1 Corinthians 2:3

Contextual Overview

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 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. ¹ When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. ¹ And when I came to you, my brothers, I did not come with wise words of knowledge, putting before you the secret of God. ¹ And I brethren, when I came to you, came not in gloriousnesse of wordes, or of wisedome, shewing vnto you the testimonie of God. ¹ And Y, britheren, whanne Y cam to you, cam not in the heiynesse of word, ethir of wisdom, tellynge to you the witnessyng of Crist. ¹ And I, having come unto you, brethren, came -- not in superiority of discourse or wisdom -- declaring to you the testimony of God, ¹ And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of Christ. ¹ When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Corinthians 4:10-13, Acts 17:1, Acts 17:6-12, Acts 20:18, Acts 20:19, 2 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 7:5, 2 Corinthians 10:1, 2 Corinthians 10:10, 2 Corinthians 11:29, 2 Corinthians 11:30, 2 Corinthians 12:5-10, 2 Corinthians 13:4, Galatians 4:13, Galatians 4:14

Reciprocal: Luke 8:47 - she came 1 Corinthians 1:26 - that Ephesians 6:5 - with Philippians 2:12 - with 1 Thessalonians 2:7 - we

Cross-References

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Genesis 2:2
And in the seuenth day God ended his worke whiche he had made. And the seueth day he rested from all his worke which he had made.

Genesis 2:2
And God finished on the sixth day his works which he made, and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he made.

Genesis 2:2
and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made, and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made.

Genesis 2:2
and God completes by the seventh day His work which He has made, and ceases by the seventh day from all His work which He has made.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I was with you in weakness,.... Meaning either the weakness of his bodily presence, the contemptibleness of his voice, and the mean figure he made as a preacher among them, both with respect to the matter and manner of his ministry in the eyes of many; or his lowly and humble deportment among them, not exerting the power and authority Christ had given him as an apostle; but choosing rather to work with his own hands, as he did at Corinth, to minister to his own necessities, and those of others; or the many persecutions which he endured there for the sake of preaching a crucified Christ; and which he sometimes calls "infirmities"; see

2 Corinthians 12:9 wherefore it is added,

and in fear, and in much trembling: not only on account of the greatness and awfulness of the work in which he was engaged, and lest the souls he ministered unto should be drawn aside from the truth, and into a sinful compliance; but because of the violence of men against him, threatening his life, and lying in wait for it: hence, the Lord, to encourage him, spake in a vision to him, and bid him not be afraid, but boldly preach his Gospel, and not be silent; assuring him of his presence, and that no man should set on him to hurt him, for he had many chosen vessels there to call by his grace through his ministry, Acts 18:9 which no doubt greatly served to remove the fears and tremor that attended him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And I was with you - Paul continued there at least a year and six months. Acts 18:11.

In weakness - In conscious feebleness; diffident of my own powers, and not trusting to my own strength.

And in fear, and in much trembling - Paul was sensible that he had many enemies to encounter Acts 18:6.; and he was sensible of his own natural disadvantages as a public speaker, 2 Corinthians 10:10. He knew too, how much the Greeks valued a manly and elegant species of oratory; and he, therefore, delivered his message with deep and anxious solicitude as to the success. It was at this time, and in view of these circumstances, that the Lord spoke to him by night in a vision, and said, “be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city,” Acts 18:9-10. If Paul was conscious of weakness, well may other ministers be; and if Paul sometimes trembled in deep solicitude about the result of his message, well may other ministers tremble also. It was in such circumstances, and with such feelings, that the Lord met him to encourage him - And it is when other ministers feel thus, that the promises of the gospel are inestimably precious. We may add, that it is then, and then only, that they are successful. Notwithstanding all Paul’s fears, he was successful there. And it is commonly, perhaps always, when ministers go to their work conscious of their own weakness; burdened with the weight of their message; diffident of their own powers; and deeply solicitous about the result of their labors, that God sends down His Spirit, and converts sinners to God. The most successful ministers have been men who have evinced most of this feeling; and most of the revivals of religion have commenced, and continued, just as ministers have preached, conscious of their own feebleness, distrusting their own powers, and looking to God for aid and strength.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 2:3. I was with you in weakness — It is very likely that St. Paul had not only something in his speech very unfavourable to a ready and powerful elocution, but also some infirmity of body that was still more disadvantageous to him. A fine appearance and a fine voice cover many weaknesses and defects, and strongly and forcibly recommend what is spoken, though not remarkable for depth of thought or solidity of reasoning. Many popular orators have little besides their persons and their voice to recommend them. Louis XIV. styled Peter du Bosc le plus beau parleur de son royaume, the finest speaker in his kingdom; and among his own people he was styled l'orateur parfait, the perfect orator. Look at the works of this French protestant divine, and you find it difficult to subscribe to the above sayings. The difficulty is solved by the information that the person of M. du Bosc was noble and princely, and his voice full, harmonious, and majestic. Paul had none of these advantages, and yet idolatry and superstition fell before him. Thus GOD was seen in the work, and the man was forgotten.

In fear, and in much trembling. — This was often the state of his mind; dreading lest he should at any time be unfaithful, and so grieve the Spirit of God; or that, after having preached to others, himself should be a castaway. See 1 Corinthians 9:27.

An eminent divine has said that it requires three things to make a good preacher; study, temptation, and prayer. The latter, no man that lives near to God can neglect; the former, no man who endeavours rightly to divide the word of truth will neglect; and with the second every man will be more or less exercised whose whole aim is to save souls. Those of a different cast the devil permits to pass quietly on in their own indolent and prayerless way.