God has disclosed Himself to men through the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit knows the intimate things of God and, by
inspiring the apostles, has translated spiritual thoughts
about God into spiritual words, the New Testament. In the
Old Testament period, God revealed His Word through the
prophets. In the New Testament times, this revelation came
through the apostles. Yet the unbeliever seems blinded to
the truth contained in God’s Word. How can this be? How can
some find in the Bible a rich source of revelation that
enables them to know God more intimately, while others find
the Scriptures a senseless mixture of writings that cannot
even be understood, why are some drawn to the Scriptures and
others are not? The difference is the presence or the
absence of the Holy Spirit. We see in verses 10-13 that Paul
speaks of the Spirit’s work in conveying God’s thoughts to
men by inspiring the apostles to convey spiritual thoughts
through spiritual words, the words of the New Testament.
Now, in verses 14-16, Paul writes of the work of the Spirit,
enabling men and women to understand the Scriptures and thus
to know the mind of God.
Previously, Paul divided humanity into two groups: (1) those
that trust in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the
cross of Calvary for their eternal salvation and (2) those
that do not. Another way of viewing these two groups would
be: (1) those that do not possess the Holy Spirit, who
cannot understand the wisdom of God as revealed in the
Scriptures, and (2) those that do possess the Holy Spirit,
who therefore have the capacity to understand the
Scriptures.
The first group Paul refers to as “the natural man” (verse
14). The “natural man does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God.” The natural man, who is not indwelt by the
Holy Spirit, cannot understand “the things of the Spirit of
God,” “These are the ones who cause divisions” (Jude 19).
The second group are called “spiritual (verse 15) by Paul.
Most often, we understand the term “spiritual” to refer to
those who are mature, who manifest the fruit of the Spirit
in their lives. Paul seems to use it here to refer to those
who possess the Spirit, who live in the realm of the Holy
Spirit because they have trusted in Jesus Christ. The one
who possesses the Holy Spirit is able to grasp and to
appraise both temporal and eternal matters.
While the Christian, “he who is spiritual,” is able to
appraise all things and thus to understand the beliefs and
the behavior of the unsaved, the “natural man,” the unsaved
man is unable to understand the Christian, “He who is
spiritual.” No wonder Christians are misunderstood,
persecuted, and considered foolish and weak. This is the
best the natural man can do.
In verse 16, Paul closes chapter 2 with the words of Isaiah
40:13: “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he
should instruct Him?” Paul told the Corinthians, “But we
have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). These words
sum up the difference between the non-Christian and the
Christian. God has revealed Himself to all men in the person
of Christ and in the Scriptures. The Scriptures make no
sense to the unbeliever. This is because it is impossible
for the unbeliever to understand the things of God apart
from the Spirit of God. Who can know the mind of the Lord?
No one can, apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Note
that the words of verse 16 indicate not only the natural
man’s ignorance but also his arrogance. Who would think that
any man could instruct God? But this is precisely what the
unbeliever does think. This is why they think the Christian
is foolish and weak.
This final statement sums up the vast difference of opinion
that exists between Christians and unbelievers over
“wisdom.” The unbeliever is incapable of understanding God’s
wisdom because the wisdom of the natural man is a limited,
distorted temporal wisdom. The Christian has the means for
knowing the mind of God and thus has access to the wisdom of
God. This is why the reaction of the unbeliever to the
preaching of the gospel surprise Christians. In addition,
the Christian should not forsake the vast wisdom God has
made available to us in order to pursue the wisdom that the
world seeks.
What a blow this chapter strikes at human pride. Paul came
to the Corinthians in weakness, fear, and much trembling. He
came with a message offensive to both Jews and Greeks. He
refused to “know” anything other than the crucified Christ,
for he came to bring the message of salvation. His message
was not one of superior wisdom, one that would appeal to the
intellectual Corinthian. His method of presentation was not
one that would naturally draw a crowd or attract a
following. From a merely human point of view, Paul did
everything wrong when he went to Corinth. But what happened?
A number of his readers came to faith in Jesus Christ
because of Paul’s mindset, message, and method!
How could Paul do everything wrong, from a worldly point of
view and yet sinners be converted and a church born, human
weakness transformed into divine power? How can human
foolishness become divine wisdom and pagan sinners become
saints, the answer, the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
The Corinthians had become mesmerized by men and by human
wisdom. They were wrong. What had saved them was the Word of
God and the Spirit of God, working through humble men who
proclaimed a straightforward, simple message of Christ
crucified, even though their message and their methods were
unappealing to unsaved men.
Men can come to know God in only one way, through His Word
and through His Spirit. There are many different beliefs
about God, but there is only one true God. All views of God
that come from some other source than the Bible are false.
Paul was a devout Jew, deeply religious, committed, and
sincere. However, he was dead wrong. When God revealed
Himself to Paul, everything suddenly changed. The things he
once prized, thinking they won him favor with God; Paul now
counted as “dung” (Philippians 3:1-11). Now Paul is a new
man in Christ. Now he has come to know God through His Word
and through His Spirit. That is what Paul wants for each one
of us.
If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, you do not know
God. The Bible clearly states, you cannot know God apart
from Jesus Christ. You cannot know Jesus Christ apart from
His Word and His Spirit. You cannot know God through your
own wisdom or insight. We cannot see, hear, or touch Him.
However, He has revealed Himself through His Word, the
Bible. By the ministry of His Spirit, we can come to know
God personally as the One who has provided for the
forgiveness of our sins and for eternal life. God has
revealed Himself in His Son, who died on the cross of
Calvary, bearing the penalty for our sins. He has raised Him
from the dead, as proof of His satisfaction with the work of
Christ. All we need to do is believe in the One whom God
sent to take away the sin of the world.
It is not according to the popular message of the
twenty-first century, hell will be populated with countless
souls who served a “god” of their own making, and such
“gods” are not God at all but only idols of our mind.
Are you serving the God of the Bible or the god of the
secular world?
