1 AS FOR myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery and secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom;
Christ did not give me the work of baptizing people. Christ gave me the work of telling the Good News. {\cf2\super [4]} But Christ sent me to tell the Good News without using words of worldly wisdom. If I used worldly wisdom to tell the Good News, then the cross {\cf2\super [5]} of Christ would lose its power.
When we speak these things, we don’t use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things.
My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit {\cf2\super [13]} gives.
So don’t be ashamed to tell people about our Lord \{Jesus\}. And don’t be ashamed of me—I am in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. {\cf2\super [5]} God gives us the strength to do that.
People like that are not serving our Lord Christ. They are only doing things to please themselves. They use fancy talk and say nice things to fool the people that don’t know about evil.
But Moses said to the Lord, “But Lord, I am telling you the truth, I am not a skilled speaker. I have never been able to speak well. And now, even after talking to you, I am still not a good speaker. You know that I talk slowly and don’t use the best words.” [32]
This will happen on the day when the Lord \{Jesus\} comes. Jesus will come to receive glory with his holy people. {\cf2\super [2]} And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group of believers, because you believed the things we told you.
You should follow the teachings and the agreement. {\cf2\super [105]} If you don’t follow these commands, then you might follow the wrong commands. (The wrong commands are those commands that come from the wizards and fortune tellers. Those commands are worth nothing; you will gain nothing by following those commands.)
Then I bowed down before the angel’s feet to worship him. But the angel said to me, “Don’t \{worship me\}! I am a servant like you and your brothers who have the truth of Jesus. So worship God! Because the truth of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. {\cf2\super [148]} ”
I am John, and I am your brother \{in Christ\}. We are together in Jesus, and we share these things: suffering, the kingdom, and patient endurance. I was on the island of Patmos {\cf2\super [7]} because I was faithful to God’s message {\cf2\super [8]} and to the truth of Jesus.
Glory to God. God is the One who can make you strong in faith. God can use the Good News {\cf2\super [163]} that I teach to make you strong. That is the Good News about Jesus Christ that I tell people. That Good News is the secret truth that God has made known. That secret truth was hidden since the beginning.
But we speak God’s secret wisdom. This wisdom has been hidden \{from people\}. God planned this wisdom for our glory. He planned it before the world began.