What does 1 Corinthians 2:5 mean?

Paul concludes the thought from the previous two verses. He has emphasized that when he first came to Corinth, he himself was not very impressive. Not only were his presentations marked by weakness, fear, and trembling, Paul also made a choice not to try to impress the people with his own vast knowledge or skill with words. Instead, he presented the truth about Jesus as clearly and simply as he could. This would have been a major contrast to entertainers of his era, who were known as skilled speakers.

In addition, God somehow accompanied Paul's teaching with a demonstration of His power and His Spirit. The advantage of this, Paul now writes, is that their faith in Christ rests on God's power and not on Paul's persuasiveness with words of human wisdom. Recognizing the truth of the gospel, without the distraction of showmanship, further proved the message was true.

It is not known what form this demonstration of God's power took in Corinth, but God often used signs and wonders during the time of the apostles to confirm that they spoke for Him.