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1 Corinthians 2:6
ESV Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
NIV We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
NASB Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
CSB We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
NLT Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.
KJV Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
NKJV However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

What does 1 Corinthians 2:6 mean?

Paul has rejected human wisdom as a means of teaching the simple message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Human wisdom involves the observation and analysis of life from a limited human perspective. Being limited and fallible, human wisdom rejects anything which can't be comprehended or worked out by human intelligence. While reason, evidence, and knowledge are important, they don't infallibly lead a person to accept truth (James 2:19; Romans 1:18–23).

Paul describes this human wisdom as the "wisdom of this age." Like all human knowledge, and human opinions, the "wisdom" of any particular era, or culture, is temporary and changing. Paul also calls this limited human wisdom the wisdom of the "rulers of this age." Those rulers, too, are temporary, doomed to pass away. Some Bible scholars suggest that the reference to "rulers" here means human governments and authorities. Others believe them to be supernatural powers: angels and demons involved in human affairs. In either sense, their authority is limited and will be gone when this age comes to an end.

Paul now adds, though, that there is a place for teaching a different kind of wisdom to those who are mature in Christ. By this, he seems to mean the gospel should be presented in the simplest form possible without flourish or unnecessary complication. This not only prevents a person from being distracted by showmanship (1 Corinthians 2:1–2), it also keeps the message accessible to people of all intellectual ability.

However, once someone has come to faith in Christ and is occupied by the Spirit of God with a mind to follow Christ, that person is considered mature and ready to learn the more complicated truths of God's wisdom.
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