Revealed By The Spirit
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, thank you for your Book with all its wisdom. By your Spirit, press in on me today with new insight.
God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[a]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[b] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”[c]
But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
[a] 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
[b] 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
[c] 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13
REFLECT:
What do you know now about God that you did not know five years ago, ten years ago? How did you discover that aspect of God – through his Word, through life experiences, through a specific word or picture...?
The Ancient Greeks placed high value on wisdom, believing that humanity could be advanced by greater reasoning and understanding. In contrast, God’s wisdom is a mystery which can only be revealed to us by the Spirit. Intellect in itself is not enough – the greatest leaders of the time did not understand what God was doing and so were responsible for the execution of the Lord of Glory (v 8).
However, we have a huge privilege. The Spirit of God himself explains the things of God to us (v 10). Things that are a complete mystery to those who do not know God are freely given to those who believe.
I once knew a young man who had very limited intellectual capacities – he would never achieve even the lowest academic qualifications. Yet he knew with absolute certainty that God loved him, he knew he could pray and that God would listen, he knew that he was accepted in the fellowship of believers. He had the mind of Christ (v 16)!
APPLY:
In John 16:13, Jesus says, ‘But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.’ Thank God for his Spirit who enables us to understand more of the things of God.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Spirit of God, dwell in me in fullness, so that I may have the light of hope in my eyes, the fire of inspiration on my tongue, and your love in my heart.
WORSHIP: