Paul"s reference to the Holy Spirit"s power ( 1 Corinthians 2:4-5) led him to elaborate on the Spirit"s ministry in enlightening the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. The Corinthians needed to view ministry differently. The key to this change would be the Holy Spirit"s illumination of their thinking. People who are pursuing true wisdom (sophia) cannot perceive it except as the Holy Spirit enlightens them. [source][source][source]
Paul constructed his argument in this section with three contrasts that overlap slightly. The first contrast is between those who receive God"s wisdom and those who do not ( 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 a), and the second one is the Spirit of God and the spirit of the world ( 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). The third contrast is the "natural" person and the "spiritual" person ( 1 Corinthians 2:14-16). [1][source]
"Paul is not here rebuilding what he has just torn down. He is retooling their understanding of the Spirit and spirituality, in order that they might perceive the truth of what he has been arguing to this point. [source][source][source]
"While it is true that much of the language of this paragraph is not common to Paul, the explanation of this phenomenon Isaiah , as before, to be found in his using their language but filling it with his own content and thus refuting them. The theology, however, is his own, and it differs radically from theirs.... Paul"s concern throughout is to get the Corinthians to understand who they are-in terms of the cross-and to stop acting as non-Spirit people." [2][source]