1 Corinthians 2:9, 10 - Things We Can't Imagine That The Spirit Can Reveal To Us.
1 Corinthians 2:9, 10 - Things We Can't Imagine That The Spirit
Can Reveal To Us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV) But as it is written: "Eye has not
seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things
which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has
revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all
things, yes, the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (AMP) But, on the contrary, as the
Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not
entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and
keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate
reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He
has bestowed]. 10 Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by
and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently,
exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and
bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond
man's scrutiny].
CONTEXT
1 Corinthians 2:6-16: Spiritual Wisdom. [Andrews SB]
1 Corinthians 2:6-16: God's Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit. [NIV
SB
COMMENTARY
The human mind does not have the capacity to comprehend the
glory of all the things God will do for those who believe in him and
love him. That applies to the glories of heaven, but it also applies
to the blessings that are ours now. We're told in Ephesians 3:20
that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine." We know that Paul is not referring only to heaven when he quotes
Isaiah 64:4 in 1 Corinthians 2:9 since the next verse tells us that God
reveals these things by his Spirit and the rest of the chapter refers to
the instruction we receive from him. The mysteries of God's
salvation plan have been revealed through Jesus, and the Spirit's ongoing
work continues to be revealed in us. And it's more than we can
comprehend. [NIV Once A Day Bible re 1Co. 2:6-16]
God intends that even in this life the truths of His word shall
be ever unfolding to His people. There is only one way in which
this knowledge can be obtained. We can attain to an understanding of
God's word only through the illumination of that Spirit by which the
word was given. {SC 109}
How Can I Rightly Comprehend God's Truth?
God has given to all believers a divine Person who helps us
to receive and understand the truth. The Holy Spirit, who perfectly
knows the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:10) and who receives and communicates
to our spirits the truth God wants us to hear, lives within all
believers. God wants our understanding to grow in three primary areas.
1. The truth about Himself.
God wants us to grasp His majesty, His holiness, His power, His
love, His grace, and His joy. When we begin to comprehend these mighty
truths about the person of God, we find our lives enriched, enabled,
and energized. Paul wrote that his ultimate aim in life was to know
Christ (Phil. 3:10). Almost two thousand years later, can we think of
anyone who has experienced a richer life?
2. The truth about ourselves.
God wants us to realize our importance in the scheme of His
eternal plans; but most of all, God wants us to know our position and
who we are in Christ. Since we are one with Christ, all His divine
privileges become ours. His righteousness is ours because He abides in us.
His wisdom and His sanctification we can now appropriate. Our
enrollment in the Lamb's Book of Life carries all the glorious distinctions
of our new status as God's children.
3. The truth about other people.
God wants us to view people as His chosen instruments and His
creations. Some time ago God was sifting me, sanding me, pruning me, until
I thought nothing would be left. A friend helped pull me through
this deep valley. Sometimes I was harsh, even rude. He never reacted.
He would just say, "I understand. What can I do to help?" He never
rejected me or showed disappointment; he never angrily admonished me.
When I poured out my insides to him, he just loved me. He wept with
me, prayed with me, laughed with me, and patiently listened to me.
Through his unwavering love we developed an unbreakable bond of deep
friendship that strengthened my own intimacy with God. When we begin to
understand the truth of who God is and gain a better understanding of
ourselves and others, we become thoroughly equipped to be fruitful,
productive servants on earth. [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley]
ILLUSTRATIONS
Have you got God figured out? Have you got God captured on a
flowchart and frozen on a flannelboard? If so, then listen. Listen to
God's surprises.
Hear the rocks meant for the body of the adulterous woman
drop to the ground. Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan
woman, "I am he - I, the one talking to you" (John 4:26).
Listen to the widow from Nain eating dinner with her son who
is supposed to be dead...
God appearing at the strangest of places. Doing the strangest
of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns.
Placing twinkles where there were only tears. from Six Hours One Friday
[Grace For The Moment SB By Max Lucado re 1 Corinthians 2:9]
After a meeting in our state capital, my friend Susan and I
enjoyed our long drive back home. The companionship of a sister in
Christ soothed the stress we had both been experiencing. As we pulled
up to my house, I begged Susan to come in for just one more moment.
Over tea, we marveled at God's goodness and thanked each
other for the Christian sisterhood and support we'd shared. Beginning
a series of events I will never forget, Susan clutched her chest
and began to cry. "Something is wrong; I must get to the hospital."
We hurried to my car and sped away. The short, two-mile trip to the
hospital seemed to pass in slow motion. We dialed Susan's husband, Ken,
from the cell phone. He was quickly on his way. A grimace of
incredible fear and anguish swept across Susan's face as she cried, "Kelli,
I'm dying. I'm dying." I was clutching her in my right arm, close to
my side, while driving with my left hand.
We turned into the hospital; I felt Susan's hand release her
grip of fear. Gently she squeezed my hand with the same squeeze that
had ended our many times of prayer together. Susan looked at me,
smiled with joy, her eyes glistening like a child at a fair, and said
simply, "I am dying, but it's okay!" Her physical body went limp. I
witnessed Susan as she glimpsed the Savior's face! On days when I struggle
in my belief or just to get through the day, I remember those words
of assurance: "But it's okay!"
Kelli W. Taylor, a wife, mom, and short-term missionary, is
senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church. [The One Year Bible
Life Verse Devotional re 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10]
MINI-VIDEO DEVOTIONALS ON THIS PASSAGE BY PASTOR SHAWN BOONSTRA:
The Things Which God Has Prepared for Those Who Love Him:
http://www.itiswritten.com/television/episodes/2693
Heaven: http://www.itiswritten.com/television/episodes/3211
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2007/20070910-1031.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON EXPERIENCING GOD:
http://sda.biggytv.com/watch/Revive!_-_Dwight_Nelson:_Experiencing_Gods_Grace/revive/
EXCELLENT BIBLE PROPHECY SERIES BY DR RON CLOUZET [in progress]:
http://www.propheciesdecoded.com/
GREAT SITE FOR CHRIST CENTERED BIBLE STUDIES:
Lifting Up Jesus: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
