Why the Wisdom of God is often Misunderstood, Part 2...

For over 2,000 years, people have looked at the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and have responded by saying “this makes no sense to me”. A man named Paul reveal a simple, yet timeless truth when it comes to why some people respond the way that they do when they encounter the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. And that timeless truth is that the wisdom of God is often misunderstood. In a section of a letter that was written to a church, we see the second of three reasons why the wisdom of God is often misunderstood:

"For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." 1 Corinthians 2:10-13

Paul reveals a second reason why the wisdom of God is misunderstood in that the wisdom of God is often misunderstood because of the absence of the Holy Spirit. In these verses, we see three ways in which the Holy Spirit enables followers of Jesus to understand the wisdom of God. First, the wisdom of God is made known by the Holy Spirit. God graciously chooses to make known the wisdom of the timeless truth of the message of the gospel by the Holy Spirit.

Second, the Holy Spirit carefully and thoroughly knows the deep truths about God. Paul explains that the reason that the Holy Spirit is able to make known the wisdom of God is because the Holy Spirit makes a careful and thorough effort in order to know the deep and profound truths of God. The Apostle uses an analogy to help us understand this timeless truth. He explains that just as only the spirit of the man can understand the deep and profound truths that lie deep in the core of their being, only the Holy Spirit can grasp the significance of the deep and profound truths of God and the message of the gospel.

And because of this reality, we see that the Holy Spirit enables us to grasp the significance of the wisdom of God. Paul is explaining to the church at Corinth that as followers of Jesus we do not receive the spirit of the world, which is hostile to God and sets itself up in opposition to God and His kingdom. Instead we receive the Holy Spirit, which enables us to grasp the significance of what God has graciously given us through His Son Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel.

The Holy Spirit combines the transcendent thoughts of the wisdom of God with the transcendent message of the gospel in a way that brings understanding of the timeless truth of God that has now been made known through Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who connects the timeless truth about the wisdom of God with the timeless message of the gospel so that we are able to understand and embrace our need for forgiveness and for the relationship with God that we were created for. Therefore, an absence of the Holy Spirit makes that connection impossible and results in a misunderstanding of the wisdom of God.

So are you thankful for the Holy Spirit's work in our lives that enable us to grasp the significance of the wisdom of God as seen in the message of the gospel? Do you recognize the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives as followers of Jesus?