Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[a] (A)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(B)the testimony^[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(C)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(D)I was with you ^(E)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(F)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[c] but ^(G)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(H)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(I)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(J)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(K)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(L)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(M)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(N)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(R)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(S)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(T)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now ^(U)we have received not ^(V)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this ^(W)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(X)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[d]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(Y)folly to him, and ^(Z)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(AA)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (AB)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(AC)we have the mind of Christ.

^5 (A)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^{[a] 6 (B)}who, though he was in ^(C)the form of God, did not count equality with God ^(D)a thing to be grasped,^{[b] 7} but ^(E)emptied himself, by taking the form of a ^(F)servant,^{[c] (G)}being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^(H)becoming obedient to the point of death, ^(I)even death on a cross. ^9 (J)Therefore ^(K)God has ^(L)highly exalted him and bestowed on him ^(M)the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(N)every knee should bow, ^(O)in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(P)every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Q)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, ^(A)we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is ^(B)in Christ, he is ^(C)a new creation.^{[a] (D)}The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, ^(E)who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us ^(F)the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling^[b] the world to himself, ^(G)not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ^(H)the message of reconciliation.