The Thoughts of God
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
ometimes, verses of Scripture take on a whole new meaning when read in context. It’s amazing to me how we can read (or hear) a verse for years and gain some meaning from it, but then a fresh reading will show something completely different.
Take for example, 1 Corinthians 2:9. Paul, in quoting from Isaiah 64:4 writes:
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. (NKJV)
I have heard this verse many, many times before in my life. The interpretation I have heard most often is that we are incapable of comprehending the things that God has prepared — for the future. While this concept certainly fits with some of Paul’s other statements, I was amazed today to read this verse in context. Bear with me while I quote a larger portion of the context:
[We] 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; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 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; 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.” 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. (1 Cor 2:6-13, emphases mine)
There are a couple of phrases that I have highlighted in bold because I want to draw attention to them in this context. In Paul’s use of the quote from Isaiah, to whom is he referring? He says, “If they had understood it”, referring to the ones who crucified Jesus. Understood what? The “hidden wisdom.”
But notice very carefully how, immediately following the Isaiah quote, Paul shifts from talking about “them” and says, “For to us God revealed them.” In other words, this “hidden wisdom”, things that were not known to the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, have been revealed.
This reference to Isaiah is not a statement about believers. It is not a statement about our future blessings or God’s plans for us in the future. In context, we see that when Paul talks about eyes not seeing and ears not hearing and hearts not conceiving of these things, he is talking about the eyes/ears/heart of natural man apart from God.
He goes on to say that “now we have received…so that we may know….” Received what? The Spirit of God. So that we may know what? The thoughts of God!
Look at how he spells it out. No one can know the thoughts of a person, except the one who is having those thoughts. I can’t know the thoughts that are in my wife’s heart, nor can she know the thoughts that are in my heart. And Paul says the same is true of God. We can’t know the thoughts of God. The only One Who can is the Spirit of God.
But — and this is where it gets really exciting — he then tells us that we have received the Spirit of God with the specific result that God then is able to reveal those thoughts to us! Is this amazing, or what?!
We can’t underestimate the power of this concept. We cannot afford to downplay it. At the end of the chapter, Paul again quotes from Isaiah (Isaiah 40:13) by saying, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct him?” And then counters, “But we have the mind of Christ.”
God has let us in on his thoughts! He has revealed things to us. Things that are foolish to the unsaved. Things that don’t make sense to the natural man. But things that, in spiritual maturity, we can grasp because of the Spirit within us.
So the next time someone tells you that you can’t possibly know what God is thinking because “eye has not seen…”, remind them of the tremendous gift we have in the Spirit of God within us. Yes, we can know the thoughts of God! What an amazing God we have!!
Until next time,
steve 
