THE HIDDEN DEPTHS OF GOD . . . REVEALED!
1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16
NASB
1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my [a]message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not [a]rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written,
“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
10[a]For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, [a]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But [a]a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually [b]appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
2:1 [a]One early ms reads mystery 2:4 [a]Lit word 2:5 [a]Lit be 2:10 [a]One early ms reads But 2:13 [a]Or interpreting spiritual things for spiritual men 2:14 [a]Or an unspiritual [b]Or examined
NLT
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,[*] I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.[*] 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness —timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God[*] —his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”[*]
10 But[*] it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.[*] 14 But people who aren’t spiritual[*] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,
“Who can know the LORD’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?”[*]
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
[2:1a] Greek brothers. [2:1b] Greek God’s mystery; other manuscripts read God’s testimony. [2:7] Greek But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery. [2:9] Isa 64:4. [2:10] Some manuscripts read For. [2:13] Or explaining spiritual truths in spiritual language, or explaining spiritual truths to spiritual people. [2:14] Or who don’t have the Spirit; or who have only physical life. [2:16] Isa 40:13 (Greek version).
In our age, few things seem more convincing than a personal example. We might teach a truth from the Scriptures, properly interpret a text, draw out its unchanging theology, and apply it to the lives of our listeners. We may even point to others who have lived the truth themselves. Yet when a teacher’s or preacher’s own personal life is used to show how the truth of God’s Word works, people tend to listen more attentively, believe more readily, and apply the Word more eagerly. Paul’s life was a testimony to God’s truth at work.
After pointing out the contrast between the eloquence of worldly wisdom with its polished rhetoric and the humble, simple truth of the Christian faith, Paul reminds the Corinthians about the nature of his own apostolic ministry among them. He doesn’t do this to point out his own strengths or to turn the spotlight on himself. To the contrary! He refers to his own ministry as an example of how God uses simple means to reveal His hidden depths, and how it is the work of God’s own Spirit and not mere human intellect that reveals God’s wisdom.
— 2:1-5 —
To understand Paul’s description of his ministry, we need to remember that he lacked nothing in educational and intellectual ability. He had been a disciple of Gamaliel, a famous rabbi of the first century (Acts 5:34; 22:3). Beyond that, Paul could hold his own in a debate with detractors (Acts 19:8-10; 26:24-29). So it’s not that Paul could not have come to the Corinthians with “superiority of speech or of wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:1). Rather, Paul chose not to. Why? Because he determined to remove himself from the equation and let the Spirit of God do the work of persuading. Instead of pummeling the Corinthians with premises, syllogisms, and logical constructs, Paul presented them with “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (2:2). Everything else was either superfluous or worse: a distraction from the gospel itself.
When Paul served the Corinthians, he did so “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (2:3). This image doesn’t match the mental picture many of us have of that courageous, “go-for-broke” apostle. Some believe that Paul was not cowering in fear of the Corinthians, but exhibiting genuine “fear and trembling” in the face of his awesome duty to conscientiously communicate the gospel of Christ to unbelievers.[17] Others suggest that Paul referred to his inability to measure up to cultural expectations of spellbinding delivery by those presenting an argument to a public audience (2 Cor. 10:10).[18] It may even be that Paul was simply not “up to par” when he arrived in Corinth, perhaps suffering from his “thorn in the flesh” that had impacted his normal capacity to communicate in strength (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Whatever the case, Paul embraced his calling to minister in humility and to depend on the Lord’s strength more than ever (Phil. 2:12-13).
The results were staggering. What Paul failed to exhibit in courage and talent, God more than made up in supernatural power; His grace was abundantly sufficient. As Paul spoke with his wavering foreign accent, the gospel exploded throughout the streets of Corinth. The Holy Spirit moved into shops, homes, temples, synagogues, and narrow back alleys. People came and listened to Paul, not because he could entertain the crowd, but because they felt drawn by the substance of his message and the powerful testimony of the accompanying miracles.
Paul didn’t try to mimic the rhetoric of the masters or formulate a clever argument like the logicians. He didn’t strut. Instead, he relied entirely on “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 2:4). Only then could Paul ensure that the Corinthians’ faith would rest on the power of God rather than on human wisdom (2:5). Paul was convinced of a vital spiritual truth of which we need a constant reminder: Human genius and oratorical ingenuity can’t lure people into the kingdom. Only the simplicity of the gospel, applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit, can humble people and lead them to renounce worldly ways and to embrace the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
— 2:6 —
Paul’s appeal to the cross rather than to reason and his reliance on the Spirit rather than on rhetoric didn’t go over well with most people in Corinth. Thus, the dividing line began to be drawn between those who were given eyes to see and ears to hear (see Matt. 13:13-17) and those who simply could not understand those things that are discerned by the Holy Spirit.
Paul clears up the misconception that the gospel is meaningless gobbledygook concocted by God simply to trip up those who can’t bring themselves to make a blind leap of faith (1 Cor. 2:6). Like an iceberg that conceals its depth far beneath the surface, unbelievers cannot see the hidden depths of wisdom and truth inherent in the Christian faith. So, realizing that some may interpret his disparaging of worldly wisdom as an admission that accepting the gospel requires intellectual suicide, he tackles the age-old conflict between faith and reason, reconciling them in the hidden depths of God.
The wisdom spoken of in this verse is neither empirical fact-finding nor intuitive common sense, but insight —perception about people, problems, ourselves, life. Paul calls it “God’s wisdom,” “the thoughts of God,” “the things of the Spirit,” and “the mind of Christ” (2:7, 11, 14, 16). Only the mature in Christ can possess this wisdom, which should give spiritual babes the incentive to grow. For the deeper we grow in the truth of God —taught not by human wisdom, but by the Spirit —the more wisdom we’ll have to grow toward spiritual maturity (Heb. 5:14–6:1).
— 2:7-9 —
Paul delves more deeply into God’s hidden wisdom (2:7-9), explaining why nonbelievers can see only the tip of the iceberg.
The wisdom of the gospel is a mystery. Paul explains that believers “speak God’s wisdom in a mystery” (2:7). The Greek word for “mystery” is mystērion [3466], which refers to something previously hidden that now has been revealed. Like a secret to be shared among a select few, God has made the mystery of the gospel crystal clear to believers, the recipients of His revelation; but the gospel remains obscured to those who have not yet entered God’s inner circle. Paul goes even deeper when he describes how the hidden wisdom of God had been “predestined before the ages to our glory.” Paul uses the same imagery in Ephesians 1:4, when he says God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” Although the gospel of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God came in a surprising way, God had intended it long before time began.
The wisdom of the gospel is not understood without the Spirit. The mystery of the gospel has been made clear to believers, but the wisdom of the gospel is not understood by unbelievers (1 Cor. 2:8). The Greek word Paul uses for “understand” is ginōskō [1097], which refers to a knowledge born of deep personal understanding.[19] This depth of understanding can come only as a gift by the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Reminding his readers about the human rulers (both Roman and Jewish) who executed Jesus, Paul says, “If they had understood it [the mystery of God], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8). Even through the spiritual ignorance of the unbelieving political powers, God brought to light the profound mystery of the gospel.
The wisdom of the gospel is not discoverable by humans. Revealing a mystery and discovering a mystery are two different things. God revealed to humanity what humans through their own methods and pursuits could never have discovered. In our age, in which many regard the scientific method as the new equivalent to the Ten Commandments, the “seeing is believing” approach to reality makes little room for faith. A typical argument against the gospel often goes something like this: “We don’t observe people rising from the dead, nor do we hear reliable reports of people rising from the dead. Therefore, the idea that anybody has ever risen from the dead is best understood as a myth or legend.”
This “show me” philosophy of life isn’t new to our age. In fact, Paul probably heard it from some skeptics in his day. Anticipating this kind of objection to the unbelievable nature of the gospel, Paul responds by paraphrasing Isaiah 64:4, describing the hidden mystery of the gospel as “things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). What God Himself reveals in His own time cannot be discovered through observation, investigation, direct intuition, or human logic. People can spend their whole lives studying at the most prestigious schools, adding a chain of letters after their names, traveling the world over, and experiencing all life has to offer. Yet these empirical means can never discover the depths of God’s mystery, which can be revealed only by the Holy Spirit through faith.
— 2:10-13 —
If humans can’t discover the wisdom of God by human methods, understand it by human intellect, or believe it by human power, then how can anybody know and believe the gospel? Paul tackles this question next. We can understand Paul’s explanation in terms of the priority (2:10), the process (2:10-11), and the purpose (2:12-13) of spiritual revelation.
The priority. God chose those who trust in Him to receive His wisdom, as Paul explains: “For to us God revealed them” (2:10, emphasis added). God reveals His wisdom not to the world’s erudite scholars, influential leaders, or super wealthy (1:27-30). Instead, He chose to reveal himself to those who come to Him by God’s undeserved grace through simple faith (Eph. 2:8-9).
The process. Besides the Spirit’s work in guiding believers to the truth of the gospel (John 16:8-13), the Spirit also dwells within believers from the moment they place their faith in Christ, beginning His work of transforming us into Christ’s image (John 14:17; 1 Cor. 12:13; 2 Cor. 3:18). Through the Spirit’s indwelling (Rom. 8:9, 11), He searches for us the “depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10), communicating His thoughts to us as we draw upon His resources (2:11-12; John 16:13-15; Eph. 4:14-19). Paul argues that just as the spirit of a human knows the hidden thoughts and attitudes of that individual, so the Spirit of God knows the hidden mysteries of God. The Spirit’s role in the world, then, is to reveal to believers the content of these mysteries.
The purpose. God promises to give us the Spirit the moment we are saved. If we have trusted in Him, the Spirit communicates the divine wisdom of Christianity, because humans can never understand it on their own. The purpose of this revelation is twofold: “that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12) and that we may “speak” (2:13) these things to others, ministering the Holy Spirit through the very words He inspired (2 Tim. 3:16). These words of the Spirit —the words of Holy Scripture —are able to affect spiritual change because they are not merely human words, but words “taught by the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:13). Both the thoughts and the words themselves are given by revelation from God (2 Pet. 1:21).
To recap: God revealed the truth of the gospel by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit expressed these truths in “spiritual words,” not merely human expression. Therefore, when we study the words of Scripture and pass them on to others, we become personally involved in God’s process of proclaiming the mystery once hidden but now revealed through the church (Eph. 3:10).
— 2:14-16 —
Though the believer taught by the Spirit can spend a lifetime exploring the depths of the hidden mysteries of God, not so for the unbeliever, whom Paul styles the “natural man” (2:14). Such a person does not accept the “things of the Spirit,” that is, the mysteries of the gospel, the person and work of Christ, the meaning of Holy Scripture, and how all of these relate to the person’s standing before God. So Paul uses the term “natural man” as a label for the kind of worldly-minded person he had been describing throughout 1 Corinthians 1–2 —a person who functions in the realm of the world’s wisdom, demanding empirical proof at every turn, and seeking logical explanations for everything. To such a person, the things of the Spirit are “foolishness.”
Without the Holy Spirit’s indwelling ministry, unbelievers will never fully grasp, truly believe, and personally experience the riches of the Spirit, for they are “spiritually appraised” (2:14). The word “appraised” means “discerned to be true.” Only through the eyes of faith given by the Holy Spirit can a person even begin to delve beneath the surface of God’s revealed Word to comprehend its hidden wisdom. An unbeliever may “understand” the words superficially, but to embrace them, love them, believe them, and live them —that requires the miraculous illuminating work of the Spirit.
The flip side of the unsaved person —the natural person —is the maturing Christian, whom Paul describes as “he who is spiritual” (2:15). Such a person, gifted and guided by the Holy Spirit, operates beyond the understanding of the world’s wisdom. By saying that a believer “is appraised by no one,” Paul is not saying that each Christian is beyond reproof or correction (see 5:1-5, 12-13; 10:15). Rather, those who align themselves to the Spirit’s wisdom and submit themselves to the Christian worldview fall into the same category as the gospel: They become foolish to the eyes of the world and cannot be evaluated based on worldly reason, rhetoric, or philosophy.
To put it plainly, unbelievers will never quite “get” their believing friends and family members. They won’t understand why they choose to live the way they do, why they sacrifice worldly pursuits, give selflessly, or serve faithfully. Unbelievers don’t see the point of Christian virtue when there’s so much more to gain from worldly vice. The “natural person” will never fully grasp the Spirit-led convictions of the “spiritual person.”
The reason unbelievers cannot grasp the beliefs and decisions of believers rests on the fact that believers’ lifestyles reflect the unfathomable mysteries of God —the self-denying life of the cross of Jesus Christ. What foolishness to the world! A “natural person” gazing at the life of a “spiritual person” encounters in small part “the mind of the LORD,” which no mere human can know (2:16). Paul alludes to Isaiah 40:13, which communicates the absolute otherness of God’s wisdom, knowledge, and counsel. So, when unbelievers encounter believers who have submitted to the Spirit-taught wisdom, knowledge, and counsel of God, they will stand dumbfounded. Because “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16), those without the mind of Christ will never comprehend our ways.
APPLICATION: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-16
Delving into the Depths of God
“Been there, done that.” In the 1980s, younger people (especially) used this phrase to indicate that they had already partaken of the experience in question and to imply that they no longer had any interest in it. When it comes to studying Scripture, I’ve found that many Christians feel the same way: “been there, done that.” They won’t admit it, of course. They might even still read the obligatory verse or two of the Bible to get their quick “fix” for the day. Yet many who once had engaged in methodical Bible study, had read through the entire Old and New Testaments, or had memorized many passages of Scripture, sometimes place the ongoing, deep study of Scripture low on their priority list. The reason? “Been there, done that.”
Yet Paul’s words concerning the revealed mystery of God in 1 Corinthians 2 tell us something vital about Scripture —His written revelation —that we should never forget. Because the words of Scripture are not mere human words but words “taught by the Spirit” (2:13), the richness of their relevance for our lives is inexhaustible. We finite humans could no more fully plumb the depths of Holy Scripture than we could fully comprehend the mind of God. Every time we return to the pure springs of God’s infinite wisdom in Scripture, our finite cups overflow as the Holy Spirit, who is both the Author and the Teacher of Scripture, illumines our minds and applies to our lives just what He wants for us that hour, that day, or that year. This idea of both simplicity and depth is put beautifully by the words of Gregory the Great, a sixth-century church father:
For as the word of God, by the mysteries which it contains, exercises the understanding of the wise, so usually by what presents itself on the outside, it nurses the simple-minded. It presents in open day that wherewith the little ones may be fed; it keeps in secret that whereby men of a loftier range may be held in suspense of admiration. It is, as it were, a kind of river, if I may so liken it, which is both shallow and deep, wherein both the lamb may find a footing, and the elephant float at large.[20]
Maybe you’ve read through the Bible once or twice. Maybe you’ve committed many verses or even a whole book to memory. Maybe you’ve studied through several books with commentaries, like the one you’re reading now. Great! Keep it up! But don’t be afraid to go deeper. How do you do that? By reviving the lost art of meditation on God’s Word (Josh. 1:8). Meditation focuses our thoughts on a single verse or passage of Scripture for an extended period of time. In meditation, we ponder specific truths of Scripture slowly, piece by piece, allowing our minds to dig deeply into a word, phrase, idea, or principle from God’s Word as the Spirit drills deep into our hearts and minds to deposit that truth permanently in our souls. Think of meditation as scriptural saturation.
How do you plumb the depths of God’s mysteries by meditation on His Word? Let me suggest five practical steps to follow, using Proverbs 3:5-6 as an example.
1. Emphasize different words and phrases. In meditating on Proverbs 3:5-6, focus on specific terms: “Trust in the LORD” or “Trust in the LORD with all your heart.” Think first about trusting. Later, ponder the vastness of that word all. When you read the warning, “do not lean on your own understanding,” call to mind the many ways you plunge in and work things out for yourself.
2. Paraphrase the verse, making it personal. Rethink and restate the verse using your own words in the process. For example: “Lord, you are commanding me to lean on You —turn my life over to You completely —to stop my habit of worrying and working things out my way, as I frequently do.” Realize that the Spirit is speaking to you through His inspired Word.
3. Compare the verse with other Scripture. Reflect on this in relation to two or three other passages that relate to your verse, using Bible cross-references, study notes, or search tools for help. Weave these other passages into your thoughts. For Proverbs 3:5-6, you’ll discover that the Spirit’s thoughts in Psalm 37:4-5, Philippians 4:6-7, or 1 Peter 5:7 provide additional insight and deeper perspective.
4. Relate the verse to your present circumstance. Let’s suppose you feel worried, restless, and ill at ease. You know it’s wrong, but you can’t seem to stop. You come across Proverbs 3:5-6 and decide to meditate on these words. As you do, keep your ongoing habits and specific problems in mind. Ask for insight from the Lord. List your worries one by one. Identify them. Having identified them, look them over in the light of that passage. Then turn your discoveries into prayer as you release to the Lord your problems and worries.
5. Use prayer as a follow-up. Always remember to conclude with prayer. Ask Him not only to communicate His divine thoughts into your thoughts, but to apply those thoughts in your life. Ask for strength to trust Him without worrying. Thank Him in advance for the change He will bring when you understand and faithfully follow His Word.
No spiritual Christian could ever say “been there, done that” about meditating on God’s Word. Why? Because if you have ever really experienced the depth of God’s wisdom through meditation, you’d be saying “there now, doing it” and teaching others to do the same.