Not our works — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

We have spent the last few posts looking at 1 Corinthians 2:1-9. Today I would like to start mulling over verses 10-16. We won’t get through all the verses today, but I’ve included the rest of the passage for you to read. I’m also including a fall picture for you to enjoy. I’d like to be driving through there right now! :)

“10 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.
12 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,
13 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.
14 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.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

Let’s start dissecting this passage.

For to us God revealed them…

First let’s understand that it is God who should be revealing things to us, not some other entity. We live in a world where information is instantaneous. Type into Google any question you have, or anything you want to research and within seconds you have lists of sites where you can learn all sorts of things. We now even have AI ChatGPT to come along side and teach us how and why we should commit suicide. Such tragedies are not of God, and are precisely why we still need God and His revealed truth.

What exactly is God revealing to us? Who are the “them” referred to in this verse? Them is looking back at verse 9. Them refers to: “Things which the 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.” In other words God reveals His truth to us through His word. How does this happen?

…through His Spirit;

This revelation comes about through the Holy Spirit. Paul testified of this divine revelation in his own life.

“11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

— Galatians 1:11-12 (NASB 1995)

As you may know, the Holy Spirit was given to us to be our companion, helper, revealer of God’s truth, and our very own prayer warrior.

“16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

— John 14:16-18 (NASB 1995)

“25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. ”

— John 14:25-26 (NASB 1995)

The Holy Spirit is vital in our relationship with the Creator. Just as Jesus had a role, that of the Savior of the world, the Holy Spirit has a role in the triune God-head. He is the presence of Jesus in our lives. He is the One who binds us to God the Father. He also dwells in us, daily guiding, and helping us as we battle the flesh, and as we scramble to remember what we have been taught from God’s word. Not only does He help us remember, He also helps us to live it out.

Over the last few years of dealing with illness on the regular and just the normal struggles of an aging body, I have learned over and over that there is very little I do in this relationship with the Holy One, other than bend my knees in humility and prayer. He does everything else. He provides energy when I have none. He helps me to remember my value in God, when I question it over and over again. He establishes me in Christ, in a way that no teaching, exercise, or activity can. He even gives life. (See the examples of Elizabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1). And as I have taught about before, He prays for us. (See my take on Romans 8:26-27.) It is a fun study to explore the many works and facets of the Holy Spirit throughout Scripture.

…for the Spirit searches all things even the depths of God.

I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to cry. The fact that this Spirit, who lives inside of me searches all things, even the depths of God makes me realize, there is no thing and no one in this world that knows me better than God. There is no drug, no activity, no teaching, and no internet search that is going to reveal more than the Holy Spirit. He is the conduit through which we have full access to the Kingdom of God the Father.

God forgive me, for not giving the Holy Spirt His due, and God forgive others who limit Him to the mere center of an emotional experience. The Holy Spirit works in perfect synchronization with the Father and the Son to give us complete understanding of His truth, and complete redemption and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus.

Hallelujah! What an awesome God we serve!

Next time we will delve deeper into how His Spirit works in our lives. Have a great, Spirit filled week!

Last week I started a short series revolving around a number of verses in I Corinthians 1. In the first part we looked at verses 18-25. This week I want to continue by directing our thoughts to verses 26-31.

“26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

— I Corinthians 1:26-31 (NASB 1995)

Let’s work our way through these verses by statements.

For consider your calling…

Paul wants the recipients of this letter to think about their calling. Why is this important? I think we need to remember when, and how God called each of us into a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. I was raised in a Bible teaching church by believing parents, but it was at age 12 that I stepped into the promised land. I recognized my sin, my inability to live life without Jesus, and gave my life to Him. God called me, not like some through a lightening bolt, but more a continuous soft whisper. Everyone’s calling is different. What was yours like? It is good to remember where we came from and what God called us out of.

This is also a challenge to those who have been called to remember, “according to the flesh” there were, “not many wise…not many mighty…not many noble….” In other words we weren’t all that. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden we have been fighting a battle against the truth. The truth of God says we are nothing without Him. The truth of God says all our righteous works are as filthy rags. The truth of God says that man’s wisdom will never rise above the wisdom of God. In fact, as we look at the next few verses we are struck, once again, it is all about Him.

But God has chosen…

Did you get that? God has chosen. It wasn’t our abilities, or beauty, or wisdom, or might, or power that God chose. Indeed, He is a beautiful study in contrasts. The almighty God chose the foolish things, the weak things, the base things, the despised, and the things that are not. Why did He do this? He could have chosen the best of the best; the bright and beautiful; the pure and holy; the pretty and clean; the popular and well liked, but He chose everything that was not in order to nullify the things that are. He chose the foolish to shame the wise. He chose the weak to shame the strong. He chose the things that were not shiny and perfect - SO THAT - no man may boast before God.

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB 1995)

But by His doing…

Here’s the good news…You are in Christ Jesus! Of course, you had to make the choice to believe who God is, who God says we are and who Jesus is, but it has always been God working behind the scenes wooing, drawing, orchestrating, working, sometimes tripping you up and other times washing over you with His lavish love and undeserved mercy. It has always, is always and always will be an act of God that we come to embrace His boundless grace.

In addition, the beautiful perk to this astounding gift is Jesus becomes to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; all of which come from God through His Son. We do not have to worry if we are not wise. We cannot sanctify or redeem ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous. All of these things come to us freely when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Why?

So That….

“Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 6

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 2