But as it is written, 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. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:9
In his letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul begins this second chapter reminding them that he did not have “excellency of speech or of wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:1). He goes on to say that he speaks the wisdom of God in a mystery. One that had been hidden and ordained by God. God had not revealed this mystery until He chose Paul to be a minister of the Word. God chose Paul to reveal this mystery that not even “the princes of this world knew” (1 Corinthians 2:8). And here is where today’s verse come in, Paul says … BUT as it is written…
Paul shares that this wisdom was not revealed by man, but by the Spirit. He shares that it is the Spirit which reveals to us, the believers, the things that are freely given to us by God. That Holy Spirit that indwells only the believer after they trust Christ, after they have heard the word of truth; the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:12-13).
So then, is it any wonder that an unsaved person can not understand the things of the Bible? He says that the “natural man” (this is a term used for the unsaved man) thinks the that Spiritual things are foolish (1 Corinthians 2:14) — he cannot understand these things because he does not have the Spirit to discern them for him. In contrast, Paul also shares that we (as believers,) are not supposed to be focusing on understanding the things of this world, but instead we should be spending time looking at Spiritual things and understanding them (1 Corinthians 2:13).
Isn’t it good to know that when the unbeliever says things and does things that are contrary to the Word of God that this is “natural”? Sometimes it is difficult to look at the world and wonder why it is what it is. The fact of the matter is that unsaved people are simply acting like unsaved people because they are not able to do it any other way! They are not Spiritually discerning. They cannot see it or hear it. This is natural.
When you are a believer you have the internal power of the Holy Spirit to discern spiritual things. When you find it difficult to discern spiritual things it is not because you “cannot” it is because you are “choosing not” to be spiritual. The only way you are going to see and hear what God wants you to know is to be daily in the Word. When you are spending too much time in the world and not in the Word, you will fall into old habits of the “natural man” — Paul calls this the “carnal” in the very next chapter of 1 Corinthians. A carnal Christian is one that has not spent enough time in the Word, so they are still like little babies (1 Corinthians 3).
Don’t ever forget that you are a new creature — call upon the Holy Spirit for help understanding; tap into the things that are given freely by God. By the power of the Holy Spirit you can see and hear all that God wants you to know and then you can share this good news with everyone around you!
