· THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS IS ETERNALLY SIGNIFICANT (v. 6).
· THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS WAS ONCE HIDDEN FROM THE MIND OF MAN (v. 7a).
· THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS WAS DESTINED FOR OUR GLORY BEFORE TIME BEGAN (vv. 7b-8).
· THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS IS REVEALED TO MAN ONLY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (v. 10a).
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I. THE HOLY SPIRIT KNOWS THE MIND OF GOD (vv. 10b-11).
Whatever God knows, the Spirit knows. “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” The reason? The Holy Spirit is God.
The only person who knows what’s really going on inside your brain is you. (Right now I don’t know for sure what you’re thinking.) The only way I can know what’s on your mind is if you tell me. As the spirit of a man knows the mind of that man, the Spirit of God knows the mind of God.
“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
Paul is not saying that the Holy Spirit is in God like the human spirit is in a man.
The Holy Spirit becomes the link between God and humanity.
II. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US TO REVEAL THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS (v. 12).
“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
When a person becomes a Christian, he or she receives the Holy Spirit. When Paul says, “We have not received the spirit of the world,” he is not suggesting that there is a spirit of the world comparable to the Holy Spirit, nor is he referring to demonic spirits. He is rather saying something about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit whom we have received is not “of the world”; rather, He is “the Spirit who is from God.” The implication for the Corinthians is that since they have the Holy Spirit, who is not of this world, they should desist thinking like the world.
What a great God we have! Not only does He save us through the crucifixion of His one and only Son, but He sends us His Spirit to enable us to understand what He has done.
The reason, in this context, for our having received the Spirit, namely, “that we may understand what God has freely given us.” “What God has freely given us” is the same as “what God has prepared for those who love him” (v. 9).
III. THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS MUST BE PROCLAIMED BY MEANS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (v. 13).
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”
Compare this verse with 1:17.
The Spirit is the key to everything:
· Preaching (vv. 4-5, 13),
· Conversion (vv. 4-5, 12),
· Comprehension of the gospel (vv. 6-13).
APPLICATION #1: Prayer is our most powerful weapon.
APPLICATION #2: Anger should never be a part of witnessing.
APPLICATION #3: Our salvation gives us no reason to boast in ourselves. Our only “contribution” to our salvation was the sin that made it necessary.
APPLICATION #4: We must praise God alone for our salvation. The Holy Spirit has “turned on the lights” for us so that we could see the wisdom of the cross. If the Holy Spirit didn’t “turn on the light,” we would still be in spiritual darkness.
