📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 2:7
What does 1 Corinthians 2:7 mean?
"But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,"
— 1 Corinthians 2:7 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.
But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,
which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”
But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Explanation
In this verse, Paul is contrasting the wisdom he preaches with the wisdom prized by the culture around him. In plain language, he is saying that the message he and his fellow apostles proclaim is not clever human philosophy or rhetorical skill, but a wisdom that comes directly from God. This wisdom is called a "mystery" — not because it is confusing, but because it was once hidden and unknown, something God kept concealed until the right time to reveal it. Paul adds that this wisdom was not a last-minute idea; God planned it "before the worlds," meaning before creation itself, and its purpose is "for our glory" — for the ultimate honor, blessing, and exaltation of those who receive it.
To understand this verse, it helps to know the context of 1 Corinthians. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, a city that highly valued eloquence, philosophical sophistication, and status. Some in the Corinthian church had begun to judge Christian teachers by these worldly standards, favoring certain leaders because of their rhetorical polish. In chapters 1–2, Paul pushes back hard against this mindset. He reminds them that he did not come to them with impressive speech or worldly wisdom, but with a simple proclamation of Christ crucified — a message that seemed foolish to the world but is, in fact, the power and wisdom of God. Verse 7 continues this argument by explaining that the gospel is a wisdom far superior to human wisdom because it originates from God's eternal plan, not human ingenuity.
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