For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

Consider what Paul actually said regarding how he determined not to know anything among them except Christ crucified. And then notice that he did NOT say: I determined to say to you, “Christ and him crucified”. What’s the difference? Paul was explaining how he had determined to VIEW them, not what he would SAY to them.

In other words, Paul was not swayed by what they appeared to be, because he would only recognize them by the new creation they were in Christ. He knew their true nature, for he had determined not to let either the good or the bad (according to appearance) cause him to view them otherwise.

What does that mean for you regarding those you are with? Simple. Stand firm in Christ. Don’t let anything sway you from seeing them according to the new creation. Sure, you will be aware of what goes on, you will recognize how the game is played all around you, but you can know that despite anything your senses tell you that what Christ has done changes everything. Those who are of God are found in a righteousness not of their own, despite their confusion over that reality. They may have difficulty seeing it, but that changes nothing. Speak to them as to who they truly are.

In reference to the appearance of the flesh that may hold sway in their lives, see it as Paul did. He definitely brought some of it up to the Corinthians … but how so? His observations of the sin among them was to declare how it revealed their being pulled off the understanding of who they truly were in Christ, and how the lies of the deceivers had affected them.

Don’t worry about trying to reword what Paul told the Corinthians. That’s not the point. Those who seem important because a delegation of man has deemed them so means nothing in view of Christ crucified, for it declared that anything of man is separated from the life of God because it was revealed so by the cross. The very foundation of man’s knowledge, including the supposed knowledge of God, is undone by death. Don’t fear it. Don’t let it’s appearance sway how you view the world.