God’s Secret Wisdom
1 Corinthians 2:6-16

A major problem we have in the church is understanding just how different a Christian is in his thinking from the standard thinking of the culture around us. Our culture lives by one set of standards that are constantly changing. We are called to live by a different set of standards. But our standards are not simply an improved version of the world’s standards. Our standards are radically different. They are God’s standards.

We know that the Bible says that God’s ways are not our ways, but I wonder if we understand just how different they are? The church in Corinth needed to be reminded just what was the fundamental truth of Christianity. That is what Paul said that when he came to them he determined to focus only on Christ crucified. The Corinthians had made the mistake that we often make. After receiving Jesus Christ, they began to slowly walk away from that fundamental truth that transformed their lives. They began to seek more wisdom, or a different wisdom, or a new wisdom, or a deeper wisdom by which they could live their lives, not realizing that within the message of the Cross, we have all the wisdom we need.

Paul is not implying that there was no such thing as deep wisdom. He indicates right upfront that they did speak a message of wisdom among the mature. But it was not the wisdom that they were talking about in the church in Corinth. No, this was not the wisdom of this age nor was it the wisdom of the rulers of this age. In other words, this wisdom was not something they could learn from studying the works of contemporary philosophy, nor was it something they could get from listening to those in power. In fact, he points out that the wisdom of this age and of the rulers of this age is not sufficient. Those in power are coming to nothing. The wisdom of which he spoke was God’s secret wisdom.

Often, we fail to distinguish between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God. They’re quite different. Much of the wisdom of this world has an element of truth. But we must remember that we are talking about wisdom here, not information. We’re not simply talking about facts or data. We’re talking about the application of truth. That is wisdom. One can have a lot of information and still not have wisdom. Wisdom is knowing what to do with the information you have. Wisdom is knowing how to live your life so that it matters. Wisdom is knowing the way to God.

The world, in its wisdom, has miserably failed to solve the fundamental problems of humankind. War, hatred, poverty, racism, disease, and the like are still with us. We’re certainly technologically better off–– technology has provided us a lot of great gadgets to play with–– but we are still morally and socially as bankrupt as we ever were. We just pretend that we are more enlightened. Our human wisdom has proved insufficient. We still do not know what to do with the facts.

What we desperately need today is what the Corinthians needed to hear from Paul. We need to know God’s secret wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. In other words, it is both eternal and hidden. In all of our prideful learning, we have failed to discover this wisdom.

Paul goes on to say that none of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Jesus was rejected because we did not understand God. We did not understand God’s ways. We did not understand God’s wisdom. When God sent his Son Jesus, we rejected him because he did not tell us what we wanted to hear. He told us about a heavenly kingdom that was worth giving up your earthly existence to possess. And he told us we needed to be radically changed into new people. He also made it clear that we could not do this in our own strength, that we needed the very power of God to transform us. But we liked living our own lives in our own way on our own terms. So we rejected him.

So, how do we receive this wisdom? As we have said, it is not something that can be gained by our own human intelligence and effort. He tells us that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Many people have interpreted this passage to mean that what awaits us in heaven is beyond our ability to comprehend. This is probably true. I’m sure that God has prepared for us an adventure that is beyond our ability to fathom. But this text also means that God’s ways are not to be discovered through what we see, hear, and contemplate.

He goes on to underscore this point by asking an important question. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? People may think they know what’s going on inside your head, but they really do not. Only you know what you’re truly thinking. In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. Only God knows his own mind, and if we are ever to know it, it must come by revelation from him.

And this is precisely how it does come! In verse 10 we read that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. We see here that this wisdom that is both eternal and hidden and cannot be known by our own investigation is divinely revealed by the Spirit of God. God chooses to reveal himself to us through the person and work of the Holy Spirit. 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.

Of course, the implication of this is that God reveals himself only to those who are following him. Only those people who have surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ receive his Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:9b NIV: And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.) When we come to Christ, we become partakers of the Holy Spirit of God–– he comes to dwell within us. Every Christian receives this gift. And it is the job of the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth. (John 16:13a NIV: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.) So we receive God’s wisdom by God’s Spirit.

There’s something else we need to see about how we receive this wisdom. We need to see that this wisdom is divinely revealed through words. The method that God has chosen to communicate his truth is words. It is not subjective experiences, although we certainly need to experience God personally. It is not through feelings or impressions that we understand God. It is through words. Notice verse 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. God has communicated to us in words. And we have these words gathered together in a single book. It is called the Bible. It is a book filled with spiritual words. And these spiritual words cannot be understood by human understanding alone. We need the illumination of the Holy Spirit in order to understand these words.

The Bible you hold in your hand is a divine gift to you. It is the very communication of God. And the Spirit that you have in your heart, as a Christian, will give you understanding and insight into the spiritual words you hold in your hand. But there is one caveat. You must read those words in order to understand them. God has given you that Bible to read. Unless you take the time–– make the time–– to read it and allow God’s Spirit to teach you, you will never gain the wisdom contained between its covers. The Spirit through words has divinely revealed God’s eternal and hidden wisdom. Read those words!

There’s one more thing we need to see. God’s eternal and hidden wisdom has been divinely revealed by the spirit through words to spirit controlled minds. Notice what it says in verses 14-16:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

If we are going to understand the wisdom of God, then we need to make sure his Spirit is controlling our minds. Even as Christians, we can allow our minds to be controlled by other things. Much like a radio, we need to be tuned into the right channel in order to receive the right information.

It has been my personal experience that whenever I allow things to interfere with my relationship with Christ I do not hear him clearly. This is why it is so vital that we not allow sin to control us. If we do, it will cloud our minds and hearts and keep us from seeing clearly. Jesus said,

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV)

This is a description of the result of regarding sin in our hearts. We will never be able to have moral clarity without a commitment to morality in our own hearts. We must make sure things that interfere with our relationship with God do not cloud our eyes. Otherwise, we will find ourselves on the wrong path without even realizing it.

We must commit ourselves to becoming spiritual men and women. It is the spiritual person to whom God will reveal his divine wisdom. Truth is spiritually discerned.

Jesus therefore answered them, and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself. (John 7:16-17 NASB)

God does not give discernment to those who were unwilling to do his will. Only as our hearts are committed to him, to seek him fully, will we know with clarity the leading of his Spirit. There is a moral dimension to truth.

And when you think of it, why should God reveal what he desires to people who are unwilling to obey him? We say, "God, I want to know what your will is for my life. Would you please reveal your will to me?" Then God replies, "If I reveal my will to you, are you willing to obey it?" We say, "I don’t know. First show me what it is and then I will make up my mind whether to obey." God says, "You first make up your mind, and if you’re willing to obey then I will reveal my will to you."

Are you willing to do his will? If you are, then God will speak clearly to you and show you what to do. If you are not, then you have a character problem you need to deal with. You will not hear clearly or see clearly until you do. The light in you will be darkness and you will find yourself constantly on the wrong path.

As Christians, we need to know the difference between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God. We will only be able to discern the difference, as we are willing to walk in his ways. This is why it is so important for us to heed the call to be holy. We cannot afford to trifle with sin. We must deal with sin in our lives the same way that Jesus dealt with sin on the Cross. We must kill it. That is the only solution. Remember, the Cross is a way of life for us. There must be a daily dying to self in order to receive a daily filling of his life.

God’s secret wisdom is reserved for us. It is divinely revealed by his Spirit through words to spirit controlled minds.

Copyright © 2002 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

Except for the use mentioned above, this data file may not be copied (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, or made available on the Internet without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.

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