And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

And my speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in shewing of the Spirit and power;

and my word and my preaching, not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power;

And my language and the Message that I proclaimed were not adorned with persuasive words of earthly wisdom, but depended upon truths which the Spirit taught and mightily carried home;

And in my preaching there were no honeyed words of wisdom, but I was dependent on the power of the Spirit to make it clear to you:

And my words and preaching were not the persuasive words of human wisdom, but were a manifestation of the Spirit and of virtue,

My message and my proclamation were not delivered in the persuasive language of philosophy, but were accompanied by the manifestation of spiritual power,

And my preaching was not in the persuasive words. By the persuasive words of man's wisdom he means that exquisite oratory which aims and strives rather by artifice than by truth, and also an appearance of refinement, that allures the minds of men. It is not without good reason, too, that he ascribes persuasiveness (to pithanon) [1] to human wisdom. For the word of the Lord constrains us by its majesty, as if by a violent impulse, to yield obedience to it. Human wisdom, on the other hand, has her allurements, by which she insinuates herself [2] and her blandishments, as it were, by which she may conciliate for herself the affections of her hearers. With this he contrasts the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, which most interpreters consider as restricted to miracles; but I take it in a more general sense, as meaning the hand of God powerfully exercised in every way through the instrumentality of the Apostle. Spirit and power he seems to have made use of by hypallage, [3] (kath ' hupallagen,) to denote spiritual power, or at least with the view of showing by signs and effects in what manner the presence of the Spirit had shown itself in his ministry. He appropriately, too, makes use of the term apodeixeos, (demonstration;) for such is our dullness in contemplating the works of God, that when he makes use of inferior instruments, they serve as so many veils to hide from us his influence, so that we do not clearly perceive it. On the other hand, as in the furtherance given to Paul's ministry, there was no aid furnished from the flesh or the world, and as the hand of God was as it were made bare, (Isaiah 52:10,) his influence was assuredly the more apparent.

Footnotes

1 - This passage has largely exercised the ingenuity of critics, from the circumstance that the adjective peithois, occurring nowhere else in the New Testament, or in any of the writings of classical authors, it is supposed that there has been some corruption of the reading. Some suppose it to be a contraction or corruption of peithanois or pithasois, and Chrysostom, in one or two instances, when quoting the passage, uses the adjective pithanois, while in other cases he has peithois It is perhaps in allusion to those instances in which Chrysostom makes use of the adjective pithasois, that Calvin employs the phrase to pithanon (persuasiveness.) Semler, after adducing various authorities, suggests the following reading: -- en peithoi sophais taking peithoi; as the dative of he peitho, (persuasion.) Bloomfield considers peithoi, to be a highly probable reading, but prefers to retain peithois. -- Ed

2 - "Secrettement et doucement;" -- "Secretly and softly."

3 - A figure of speech by which words change their cases with each other. -- Ed.

And my speech - The word "speech" here - if it is to be distinguished from "preaching" - refers, perhaps, to his more private reasonings; his preaching to his public discourses.
Not with enticing words - Not with the persuasive reasonings (πειθοῖς λόγοις peithois logois) of the wisdom of men. Not with that kind of oratory that was adapted to captivate and charm; and which the Greeks so much esteemed.
But in demonstration - In the showing ἀποδείξει apodeixei; or in the testimony or evidence which the Spirit produced. The meaning is, that the Spirit furnished the evidence of the divine origin of the religion which he preached, and that it did not depend for its proof on his own reasonings or eloquence. The proof, the demonstration which the Spirit furnished was, undoubtedly, the miracles which were performed; the gift of tongues; and the remarkable conversions which attended the gospel - The word "Spirit" here refers, doubtless, to the Holy Spirit; and Paul says that this Spirit had furnished demonstration of the divine origin and nature of the gospel. This had been by the gift of tongues (1-Corinthians 1:5-7. Compare 1 Cor. 14), and by the effects of his agency in renewing and sanctifying the heart.
And of power - That is, of the power of God 1-Corinthians 2:5; the divine power and efficacy which attended the preaching of the gospel there. Compare 1-Thessalonians 1:5 - The effect of the gospel is the evidence to which the apostle appeals for its truth. That effect was seen:
(1) In the conversion of sinners to God of all classes, ages, and conditions, when all human means of reforming them was vain.
(2) in its giving them peace, joy, and happiness; and in its transforming their lives.
(3) in making them different people - in making the drunkard sober; the thief honest; the licentious pure; the profane reverent; the indolent industrious; the harsh and unkind, gentle and kind; and the wretched happy.
(4) in its diffusing a mild and pure influence over the laws and customs of society; and in promoting human happiness everywhere - And in regard to this evidence to which the apostle appeals, we may observe:
(1) That is a kind of evidence which anyone may examine, and which no one can deny. It does not need labored, abstruse argumentation, but it is everywhere in society. Every man has witnessed the effects of the gospel in reforming the vicious, and no one can deny that it has this power.
(2) it is a mighty display of the power of God. There is no more striking exhibition of his power over mind than in a revival of religion. There is no where more manifest demonstration of his presence than when, in such a revival, the proud are humbled, the profane are awed, the blasphemer is silenced, and the profligate, the abandoned, and the moral are converted unto God, and are led as lost sinners to the same cross, and find the same peace.
(3) the gospel has thus evidenced from age to age that it is from God. Every converted sinner furnishes such a demonstration; and every instance where it produces peace, hope, joy, shows that it is from heaven.

And my speech - Ὁ λογος μου, My doctrine; the matter of my preaching.
And my preaching - Το κηρυγμα μου, My proclamation, my manner of recommending the grand but simple truths of the Gospel.
Was not with enticing words of man's wisdom - Ενπειθοις ανθρωπινης σοφιας λογοις, With persuasive doctrines of human wisdom: in every case I left man out, that God might become the more evident. I used none of the means of which great orators avail themselves in order to become popular, and thereby to gain fame.
But in demonstration of the Spirit - Αποδειξει, In the manifestation; or, as two ancient MSS. have it, αποκαλυψει, in the revelation of the Spirit. The doctrine that he preached was revealed by the Spirit: that it was a revelation of the Spirit, the holiness, purity, and usefulness of the doctrine rendered manifest: and the overthrow of idolatry, and the conversion of souls, by the power and energy of the preaching, were the demonstration that all was Divine. The greater part of the best MSS., versions, and fathers, leave out the adjective ανθρωπινης, man's, before σοφιας, wisdom: it is possible that the word may be a gloss, but it is necessarily implied in the clause. Not with the persuasive discourses, or doctrines of wisdom; i.e. of human philosophy.

And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's wisdom, (2) but in (d) demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
(2) He turns now to the commendation of his ministry, which he had granted to his adversaries: for his strength and power, which they knew well enough, was so much the more excellent because it had no worldly help behind it.
(d) By "demonstration" he means such a proof as is made by reasons both certain and necessary.

And my speech, and my preaching,.... As he determined, so he acted. As the subject matter of his ministry was not any of the liberal arts and sciences, or the philosophy and dry morality of the Gentiles, but salvation by a crucified Christ; so his style, his diction, his language used in preaching,
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom; with technical words, words of art, contrived by human wisdom to captivate the affections; and with bare probable arguments only, a show of reason to persuade the mind to an assent, when nothing solid and substantial is advanced, only a run of words artfully put together, without any strength of argument in them; a method used by the false teachers, and which the apostle here strikes at, and tacitly condemns:
but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; partly by making use of solid proofs out of the writings of the Old Testament, indited by the Spirit of God, and which amounted to a demonstration of the truths he delivered; and partly by signs, and wonders, and miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, those extraordinary instances of divine power, which greatly confirmed the doctrines he preached: and besides all these, the Spirit of God wonderfully assisted him in his work, both as to words and matter; directing him, what to say, and in what form, in words, not which human wisdom taught, but which the Holy Ghost taught; and accompanying his ministry with his power, to the conversion, comfort, edification, and salvation of many.

my speech--in private.
preaching--in public [BENGEL]. ALFORD explains it, My discourse on doctrines, and my preaching or announcement of facts.
enticing--rather, "persuasive."
man's wisdom--man's is omitted in the oldest authorities. Still "wisdom" does refer to "man's" wisdom.
in demonstration of . . . Spirit, &c.--Persuasion is man's means of moving his fellow man. God's means is demonstration, leaving no doubt, and inspiring implicit faith, by the powerful working of the Spirit (then exhibited both outwardly by miracles, and inwardly by working on the heart, now in the latter and the more important way only, Matthew 7:29; Acts 6:10; Hebrews 4:12; compare also Romans 15:19). The same simple power accompanies divine truth now, producing certain persuasion and conversion, when the Spirit demonstrates by it.

And my speech in private, as well as my public preaching, was not with the persuasive words of human wisdom, such as the wise men of the world use; but with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power - With that powerful kind of demonstration, which flows from the Holy Spirit; which works on the conscience with the most convincing light, and the most persuasive evidence.