1 Corinthians 2:1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

The mystery of the

is a mystery is because nobody in Corinth or most other places would ever think of looking for the secret to life, the universe, God, beauty, love and death in a place of

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outside a rebellious city in the Middle East.

3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

The Gospel doesn’t need eloquent

. The Gospel is powerful all on

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.

1. Paul’s message focuses on the
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   .
2. Paul’s message confronts human
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   .
3. The meaning of
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   is redefined by “Christ crucified.”
4. The cross calls us out of this
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   and creates a countercultural world for us to live in.

6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.

At the cross, two

, two

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and two

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collided.

9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

There is a wealth of knowledge and life-enhancing understanding waiting for us to explore. Christianity is not simply a set of

and a

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for life.

The Christian message from the very beginning challenged the world of

, including social and political power, with the message of God’s superior

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unveiled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

ψυχικὸς - psuchikos - natural person; human beings living in their natural state

.

God is revealed to us not through communication but through the

. He is revealed not through philosophy but through

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and preaching. He is revealed to us not through rhetoric but through

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.

The key to convincing someone of the power of the cross is: less

and more

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.