1 Corinthians 2:9, 10 - Things We Cant Imagine The Spirit Can Reveal To Us.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV) But as it is
written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have
entered into the heart of man The things which God
has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God
has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For
the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep
things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (AMP) But, on the
contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen
and ear has not heard and has not entered into
the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared
(made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who
hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly
obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits
He has bestowed]. 10 Yet to us God has unveiled
and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for
the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring
and examining everything, even sounding the
profound and bottomless things of God [the divine
counsels and things hidden and beyond man's
scrutiny].
INTRODUCTION
We cannot imagine all that God has in store
for us, both in this life and for eternity. He
will create a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah
65:17; Rev. 21:1), and we will live with him
forever. Until then, his Holy Spirit comforts and
guides us. Knowing the wonderful and eternal future
that awaits us gives us hope and courage to press
on in this life, to endure hardship, and to
avoid giving in to temptation. This world is not
all there is. The best is yet to come. [Life
Application SB]
The "deep things of God" refers to God's
unfathomable nature and his wonderful plan--Jesus' death
and resurrection--and to the promise of
salvation, revealed only to those who believe that what
God says is true. Those who believe in Christ's
death and resurrection and put their faith in him
will know all they need to know to be saved. This
knowledge, however, can't be grasped by even the wisest
people unless they accept God's message. All who
reject God's message are foolish, no matter how
wise the world thinks they are. [Life Application
SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Pleasures in Paradise
This is hard to believe, but pleasure is
not earths invention. God invented every
delight, and each delectable sensual experience. It
is natural to wonder whether or not in heaven
our cravings will be satisfied (earth is the
culprit that keeps itching, tickling, and teasing
our desires, all the while diminishing the
possibilities of fulfillment). Will the pleasures of
heaven really be that pleasurable? Consider this
unusual but excellent analogy by C.S. Lewis:
Our present outlook might be like that of
a small boy who, on being told that the sexual
act was the highest bodily pleasure, should
immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same
time. On receiving the answer "no," he might
regard absence of chocolates as the chief
characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him
that the reasons why lovers in their carnal
raptures don't bother about chocolates is that they
have something better to think of. The boy knows
chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that
excludes it. We are in the same position. We know the
sexual life; we do not know, except in glimpses,
the other thing which, in Heaven, will leave no
room for it. Hence where fullness awaits us we
anticipate [loss].
Earth has conditioned on us to think
heaven is a place of less, not more. But enraptured
in heaven's joy, we won't think about carnal
pleasures because we will have something better,
something far more pleasurable to consume us. The
delight I experience with my husband Ken is merely a
hint, a whisper - a bite of chocolate - compared
to the resounding joy that, in heaven, will
sweep me a way in a deluge of ecstasy.
I praise you that every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down from you, the
Father of the heavenly lights. I believe what you
tell me: heaven will be Paradise. [Joni Eareckson
Tada Daily Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
COMMENTARY
God intends that even in this life the
truths of His word shall be ever unfolding to His
people. There is only one way in which this
knowledge can be obtained. We can attain to an
understanding of God's word only through the illumination
of that Spirit by which the word was given. {SC
109}
The Spirits goal is not to fill your mind
with information but to bring you to a deeper
level in your relationship with the Lord. He wants
you to understand the truth so you will fall in
love with Jesus. Then youll long to spend time
in the Word, thereby getting to know Him even
better. [In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles
Stanley at www.intouch.org]
Educating the Imagination. You need to
dwell upon the assurances of God's Word, to hold
them before the mind's eye. Point by point, day
by day, repeat the lessons there given, over
and over, until you learn the bearing and import
of them. We see a little today, and by
meditation and prayer, more tomorrow. And thus little
by little we take in the gracious promises
until we can almost comprehend their full
significance.
Oh, how much we lose by not educating the
imagination to dwell upon divine things, rather than
upon the earthly! We may give fullest scope to
the imagination, and yet, "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." Fresh wonders will be
revealed to the mind the more closely we apply it to
divine things. We lose much by not talking more of
Jesus and of heaven, the saints' inheritance. The
more we contemplate heavenly things, the more new
delights we shall see, and the more will our hearts
be brimful of thanks to our beneficent Creator
(Letter 4, 1885). {6BC 1085.3}
God knows all things. As creator of the
universe, He knows even the deepest mysteries it
contains. He knows every "why" and "how" of existence,
the answers to all those questions that nag us
about our purpose and destiny. His Spirit knows
every motive of the Father's heart and every
nuance of His relationship with us. He is a
guardian of deep secrets.
In Christ, many of those deep secrets are
unveiled - Paul wrote often of the "mystery" of the
gospel that was being revealed in his generation.
Yet Scripture implies that there are more
secrets to be known, and logic confirms it. An
infinite God must always know more than He has
revealed and always harbor thoughts that finite minds
cannot fathom. We don't know exactly how history
will unfold, for example, though God has revealed
its general direction and ultimate goal. We
don't know exactly how our lives will unfold
either, though God has given us a purpose and
continues to call us forward. There are Scripture
passages that we have not yet fully grasped, reasons
behind evil and suffering that we can't even
remotely understand, dynamics of human relationships
that we haven't sorted out yet. Although God has
unveiled many secrets, the details are often still
hidden.
But God's Spirit shows us His deep
secrets. The wisdom of the world can never grasp the
heart and mind of God, but He shares His counsel
with those who love Him. He wants to reveal His
nature and His plans to those whose hearts belong
to Him. He doesn't tell us to figure things out
or to rely on our own wisdom; He invites us
into His private counsel. When we are immersed in
His Spirit, we begin to understand things we
never understood before. We have sudden ideas that
we know are not our own. And we begin to walk
in directions we had never planned on. Why?
Because the deep secrets of God are unfolding in our
hearts.
Holy Spirit, work Your secrets into my
heart. Every day, show me more of You. [The One
Year Hearing His Voice Devotional by Chris
Tiegreen]
CLOSING THOUGHT
I love going to movies, and my family
always goes to the same theater, for a couple of
reasons. One is because the matinee is cheap. And the
other is because the chairs rock, and if no one's
in front of you, you can prop your feet up, and
just kick back and enjoy the show. It doesn't get
much better for under five bucks, right?
But then recently for my birthday, my
assistants gave me a gift card for a different movie
theater. Because they knew about my favorite place, I
asked why they'd chosen another one. "Trust us,"
they said. "The chairs in this theater are
unbelievable." I thanked them and thought, Wow, for twelve
bucks, they better be!
When we finally went there, the chairs
were leather and clean and big. They have a
little cup holder - I'm not making this up - that
is refrigerated. I also discovered a button on
the side that turned my dream chair into a
recliner. I looked over at Amy and said, "Wow, I had
no idea! If only this armrest wasn't between
us, we could snuggle and this would be
perfection."
My wife smiled at me, pushed a button
somewhere, and the armrest between us disappeared. I
thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Later I
wondered how often I underestimate what God has for
me. I'm satisfied with an old rocker, but he has
this huge recliner waiting for me!
Consider what God wants to give you that
you may be missing by holding on to what you
have.
Thank you, Lord, for being the source of
all good gifts. Expand my vision today, God, so
I can receive what you have for me. [Daily
Power by Craig Groeschel re Isa. 64:4 NLT]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
1 Corinthians 2:9, 10 - Things We Can't
Imagine That The Spirit Can Reveal To Us.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20130808-1659.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
