However, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene. Instead, we speak about God’s secret wisdom that has been hidden, which God destined for our glory before the world began. None of the rulers of this world understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8
There are two schools of thought here. One is that the rulers of this age are earthly rulers, human beings. the chief priests, Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas. Or if not those two per se then certainly the ecclesiastical rulers of Judaism such as the priests, Scribes, Pharisees and the Rabbis. Had they seen the hidden wisdom in that plan – had they understood the glory of His real character, the truth respecting His incarnation, and the fact that He was the long expected Messiah of their nation, they would not have put Him to death. It is incredible that they would have crucified their Messiah, knowing and believing Him to be such. They might have known it but they were unwilling to examine the evidence. They expected a different Messiah, and were unwilling to admit the claims of Jesus of Nazareth.
The second school of thought is that Satan is described as the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4) and his demons are the true rulers of this age. They are the authorities, the powers, the spiritual forces of evil in this dark world (Ephesians 6:12)—a world that has rebelled against God and is following Satan (Ephesians 2:1–2). How do you find that kind of information or connection? The secret is to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. See what the Bible says about itself. When you have a reference like the rulers of this world, type it or copy it into the E-Sword search facility. [<Bible> <Search> starting on the top menu bar] and it will give you the references to how that phrase is used in Scripture. Don’t just simply read the words without thinking, analyse the words and work out what the Bible means by it. This method will give you the reference to Ephesians 6:12. the rulers, authorities, mighty powers of (this dark) world. This is a hierarchy of evil spirits Paul is listing here. The rulers (ἀρχάς) of this world are listed with the authorities (ἐξουσίας) of this world and the mighty powers (κοσμοκράτορας) of this world. The first of these is the one chosen in 1 Cor 2:8. The link appears to be to the spiritual world and its forces.
Satan was the instigator of Christ’s death. However, if Satan had known what would happen, spiritually, at the cross, he would not have plotted to kill him. Satan does not have foreknowledge. He was not aware of God’s plan. So Paul says “None of the rulers understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.” No indeed, they would have not.
Now you have the two possible interpretations of what Paul means here. You can weigh up the evidence for yourself because you have taken the time to let the Bible interpret itself by following up how the Bible uses the words in question. Another way of finding this information is to use the commentaries available to you in E-Sword. They will point you in the right direction too. But to do that you need to look at a range of them because not all will list the same information. Of course if you have a copy of Thompson’s Chain Reference Bible or any of the study Bibles which have a chain reference system then use that. But do you know the sad thing? Most of us have paid for all that information but rarely look at it. We come up with our own interpretation of what we think it means which most often falls far short of the mark.
Don’t shrink away from people whose experience and expertise are greater than your own.
Anon
Good ideas come from God, so ask Him for one.
Ian Vail
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
William James