I Corinthians 2:2 · Bible study
1 Corinthians 2:2 Commentary: Knowing Nothing but Christ Crucified
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Paul’s determined focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, a study of the Greek verb ‘ekrina’ and the perfect participle ‘estaurōmenon.’
Research Summary
- Meaning: Paul made a deliberate decision to make Christ crucified the only subject of his preaching among the Corinthians.
- Key words: ἔκρινα (decided, chose), aorist active indicative; ἐσταυρωμένον (crucified), perfect participle, emphasizing abiding reality.
- Main debate: Whether ‘know nothing’ denotes literal ignorance or exclusive focus; the strong consensus favors focused attention over ignorance.
- Theological theme: The cross as the center of the gospel and the basis for unity and faith.
- Best use: Recalibrating priorities in preaching, teaching, and personal witness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
WEB World English Bible 2000
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
KJV King James Version 1769
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
for I decided not to know any thing among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
For I did not judge [it well] to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ: and him crucified.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Porque no me propuse saber algo entre vosotros, sino|strong="G1487, G3361" á Jesucristo|strong="G2424, G5547", y á éste crucificado.
Porque não quis saber coisa alguma entre vós, a não ser Jesus Cristo, e a sua crucificação.
Car je n’ ai pas eu la pensée de savoir parmi vous autre chose que Jésus-Christ, et Jésus-Christ crucifié.
Denn ich hielt mich nicht dafür, daß ich etwas wüßte unter euch, als allein Jesum Christum, den Gekreuzigten.
Want ik heb niet voorgenomen iets te weten onder u, dan Jezus Christus, en Dien gekruisigd.
poiché mi proposi di non saper altro fra voi, fuorché Gesù Cristo e lui crocifisso.
Albowiem nie osądziłem za rzecz potrzebną, co inszego umieć między wami, tylko Jezusa Chrystusa, i to onego ukrzyżowanego.
ибо я рассудил быть у вас незнающим ничего, кроме Иисуса Христа, и притом распятого,
因為 我曾定了主意，在你們 中間 不 知道 別的，只 知道耶穌 基督 並 他 釘十字架。
For I had made the decision to have knowledge of nothing among you but only of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Corinthians 2:2
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators universally agree that this verse describes a deliberate, not accidental, focus. Paul did not set aside all human knowledge; he resolved to make the crucified Christ the sole subject of his preaching among the Corinthians. The Greek verb ἔκρινα (ekrina) is aorist indicative, pointing to a decisive act of judgment or choice. Calvin notes that κρίνειν can mean ‘choose out as precious,’ and for Paul, nothing else was worth knowing in that setting. Barnes renders ‘know’ as ‘attend to, be engaged in, or regard’, not literal ignorance, but exclusive attention. Vincent adds that the perfect participle ἐσταυρωμένον (estaurōmenon) is emphatic: Paul highlights the very thing that scandalized Greeks and Jews. Gill, Wesley, and the Cambridge Bible all agree: Paul made Christ crucified the constant thread of his ministry, because that is the center of salvation.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Paul resolved to put the crucified Christ at the very center of his message and ministry, no matter how offensive or foolish that seemed.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'not to know anything' | All traditions agree Paul made Christ crucified the primary subject of his preaching. | Some insist the phrase means he set aside all other forms of knowledge entirely; others argue it means he gave exclusive attention to the cross in ministry, not that he forgot other learning. |
| Paul's use of other knowledge | Most agree Paul did not renounce all learning; he drew on Scripture and experience. | The degree to which Paul elsewhere employs Greek culture (e.g., quotes from poets) is seen by some as consistent with this verse (integrated focus) and by others as a different mode appropriate to a different audience. |
| Emphasis on crucifixion | All traditions affirm that the crucifixion is central to atonement and Christian faith. | Catholic tradition often emphasizes the crucifixion together with the resurrection and the Eucharist; Protestant traditions tend to highlight the cross as a completed, once-for-all work. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Corinth was a wealthy, cosmopolitan city in Roman Greece, known for its commerce and its passion for Greek rhetoric and philosophy. When Paul arrived around AD 50, he came fresh from a mixed reception in Athens (Acts 17). The Corinthians prided themselves on eloquence and intellectual sophistication. In 1 Corinthians 1:22, Paul notes that ‘Greeks seek after wisdom.’ Against this backdrop, his resolution to know nothing but Christ crucified was remarkable, even offensive.
The city’s culture valued orators who could dazzle crowds with polished speeches and subtle reasoning. Paul’s deliberate simplicity (v.1, ‘not with excellence of speech or of wisdom’) was not a sign of weakness but strategy. The cross itself was a scandal: to the Jewish mind, a crucified Messiah was a contradiction; to the Greek mind, a crucified savior was foolishness (1 Cor 1:23). By focusing on this single, shameful event, Paul challenged every cultural assumption about power, wisdom, and status. His determination (the word ἔκρινα implies a firm verdict) shows he was no accident or failure, he chose to let the message itself do the work, trusting in the Spirit’s demonstration rather than human persuasion.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources do not note any significant textual variants for this verse. The Greek text is stable across major manuscripts.
Reception History
This verse has been treasured across Christian history as a missionary and ministerial manifesto. Early church fathers such as Chrysostom saw it as Paul's rebuke to those who valued human eloquence. During the Reformation, both Luther and Calvin pointed here to argue that the cross, not human philosophy, is the power of God. In the Pietist and Methodist movements, 1 Corinthians 2:2 became a call to personal, experiential faith centered on Christ's sacrifice. Modern evangelical preaching often uses it to recall believers to the simplicity of the gospel.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- A Deliberate Resolution, Paul’s decision was made before he arrived. He chose to let the cross define his preaching, knowing it would offend his audience.
- Exclusive Focus, ‘Know nothing’ does not mean ignorance. It means giving all attention to one thing: Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and his crucifixion as the center of salvation.
- The Emphatic Cross, ‘Him crucified’ (perfect participle) stresses not just the event but its abiding significance. The cross remains the power of God for those who believe.
Five-point outline
- Paul’s personal example of self-denial
- The contrast with Corinth’s love of wisdom
- The cross as both stumbling block and power
- How this resolves divisions: a shared center
- Application: our own preaching and witness must return to the cross
Illustration hooks
- Marketing vs. Messaging: A product launch that focuses on flashy packaging rather than the quality inside. Paul stripped away packaging to let the product, the cross, speak for itself.
- Family Photo Albums: When you scroll through years of pictures, one image stops you: a photo from a hard but defining moment. Paul made that one moment the cover and every page of his album.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this mean I have to stop learning about other topics? Or is it about priorities?
- How can the cross be the center when my life feels so messy and complicated?
- Isn’t it intellectually shallow to focus only on the crucifixion?
Leading a Discussion
This verse is one of the most quoted in the New Testament, but it is often misunderstood. Paul is not telling us to stop thinking; he is telling us what to put at the center of our thinking. Use these questions to explore his meaning and your own focus.
Discussion questions
- Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. What does Paul say about his approach when he first came to Corinth? Why did he choose that method?
- The word ‘determined’ translates a Greek verb that means ‘to judge or decide after thinking.’ What does that tell you about Paul’s mindset?
- Barnes says ‘know’ here means ‘attend to, be engaged in.’ If you substituted that phrase, how would the verse read differently?
- Why is the phrase ‘and him crucified’ so important? Vincent says it is ‘emphatic.’ What makes the cross such a difficult but central teaching?
- How might this verse apply to your own conversations about faith? Is there anything you tend to emphasize more than the cross?
- Read Philippians 3:8-10. How does Paul’s desire to ‘know Christ’ connect with his determination in 1 Corinthians 2:2?
- What would it look like for your small group to ‘know nothing except Christ crucified’ in your studies, prayers, and outreach?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| John 17:3 | This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. |
| I Corinthians 1:22 | For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, |
| I Corinthians 1:25 | because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. |
| Galatians 3:1 | Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed among you as crucified? |
| Galatians 6:14 | But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. |
| Philippians 3:8 | Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ |
| Philippians 3:10 | that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes that Paul made a deliberate choice to set aside all other learning and preach only the gospel of Christ crucified. For Clarke, this single message contains the full foundation of genuine wisdom, holiness, and joy, making any other knowledge unnecessary for the Corinthians' salvation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights that Paul's decision to preach only Christ crucified was a deliberate, fixed purpose, not an accident. Paul made this resolution knowing both his own natural bent toward philosophical argument and the Corinthians' love for clever reasoning, yet he set all that aside to focus solely on the cross.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin insists Paul consciously set aside eloquence and intellectual refinement, not from lack of ability, but because his whole heart was fixed on one thing: preaching Christ crucified with simplicity. For Calvin, Paul did not merely happen to lack polish; he deliberately held no kind of knowledge or human wisdom in esteem compared to that single message.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that Paul's single-minded focus on Christ crucified means he deliberately centers his message on Christ's humiliated condition, a state that human wisdom regards as the deepest disgrace. The phrase "and Him crucified" can be understood as "even Him as having been crucified," underscoring the shame.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva annotators observe that Paul deliberately counted all other knowledge worthless, choosing to focus solely on Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. This single-minded commitment to the cross alone defined his preaching and ministry among the Corinthians.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that Paul made a deliberate decision before arriving in Corinth to set aside his vast human learning and preach only Christ and Him crucified. Paul chose this single, offensive subject because salvation comes entirely through the cross, excluding all human works and merit.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that Paul intentionally centered his preaching on Christ crucified rather than on an exalted earthly king. This directly countered the Corinthian church's tendency to minimize the cross in order to avoid offending pagan and Jewish intellectuals. For Paul, the person and sacrificial work of Christ together formed the entire gospel.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent notes that Paul deliberately emphasizes the word "crucified" because the cross itself was the main obstacle for Corinthian believers. What would most trouble them, Paul stresses most.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley takes Paul's phrase "him crucified" as shorthand for the whole of Christ's work: what he did, suffered, and taught. For Wesley, the apostle deliberately set aside every other kind of knowledge so that Christ himself in his full saving reality would be the single subject of preaching.