2 Corinthians Chapter 2: Redefining Power and Wisdom

Chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians relates very closely to Chapter 1. Paul continues to emphasize and contrast the difference between God’s wisdom and power, both of which we see exemplified in Christ’s crucifixion (1 Cor 1:24) and man’s perception of power and wisdom which are contrary to God’s. Humans want big flashy displays of power and clever demonstrations of wisdom, but this simply isn’t how God works because those things are NOT power and are NOT wisdom.

Paul is very intentional to conform his ministry to God’s categories of power and wisdom over that of man’s. Similar to what he said back in chapter 1 verse 17, about not preaching with words of eloquent wisdom lest the cross be stripped of its power, here he declares yet again that he came to the Corinthians proclaiming the testimony of God, not “with lofty speech or wisdom” (2:1). Paul didn’t adapt his message to the oratory fads of the day to make it more appealing to his audience. He didn’t speak “in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit of power.” (2:4)

So you may be thinking to yourself, “Oh, Paul didn’t have to use fancy speech, he just demonstrated the power of the Spirit by doing miracles and healing, and casting out demons, and THAT was the confirmation of his Gospel. He showed these people the power of God!” Well, certainly there is a place for that, but that doesn’t seem to be the sort of power Paul was demonstrating at all. Look a few verses back; he characterizes his presence with the Corinthians as being “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” That doesn’t exactly give us a picture of Paul working his way house to house casting out demons.

So what is Paul referring to when he says he demonstrated “the Spirit of power so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God”? What was the power of God if not miracles? To answer that question, we need look no further than what we’ve already read in chapter 1. The message of the Gospel, Christ Crucified, is the power of God! (1 Cor 1:24) The message that the long-awaited Messiah, the Descendent promised to Eve, Abraham, and David, came and conquered and defeated his enemies, blessed the nations and ransomed a people to himself not through battle, but through self-sacrifice. That is the demonstration of God’s power that Paul is talking about. It’s the exact opposite of what we’d expect to see. It’s not fire from heaven or cloud and tempest. It’s God dying for us!

Now you may say, “That doesn’t seem very powerful!” Exactly; that’s the point Paul’s making. This isn’t going to look like power to our earthly mindset! Peter himself made this same mistake. When Jesus had told him He would be crucified in Matthew 16, Peter replies, “Far be it from you Lord!” Dying?! That’s not the way the Messiah demonstrates his power! And how does our Lord correct Peter? “…you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.” See the mistake? An earthly conception of what power should look like, rather than a godly one.

And Paul admits this stuff is hard to swallow. He tells the Corinthians: “…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit…The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (2:10;14)

Paul is not saying that the unregenerate can’t read the Bible or understand Scripture, he’s saying that unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals the awesome wonder of the Cross to you, you’ll never see the cross as the power of wisdom of God. It will never “click” that God showed his wisdom and power in love, dying on the cross for you personally, and you’ll never come to that saving faith in Jesus Christ.

So, let’s do just what God calls us to do so often in the scriptures and tune up our thinking. Let’s renew our rhetoric and metamorphose our mindset by the Spirit’s good work in us to think the way God thinks. To perceive the way God does. To genuinely recognize the Gospel as the power of God, and as the wisdom of God, and let’s live accordingly! You don’t need flashy displays to draw people to your ministry. You don’t need massive miracles to demonstrate God’s power. You don’t need followers online, or other people who admire you to be a successful parent. You don’t need recognition from others, you don’t need big numbers in your church, you don’t need droves of converts. Whether in the pulpit or in the home, or at work, or with friends, let the Gospel define for you what power and wisdom look like. Then preach that Gospel and live in a way that bears testimony to the wisdom and the power of the Gospel. Speak and demonstrate the power and wisdom of God in your own life, by the grace of Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit.