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1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Contemporary English Version
1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Contemporary English Version
6 We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn't the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear. 7 We speak of God's hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the world began. 8 (A) The rulers of this world didn't know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross. 9 (B) But it is just as the Scriptures say,
“What God has planned
for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
or ears have heard.
It has never even
entered our minds!”
10 God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. 11 You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind. 12 But God has given us his Spirit. This is why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. This is also why we can recognize the blessings God has given us.
13 Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people.[a] 14 This is why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish. 15 People who are guided by the Spirit can make all kinds of judgments, but they cannot be judged by others. 16 (C) The Scriptures ask,
“Has anyone ever known
the thoughts of the Lord
or given him advice?”
But we understand what Christ is thinking.[b]
Working Together for God
3 My friends, you are acting like the people of this world. That's why I could not speak to you as spiritual people. You are like babies as far as your faith in Christ is concerned. 2 (D) So I had to treat you like babies and feed you milk. You could not take solid food, and you still cannot, 3 because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves you are not spiritual and you are acting like the people of this world.
4 (E) Some of you say you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't this how ordinary people behave?
1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
New International Version
1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
New International Version
God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,(A) but not the wisdom of this age(B) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.(C) 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery(D) that has been hidden(E) and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age(F) understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(G) 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[a]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—(H)
10 these are the things God has revealed(I) to us by his Spirit.(J)
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts(K) except their own spirit(L) within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit(M) of the world,(N) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom(O) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[b] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God(P) but considers them foolishness,(Q) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit(R) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
But we have the mind of Christ.(T)
The Church and Its Leaders
3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit(U) but as people who are still worldly(V)—mere infants(W) in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food,(X) for you were not yet ready for it.(Y) Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling(Z) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”(AA) are you not mere human beings?
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.