Freely Given Series

•Believers see what the heavens conceal, and embrace this coming, this incarnation of wisdom by faith.

Paul's point is that the natural eyes, ears, and hearts of people cannot know or comprehend His wisdom. It is prepared only for those who love Him.

Neither externally nor internally, objectively nor subjectively, can humanity discover God. His external searching is empirical, experimental—represented by seeing and hearing. God’s truth is not savingly internalized by what can be observed by the eye or the ear, no matter how many sophisticated instruments we may use.

We are just as helpless in trying to discover His truth subjectively, through our minds (heart). Rationalism cannot reason out God’s truth. Humanity's two greatest human resources, empiricism and rationalism, human observation and reason, are equally useless in discovering divine truth. They will always, in fact, eventually turn people against divine truth. Ultimately they lead people to crucify Christ, first physically, then mentally and emotionally.

But God’s truth, God’s plan, God’s wisdom, is not hidden from His children. All that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Hymn: How did you learn of your sin? Wasn’t it from the Word of God? How did you find out that God is holy and your sinful nature caused you to stand justly condemned before him? Wasn’t it from the Word of God? How did you discover that this same God is a God of matchless grace and that he has made through his Son’s death on the cross a way for you to be forgiven of your sins? Wasn’t it through the Word of God?

William R. Newell captured all of this in his much-loved hymn, ‘At Calvary’: Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me he died On Calvary. By God’s Word at last my sin I learned; Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned, Till my guilty soul imploring turned To Calvary (Ellsworth, R. (1995). Strengthening Christ’s Church: The Message of 1 Corinthians (p. 50). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.).

True Wisdom, which is Freely given by God is:

2) Divinely Revealed (1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 [10]these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. [11]For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. [12]Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. [13]And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. [14]The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15]The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16]"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (ESV)