The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:5 Explained

1 Corinthians 2:5

KJV: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

YLT: that your faith may not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Darby: that your faith might not stand in men's wisdom, but in God's power.

ASV: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the wisdom  of men,  but  in  the power  of God. 

What does 1 Corinthians 2:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Paul"s reason for this approach was so his converts would recognize that their faith rested on a supernatural rather than a natural foundation, namely, the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (cf. Matthew 16:15-17).
The apostle"s conviction concerning the importance of the superior power of the gospel message was clear in his own preaching.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - God's Glory In Men's Weakness
Like the sons of Jesse before Samuel, so do the successive regiments on which the world relies pass before Christ. The wise, the mighty, the noble, the great, the things that are! And the King says, I have not chosen these. The warriors with whom He will win the world to Himself are the nobodies, the ciphers, the people who in the world's estimate do not count. Do not depreciate yourself, but give yourself to Him; He will find a niche for you and make your life worth living. Notice that God has put you into union with Christ Jesus. Everything we need for life and godliness is in Him; only let us make all that we can of our wonderful position and possessions.
Paul came to Corinth from Athens, where he had sought to win his hearers by a studied and philosophical discourse as best adapted to their needs. But as he entered Corinth, he appears to have deliberately determined that his theme would be the crucified Lord, and expressed in the simplest phrases. When we speak the truth as it is in Jesus, the Spirit is ever at hand to enforce our testimony by His demonstration and power. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 2

1  Paul declares that his preaching,
4  though it bring not excellence of speech, or of human wisdom,
5  yet consists in the power of God;
6  and so far excels the wisdom of this world, that the natural man cannot understand it

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 2:5

That your faith should not stand [ινα η πιστις υμων μη ηι]
Purpose of God, but μη ηι — mē ēi is “not be” merely. The only secure place for faith to find a rest is in God‘s power, not in the wisdom of men. One has only to instance the changing theories of men about science, philosophy, religion, politics to see this. A sure word from God can be depended on. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 2:5

John 1:30 A man [ἀνὴρ]
Three words are used in the New Testament for man: ἄῤῥην , or ἄρσην , ἀνήρ , and ἄνθρωπος . Ἄρσην marks merely the sexual distinction, male (Romans 1:27; Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:13). Ἁνήρ denotes the man as distinguished from the woman, as male or as a husband (Acts 8:12; Matthew 1:16), or from a boy (Matthew 14:21). Also man as endowed with courage, intelligence, strength, and other noble attributes (1 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 4:13; James 3:2). Ἄνθρωπος is generic, without distinction of sex, a human being (John 16:21), though often used in connections which indicate or imply sex, as Matthew 19:10; Matthew 10:35. Used of mankind (Matthew 4:4), or of the people (Matthew 5:13, Matthew 5:16; Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:18; John 6:10). Of man as distinguished from animals or plants (Matthew 4:19; 2 Peter 2:16), and from God, Christ as divine and angels (Matthew 10:32; John 10:33; Luke 2:15). With the notion of weakness leading to sin, and with a contemptuous sense (1 Corinthians 2:5; 1 Peter 4:2; John 5:12; Romans 9:20). The more honorable and noble sense thus attaches to ἀνήρ rather than to ἄνθρωπος . Thus Herodotus says that when the Medes charged the Greeks, they fell in vast numbers, so that it was manifest to Xerxes that he had many men combatants ( ἄνθρωποι ) but few warriors ( ἄνθρωποι ) vii., 210. So Homer: “O friends, be men ( ἀνέρες ), and take on a stout heart” (“Iliad,” v., 529). Ἁνήρ is therefore used here of Jesus by the Baptist with a sense of dignity. Compare ἄνθρωπος , in John 1:6, where the word implies no disparagement, but is simply indefinite. In John ἀνήρ has mostly the sense of husband (John 4:16-18). See John 6:10. -DIVIDER-
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[source]

Romans 11:25 In part [ἀπὸ μέρους]
Μέρος partis never used adverbially in the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation. In the Epistles it is rarely used in any other way. The only exceptions are 2 Corinthians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 9:3; Ephesians 4:9, Ephesians 4:16. Paul employs it in several combinations. With ἀπό from(1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 2:5), and ἐκ outof (1 Corinthians 12:27; 1 Corinthians 13:9, 1 Corinthians 13:10, 1 Corinthians 13:12), in which a thing is conceived as looked at from the part, either ( ἀπὸ ) as a simple point of view, or ( ἐκ ) as a standard according to which the whole is estimated. Thus 1 Corinthians 12:27, “members ἐκ μέρους severallyi.e., members from a part of the whole point of view. Also with ἐν inas Colossians 2:16, with respect to, literally, in the matter of. With ἀνά upthe idea being of a series or column of parts reckoned upward, part by part. Μέρος τι withregard to some part, partly, occurs 1 Corinthians 11:18; and κατὰ μέρος , reckoning part by part downward; according to part, particularly, Hebrews 9:5. Construe here with hath happened: has partially befallen. Not partial hardening, but hardening extending over a part. -DIVIDER-
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[source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 2:5 mean?

so that the faith of you not might be in wisdom of men but power of God
ἵνα πίστις ὑμῶν μὴ ἐν σοφίᾳ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλ’ δυνάμει Θεοῦ

ἵνα  so  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
πίστις  faith 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: πίστις  
Sense: conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
  might  be 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
σοφίᾳ  wisdom 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: σοφία  
Sense: wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters.
ἀνθρώπων  of  men 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
δυνάμει  power 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: δύναμις  
Sense: strength power, ability.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.