Wisdom from the Spirit – 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

[Transcript]

Most people are familiar with the concept of age-appropriate content, which is why movies receive ratings. Rated R means children under 17 must be accompanied by a parent. Parents (hopefully) censor what they say around their younger kids to protect their innocence. We don’t speak about certain subjects with children who don’t understand how to process the content.

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.”– 1 Corinthians 2:6

Similarly, Paul seems to have practiced maturity-based content. He knew some matters were reserved for the mature, which would only confuse the immature. Starting in verse six, it’s as if he told the Corinthians how he’d like to speak, but then, in chapter three (3:1), he stated he couldn’t because they were immature.

I’ve seen this happen in my life and the lives of others. I was introduced to Calvinism around twenty-five years old. By then, I had been a believer for ten years but was only really interested in growth for the latter five years. I was still pretty green regarding theology but eager to learn. So I started investigating. It was a perfect storm of intellectually stimulating theology and youthful, unbridled zeal. I was consumed by it. My mind constantly linked things in the Bible to things I read about Calvinism. Because of this, it began showing up in discussions and teachings without effort. You might’ve accused me of being a Calvinist, and my response was that I’m just being Biblical!

I don’t want to exaggerate the case, but it’s as if instead of seeing Jesus in the Bible, was seeing TULIPS. I actually didn’t come to that realization until much later when I was reevaluating my spiritual life.

I wasn’t being Biblical. I was being immature. Without saying it, I was declaring, “I follow Calvin!”

At a practical level, it would be very difficult to figure out who can handle what, but broadly speaking, the theology we teach to teens will be of a different magnitude than what you’d hear discussed in a college course on the Pauline letters. So, Paul made this distinction: some things can only be handled by the mature.

“But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” – 1 Corinthians 2:7

Paul’s use of the words “secret” and “hidden” has caused some to make errors (which we’ll address at the end), but they really shouldn’t because he explains his meaning in the following verses.

Let’s address a couple of clarifying questions. First, who are the rulers of this age? In the Ephesian letter, Paul used the term archon to refer to Satan, the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). He also used it to describe rulers in government (Romans 13:3). It’s not clear which meaning is intended here. However, we can perhaps safely assert that both interpretations apply, considering that demonically influenced human rulers in government and religion crucified Jesus. Neither Satan, Pilate, nor the Jewish authorities understood that Christ’s crucifixion was part of the Lord’s plan.

The second question is somewhat answered by the first. What was the Lord’s secret and hidden wisdom? That Christ must be crucified to complete His work of redemption. For sin and death to be defeated, the perfect Lamb of God had to be slain. If Satan had known that his defeat was in Christ’s death, he would not have driven the earthly rulers to crucify Him. If the earthly rulers had understood that Jesus was the Messiah, they would never have crucified Him. It was hidden from both parties so that the Father’s plan could be accomplished.

“these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:10

I grew up hearing people speak of heaven using verse nine, essentially saying that it’s like nothing our eyes, ears, or hearts can imagine. While I’m sure that’s true, that’s not what Paul is trying to communicate. In fact, Paul was repurposing Isaiah 64:4, and that’s not even what Isaiah meant by it. Remember what we said in the first week about eisegesis? Using 1 Corinthians 2:9 to speak about heaven is eisegesis, not exegesis.

The frequent misuse of verse nine to discuss heaven likely indicates a misunderstanding of Paul’s message. What does he mean? Look at verse ten. “These things” refers to the hidden wisdom of the Lord. He repurposed Isaiah 64:4 to explain that no one could have known the Lord’s plan. One contention with Paul’s quotation is that it doesn’t actually read that way in Isaiah. This has been widely discussed, dating back to some of the earliest Christian authors. It’s either a paraphrase of Isaiah 64:4 or a combination of several verses that convey similar ideas. Regardless, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul stated, “as it is written,” so whether it’s a paraphrase or a combination, it’s from the Word.

Strange quotations aside, the point is this: although the plan was hidden from some, the Holy Spirit reveals “these things” to believers. The secret and hidden wisdom that no eye can see, no ear can hear, and no heart can imagine is disclosed to those who receive the Holy Spirit through salvation. How? Because the Spirit knows the depths of God and aids us in understanding as we mature in Christ!

“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.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14

Paul gave us one of the easiest rules of discernment in verse fourteen. I’ve been in discussions where there’s an issue at hand that has a clear Biblical answer, be it from the Sermon on the Mount, a Proverb, or one of Paul’s letters, and that answer is rejected by the professing believer across the table. Many times, it gets justified away with a bunch of “yeah, buts,” but one time, it was a simple “that’s not my Christianity.” Either way, these people were demonstrating a lack of basic understanding of how the Word of God instructs us to handle the situations at hand.

Is their lack of Biblical understanding over a simple matter because they are still lost and unable to discern truth spiritually? I suppose more questioning would be in order, but if I were to base my answer only on those interactions, I’d have to say they don’t know Jesus.

The Holy Spirit interprets spiritual truth for spiritual people (2:13), implying that even the youngest in the faith can understand foundational truths. When people do not understand spiritual truth, two possibilities exist: They have not matured enough or do not have the Spirit at all and cannot understand.

In the case of immaturity, understanding deeper spiritual truth often requires time and experience in the faith. We shouldn’t expect infants to walk before they crawl. In the other case, the person isn’t saved and lacks the Holy Spirit altogether. They are still their “natural” selves and will not understand until they are saved and receive the Spirit.

Believers are caught between the tension of responding to circumstances the way the natural person – the flesh – would or the way the Holy Spirit leads us as we grow in understanding the Word. This is the process of sanctification, where we put to death the desires of the flesh and walk with the Spirit. Therefore, in a sense, we become more responsible for our actions than the lost simply because the Holy Spirit helps us know better, giving us the mind of Christ (2:16).

Since Paul imparted secret and hidden wisdom from God, this is a great place to mention Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a movement that arose in the second century A.D., and its adherents believed salvation from the fallen physical world was achieved through obtaining secret knowledge, or gnosis.^[1] In some aspects, Gnostics sounded Christian and gained influence among believers, but the early church fathers condemned this as heresy.

Gnosticism still influences us today, but it has been rebranded. Movements in today’s church make similar claims to those of the Gnostics; however, they receive visions and dreams that provide special revelations, unlocking spiritual understanding and gifts. They use this knowledge to teach others to seek special revelations from the Lord so that they, too, can gain a deeper understanding. Beware of any movement that emphasizes such practices. They take legitimate experiences from Scripture—dreams and visions—and misuse them to construct false teachings that attract a following, creating haves and have-nots within the Kingdom.

However, to avoid Gnosticism, we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. The temptation is always to go too far. Since Gnostics value dreams, visions, and special knowledge, many reject all of it. But that’s like cutting off a hand when you only need to bandage your pinky finger. All we need to do is be discerning. Is it easier to just say to take your experiences elsewhere? Of course. Is it Biblical? Not in the least. Paul instructed the Thessalonians to test everything and hold fast to what is good (1 Thess. 5:21). Being dismissive is not the same as testing.