So, How Do You Know?
Opening Prayer
Jesus, reveal Yourself to me today as I study to know You more.
Read 1 Corinthians 2:6–16
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Spend a moment jotting down how you know about commonplace things, such as love or right and wrong.Many would say that we would never know God or anything about him unless he takes the initiative to reveal himself to us; this is called “revelation.” And that God has to take the first step; theologians call this “prevenient grace.”
For many people, religion of any sort appears to be a completely closed book. We hear people say, “I just don’t get it.” And why would we assume that we should be able to work God out or be clever enough to make him up? Almost by definition our ideas would be less than what we normally think of as “God.”
It’s at this point that Paul introduces us to one of the main functions of the Holy Spirit—to make God known to us. He, indeed, reveals God to humanity, and we must pray for the special kind of wisdom and conviction that only the Holy Spirit can impart to ordinary human beings.
Note Paul’s wonderful statement of confidence in verse 16. How can he say that to these very imperfect Christians?
Apply
Is there part of your faith that you don’t understand? Write it down, pray for wisdom and save it to look back on in time to come.
Closing prayer
Pray for yourself and your church leaders that you and they will seek God’s special wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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