March 7, 2022
What if Everyone Knew Your Thoughts?
1 Corinthians 2
Travis Warren
Central Truth
We would be completely incapable of comprehending the truth of the gospel or the knowledge of God and His character if not for the Holy Spirit opening our eyes and giving us understanding. Thus, we are not saved by knowledge but rather by the power of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Key Verse | 1 Corinthians 2:11-12
For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
1 Corinthians 2
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, 1 2:1 Or brothers and sisters did not come proclaiming to you the testimony 2 2:1 Some manuscripts mystery (or secret) of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men 3 2:5 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women but in the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 4 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Listen to the Podcast
Listen NowDive Deeper | 1 Corinthians 2
Pick a number between 1 and 20. Don't cheat and read ahead––seriously, stop reading, think of a number and get it in your head. OK, ready?
The number I'm thinking of is . . . 100!
All right, I cheated; I'm sorry. But here's my point: you didn't know what number I was thinking! That game is made interesting by the fact that we can't know what someone else is thinking. And ultimately, you're the only person who truly knows what's going on inside your head.
Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 2:11, "For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
Who can know what God is thinking? How could anyone understand His thoughts or comprehend Him? On our own, it cannot be done.
God's heart towards us is gentle, kind, and loving. He loves us with an unfathomable depth. He sent His Son Jesus to earth as a sacrifice for our sins so we could be forgiven and have a relationship with Him. However, the knowledge of these glorious truths would be impossible for us to understand without the Holy Spirit.
Paul tells us, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) On our own, we "natural" people cannot understand the truths of God. We can only understand these truths with the help of the Spirit. The truths of the gospel—the knowledge and wisdom of God—are God's thoughts. Who can know a person's thoughts but the spirit of that person?
Well, miraculously, "we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God." (1 Corinthians 2:12) The Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God (because He is God) and has indwelled believers to disclose His thoughts to us. What a miraculous gift to know the thoughts and heart of God!
Discussion Questions
1. As 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us, we are incapable of understanding the truths of the Word without the Holy Spirit enlightening us and allowing us to understand. This is called the doctrine of illumination. What implications does this fact have on your daily Bible reading?
2. The doctrine of illumination applies most specifically to the reading and understanding of the Scripture, but the power of the Holy Spirit goes much further than that. In John 15:5, Jesus says, ". . . [A]part from me you can do nothing." As you meditate on 1 Corinthians 2 and John 15, think about the implications of these words. What does it mean that we can do nothing apart from Christ? What does it look like to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit?
3. Paul makes a clear point in 1 Corinthians 2:1-6: Salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not through any knowledge or wisdom. However, he says to those who are mature, we do impart wisdom––and he goes on to speak about the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I worry that I would take away the "lofty truths" from this passage and miss the practical applications for my heart. How do you balance the study of profound spiritual truths and the application of those truths in your daily life and relationship with Jesus?