The Spirit of God and Man
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 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.
In 2:9 Paul paraphrases Isaiah 64:4, which says, “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.” Though this passage is often used at funerals, assuring the bereaved of the beauty their deceased loved ones are experiencing in heaven, the passage actually speaks of the wisdom God has revealed to believers, “to us,” in the here and now. For only believers are able to grasp what God has prepared for them. Verse 10 is evidence of this, speaking of the present where God has already revealed His wisdom to His people “through the Spirit,” the Holy Spirit.
Simply put, the unregenerate will never comprehend God. Scripture teaches that they can see with their eyes the works of God in creation (Rom. 1:19-20), and if God permits, they can hear Him speak as Paul did prior to His conversion (Acts 9:4-5). Even the false prophet Balaam could hear God speak in Numbers 22-24. But God’s revelation of Himself and His eternal plan cannot be discovered through man’s typical scientific methods of observation, investigation, instinct, or human logic and reason. No committee made up of the most intelligent people the world has ever known could uncover God’s mystery revealed through Jesus Christ and recorded in Scripture. This mystery is only revealed by the Holy Spirit through faith to God’s elect.
When Paul says, “God revealed them to us,” the “us” is in reference to believers in general, but specifically to the recipients of God’s special revelation, namely the prophets and apostles who wrote the Bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16). And the “them” concerns the “things which eye has not seen… all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” The means through which God revealed Himself to believers was (and is) through the Holy Spirit. Verse 10 explains that “the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” Since the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead, then certainly the Spirit fully knows the mind of God. For only God can know God, and since the Spirit is sent for man by God, then the Holy Spirit is the link between God and man. So “the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God” and reveals them to those whom God has prepared for such knowledge.
Romans 8:26-27 speaks of the Holy Spirit searching believers, their hearts, and their minds. He prays for them when we do not know how to pray at times, and He prays for them according to God’s will since the Spirit is in fact God (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17-18). The Spirit examines believers, then He speaks to the Father on their behalf, interceding for them just as the Son also does (Rom. 8:34). Since the Holy Spirit is God, He knows the mind of God, even the “depths of God.”
Now the “spirit of man” represents the inmost thoughts and beliefs of a human being. Since only we know what we are thinking, only we can explain how we truly feel or why we do what we do. When we feel misunderstood, we attempt to qualify our actions by explaining ourselves when others fail to understand our actions. Equally, the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God because He is God. This same God has revealed Himself and His wisdom to His children. As a result, those who know Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity—God in flesh, know God. Knowing God through His Son means that Christians have God’s wisdom. They are the ones whose eyes have seen, whose ears have heard, and whose minds have conceived what God has prepared for them (v. 9). Therefore, all three members of the Godhead are essential to the Christian faith (cf. Eph. 1:4-14).
Food For Thought
Without God, man has no wisdom. It does not matter how educated we are, for without God there is nothing for which to boast. God has revealed His wisdom through the Holy Spirit, and that same Holy Spirit prays for us. If you have placed your faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, you can know that God hears your prayers. We pray to the Father (cf. Matt. 6:9), and while we pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us (cf. Rom. 8:26-27). In addition, Romans 8:34 says that Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, also intercedes for us. The Spirit God gave us is wonderful indeed, praying for us and giving us insight into the mind of God. When we thus receive Christ as Lord, we are given the actual mind of God, thinking His thoughts after Him.
In 2:9 Paul paraphrases Isaiah 64:4, which says, “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.” Though this passage is often used at funerals, assuring the bereaved of the beauty their deceased loved ones are experiencing in heaven, the passage actually speaks of the wisdom God has revealed to believers, “to us,” in the here and now. For only believers are able to grasp what God has prepared for them. Verse 10 is evidence of this, speaking of the present where God has already revealed His wisdom to His people “through the Spirit,” the Holy Spirit.
Simply put, the unregenerate will never comprehend God. Scripture teaches that they can see with their eyes the works of God in creation (Rom. 1:19-20), and if God permits, they can hear Him speak as Paul did prior to His conversion (Acts 9:4-5). Even the false prophet Balaam could hear God speak in Numbers 22-24. But God’s revelation of Himself and His eternal plan cannot be discovered through man’s typical scientific methods of observation, investigation, instinct, or human logic and reason. No committee made up of the most intelligent people the world has ever known could uncover God’s mystery revealed through Jesus Christ and recorded in Scripture. This mystery is only revealed by the Holy Spirit through faith to God’s elect.
When Paul says, “God revealed them to us,” the “us” is in reference to believers in general, but specifically to the recipients of God’s special revelation, namely the prophets and apostles who wrote the Bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16). And the “them” concerns the “things which eye has not seen… all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” The means through which God revealed Himself to believers was (and is) through the Holy Spirit. Verse 10 explains that “the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” Since the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead, then certainly the Spirit fully knows the mind of God. For only God can know God, and since the Spirit is sent for man by God, then the Holy Spirit is the link between God and man. So “the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God” and reveals them to those whom God has prepared for such knowledge.
Romans 8:26-27 speaks of the Holy Spirit searching believers, their hearts, and their minds. He prays for them when we do not know how to pray at times, and He prays for them according to God’s will since the Spirit is in fact God (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17-18). The Spirit examines believers, then He speaks to the Father on their behalf, interceding for them just as the Son also does (Rom. 8:34). Since the Holy Spirit is God, He knows the mind of God, even the “depths of God.”
Now the “spirit of man” represents the inmost thoughts and beliefs of a human being. Since only we know what we are thinking, only we can explain how we truly feel or why we do what we do. When we feel misunderstood, we attempt to qualify our actions by explaining ourselves when others fail to understand our actions. Equally, the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God because He is God. This same God has revealed Himself and His wisdom to His children. As a result, those who know Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity—God in flesh, know God. Knowing God through His Son means that Christians have God’s wisdom. They are the ones whose eyes have seen, whose ears have heard, and whose minds have conceived what God has prepared for them (v. 9). Therefore, all three members of the Godhead are essential to the Christian faith (cf. Eph. 1:4-14).
Food For Thought
Without God, man has no wisdom. It does not matter how educated we are, for without God there is nothing for which to boast. God has revealed His wisdom through the Holy Spirit, and that same Holy Spirit prays for us. If you have placed your faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, you can know that God hears your prayers. We pray to the Father (cf. Matt. 6:9), and while we pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us (cf. Rom. 8:26-27). In addition, Romans 8:34 says that Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, also intercedes for us. The Spirit God gave us is wonderful indeed, praying for us and giving us insight into the mind of God. When we thus receive Christ as Lord, we are given the actual mind of God, thinking His thoughts after Him.
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Our mailing address is:
Harvest Bible Church
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Cypress, TX 77433
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