Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 195 True Wisdom - Part 5 (a series in 1 Corinthians chapters 1-4) 1 Corinthians 2:9-12 MKJV (9) But as it is written, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard," nor has it 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 by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. (11) For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of man within him? So also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (12) But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. The above verses are some of the most profound verses in Scripture and verses that have personally touched my life and ministry. Lets start in the middle with a statement in verse 11 "So also no-one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." No-one, absolutely no-one, knows the things of God - except the Spirit of God. You cannot deduce them, philosophize them, find them by study, dig them up by archaeology or dream them in a trance. You can be a great historian or linguist and study the Bible and find nothing except madness and folly. The Bible will drive you crazy unless you have the Spirit. (2 Cor 2:13,14) The things of God are beyond sensory experience or human imagination: "But as it is written, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard," nor has it entered into the heart of man, "the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." They are revealed things - not discovered things, deduced things or imagined things. And they have been revealed to us who are of Christ: "But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God." What does the Spirit reveal to God's chosen people? First let me clear something up - the Holy Spirit does not mainly convict believers of "sin, righteousness and judgment - He convicts THE WORLD of those things - that is unbelievers. John 16:8 MKJV And when that One comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. For believers the Holy Spirit "pours out the love of God into our hearts" (Romans 5:5) and teaches us "the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." In other words one of the main tasks of the Holy Spirit, in the lives of believers is to convince them of God's love! If you think you have heard from the Holy Spirit than you should hear something like: "God loves you, I love you, and we have wonderful things in store for you." Another main task is the knowledge of our spiritual inheritance: "but the Spirit from God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God." God has many things that He has freely given us in love and He wants us to know what these wonderful things are and to live in them and lay hold of them and the job of showing us the wonderful things of God is the task of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not so much convict believers of "sin, righteousness and judgment" but rather of their opposites! The Holy Spirit convinces us of our righteousness in Christ, of the love of God toward us and the rewards and inheritance and authority and glory that we have in Him! The Holy Spirit is not a "Jiminy Cricket" nagging us over every transgression. Rather He is the agent of God's Father love, acceptance and joy over us who have truly repented. It is the experience of the depths of the love of Christ that matures us as persons and makes us into the full image of God. We are not matured by law and guilt but by truth, love and grace: Ephesians 3:16-19 MKJV that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; (17) that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, (19) and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. We cannot mature under the rule of law and guilt - such people remain "children" (see Galatians 3&4). And we cannot mature by our own self-effort. Our intellect will not grant us personal maturity after all there are many brilliant but immature people in all walks of life! What then does bring maturity? Experiencing the love of God through the Holy Spirit! "and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." The Holy Spirit "strengthens us in the inner man" and reveals to us two important things - God's truth and God's love. He teaches us that we might know the truth that sets us free and He teaches us that we might experience God's love and know all that He has prepared for those who love Him. As Ephesians says truth and love are the main ingredients of a mature person: Ephesians 4:15 MKJV But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; How does this happen? First the Spirit searches out the deep things of God, then He reveals them to us. (1 Cor 2: 9-11 above) The Holy Spirit is the connection between the deep things of God and our own human spirit that is made alive in Christ. We can receive knowledge from God directly. This direct knowledge from God was the basis of Paul's Damascus Road experience and his subsequent ministry (see Galatians 1). It was also the basis of Jesus appointing Peter: Matthew 16:17 MKJV Jesus answered and said to him, You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father in Heaven. The ability to receive truth directly from God is right at the heart of the New Covenant and the experience of Pentecost. Acts 2:16-18 MKJV But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: (17) "And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (18) And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. Heb 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," Luke 12:12 MKJV For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say. 1 John 2:27 MKJV But the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and no lie, and as He has taught you, abide in Him. This astonished me! That all believers, men-servants, maid-servants etc. could receive knowledge from God deep down into their innermost beings through the Holy Spirit! The knowledge of God is inaccessible to scholarly means and sophisticated means but is directly given by God through the Spirit! Matthew 11:25-27 MKJV At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the sophisticated and cunning, and revealed them to babes. (26) Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. (27) All things are delivered to Me by My Father. And no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son will reveal Him. No-one can know God unless Jesus wills it and the Holy Spirit teaches and reveals the knowledge of God. Great minds like Rudolf Bultmann and the liberal scholars have stumbled and fallen. Great linguists have produced arid commentaries saying more about cognate verbs than of Christ. Let me say that I truly believe in godly Spirit-filled scholarship like that of John Stott. But scholarship on its own will not take us one step closer to Christ unless the Holy Spirit is in the heart of the scholar. The Ho;y Spirit is our teacher and we must pray to God and ask that we be given a "spirit of wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him' (Ephesians 1:17) for that Spirit is our light and without it even a genius is in darkness. Blessings, John Edmiston Were you blessed by Eternity Daily Bible Study? To subscribe just send a blank email to: eternity-dbs-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org Read and interesting article on Technology & Spirituality http://www.aibi.ph/missions/sociotech.htm Visit the Eternity Daily Bible Study Archives - http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/ Study at the Asian Internet Bible Institute- Free online non-formal, in-service, bible and ministry training: http://www.aibi.ph