1 Corinthians 2:9-11 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
In the book of the prophet Isaiah we find these words: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him (Isa 64:4).” As Paul has been writing about the inability of the wisdom of man to know the wisdom of God, he turns to the scripture to support what he has been telling the church at Corinth. Mankind (see Strong’s definition of the word rendered here as “man”) has not discovered with the natural eye the spiritual things of God. We have not heard with the natural ear the wisdom in the “foolishness” of preaching. Our carnal heart has not perceived the great love of God manifested in His kingdom here.
While our carnality has not perceived any of the riches of God, our natural inability has not prevented Him from making great preparation for those who He has called to wait upon Him in love and humility. The kingdom of heaven did not occur by accident or as the result of some sudden inspiration. His kingdom is the direct result of His forethought concerning us, not only for our eternal destiny, but also for our need of Him daily (Psa 40:5).
How wonderful it should be to us that God did not leave us in this blind, deaf, and unknowing condition! While we could not perceive His great preparation for us on our own, it has pleased Him to reveal these preparations unto us. Through His Spirit, God has shown us His wonderful mysteries of grace. He, by His own determinate counsel, has shown us the power and depth of a love that we could not otherwise comprehend. By the revelation of His wondrous love, we are taught to love Him (1Jn 4:19).
It is not possible for one of us to know the thoughts and ideas that abide in another man’s heart. We keep our own counsel, and the only way that we truly know what another is thinking or feeling is for them to share that with us. Even then, we have to take on faith that what they tell us or the actions they perform does not hide some other motive. If we cannot discern “the things of a man” how is that we could think to understand the things of God except He reveals them to us.
Unlike men, when God shows us, by His Spirit, the deep things that belong to Him we are assured of the truth of those things. While we take these things on faith, our faith in Him is an absolute thing. He truly reveals His purpose and plans for us and causes us to know that these things are real. We know this because He puts His Spirit within us so that we may truly see His handiwork.
May we proclaim with our lives His marvelous revelation in our lives through the work of His Spirit!