1 Corinthians Part 2: What The Eye Has Not Seen...

In part 1 of the 1 Corinthians study, Paul made his introductions in his epistle, and then proceeded to lay out for
the Corinthians that the Lord uses the "foolish things of the world" for His purposes. By using what we consider
"foolish", God demonstrates His power and shows that it is His will alone that makes things that we consider
[I]impossible[/I] possible. Now as we continue in part 2, Paul builds upon what he has already said in the first
chapter:

[I]"And when I came to you, brethren, [B]I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom,[/B]
proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For [U]I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified[/U].[B] I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and
my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, [U]but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power[/U],
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, [U]but on the power of God[/U].[/B]"[/I] (1 Corinthians
2:1-5, NASB, emphasis mine)

Here, we get a glimpse into the heart of a man who is human and loves the Lord. We can tend at times to see the
people in scriptures as "larger than life", and they [I]almost[/I] seem beyond us. But in reading this, we discover
two things: 1) that Paul was no "super-saint", but a human being who loved the Lord; and 2) rather than relying
on his own innate abilities, Paul leaned on the Lord. Paul could get frightened, feel sad, angry, happy, rejoice,
grieve and hurt just like the rest of us. Coming to the believers in Corinth, he didn't burst onto the scene in
bravado, but spoke humbly, according to the message he had been given. He wasn't grandiose nor was he a
gifted orator (by his own admission), but was speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit. All he knew was the
Lord and that Jesus our Lord was crucified. That was the message he carried to the Corinthians, and that same
message he carried everywhere he traveled for the rest of his life.

Paul then elaborates on what he is speaking of:

[I]"Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; [B]a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the
rulers of this age[/B], who are passing away; [B]but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom
which God predestined before the ages to our glory[/B]; 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,[B] “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.”[/B][/I] (1 Corinthians 2:6-8, NASB, emphasis mine)

God's wisdom is not a wisdom that can be learned by the natural man without any help from above: the Lord
has to reveal it to man, just as man had no knowledge of God until the Lord revealed it to him through His
Word. “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" is
often quoted as meaning that God has prepared things for us in heaven that we won't know until we get there,
but reading it in context, I think it is best understood that what the natural man cannot learn through his senses,
God has prepared for those that trust in Him and believe on Jesus Christ. Things are revealed to those that
believe through the Holy Spirit that otherwise would not be available to the unsaved.
Now, let me add a word of caution for that last statement: this doesn't necessarily mean that we will be running
around telling folks about impending disasters or things that have not been mentioned in scripture (asteroids
slamming into the earth, "planet X", the 2012 Mayan calendar and whatnot). What I do mean is that in our walk,
the Lord does speak to us through scripture, and in reading it, the Holy Spirit will allow us to understand its
meaning and reveal to us what the Lord is trying to say to us in its' pages. Conversely, it is possible for someone
to know a lot about scripture and still be unsaved, because they know the [I]words[/I] and not the [I]meaning[/I]
they convey.

This is the difference between [I]head[/I] knowledge and [I]heart[/I] knowledge; if one doesn't know the Lord in
their hearts, all the mental assent to Jesus being the Lord and our need of salvation doesn't mean [I]a thing[/I].

Paul's next words confirm this:

[I]"[B]For to us God revealed them through the Spirit[/B]; for the Spirit searches all things, [B]even the depths
of God[/B]. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man [B]except the spirit of the man which is in
him[/B]? Even so [B]the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God[/B].[B] 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.[/B]"[/I] (1 Corinthians 2:10-13, NASB, emphasis
mine)

Without the Spirit, man cannot know the things of God; but with the Holy Spirit, the heart knows what the mind
cannot grasp. This is what it means to have one's eyes opened to the Lord: we do not see with out physical eyes,
nor do we understand with our mortal minds. But we do see with and understand with our hearts, and it is in our
hearts that the Holy Spirit resides:

[I]"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; [B]and he
cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things,[/B]
yet he himself is appraised by no one. [B]For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE
WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.[/B]" [/I]( 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, NASB, emphasis
mine)

The Lord (through Paul) illustrates here the difference between the "natural man" and the one who trusts in
Him: the natural man considers the things of God "foolish", because he bases them on [I]his[/I] knowledge,
[I]his[/I] perceptions, and the false belief that his alone is the only objective viewpoint. Therefore, if it makes no
sense to him, no matter how flawed his perceptions and point of view are, then what he views as "foolish" must
be so. However, the one who is spiritual and trusts in the Lord has the Holy Spirit, and so through Him is
revealed the wisdom in the Word of God. Our perceptions are no longer that of the natural man, but in trusting
the Lord, we also trust His objectivity and the clarity with which He perceives things. This clarifies why the
preaching of the cross appears foolish to the world, but to us is the power of God; we see it for what it truly is,
but the "natural man" cannot, and through his flawed perceptions, sees it as stupidity.

This is also why the "rulers of this world" crucified the Lord: they perceived Jesus Christ as only a man and not
as He truly is. They relied on earthly wisdom and did not understand God's wisdom, so they determined in their
own hearts, with their own flawed perspectives, what right and wrong is. And today, this still continues on in a
world that denies the preaching of the cross and the resurrection of the Lord; that makes it all the more
imperative that when we spread the message of the Cross, we do not do it in our [I]own[/I] power, but in the
power of the Spirit of God, and why when no one [I]seems[/I] to get the message, we do not become
discouraged.
It is a message that has to be understood by the [I]heart[/I], not the [I]mind[/I]. And it is why we must be
submitted to the Lord in all things; our "understanding" can get in the way of the Lord giving us much greater
understanding.

In part 3, we'll take a look at the foundation that all of us build upon: Jesus.

I bid you all peace.

YBIC,

-Robert