Wisdom for the Mature
We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.
Paul draws a line between two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of this passing age and a different wisdom meant for those who are "full grown." That phrase can trip us up. It's tempting to hear "mature" and think of intellectual sophistication or flawless living, as if Paul is speaking only to spiritual elites who have it all figured out.
But maturity in this sense points somewhere else. It has to do with a settled capacity to discern and obey, a heart and mind that have been trained to recognize what is good and to walk in it. This isn't about having reached sinless perfection or mastering every theological subtlety. It's about growth in moral clarity, the kind that comes from walking with God over time and letting his wisdom reshape how we see and choose.
Notice too what this wisdom is not. Paul is careful to distance it from "the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing." Worldly wisdom has a shelf life. It dazzles for a season, props up its own kind of authority, and then fades. The wisdom Paul speaks of doesn't belong to that system at all. It comes from somewhere more lasting, and it produces something more lasting in us.
So maturity, as Paul describes it, isn't a finish line reached by a few super-Christians. It's an ongoing growth in discernment and obedience, available to anyone willing to keep growing. That should encourage rather than discourage us. Spiritual maturity isn't about arriving; it's about continuing to grow in wisdom that actually holds up.
If you'd like to dig deeper into what Paul means by "full grown" here, John Piper walks through this idea carefully in Desiring God's "Who Are the Mature? 1 Corinthians 2:6–10, Part 5" from the Look at the Book series. It's well worth your time.
Read the source: Desiring God →