The Wonder of God's Wisdom
The Wonder of God’s Wisdom
1 Corinthians 2:6-15
“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.”
In verse 9, we find a statement that is beyond our grasp. The New English translation captures the wonder of this verse when it writes, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” When we read these words, our minds immediately go to the wonders and joys of heaven and the abode that Christ promised to prepare for us in John 14:3. However, when we place the verse in context, we find a different perspective. Within these verses, Paul contrasts the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. Sin has corrupted all things, including our perspective of life and how we are to live. Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that sin and Satan have distorted our minds and our moral thoughts so that the things of God appear foolish to us. We are not only groping in the dark regarding our understanding of right and wrong, but we are also incapable of understanding (vs. 14). The message of Christ and the moral requirements of God seem foolish because they contradict what we think and believe. In a sin-marred world, right becomes wrong, and wrong becomes right.
Yet, even in our moral confusion, God gives us hope. When we embrace the gospel, we are not only given a new mind but also the Holy Spirit who comes to teach us all things freely given by God (verse 12). The Holy Spirit's role is crucial in our understanding of God's wisdom. Apart from His instruction, we cannot know God, but the Holy Spirit now gives us instruction and clarity. Verse 9 is not about the glories of heaven and streets of gold; it is about knowing and understanding God. What He gives us is the mind of Christ (verse 16). When we surrender to Christ and love Him, He blesses us with an intimate relationship and knowledge of God that elevates us to a level we could never understand. Instead of stumbling in darkness, unable to discern right from wrong or grasp how to live, we now have the mind of Christ that transforms our thoughts and enables us to see the world through God’s character and His redemptive plan.
Apart from Christ, we live confused and conflicted. We want to do what is right but do not even understand how to live. The choices we make bring unhappiness and discontentment. No matter what we do, in the end, we still feel a sense of emptiness and that our life lacks purpose and meaning. T.S. Eliot wrote, "And they write innumerable books; being too vain and distracted for silence; seeking everyone after his own elevation, and dodging his emptiness.” The more we pursue pleasure and happiness, the more elusive they become because we lack the means to obtain what brings genuine happiness and even the ability to know what contentment really is. Amid our despair, God promises hope and perspective. When we love Him, He not only gives us the hope of eternity, He gives us a new understanding of life. He enables us to see the world no longer through the lens of the present with its ambiguities but with a focus on the future with its clarity and hope. What God has prepared for us is a completely new life and a new perspective of life. He gives us the mind of Christ.
If you're feeling lost in the complexities of life, the answer doesn't lie in the world's perspective; it comes through a life surrendered to Christ. The more we yield to him, the greater clarity we gain in life. Surrender your day to Christ and ask Him to give you his perspective, and you'll be amazed at how it changes your outlook and fills you with hope in a seemingly hopeless world.
1 Corinthians 2:6-15
“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.”
In verse 9, we find a statement that is beyond our grasp. The New English translation captures the wonder of this verse when it writes, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” When we read these words, our minds immediately go to the wonders and joys of heaven and the abode that Christ promised to prepare for us in John 14:3. However, when we place the verse in context, we find a different perspective. Within these verses, Paul contrasts the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. Sin has corrupted all things, including our perspective of life and how we are to live. Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that sin and Satan have distorted our minds and our moral thoughts so that the things of God appear foolish to us. We are not only groping in the dark regarding our understanding of right and wrong, but we are also incapable of understanding (vs. 14). The message of Christ and the moral requirements of God seem foolish because they contradict what we think and believe. In a sin-marred world, right becomes wrong, and wrong becomes right.
Yet, even in our moral confusion, God gives us hope. When we embrace the gospel, we are not only given a new mind but also the Holy Spirit who comes to teach us all things freely given by God (verse 12). The Holy Spirit's role is crucial in our understanding of God's wisdom. Apart from His instruction, we cannot know God, but the Holy Spirit now gives us instruction and clarity. Verse 9 is not about the glories of heaven and streets of gold; it is about knowing and understanding God. What He gives us is the mind of Christ (verse 16). When we surrender to Christ and love Him, He blesses us with an intimate relationship and knowledge of God that elevates us to a level we could never understand. Instead of stumbling in darkness, unable to discern right from wrong or grasp how to live, we now have the mind of Christ that transforms our thoughts and enables us to see the world through God’s character and His redemptive plan.
Apart from Christ, we live confused and conflicted. We want to do what is right but do not even understand how to live. The choices we make bring unhappiness and discontentment. No matter what we do, in the end, we still feel a sense of emptiness and that our life lacks purpose and meaning. T.S. Eliot wrote, "And they write innumerable books; being too vain and distracted for silence; seeking everyone after his own elevation, and dodging his emptiness.” The more we pursue pleasure and happiness, the more elusive they become because we lack the means to obtain what brings genuine happiness and even the ability to know what contentment really is. Amid our despair, God promises hope and perspective. When we love Him, He not only gives us the hope of eternity, He gives us a new understanding of life. He enables us to see the world no longer through the lens of the present with its ambiguities but with a focus on the future with its clarity and hope. What God has prepared for us is a completely new life and a new perspective of life. He gives us the mind of Christ.
If you're feeling lost in the complexities of life, the answer doesn't lie in the world's perspective; it comes through a life surrendered to Christ. The more we yield to him, the greater clarity we gain in life. Surrender your day to Christ and ask Him to give you his perspective, and you'll be amazed at how it changes your outlook and fills you with hope in a seemingly hopeless world.
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