1 ARST My fellow believers, I also{ acted according to this pattern} when I visited you and told you about what God has now revealed to us. I did not speak in more powerful ways than others do. I did not argue in wiser ways than others do. BSB BSB: When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2 ARST { I did this} because I chose{ to speak and act as if} the only things I understood while I was with you were Jesus the Messiah and how he died on the cross. BSB BSB: For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 ARST I also{ lived according to this pattern} when I was staying with you. I was sick, I was afraid, and I frequently shivered and shook. BSB BSB: I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
4 ARST I did not speak wisely and persuasively{ according to human standards} when I talked{ to you} and shared my message{ with you}. Instead, I proved that God’ s Spirit works powerfully{ through me when I shared my message}. BSB BSB: My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
5 ARST { I shared my message in this way} in order that you might trust{ in God} because he acts powerfully, not because humans spoke wise words{ to you}. BSB BSB: so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
6 ARST Despite{ what I have said,} we{ who proclaim the good news} do speak wisely when we are with spiritually mature people. However, people who think only in human ways and people who rule right now do not think that we speak wisely.{ Soon,} these people will no longer rule. BSB BSB: Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 ARST No, we speak wisely{ because we proclaim} the things that God has revealed to us. God concealed these things{ until now}, although he had already decided to do them before he created anything.{ He has done all of this} so that he might honor us. BSB BSB: No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.
8 ARST The people who rule right now did not know about these wise things.{ You can tell that} they did not know, because they killed our glorious Lord on the cross. BSB BSB: None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 ARST Rather,{ how they acted} fits with what the prophet Isaiah wrote:“God has ready for the people who love him things that no one witnessed before and things that no one heard about before and things that no human even imagined before.” BSB BSB: Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 ARST God has made these things known to us by the{ power of God’ s} Spirit.{ God works by the power of his Spirit} because God’ s Spirit explores all people and things. He even explores things about God that are very difficult to understand. BSB BSB: But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11 ARST { You can tell that God’ s Spirit explores everything about God,} because everyone knows that only each human being understands everything about himself or herself. In the same way, only God’ s Spirit understands everything about God. BSB BSB: For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 ARST We did indeed receive the Spirit who comes from God. We did not receive a spirit that belongs to the current world.{ We received God’ s Spirit} in order that we might understand everything that God has done for us. BSB BSB: We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 ARST These are the very things that we also talk about. We do not use words that humans wisely teach. Instead, we use words that the Spirit teaches, so that we explain spiritual truths with spiritual words. BSB BSB: And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14 ARST Now, people who do not have God’ s Spirit reject the things that God’ s Spirit gives and teaches.{ They reject these things,} because they think that they are foolish. They cannot know about{ the things that God’ s Spirit gives and teaches,} because only people who have God’ s Spirit can judge rightly about them. BSB BSB: The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 ARST On the other hand, people who have God’ s Spirit{ can} judge rightly about everything. However, no{ other} person{ can} judge rightly about them. BSB BSB: The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
16 ARST This fits with{ what the scripture says}:“No human knows what the Lord is thinking. No human can teach him about anything.” We, however, can think the same things that the Messiah is thinking. BSB BSB: “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.