How Wisdom is Revealed
1 Cor. 2: 10 – 16
Introduction
Due to ignorance of the Divine wisdom by the people considered to be wise by the world’s standard,
the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. The Lord have done many things which mortal beings like us can
never imagine, foremost of this is our salvation. The question is how can men know of a God who
cannot be seen and whose works, glory and power are beyond human thought? How can we know
the unseen glories of heaven? The answer is:
I. By the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10)
A. The Word of God says “But God revealed them unto us by His Spirit”. The Father,
through the Spirit, has revealed the mystery which can save us through His written
word, the Bible.
B. Verses 11 to 13, as I see it were written by Paul through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit about the Holy Spirit’s personality and works. (Isa. 63:10; Eph. 4:30).
1. The Holy Spirit is our only way of knowing God (Rom. 8:26-27; 11:33-36). We
can never know God or things of God by any human means. “Deep” is a figure
of speech which means:
a. profound as opposed to shallow or
b. hidden beyond mankind’s reach or discovery.
C. “The deep things of God” is another description of “the things which God hath
prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). God wants us to know today all the
blessings of His grace that He has planned for us particularly our salvation.
D. The Spirit’s work is very important in convicting sinners for their sins, in their
salvation, and in Christ like living (Jn. 16:7-14).
E. Verse 11 tells us that a man alone knows himself, so God alone knows himself. As
the thoughts and intentions of a man are best known by his own spirit, so also are
the divine counsels of God best known by the Spirit of God.
F. The Spirit indwells believers (v. 12). The very moment we put our trust in Jesus
Christ, the Holy Spirit of God enters our body and make it His temple (1 Cor. 6:19-
20).
1. He Convicts unbelievers of sin, righteousness and judgment: John 16:8-11.
2. He Regenerates or causes us to become believers: John 3:1-8; Titus 3:5, I Peter
1:23-25; James 1:18.
3. He Baptizes the believer: I Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9; John 14:16; I
Corinthians 12:13.
4. He Seals us: Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30.
5. He imparts gifts: I Corinthians 12:7-11.
6. He fills the believer: Ephesians 5:15-21; Galatians 5:16.
7. He causes us to bear fruit: Galatians 5:22-23.
8. His Spirit was given to the apostles in a special way so that the things of God
might be made known, divinely inspired and recorded as a part of the Bible.
a. The apostles have been given the Spirit in this unique way so they will know
the things freely given to us by God and they can communicate them to us.
b. The Spirit oversaw this process by combining spiritual thoughts (the depths
of God, verse 10) with spiritual words (the words of Holy Scripture).
c. By this, the New Testament were written by the Apostles and they can claim
that their words or writings were from God. To reject the apostles and their
teaching as the wisdom of God is to reject God, for they are the only ones
through whom God has chosen to reveal Himself.
G. The Spirit teaches (v. 13). Jesus promised that the Spirit would teach us (John 14:26)
and guide us into truth (John 16:13). But we must note carefully the sequence here:
The Spirit taught Paul from the Word, and Paul then taught the believers. The truth
of God is found in the Word of God. And it is very important to note that these
spiritual truths are given in specific words. In the Bible, we have much more than
inspired thoughts; we have inspired words. “For I have given unto them the words
which Thou gavest me (John 17:8).
H. Now that you know the works of the Holy Spirit, do you see His importance to us now?
Illustration 1: Illustration 1: You Can’t Do It!
An old man once said, that it took him forty years to learn three simple things. The first was that he
could not do anything to save himself; the second was that God did not expect him to; and the third
was, that Christ had done it all, and all he had to do was to accept the accomplished fact. When it
comes to Holy-Spirit filled living and the grace of God, always keep this little saying in your hearts
and minds:
You can’t.
God never said you could.
He can; He always said he would! Practical Bible Illustrations from Yesterday and Today.
Illustration 2: Our Guide
It has been said that when John Bunyan was in Bedford Jail, some of his prosecutors back in London
had heard rumors that he was often allowed to leave the prison; so, they sent an officer to Bedford
to discuss the matter with the jailer. This officer was to arrive at night. On this particular night,
Bunyan was at home with his family, but for some reason, he was so restless, that he told his wife
that, although the jailer had given him permission to stay till morning, something was telling him he
should go back to the jail immediately. He did so, and the jailer, uninformed of the impending arrival
of the London officer, was slightly perturbed by Bunyan’s coming at such an unreasonable hour. But
early in the morning the messenger came, and interrogated the jailer, asking, “Are all the prisoners
here?” “Yes,” said the jailer. “Is John Bunyan here?” “Yes.” “Let me see him.” He was called, and
appeared, and all was well. After the messenger was gone, the jailer said to Bunyan, “Well, you may
go in and out any time you think is proper, for you know when to return better than I can tell you.”
Practical Bible Illustrations from Yesterday and Today.
II. Natural man and Spiritual man (1 Cor. 2:14-16)
A. The natural man is the person without Christ. He is the person who does not have
the Spirit of God in him so he cannot understand spiritual things. He is an unsaved
person and unless the Holy Spirit works in his heart convicting him, he will not be
able to understand and receive the Gospel message.
1. Spiritual truths are foolishness to him and he rejects the Bible. Before I got
saved, the Bible is just an ordinary book I cannot understand. After I got saved
the Bible suddenly became an open book and I began to see and understand
spiritual things.
2. Not being able to evaluate spiritual things, natural man’s interest in life is only
earthy. He cares little for his soul. Not so with the spiritual man who looks up to
heaven as his final home and to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
3. Natural man even mocks Christianity. I use to laugh at people preaching on the
streets, giving tracts on buses and other public places. After I got saved, I
understand why the faithful Christians are doing it and I become one them,
doing the same thing to serve and glorify God.
B. They are spiritually discerned.” Through illumination of the Word, the Holy Spirit
provides His saints the capacity to discern divine truth (Ps. 119:18), which the
spiritually dead are unable to comprehend (Jn. 5:37-39). The doctrine of illumination
does not mean we know everything (Deut. 29:29), that we do not need teachers
(Eph. 4:11-12) or that understanding does not require hard work (2 Tim. 2:15)
C. Judged by no one (1 Cor. 2:15).
1. Unbelievers are able to recognize Christian’s faults and shortcomings, but they
are not able to evaluate their true nature as spiritual people who have been
transformed into children of God (1 Jn. 3:2)
D. The Mind of Christ
1. Quoted from Isa. 40:13. Believers are allowed by the Word and the Spirit to
know the thoughts of their Lord (Lk. 24:45) that is the revealed will of Christ.
Illustration 3: The Holy Spirit as Teacher
A young woman who was soundly converted immediately began to read her Bible. One who
disbelieved the Scriptures and took delight in ridiculing them asked her, “Why do you spend so much
time reading a book like that?” “Because it’s the Word of God,” replied the girl. “Nonsense! Who told
you that?” scornfully asked the unbeliever. After a moment’s silence the girl asked, “Who told you
there’s a sun in the sky?” “Nobody,” replied the scoffer; “I don’t need anybody to tell me. The sun
tells me.” “Yes,” said the girl in triumph, “and that’s the way God tells me about His Word. I feel His
warmth and sense His presence as I read His wonderful word!” Illustrations of Bible Truths.
III. Conclusion:
By the Holy Spirit, we will be able to know the “deep things of God”, something we can
never do with our human faculties. Through Him we can know more about Christ the
Lord. His works are wonderful regarding our salvation and through Him we have our
Bible which the natural man can never understand.
