Lesson for March 27, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 2:10-16
“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 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. 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, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But 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 appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Verses 10-16 deal with the impossibility of unbelievers understanding God’s plan, the possibility of believers understanding it and under what conditions he can understand it. It is impossible for anyone to understand the Word of God when approached on the basis of empiricism (experiencing) or rationalism (reasoning).
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. Verse 10 refers back to verse 9, “things which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard…” God the Holy Spirit is the revealer of all spiritual truth, in contrast to empiricism, by which spiritual truth cannot be understood. However, as believers, we have a divine system whereby we can understand spiritual truth, called the filling of the Holy Spirit, and believing the accurate teaching of God’s Word (faith).
Believers still have a sin nature and when they are out of fellowship with God, which includes the Holy Spirit, they cannot understand the Word of God, spiritually. The best they can do when out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit is to learn the Bible academically. At the point a believer returns to fellowship with God, the Holy Spirit can transfer the academic knowledge they have learned into spiritual knowledge. With the completion of the Canon of Scripture, God began to reveal Himself only through His Word.
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. Verse 11 refers back to using the human wisdom of rationalism in an attempt to understand God. So, in verse nine we have the failure of empiricism, in verse ten we have the success of God’s faith system, and verse eleven we have the failure of rationalism. The spirit of man which is in him in this verse refers to our minds, meaning that thoughts are invisible and only the person doing the thinking knows those thoughts. In like manner, God the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God because He is God.
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. Verse 12 refers to the doctrine of regeneration (our spiritual birth at salvation), which provides what is needed for the understanding of spiritual truth, which is a human spirit (our spiritual connection to God). The spirit of the world refers to an unbeliever’s Human Viewpoint Thinking by which they understand the world around them, but not spiritual things. The spirit, who is from God refers to a believer’s Divine Viewpoint Thinking by which they understand spiritual things and the world around them. Our human spirits can understand the things freely given to us by God, which are our spiritual assets.
Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. Which things is referring to learning God’s Word, which is ultimately taught to us by the Holy Spirit by combining divine wisdom/viewpoint (spiritual thoughts) with a spiritual (doctrinal) vocabulary (spiritual words).
But 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 appraised. The Greek word for natural is “psuchikos,” which means belonging to the soul or “soulish.” What is a “soulish” person? They are unbelievers without a human spirit or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, an unbeliever can only understand human viewpoint and not divine viewpoint. As a matter of fact, to unbelievers, spiritual things often appear foolish. Appraised means to evaluate. Evaluating spiritual information can be done only by believers filled with the Holy Spirit.
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one refers to the ability of a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual information (he who is spiritual). No one refers to unbelievers. Unbelievers are incapable of evaluating (appraising) a believer regarding any spiritual matter.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? (Isaiah 40:13) But we have the mind of Christ. The Bible is the mind of God, also called “the mind of Christ” in this verse. Who can understand the Bible? The answer is only believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit. So, this completely eliminates the possibility of unbelievers understanding God and His Word because they are not indwelt by or filled with the Holy Spirit so cannot be taught by Him.
As believers in Jesus Christ, it is necessary to have confidence in the Bible as the true Word of God, because in it is contained God’s plan for salvation and the Christian Way of Life. The writers of Scripture were often aware that what they were writing was being done by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. (II Peter 1:16-21) Remember that much of what Peter wrote was taught to him directly by Jesus Christ. Peter was an eyewitness to Christ’s ministry on earth and was also at most major events recorded in the Gospels. (Matthew 16:28; 17:1-8)
In II Peter 1:20, Peter revealed the fact that all Scripture originated with God and is not someone’s private interpretation. The theological definition of inspiration is that God the Holy Spirit so directed the writers of Scripture that without changing their personalities, their literary style, their vocabularies, or their personal feelings, God’s complete and coherent message was permanently recorded, with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture. (II Timothy 3:16)
The Bible is therefore the recorded mind of Christ. Before the Scriptures began to be written, beginning with Moses, God the Holy Spirit revealed spiritual information directly to certain people in Old Testament times through dreams, visions, and angels. (Isaiah 6:8-10; Daniel 10:9; Isaiah 1:1; Psalms 68:17) In this dispensation, God speaks to believers only through His Word, and only when they are filled with the Holy Spirit. What we have been given by God is a record of His Divine Viewpoint Thinking – His plan, His purpose, and His will for each of us. And He has made sure that it has been preserved throughout the centuries just for us!!!