Judging and Testing Prophecy

One should NOT use 1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 to support the idea of testing prophecy

Paul writes the Corinthians and addresses some issues about how the Church should operate when they meet together. One of the issues was the use of the gift of prophecy and Paul writes:

“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge.”
-1 Corinthians 14:29

Now this verse has relevance for those who believe the gift of prophecy still exists in the church today. It is held up by many charismatics as an example of what to do with prophecy when it is delivered. It is even used to prove that we should not expect the gift of prophecy in the church today to always be accurate but that the church must judge to determine if it is. My point here is not to discuss the accuracy of prophecy in the church today, but simply to show that the verses in question should not be used in that argument. The assumption when reading 1 Corinthians 14:29 is that the thing that is to be judged is the prophecy that was spoken. However, given the context of Paul’s letter, I don’t believe that to be true. Have a look at what Paul writes just a few verses earlier:

“But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all”
-1 Corinthians 14:24

So it’s not the prophecy that is being judged but the one that is being prophesied to. I believe this to be the case for both verse 24 and verse 29.

Let’s take a look at another verse that is used to support the idea of judging/testing prophecy:

“Do not despise prophecies, prove all things; hold fast that which is good;”
-1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

Again, the assumption here is that the things that should be proved are the prophecies. However, if we take a look at the only thing being proved in 1 Thessalonians, it was Paul’s teachings:

“For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception. But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.”
-1 Thessalonians 2:3-4

The Greek word used for “approved” and “tests” is the same Greek word used for “prove” in Thess. 5:21 (dokimazō). There was some question as to the validity of Paul’s teachings in the Thessalonian church. Paul responds by implying that being proved by man is not important but being proved by God is. Paul also mentions that his heart is proved in contrast to having his teachings proved.

Another question that we need to ask is, why were the Thessalonians despising prophecy anyway? Again, we need to look at the context of the letter. If the prophecies that Paul is referring to were prophecies being given by those in the church, then we would expect to find Paul dealing with that issue in the letter, much like he did in 1 Corinthians 13. However, we do not find any evidence of this. The only prophecy that Paul deals with in 1 Thessalonians is Old Testament prophecy, namely, Isaiah:

“You are all children of light, and children of the day. We don't belong to the night, nor to darkness, so then let's not sleep, as the rest do, but let's watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep in the night, and those who are drunk are drunk in the night. But let us, since we belong to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
-1Thessalonians 5:5-8

Paul is making an allusion to the light/darkness theme that runs throughout Isaiah:

“yes, he says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.’”
-Isaiah 49:6 (See also Isaiah 2:5, 6:10, 8:20, 35:5, 42:6-7, 43:8, 44:18, 59:9, 60:1)

He is also making an allusion to the breastplate and helmet mentioned in Isaiah:

“He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle.”
-Isaiah 59:17

So the Thessalonians were despising Isaiah’s prophecies because false teachers in the church were using Isaiah to say that the Gentiles were in darkness and that God would come in his breastplate, helmet, etc. to destroy them. Since the Thessalonian church was made up of largely Gentiles, this didn’t sit well with them.

Paul counters the false teachers by making the allusions to Isaiah and then saying:

“For God didn't appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
-1 Thessalonians 5:9

So when Paul says “prove all things” he is saying, don’t just prove his teachings but the teachings of the false teachers as well. Prove all teachings.

If 1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 can’t be used to as guidelines for prophecy then what Scriptures can be used? Many would point to Deuteronomy 18:22. I’ll take a look at that verse in my next post.

Why does Paul say that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will cease?

And when does the "perfect" come?

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
- 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 (NIV)

The above verses are central in the cessationist/continuationist debate and at first glance may appear to support the view that spiritual gifts no longer exist in the Church today. However, I believe that the context of these verses does not support the cessationist argument but rather shows how the Church should operate in love.

An understanding of the word "perfect" is helpful. In the Greek the word is "teleios" and should not be thought of as what we think of "perfect" today but rather "complete", "whole", or "undivided". With that in mind, we can then take a look at the context of 1 Corinthians to see if Paul was addressing anything that was not complete, whole or undivided.

The Incomplete Mind, Body(of Christ) and Spirit

Paul addresses the "incompleteness" in the Corinthian church in three areas: Their understanding (mind), their unity (in the body of Christ) and he corrects their understanding regarding the Spirit.

One Spirit

The Corinthians thought that different spirits were causing the different gifts in the church. Paul writes to correct this:

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4 (See also 1 Corinthians 12:8-13)

But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 6:17

One Mind

Paul writes to the Corinthians so that they would be complete in their understanding:

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly (completely) united in mind and thought.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)

For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 2:16(NIV)

The idea of complete understanding is tied to the idea of maturity. A child's understanding of things was considered incomplete and so we find this theme in 1 Corinthians as well.

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
- Corinthians 3:1-2

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
- Corinthians 14:20

One Body

This incomplete understanding had been causing divisions within the church:

For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
- 1 Corinthians 11:18

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephasa”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:10-12

Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
- 1 Corinthians 10:17

The Corinthian church was acting as separate "parts" and not as a complete whole. It is within that context that Paul deals with the spiritual gifts.

Tongues, Knowledge and Prophecy

Paul deals specifically with tongues, knowledge and prophecy in order to show the Corinthians how to use those gifts together and not as separate parts. He explains that the gifts will need to cease, not permanently, but temporarily, so that everyone can benefit.

Tongues Will Be Stilled

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
-1 Corinthians 14:26-28

If speaking in tongues isn't benefiting anyone, then Paul points out that they need to be stilled.

Knowledge Passing Away

In regard to "knowledge passing away", some believe Paul is referring to a "word of knowledge", which, in charismatic circles, is a type of prophecy. However, the knowledge Paul refers to is in regard to the issue he discussed earlier in his letter:

For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
-1 Corinthians 8:10-14 (NIV)

So if a Corinthian's knowledge destroyed a brother, then that knowledge should be destroyed - in the sense it should not be practiced in a way that was harmful to others.

Prophecy Will Cease

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.
-1 Corinthians 14:29-31 (NIV)

Like the others, Paul explains that prophecy should cease in order to benefit everyone.

What Does It Mean to "Know in Part" and "Prophesy in Part?"

Many charismatics use the phrase "prophesy in part" to get around Deuteronomy 18:22. However, if we look at the context, Paul is speaking about how the Corinthians were acting as "parts" and not as a whole. The Greek words used to communicate the idea of "parts" are "meros" and "melos" and are used when Paul speaks about how the parts of the church should operate together in love and not as selfish/prideful individuals.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts (melos); and though all its parts (melos) are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part (melos) but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts (melos) in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part (melos), where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts (melos), but one body.
-1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (NIV)

so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts(melos) should have equal concern for each other
-1 Corinthians 12:25

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members (melos) in particular (meros).
-1 Corinthians 12:27

When the Corinthian church was prophesying "in part" and knowing "in part", they were not operating in those gifts as a complete whole and the other "parts" were not benefiting.

When the Church acts as a whole and is complete (teleios), then it no longer acts as separate parts (meros).

But when that which is perfect (complete) is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
-1 Corinthians 13:10

Paul then uses an analogy of maturity. As I previously mentioned, maturity had to do with complete understanding.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
-1 Corinthians 13:11

Paul continues:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
-1 Corinthians 13:12

The "now" refers to how the Corinthians were currently operating - as a child, without understanding and as "parts". The "then" refers to how they should be operating - as a man and as "complete".

A "glass" is actually a mirror and in those days, they didn't have a clear reflection. So when Paul says "For now we see through a glass, darkly", he is talking about one's concern for themselves (their reflection in the mirror) and how it prevents understanding for others.

The word "darkly" can be translated "enigma" and both it and the phrase "face to face" allude to Moses and prophecy in the Old Testament:

With him (Moses) I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles (enigma); he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"
- Numbers 12:8

Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
- Deuteronomy 34:10 (NIV)

Paul would have this in mind but changes the meaning for his application. His use of the phrase "face to face" is symbolic of their relationship with each other and not with God. Paul is stressing the need to be both clear and concerned with other people (the face they are talking to). "Knowing in part" and being "known" have more to do with tongues than prophecy. The words translated "knowing" and "known" can also be translated as "understood". When Paul says "then shall I know even as also I am known", he is referring to understanding and being understood. If we look in Paul's letter to see where else he talks about understanding and being understood, it brings us to the section regarding tongues.

So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
-1 Corinthians 14:9-14 (NIV)

To understand and to be understood is in contrast to "I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me".

Faith, Hope and Love

The gift of tongues was considered the greatest gift by the Corinthians, but Paul says that love is the greatest:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
-1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

The word "remain" would be better translated "endure" or "don't stop". Love doesn't need to stop no matter what the situation is, as opposed to prophecies, tongues and knowledge, which may need to be temporarily suspended to better love others. Faith and hope are mentioned because some of the Corinthians believed that there was no resurrection of the dead. Paul corrects this by saying faith and hope extend beyond this life:

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

-1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Marriage and Tribulation

And why does Jesus talk about angels and marriage?


In ancient times people thought a time of tribulation was often a judgment against them that came in the form of a war or a natural disaster. When they saw the signs of tribulation coming they would act accordingly and those who were not married did not plan on getting married until the tribulation was over.

By not getting married they would make both the time during the tribulation and after easier. If one were to get married before, then one had the difficult task of providing for a family during hard times. They could lose their husband in battle or their wife could be raped and killed after the battle was lost. It became difficult for a woman to get married again after she had already been married and lost her virginity. So if she lost her husband somehow, life would then become incredibly difficult for her.

Paul is concerned about avoiding marriage during hard times so that things will be easier:

1 Corinthians 7:25-28
Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

I’m not sure what the crisis was that Paul was referring to but I don’t think he was referring to the tribulation that will occur when Jesus returns (although it may refer to that in a multi-dimensional way).

Jesus points out that the people in Noah’s time did not see the disaster coming or else they would have acted accordingly:

Luke 17:27
People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Marriage carried with it an additional burden since, if they were fulfilling their marriage duties, children would probably come soon after. Having children during tribulation is also difficult. This is why Jesus says things like:

Matthew 24:19-20
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

Luke 23:29-30
For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then
" 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills, "Cover us!"

After the bad times were over, God would assure His people that it was over and encouraged them to act accordingly and that it was okay to get married. See what God says after Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were exiled.

Jeremiah 29:4-6
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.

Also, after the flood, God says something similar to Noah:

Genesis 9:7
As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.

But notice that God also says this to Adam and Eve. This may imply that a judgment (against Lucifer) had happened just before God created them and would lend support to the Ruin-Reconstruction Theory, sometimes referred to as the Gap Theory.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Jesus talks about marriage in what I think is one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible:

Matthew 22:30
At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

People have used this verse to say that there will be no marriage in heaven or that angels do not marry. That may or may not be true but I don’t think that is what Jesus means to communicate. The full account in Luke makes things a little more clear.

Luke 20:27-33
Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"

As Jesus often did, he answered the question by not answering the question. The Sadducees question had to do with what happens after marriage, after the resurrection.

Jesus’ answer is focused on before marriage, before the resurrection – during the Great Tribulation.

Luke 20:34-36
Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.

When tribulation is coming people should act accordingly as they would with any other coming tribulation – by not getting married.

But why does Jesus reference the angels? Not because they do not marry but because “they can no longer die”. We become immortal after the resurrection, just like the angels.

Establishing A Tree

A principle of sowing and reaping gained from Paul, Old Testament Law, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

I was thinking about what I wrote yesterday and also about principles of sowing and reaping. I’m trying to learn how to sow and reap good things in my life and I was intrigued by Paul when he refused to reap financially from the Corinthians but did accept from other churches. I asked God if there was some other principle of sowing and reaping I might learn from Paul. He brought to mind this verse:

Leviticus 19:23
When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.

In order to establish a tree and make it healthy, they were not to eat the fruit of it for three years. Paul was employing the same principle in establishing the Corinthians as a church:

1 Corinthians 9:11-12
If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

I also believe that God was using the same principle in the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 2:16-17
And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

I think Adam and Eve would have eventually been able to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when they and the tree were mature enough. The phrase “knowledge of good and evil” refers to wisdom. It is the ability to judge wisely, to discern between good and evil:

Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

The serpent in the tree is described as wise:

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

The word "crafty" is also translated "prudent" (Prov 16:21, 18:15) which is an aspect of wisdom. Jesus also says:

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Wisdom is for the mature, which takes us back again to Paul and the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 2:6
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.

Let’s learn from these Biblical examples. When sowing and reaping, make sure the level of maturity is there before reaping whether it is in your own life or in others. Not everything may need a lot of time to mature. Wheat only takes a season before one can harvest it but fruit trees need time.

Fear and Trembling - Part II (I Corinthians)

The phrase “fear and trembling” is meant to point one to a servant’s attitude and not to an unhealthy fear.

Last time we looked at the phrase “fear and trembling” as used by Paul in Philippians and showed how it is meant to show an attitude of humility and servanthood. This time we will look at a similar phrase Paul used in I Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 2:3
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

Some have said that Paul said this because he was unsuccessful in Athens right before he came to Corinth (Acts 17). They argue that Paul had tried to argue intellectually with the Athenians and he wasn’t very fruitful, so when he came to Corinth he was discouraged and switched tactics. I think it’s debatable that Paul was unsuccessful in Athens but even if he was a failure there I don’t think he would be so discouraged that he would be in fear and trembling. From what we know about Paul from his writings he appears to be a bull that brings his own china shop with him. This is the same guy who sang praises after he was beaten and then demanded an escort after his release from prison (Acts 16).

Furthermore, Paul affirms that he is using the same tactic that he used in Athens when he says:

1 Corinthians 9:19-22
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

In Athens, Paul became an intellectual to win intellectuals. If he was not successful then it was because of the soil (Matthew 13:1-23) and not his method of sowing the seed. Paul’s use of the words “fear” and “trembling” have nothing to do with being discouraged or afraid of how the Corinthians would respond but Paul was saying he became weak (a humble position), like them, to win them.

The Corinthians had encountered some people in the Church who had expounded wisdom. This put the authority of Paul into question since he did not speak with the “wisdom” of others. Paul responds by pointing that the wisdom of this world with not worth anything:

1 Corinthians 1:20-27
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Paul also points out that he could have spoken with wisdom but they were not ready for it yet:

1 Corinthians 3:1-2
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.

1 Corinthians 2:1-7
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

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. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

And just like in Philippians, Paul points out that those who are mature (those with wisdom) should not use their authority in a selfish way but should give up what they are entitled to if it better serves others:

1 Corinthians 4:1
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.

1 Corinthians 9:11-12
If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.