1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God’s secret with fancy words or a show of human wisdom.
2 I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.
3 So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling.
4 My teaching and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that persuade people but with proof of the power that the Spirit gives.
5 This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.
6 However, I speak a wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this world or from the rulers of this world, who are losing their power.
7 I speak God’s secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. Before the world began, God planned this wisdom for our glory.