NOTES for Co1 2:1-16
It would be simple and obvious if Paul, like most of the apostles, were an uneducated fisherman. But he of all people is a Pharisee, a pupil of Gamaliel, an expert in Scripture, an educated and eloquent man. And with one stroke he crosses all of this out. Why? In other situations he drew upon all his eloquence and education and reminded people that he was no illiterate boy... Yet he came to the Corinthians as one who knew nothing; moreover, "in weakness and in fear." It is understandable why he was afraid: he had deprived himself of such a powerful support and defense as human wisdom. But why did he voluntarily renounce this support? I think a simple answer is quite sufficient for us now: because in that situation God was pleased to address the Corinthians in this way, bypassing human speculation. Yet He sent someone well versed in human wisdom, compelling him to renounce what was "his own" for the glory of God—because Paul himself needed this as well.