Tuesday, August 5, 2014

1 Corinthians 2:6-11

1 Corinthians 2:6-11
And we speak wisdom in the ones who are mature – and wisdom neither of this age nor of the rulers of this age who are rendered insignificant.  But we speak a wisdom of God that has been concealed in a mystery, which God decided upon before this age into our glory – which not one ruler of this world has known.  For if they knew, they did not crucify the Lord of glory.  But just as it has been written, “What an eye did not see nor an ear did not hear – and it did not arise in the heart of mankind – what God prepared for the ones who love Him.”  And God revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit carefully investigates all things – even the depth of God.  For who among mankind has known the things of mankind except the spirit of a man that is in him?  Thus also, nobody has known the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul speaks about the wisdom of God being a mystery.  It is not wisdom in this world.  It is not wisdom that important people teach.  It is wisdom wrapped up in a mystery.  God sent His Son so that God could Himself be crucified by His own creation.  It sounds so stupid when you take that sentence out of the realm of faith.  Who would believe in a God that would allow Himself to die at the hands of His own creation?  That’s why it is a mystery!  The only way to truly understand that thought is through humbleness.  The one who can believe that God would voluntarily subject Himself to death is the one who understands his sinfulness and his need for Christ.  Until we know our need for the love of God as shown through Christ, God’s action is a mystery that confounds all kinds of smart people.  This happens even into this day!  Look how many brilliant people in this world cannot grasp the importance of God sacrificing Himself because they do not wish to see their own depravity.

Do you understand the mystery of why God would come so that He could die?  How do you live out your understanding of this mystery?

Second Thought:

In the middle of this passage, Paul reminds us of a deep spiritual truth.  This wisdom that we spoke about in the prior thought was decided before the beginning of the world.  God knew we would fall.  God knew we would need redeeming.  So God worked through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.  God used all of those people – and more – to prepare the way for Jesus.  God worked through thousands of years of human history to prepare us for His Son.  It wasn’t like God was waiting for human kind to perfect itself; God was slowly unfolding His plan and giving it to us a little bit at a time so that when His Son came we would be as ready for it as we could ever be.  God’s plan is amazing.

What does this thought reveal about God’s love for us?  What does this thought reveal about God’s patience?

Third Thought:

At the end of this passage Paul makes a really neat analogy when he talks about what we can actually know.  He tells us that no person can know what is truly in a person’s depth of their being except the person themselves.  Only I can know the depth of my thoughts, my love, my anger, my joy, my worry, etc.  My spirit reveals those things to me when I am willing to probe them deeply.  You cannot know my depth unless my spirit reveals it to you, nor can I know your depth unless your spirit reveals it to me.  The same is true with God.  If we cannot intrinsically know one another’s depth of being without having the other person reveal it to us, how can we possibly know God’s inner being without Him revealing it to us?  It is God’s Spirit that reveals God to us.

How does this fit in with what we’ve been talking about over the last few days?  Why is it important to remember that we can only know God because He revealed Himself to us?  How can you get confidence from the idea that if you know something about God it is because the Spirit of God taught it to you?


Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 2:12-16

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