1 Corinthians 2:3-4

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

How St. Paul preached the gospel. A great truth is capable of manifold presentations. To be seen fully it must be viewed in various aspects, each of which is relative to the wholeness of the idea, while supplying to the student an increased sensibility to its excellence. Sir Joshua Reynolds speaks of his disappointment when he first saw the painting of the Transfiguration, but it grew upon him and educated his eye, the mind in the eye, to appreciate its sublimity. Hazlitt mentions a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Pauline preaching. I. WHAT IT WAS NOT . 1. It was not "with excellency of speech." Paul did not come as a rhetorician; his utterances were not orations of highly wrought eloquence. He did not seek to make the gospel palatable by presenting it with "enticing words." His manner was simple and unaffected; his diction plain and easily understood. He did not aim to carry everything before him with a flood of words, neither did he, a preacher, seek fame as an orator. He had a ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul the model preacher. The apostle has shown that God does not save men by human wisdom, but by the preaching of Christ. He now declares that his own practice at Corinth was in accordance with this great principle. His example is a pattern for all preachers of the gospel. I. THE MATTER . AND METHOD OF PREACHING . Paul's business was to "proclaim the mystery of God," "even the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations; but now hath it been manifested to his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:3

I was with you; literally, I became or proved myself, towards you, as in 1 Corinthians 16:10 . In weakness . St. Paul was physically weak and liable also to nervous weakness and depression ( 1 Corinthians 4:7-12 ; Galatians 4:13 ; 2 Corinthians 10:1 , 2 Corinthians 10:10 ; 2 Corinthians 12:7 , 2 Corinthians 12:10 ). He shows an occasional self distrust rising from the consciousness of personal infirmities. This enhances our sense of his heroic courage and endurance.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:3-5

Personal weakness and spiritual strength. In both the ordinary daily concerns and in the special religious service of life, a man may he just himself alone, confident in his own powers, self centred, self satisfied, reliant, on his own health of body, vigour of mind, well trained habits, quick judgment, and sound wisdom. Titan, no matter how sate and strong he may seem to be, he is really weak; and, as life advances and testing times take new and severer forms, his weakness will be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:4

My speech and my preaching; the form and matter of my discourse. He would not attempt to use the keen sword of philosophical dialectics or human eloquence, but would only use the weapon of the cross. Was not with enticing words of man's wisdom; rather, with persuasive words of wisdom (the word anthropines is a gloss). This simplicity was the more remarkable because "Corinthian words" was a proverb for choice, elaborate, and glittering phrases (Wetstein). It is not improbable that the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:4

Spiritual power. Language like this sometimes refers to those special, supernatural gifts which were bestowed upon the members and officers of the Church in the apostolic days. But, as the apostle is speaking of the gospel of the cross of Christ and of its moral and spiritual effects, it seems reasonable to take the very strong expressions here employed as referring to the Divine vigour and energy accompanying the Word of salvation. I. CHRISTIANITY IS THE DISPENSATION OF THE... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 2:3

And I was with you - Paul continued there at least a year and six months. Acts 18:11.In weakness - In conscious feebleness; diffident of my own powers, and not trusting to my own strength.And in fear, and in much trembling - Paul was sensible that he had many enemies to encounter Acts 18:6.; and he was sensible of his own natural disadvantages as a public speaker, 2 Corinthians 10:10. He knew too, how much the Greeks valued a manly and elegant species of oratory; and he, therefore, delivered... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 2:4

And my speech - The word “speech” here - if it is to be distinguished from “preaching” - refers, perhaps, to his more private reasonings; his preaching to his public discourses.Not with enticing words - Not with the persuasive reasonings (πειθοῖς λόγοις peithois logois) of the wisdom of men. Not with that kind of oratory that was adapted to captivate and charm; and which the Greeks so much esteemed.But in demonstration - In the showing ἀποδείξει apodeixei; or in the testimony or evidence... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 2:2-5

1 Corinthians 2:2-5. For I determined not to know any thing, &c. To act as one who knew nothing, or to waive all my other knowledge, and not to preach any thing save Jesus Christ and him crucified That is, what he taught, did, and suffered. Or, not only to preach the gospel sincerely, without any mixture of human wisdom, but chiefly to insist upon that part of it which seems most contemptible, and which human wisdom does most abhor, namely, concerning the sufferings and crucifixion of... read more

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