1 Corinthians 2

₁Friends, I came to you to tell you God's message, which is the truth that you did not know. I did not use difficult words or stories of clever people. ₂Because I just wanted to teach you about Jesus Christ, and that He was crucified for us. ₃Yes, when I came to you, I trembled a lot. I was afraid that I would not be able to tell the message of Christ in the right way. ₄When I talked to you and preached about Christ, I did not use clever words. No, it was the Spirit of God who worked in me. ₅That is why you believe, not because someone used clever words or preached wonderfully. No, you believe because God has shown you his strong power.

₆People who understand God's plans know that the things we say are wisdom. They are things that the people and the rulers of this world do not understand. The time of the rulers of the world is ending. ₇We tell you about God's plan. No one knew this truth. Only God knew it. Before God made the world, He decided to start his plan so that we will be with Him, where He is King. ₈Not one of the rulers of the world knew what God's plan was. If they had known God's plan, they would not have crucified the Lord, our King. ₉The words in the Old_Testament are true, where it is written:

₁₀God sent his Holy_Spirit to show us this plan. The Spirit knows everything there is to know, even the deepest secrets of God which only He knows. ₁₁Who knows the things that a person thinks about? Only the spirit of that person knows what he is thinking. It is the same with God: No one knows the things that God thinks about. Only God's Spirit knows. ₁₂And God gave his Spirit to us. He did not give us the spirit of this world. Now we understand the things that God gave us because He is gracious to us. ₁₃When we tell you about God, we do not use words that clever people taught us. We use words that God's Spirit taught us. That is how we teach and explain spiritual truths to people who can understand spiritual truths. ₁₄Someone who lives like the people of this world does not want to have the things that come from God's Spirit because he thinks it is foolish. He can not understand them because they must be understood spiritually. ₁₅Someone who lives like the Spirit of God wants can say if something is right or wrong. But no one can judge someone who lives like the Spirit of God wants and say if he is right or wrong. ₁₆In the Old_Testament it is written:

But we understand these things because we understand what Christ thinks.