1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Key Verse: 2:4 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”
1. How did Paul preach the gospel in Corinth? (2, Acts 18:5) What were his two main points?
2. When he came to the Corinthians, what was going through Paul’s mind and heart? (3) Based on verse 4, why was Paul’s message so powerful? What is the result of a message that demonstrates the Spirit’s power? (Acts 18:7-8)
3. To whom did Paul speak a message of wisdom? (6,10a; cf. Matthew 11:25) What is God’s wisdom, that is, a mystery? (7, cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51, Ephesians 3:6, Colossians 1:27) Why do the rulers of this age not understand it? (8-9)
4. What does the Spirit do? (10b,11) What are the things that God has freely given us, and how can we understand these things? (12; cf. Ephesians 2:6-7)
5. Why can’t a person without the Spirit understand spiritual things? (13-14) How can we know God’s mind and “have the mind of Christ”? (15-16) How can we imitate Paul in preaching the gospel in this day and age?