1 Corinthians 2:12-16
And we did not receive a spirit of the world but a spirit
out of God in order that we should know the things that were being given freely
to us by God. And we do not say this in
the teaching of mankind by words of wisdom but in a teaching of the Spirit,
while making spiritual things clear to the spiritual ones. And the nature of man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God – for it is foolishness to him who is powerless to
understand because it is being judged spiritually. But the spiritual one judges all things and
he himself is being judged under nobody.
For who understood the mind of the Lord?
Who will instruct Him? And we
have the mind of Christ.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Paul continues with this theme of understanding that we can
only know God and His grace because He comes to us. Paul tells us that we received a spirit out
of God in order that we should know how God blesses us. In other words, the only way that we can see
God’s grace is when His Spirit comes upon us and says to us, “Look, here’s my
grace!” The only way that our eyes can
be open to God is when God comes to us and says, “Here is how I can open your
eyes.” So whenever we grow in Christ,
see His love, understand Him better, or anything else that is spiritual we can
be assured that it started with Him and therefore He is with us. What confidence to know that every spiritual
moment we have is proof of God’s presence with us!
Do you feel that God is with you? How can this help you know that truth even
better? Do you agree that all spiritual
moments begin with God revealing it to us?
Second Thought:
The flip-side of this is also true. Just because God comes to us and says, “Look,
here’s my grace” doesn’t mean that we actually listen. Paul tells us that our human nature is unable
to receive the things of God. We must
overcome our nature and choose to listen to Him. He desires His grace to fall upon everyone,
but only those who are open to hearing from Him are able to receive it.
Do you agree with Paul that human nature is powerless to
understand the ways of God? How is this
given evidence in your life? How does
this fact play into moments where you just don’t see God at work in your life?
Third Thought:
Paul ends this section with the reminder that we have the
mind of Christ. Spiritual people –
people who are open to hearing from God – have the mind of Christ and do see
and understand God’s work. Therefore we
can know the grace of God and His working in our life. But that also means something else. We are under God’s judgment, not the judgment
of the world. It is to God that we are
ultimately accountable, not worldly authority.
Does it scare you at all to realize that God is your
ultimate accountability partner?
Why? Why should it not scare you?
Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4
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