The First Letter of St. Paul
to
The Corinthians
Chapter
2
1. When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 1 to 2)
Oh God, my Father You are simple in Your ways. When talking to us as a human when You walked among us, You did not use theological or philosophical concepts, but examples from everyday life that we could easily understand. Amen. I pray that You keep on using such an approach with me for I do not always understand what You mean to tell me. I pray for the illumination of Your Holy Spirit that helps me to understand what You mean by the circumstances that take place in my life Amen
3. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5. so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 3 to 5)
Oh God my Father when I type my prayers on this blog, I also write out of the Holy Spirit and not out of human wisdom. I pray that You will never stop giving me such messages of praise and worship Amen.
6. Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though this is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7. But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father, Your wisdom is totally opposite of that of the world, even the logic differs. The world preaches a message that is contrary to that found in the 'Good News'. If one strikes us on the cheek we kill him instead of forgiving, if we have conflicts with our wives or husbands we divorce, instead of forgiving or trying to seek help to reconcile. A lot of people may not understand the wisdom found in the Bible, or may even try to twist it to suit their beliefs and end up preaching a gospel that is false and not according to the real message of the 'Good News' I pray for such people because when coming before You, we all need to give an account of our actions. Amen.
8. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him"
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my Father, if we only knew or could only imagine Your love for us, we would never have crucified You, or either would have done such atrocities to each other, for what we do to others in both a positive and negative sense it is as if we are doing it to You. Amen.
10. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 10)
Oh God my Father what a heartbreak it is to see the Roman Catholic Church fragmented into different groups such as protestants among others. You who since the very beginning gave us these directions that we are to have the same purpose and intentions that are that of following You as a united Church and even as individuals Amen. Oh God You are in favour of unity, however, the evil one has found our soft spot and has managed to cause divisions and discord even among us Christians so that not all of us are fully convinced of our belief and attend mass to be socially accepted, or out of habit or to meet others Amen.
11. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 11)
Oh, God my Father as humans we understand, or many times, assume that we understand and are knowledgeable in areas concerning the body and the human mind, however, although many progress has been made there are areas that are still black holes that need to be explored. However, what is concerning You, my God and Father, only You have control over. You stimulate our spirit and faith and minds to perform good acts both on our behalf and especially on behalf of others, for our own nature is selfish.
12. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 12)
Oh God, there is a big difference between the spirit of the world which is sinful and materialistic to that of the Heavenly world. The difference is so great that one is contrary to the other, and thus when these clash throughout the course of our daily lives, this creates a state of psycho-spiritual confusion. Many times in relation to important issues in my life, I get caught in a trap between what is right according to Your will and what is right according to the ways of the world. Many times it is not easy to decide, however, I pray oh God that you inspire me at the right time in order to take the right decisions that are according to Your will Amen.
13. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14. Those who are unspiritual do not receive of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they spiritually discerned. 15. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 16. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 13 to 16)
Oh God my Father this is the main reason why certain people get mixed up in spiritual matters and even give them a false interpretation, it is simply because it is not within their competence. Those who have aimed at becoming wise according to the ways of the world will never gain the understanding of the world of the spirit unless You give to that person spiritual insight, but to those whom You give such insight You have given a great treasure amen.
I would like to end this first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians on a very special day. This is the day when in Malta we remember when St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta and was the agent chosen by You my, God and Father to sow the seed of faith on this small Island.
Oh God, my Father, I thank You for sending the apostle Paul to the little Island of Malta. I thank You for giving us the opportunity of being reborn by Your Holy Spirit in Spirit and in Faith. I pray that we understand the many promptings that You give us throughout our daily lives Amen.
3. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5. so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 3 to 5)
Oh God my Father when I type my prayers on this blog, I also write out of the Holy Spirit and not out of human wisdom. I pray that You will never stop giving me such messages of praise and worship Amen.
6. Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though this is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7. But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father, Your wisdom is totally opposite of that of the world, even the logic differs. The world preaches a message that is contrary to that found in the 'Good News'. If one strikes us on the cheek we kill him instead of forgiving, if we have conflicts with our wives or husbands we divorce, instead of forgiving or trying to seek help to reconcile. A lot of people may not understand the wisdom found in the Bible, or may even try to twist it to suit their beliefs and end up preaching a gospel that is false and not according to the real message of the 'Good News' I pray for such people because when coming before You, we all need to give an account of our actions. Amen.
8. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him"
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my Father, if we only knew or could only imagine Your love for us, we would never have crucified You, or either would have done such atrocities to each other, for what we do to others in both a positive and negative sense it is as if we are doing it to You. Amen.
10. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 10)
Oh God my Father what a heartbreak it is to see the Roman Catholic Church fragmented into different groups such as protestants among others. You who since the very beginning gave us these directions that we are to have the same purpose and intentions that are that of following You as a united Church and even as individuals Amen. Oh God You are in favour of unity, however, the evil one has found our soft spot and has managed to cause divisions and discord even among us Christians so that not all of us are fully convinced of our belief and attend mass to be socially accepted, or out of habit or to meet others Amen.
11. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 11)
Oh, God my Father as humans we understand, or many times, assume that we understand and are knowledgeable in areas concerning the body and the human mind, however, although many progress has been made there are areas that are still black holes that need to be explored. However, what is concerning You, my God and Father, only You have control over. You stimulate our spirit and faith and minds to perform good acts both on our behalf and especially on behalf of others, for our own nature is selfish.
12. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 12)
Oh God, there is a big difference between the spirit of the world which is sinful and materialistic to that of the Heavenly world. The difference is so great that one is contrary to the other, and thus when these clash throughout the course of our daily lives, this creates a state of psycho-spiritual confusion. Many times in relation to important issues in my life, I get caught in a trap between what is right according to Your will and what is right according to the ways of the world. Many times it is not easy to decide, however, I pray oh God that you inspire me at the right time in order to take the right decisions that are according to Your will Amen.
13. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14. Those who are unspiritual do not receive of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they spiritually discerned. 15. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 16. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 13 to 16)
Oh God my Father this is the main reason why certain people get mixed up in spiritual matters and even give them a false interpretation, it is simply because it is not within their competence. Those who have aimed at becoming wise according to the ways of the world will never gain the understanding of the world of the spirit unless You give to that person spiritual insight, but to those whom You give such insight You have given a great treasure amen.
I would like to end this first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians on a very special day. This is the day when in Malta we remember when St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta and was the agent chosen by You my, God and Father to sow the seed of faith on this small Island.
Oh God, my Father, I thank You for sending the apostle Paul to the little Island of Malta. I thank You for giving us the opportunity of being reborn by Your Holy Spirit in Spirit and in Faith. I pray that we understand the many promptings that You give us throughout our daily lives Amen.
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