After learning about the problems Church members in Corinth were experiencing, Paul wrote to these members and exhorted them to eliminate contention and become united. He also explained that God calls the weak and humble to preach His gospel and that the things of God can only be known and understood through the Spirit.
Throughout 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, Paul places God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom in the sharpest antithesis. And he advises us Christians to focus on God’s ways instead of the ways of the world.
God’s Wisdom is Beyond Us
When Paul says, “As it is written,” this may not be a strict quotation from the Scriptures. In 1 Corinthians 2: 9 this is equivalent to saying, “To use the language of Scripture.” Paul is here paraphrasing Isaiah 64:4 to remind us that God’s wisdom and plan are past our finding out on our own.
Most people wrongly take the things “that God has for those who love Him” to mean the things which are waiting for us in heaven. (1 Corinthians 2:9) While it is true that we cannot comprehend the greatness of heaven, that isn’t what Paul means here, because 1 Corinthians 2:10 tells us God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. This glorious thing has been revealed by the gospel. 1
Focuses Attention on God’s Ways
Focus all your attention on God, His ways, His thoughts, and His desires because you know His design for you is better than your heart can even imagine. What He has prepared for you is greater than what your eyes see and your ears hear.
And what God has prepared is probably not to be limited to either present or future blessings; it is both.
God is not only greater than we are, He is different from what we are. He is the infinite one. That means there’s no end in God, no limitation. We get some idea of what this means when we think of the immensity of the universe which He made by a mere word.
While Jesus was walking the earth, the Pharisees had a body of unwritten laws (the oral Torah, instruction, or tradition of the elders) which prescribed his conduct in every situation. This kept him from contracting uncleanness.
“The believer has the Holy Spirit, who does the same thing. He gives guidance about how to act to avoid sin in every situation (Romans 8:6-9). For the same reason, the Spirit opens the Word of God to believers (1 Corinthians 2:9-16) often reminding them of what Jesus had said in the Word (John 14:26). This is how the Spirit helps in making the righteousness of the believer real, rather than just legal. This is an ongoing process and will last as long as the believer is on earth (1 Thessalonians 5:23).” 2
The discussion involves the absence of eating and sex in heaven, which begs the question: will there be any pleasure in heaven? We should understand that the experiences of heaven will far surpass anything experienced here (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). 3
In 1 Corinthians 2:9-13, Paul reminds the Corinthians that the source of knowledge, wisdom, and virtue is to be found not within themselves or in human philosophy but in the Spirit of God which is revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
______________Affiliate link – SHOP: _______________
_This ad is for my favorite version of The Bible _
_____but click on it to go to the whole store______
NASB Comfort Print Thinline Bible, Red Letter Edition–bonded leather, burgundy (click here)
By Zondervan
The beloved 1995 Edition of the New American Standard Bible is now easier to read with Zondervan’s exclusive NASB Comfort Print® typeface. This edition of the NASB Thinline Bibles is available in a variety of sophisticated designs in a portable, easy-to-read format.
- The full text of the New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition
- Exquisite, durable covers
- Less than one inch thick
- Double-column format
- Presentation page
- Two satin ribbon markers
- Words of Christ in red
- Exclusive Zondervan NASB Comfort Print 9 point type
Features:
____________________________________________
In conclusion, consider what the Daily Bread email message sent on 6/09/2023 says,
1 Corinthians 2:9 – but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has for those who love Him.” (NASB)
Paul Tells us to focus our attention on God’s ways.
We should not fret when others appear to be living in sin and concern ourselves with why they can do that but God prohibits us from living that way. God has prepared things for us believers that we may not have heard or known and the non-believers surely have not seen or heard.
You Can Receive The Daily Bread, for FREE.
To receive the Daily Bread email messages, free on Mon., Wed., and Fri., in your email inbox, just fill in the form below or send an email, and ask to be added, to jmikeh@jmhowington.com