1 Corinthians 2:5

1 Corinthians 2:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
• New International Version (NIV)so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
• English Standard Version (ESV)so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Context of 1 Corinthians 2:5

3I lived among you as someone who felt weak. I was very afraid. 4When I spoke to you and when I taught you God's message, I did not use clever words. I did not want you to believe me because you thought I was wise. Instead, it was the power of God's Holy Spirit that showed you that my message was true. As a result, you now believe because of God's power. You do not believe because of human ideas. 6But we do speak about wise thoughts to those of you who know Christ very well. But those wise thoughts do not belong to this world. They are not the ideas that the rulers of this world think are important. Those rulers will not be powerful for long. 7No, the wise thoughts that we speak about belong to God. He has hidden them from people until now. But before God made the world, he decided to let us know these secrets. He wanted us to enjoy his glory.

1 Corinthians 2:5 word by word

ἵνα ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν μὴ ᾖ ἐν σοφίᾳ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλ᾽ ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• faithὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• should notμήmē · notG3361
• standεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• of menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• the powerδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 2:5

• 1 Corinthians 1:17Christ did not send me to baptize people. But he did send me to tell God's good news to people. When I speak his message, I do not use clever words. It is Christ's death on the cross that has power to save people. I do not want to spoil that power with clever words.
• 1 Corinthians 3:6When I told you God's good news, I was like someone who planted seeds. Then Apollos was like someone who gave water to the young plants. But it was God who caused everything to grow.
• Acts 16:14One of the women who listened to us was called Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira. She bought and sold expensive dark red cloth. She was a Gentile woman who now worshipped God. The Lord helped her to understand Paul's message. So she believed the things that he said.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7God has given to us the gift to speak his message. But we ourselves are very weak. It is like we are keeping his valuable gift in clay pots. So it is clear that the great power of God's message comes from God himself. It does not come from us.
• 2 Corinthians 6:7We speak a true message. God's power gives us strength. We do what is right, so we fight like soldiers on God's behalf. It is like we have God's weapons in both hands!

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 2:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5That your faith should not stand - That the illumination of your souls and your conversion to God might appear to have nothing human in it: your belief, therefore, of the truths which have been proposed to you is founded, not in human wisdom, but in Divine power: human wisdom was not employed; and human power, if it had been employed, could not have produced the change.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5That your faith - That is, that your belief of the divine origin of the Christian religion. Should not stand - Greek, “should not be;” that is, should not rest upon this; or be sustained by this. God intended to furnish you a firm and solid demonstration that the religion which you embraced was from Him; and this could not be if its preaching had been attended with the graces of eloquence, or the abstractions of refined metaphysical reasoning. It would…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5God's control made Paul's preaching successful. Paul did not depend on his intelligence or personality for evangelism. Instead, he relied on the Holy Spirit's power (see also study note on 1 Corinthians 1:18–31).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. stand in ... wisdom of men--rest on it, owe its origin and continuance to it.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 2:5

• Faith
• Gospel
• Philosophy
• Power
• Preaching
• Reasoning
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Judge
• Lord
• Mystery
• Spiritually
• Testimony
• Wisdom
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings