attractiveness of the clever mind, but it was a demonstration of the power of the Spirit!
5plainly God's purpose was that your faith should rest not upon man's cleverness but upon the power of God.
6We do, of course, speak "wisdom" among those who are spiritually mature, but it is not what is called wisdom by this world, nor by the powersthatbe, who soon will be only the powers that have been.
7The wisdom we speak of is that mysterious secret wisdom of God which he planned before the creation for our glory today.
8None of the powers of this world have known this wisdomif they had they would never have crucified the Lord of glory!
9But, as it is written: Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.
10Thus God has, through the Spirit, let us share his secret. For nothing is hidden from the Spirit, not even the deep wisdom of God.
11For who could really understand a man's inmost thoughts except the spirit of the man himself? How much less could anyone understand the thoughts of God except the very Spirit of God?
12We have now received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God himself, so that we can understand something of God's generosity towards us.
13It is these things that we talk about, not using the expressions of the human intellect but those which the Holy Spirit teaches us, explaining spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
14But the unspiritual man simply cannot accept the matters which the Spirit deals withthey just don't make sense to him, for, after all, you must be spiritual to see spiritual things.
15The spiritual man, on the other hand, has an insight into the meaning of everything, though his insight may baffle the man of the world. This is because the former is sharing in God's wisdom, and
16Who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? Nevertheless, we who are spiritual have the very thoughts of Christ!