1 Coríntios 2

David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 Coríntios 2

Guzik commenting on 1Cor 2:9 adds that "Most people wrongly take the things which God has prepared for those who love Him to mean the things which are waiting for us in heaven (ED: Confession - I for one took it this way for many years because I had memorized it without ever stopping to closely examine the context! Woe! The lesson for me and all of us is to be very careful to examine the context when memorizing Scripture! See Memorizing His Word or Memory Verses by Topic). While it is true that we cannot comprehend the greatness of heaven, that isn’t what Paul means here, because 1Cor 2:10 tells us God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. This glorious thing is has been revealed by the gospel… Paul is communicating much the same message as Ephesians 3:1-7, where he writes about the mystery of the church, and how the church in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 3:5) Before the life and ministry of Jesus, God’s people had a vague understanding of the glory of His work and what it would do for His people. But they really didn’t - they couldn’t - fully understand it ahead of time." (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN - The question is to what does the word "things" refer? We have not seen Jesus or Heaven and so naturally these thoughts come into mind with this statement. But as the comments above state, if we let the context rule in interpretation (Keep Context King), Paul has been speaking about the wisdom of God demonstrated in the good news of the Cross of Christ. This was and still is a "mystery" to the unregenerate mind, because the eyes of their heart have not been opened by the Spirit to see this marvelous spiritual truth (cf 1 Cor 2:14+). Lowell

1 Coríntios 2

Guzik explains that "Paul argues from the Greek philosophic premise that like is known only by like. You can guess what your dog is thinking, but you really can’t know unless he was to tell you. Even so, we could guess what God is thinking, and about His wisdom, but we would never know unless He told us." (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) THOUGHT - A corollary thought is that we all potentially have secrets kept from others and known only to ourselves. This begs the question are our "secrets" sins against God, because secret sin on earth is open scandal in Heaven? Are we continually walking in the light as God Himself is in the light (1 Jn 1:6-7+)? Can we say with Paul that our conscience is clear (2 Ti 1:3+)? Do we understand the truth of Numbers 32:23+? Have we fallen into the subtle snare of letting sin deceive us (Heb 3:13+) Have we swept our sins under the rug (Pr 28:13+) or put them under the blood? (1 John 1:9+) Just asking and doing so as I look into the mirror at myself! The spirit of the man -

1 Coríntios 2

Guzik comments that "Since every believer has received… the Spirit Who is from God, every believer has the access to this spiritual wisdom. This does not mean every believer has equal spiritual wisdom. And it does not mean we will understand all spiritual mysteries. It does mean every believer can understand the basics of the Christian message, which is unattainable (and undesirable) by human wisdom. (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) Hodge - The Spirit which is of God, is the Holy Spirit as proceeding from him and sent by him as the instructor of men. To receive the Spirit is to be the subject of his influence. It, therefore, depends upon the context and on the nature of the influences spoken of, who are intended by those who receive the Spirit. Here the whole connection shows that the apostle is speaking of revelation and inspiration; and therefore must mean we apostles, (or Paul himself,) and not we Christians. That, i.e. in order that, we might know the things freely given to us of God, i.e. the things graciously revealed by God. This clause does not refer to inward spiritual blessings now enjoyed by believers, nor to the future blessedness of the saints, except so far as these are included in the general subject of Paul's preaching. The connection is with 1 Corinthians 2:10. ‘What human reason could not discover, God hath revealed to us apostles, in order that we might know what he has thus graciously communicated.' The subject is the wisdom of God, the gospel, as distinguished from the wisdom of the world. This is clear both from what precedes and from what follows. (1 Corinthians 2 - Hodge's Commentary) So that we may know the things freely given to us by God - As stated some favor WE/US as a reference to the apostles and thus this would be equivalent of inspiration. Others feel this freely given refers to all believers. I tend to favor the latter. Know (1492)(eido) is distinguished from ginosko (which is translated "understand" in 1Cor 2:14) because ginosko generally refers to knowledge obtained by experience or "experiential knowledge". Eido refers more to knowledge that is not so much that which is known by experience as by intuitive insight. In context, this spiritual understanding can only be given by the Holy Spirit. The point is that when the Holy Spirit opens the spiritual eyes of one's heart, they will be able to perceive and to know the great truths intuitively beyond a shadow of a doubt. The things freely given to us by God - The word "things" occurs 5x in 5v in the NAS (1Cor 2:10, 12, 13, 14, 15). Remember that some favor Paul is here speaking of himself and the other apostles. Others (Arnold, Pritchard) see this "US" as referring to the saints in general. If one assumes that the we/us is is a reference Paul and the apostles (NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH THIS INTERPRETATION) then what he is describing in essence is inspiration, which is the accurate transmission and recording of God's revealed truth. Tony Evans observes that “In revelation, God discloses His truth. Through inspiration, He sees that it is recorded for us. And by the illumination of His Spirit, He enables us to understand and apply it." While the truth of this passage can be applied to illumination the Spirit supplies when we open the Book (especially when we pray Ps 119:18 - See The Bible and Illumination), in the present context it speaks of the original word given by the Spirit to the writers of Scripture. Ray Pritchard - The Holy Spirit enables us to understand the message of the gospel. That’s verse 12. Note the phrase, “what God has freely given us.” That refers to all that Jesus Christ accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection from the dead. Because of the Holy Spirit, we can understand the true meaning of the cross. Apart from the Spirit, the message of the cross will be lost to us. That’s why some people can come to church, hear the gospel over and over again, and the truth washes over them like water off a duck’s back. They never “get it” even though they hear the message many times. A lost person may know the facts of the gospel—e.g., that Jesus Christ died and rose again. But it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to know why Jesus had to die, how our sins sent him to the cross, and what his death means to us personally. Apart from the Spirit, I may know the facts of the gospel, but I will never grasp their meaning for my life. What is the true difference between those who believe and those who don’t? According to this passage, the difference is God. The Holy Spirit came to us and revealed the truth to us, and if he had not come to us, we never would have found the truth on our own. To say that is not to deny the reality of the human will and the necessity of believing in Christ. It does not downplay the choice we all must make to “seek the Lord while he may be found.” We don’t have to choose between human initiative and God’s grace in salvation. Our text simply tells us that the first move belongs to God. Alford on the things freely given - The treasures of wisdom and of felicity which are the free gifts of the gospel dispensation, “the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." (1Cor 2:9+) Freely given (5483)(charizomai from charis = grace, undeserved merit or favor) means to give as a favor, to give gratuitously, generously, graciously and in kindness. To bestow as a gift of grace or out of grace, giving to those who don't deserve the gift. It is the same verb used elsewhere of forgiveness (Lk 7:42, 2Cor 2:7, 10, 13, Eph 4:32, Col 2:13, 3:13). God's revelation of truth and light was undeserved but was graciously bestowed on Paul the apostle, who in turn transmitted the truth to us in the Word. As John said “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven." (Jn 3:27) Paul himself testified "God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Col 1:27) Jesus Himself testified to the gratuitous nature of His gifts declaring “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." (Rev 21:6-note) Spurgeon's Morning and Evening devotional applies the principle of 1Cor 2:12 - Dear reader, have you received the spirit which is of God, wrought by the Holy Ghost in your soul? The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart may be clearly seen from this fact, that all which has been done by God the Father, and by God the Son, must be ineffectual to us, unless the Spirit shall reveal these things to our souls. What effect does the doctrine of election have upon any man until the Spirit of God enters into him? Election is a dead letter in my consciousness until the Spirit of God calls me out of darkness into marvelous light. Then through my calling, I see my election, and knowing myself to be called of God, I know myself to have been chosen in the eternal purpose. A covenant was made with the Lord Jesus Christ, by his Father; but what avails that covenant to us until the Holy Spirit brings us its blessings, and opens our hearts to receive them? There hang the blessings on the nail—Christ Jesus; but being short of stature, we cannot reach them; the Spirit of God takes them down and hands them to us, and thus they become actually ours. Covenant blessings in themselves are like the manna in the skies, far out of mortal reach, but the Spirit of God opens the windows of heaven and scatters the living bread around the camp of the spiritual Israel. Christ’s finished work is like wine stored in the wine-vat; through unbelief we can neither draw nor drink. The Holy Spirit dips our vessel into this precious wine, and then we drink; but without the Spirit we are as truly dead in sin as though the Father never had elected, and though the Son had never bought us with his blood. The Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary to our well-being. Let us walk lovingly towards him and tremble at the thought of grieving him. Oswald Chambers - Experience or revelation We have received … the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Cor. 2:12. Reality is Redemption, not my experience of Redemption; but Redemption has no meaning for me until it speaks the language of my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me right out of myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left with my experiences, my experiences have not been produced by Redemption. The proof that they are produced by Redemption is that I am led out of myself all the time; I no longer pay any attention to my experiences as the ground of Reality, but only to the Reality which produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source, Jesus Christ. If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source, and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience—‘I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him.’ Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is. (My Utmost for His Highest) Oswald Chambers applies the principle of 1Cor 2:12 - Experience or revelation - Reality is Redemption, not my experience of Redemption; but Redemption has no meaning for me until it speaks the language of my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me right out of myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left with my experiences, my experiences have not been produced by Redemption. The proof that they are produced by Redemption is that I am led out of myself all the time; I no longer pay any attention to my experiences as the ground of Reality, but only to the Reality which produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source, Jesus Christ. If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source, and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience—‘I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him.’ Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is. (My Utmost for His Highest) High-Tech Communication - Joe Stowell - When it comes to communication, our world is becoming increasingly high-tech. The popularity of things like Twitter and Facebook might cause some to think the Bible is too old-school. The tech-savvy people of our world might feel deterred because there are no sounds and no nifty graphics in the Bible. But the truth is, there’s more high-tech power in God’s Word than in any cutting-edge communication tool our world will ever know. It’s not uncommon for a pastor to be told, “When you said that in your message, it was just what I needed.” Somehow during the sermon, God spoke to the person’s heart with a message tailor-made for him or her. If you’ve ever read the Bible and sensed God speaking directly to you, you know what I’m talking about. God has hard-wired you with His Spirit, who illumines your mind to understand His Word. Imagine getting a “text message” directly from the Creator of the universe telling you exactly what you need at exactly the right time. No matter how high-tech this world gets, you’ll never experience a more powerful mode of communication! Give me the insight, Lord, As I hear Your Word today, So I will truly understand Your message and Your way. —Monroe The Bible may be old, but its truths are always new. Blurred Vision - Herbert Vander Lugt (Read: Exodus 32:1-20) We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God. —1 Corinthians 2:12 - Although I’m closer to 80 than 70, I still want to think of myself as “a modern man.” So I keep up with the news, read current books, and use up-to-date sources when I research a subject. But more important, I want to be thoroughly biblical and Christian in all my thoughts and actions. Because of this, some people who don’t like my convictions see me as being narrow-minded. One temptation we face as believers is to adapt our views to our culture so that we will not be seen as out of touch with the modern world. When we give in to this tendency, however, we find ourselves compromising what we know is right. We find ways to justify immoral behavior that society finds acceptable. We may say that we still believe in the Bible, but we reinterpret its clear meaning on moral and spiritual issues and try to make it say what we want it to say. Exodus 32 describes how the Israelites allowed their sinful desires to blur their spiritual vision. They wanted to be like their pagan neighbors, so they made an idol and had a sensual worship service. This angered both Moses and the Lord, and resulted in severe judgment. If I would win the plaudits of the world, Then I must lose the presence of my Lord; I cannot please the godless by my works And still enjoy the blessings of His Word. —Smith Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. 1 Corinthians 2:13 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. Note that several versions interpret the Greek differently than the NAS

1 Coríntios 2

Guzik - Christians combine spiritual things with spiritual words; they use words and concepts taught only by the Holy Spirit. Or, Paul may be speaking of the way only a spiritual man can receive spiritual things. “The passage therefore should be thus translated: Explaining spiritual things to spiritual persons.” (Clarke) (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) Tony Evans - When the Spirit takes “spiritual words,” the Word of God, and combines them with “spiritual thoughts,” a mind and a heart in tune with God, the result is divine illumination. When you combine a spiritually receptive mind with the Word, you have dynamite on your hands. That’s because “he who is spiritual appraises all things” (1Cor 2:15) since he has “the mind of Christ” (1Cor 2:16). This is the key to illumination. Having the mind of Christ is having your spiritual antenna pointed in the direction of the Holy Spirit’s signal. When you are properly attuned, you will understand more things and make more sense out of life than you ever thought possible. (What matters most: four absolute necessities in following Christ) Arnold - As an Apostle, Paul is claiming a Spirit-led utterance when he preached. When he declared the message of Christ and Him crucified, the words were taught him by the Holy Spirit. Paul was claiming inspiration for the things he preached. If the Holy Spirit could inspire Paul’s words in preaching, He most certainly could inspire the things he wrote. The Bible claims divine inspiration. Kenneth

1 Coríntios 2:10-16

Guzik commenting on 1Cor 2:9 adds that "Most people wrongly take the things which God has prepared for those who love Him to mean the things which are waiting for us in heaven (Ed confession - I for one took it this way because I had memorized it without ever stopping to closely examine the context! The lesson is be very careful to examine the context when memorizing Scripture! See Memorizing His Word or Memory Verses by Topic). While it is true that we cannot comprehend the greatness of heaven, that isn’t what Paul means here, because 1Cor 2:10 tells us God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. This glorious thing is has been revealed by the gospel… Paul is communicating much the same message as Ephesians 3:1-7, where he writes about the mystery of the church, and how the church in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 3:5) Before the life and ministry of Jesus, God’s people had a vague understanding of the glory of His work and what it would do for His people. But they really didn’t - they couldn’t - fully understand it ahead of time." (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) Expositor's Greek - The true reading, gar (for) (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:26), links this verse to the foregoing by way of illustration: “For to us (being of those that love Him) God revealed (them), through the Spirit”: cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Corinthians 8:3, 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 John 4:7; For (gar) - This is a term of explanation, which begs the question "What is Paul explaining?" (Note some manuscripts have the Greek conjunction "de" meaning "but" instead of "gar" translated "for" - Findlay comments "De is superficially easier; gar intrinsically better”) Paul is explaining how he (and by application all God's saints, all of whom are indwelt by the "Revealer," the "Teacher," the Spirit) could receive and understand God's "deep secrets" ("things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard" in 1Cor 2:9) and it is only by God's Spirit, Who Alone can reveal God's words. A T

1 Coríntios 2:10-16

Guzik explains that "Paul argues from the Greek philosophic premise that like is known only by like. You can guess what your dog is thinking, but you really can’t know unless he was to tell you. Even so, we could guess what God is thinking, and about His wisdom, but we would never know unless He told us." (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) For (gar) - There are 5 "for's" or terms of explanation in 1Cor 2:10-16, providing ample opportunity to practice interrogating this strategic preposition. I have taught this principle to a number of believers and they have repeatedly testified that it has literally changed the way they read God's Word. Why? Because there are so many occurrences of for from Genesis to Revelation (over 9000! Most but not all represent terms of explanation) and the Spirit is always ready and willing to lead us into all truth as we take time to meditate (also see Primer on Biblical Meditation) on His inspired Word (Do you believe Psalm 1:2-3- see exposition)! Before you read on, what is Paul explaining? Expositor's explains that "The gar (“for”) here points to an illustration that will show that the spiritual wisdom and truths of God can be understood only through the Holy Spirit, just as human wisdom needs the human spirit to understand it. The conclusion is that only the Holy Spirit can reveal God’s wisdom and truth to man." David

1 Coríntios 2:10-16

Guzik - Too many Christians still think like natural men, refusing to spiritually discern things. When our only concern is for “what works” or the “bottom line,” we are not spiritually discerning, and we are thinking like the natural man, even though we might be saved. (1 Corinthians 2 Commentary) Chuck Smith explains the characteristics of the natural man - You try to talk to him about spiritual things and you may as well be talking to a Barbie Doll.. There is absolutely no comprehension. Sometimes they will listen patiently if they are cultured, and others will just get angry and scream at you. Why can he not understand? They are spiritually discerned. So he lacks the faculties by which they are known and understood, (i.e. the spiritual nature). You might say with equal logic, the blind man cannot appreciate the beauty of a sunset. The deaf man cannot know the glories of the symphony. They lack the faculties by which these things are known. (Chuck Smith Sermon Notes) Vance Havner - The natural man can never be educated into apprehension of divine truth. In fact, the more wisdom of this world he accumulates, the more confirmed he is in error and the more moronic the Gospel appears. There is no hope in the supposition that a postgraduate course in secular knowledge will make it easier to see the things of the Spirit of God. It will only compound pride of intellect and harden resistance to the truth. Never forget that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men, which makes its believers fools in the eyes of men. Old Adam cannot be educated into a Christian. (All the Days) Vance Havner - You might as well try to describe a sunset to a blind man, play music for a deaf man, talk to a dead man, as to discuss the deep things of God with an unconverted sinner. "… the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God … " (1 Cor. 2:14). We might as well try to catch sunbeams with a fishhook or talk nuclear physics with a monument in a city park. The most erudite Ph.D. cannot take it in any better than a hillbilly; it is casting pearls before swine. As far as spiritual realities are concerned, a man who has not been born again is blind and can't see, deaf and can't hear, dead and can't feel. (Van Havner Notebook - Quotations) Vance Havner - Discerning the Truth - We cannot believe that all these confederates of Ahab mean to be quislings. The most charitable thing we can say is that they have no vision and cannot see through the fog. They lack discernment, and discernment is just about the scarcest commodity in the church today. Yet the Scriptures give it high priority. To begin with, we read: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). This simply means that the sons of Adam, no matter how high their intellectual and moral qualifications, cannot comprehend spiritual truth. One might as well describe a sunset to a blind man or music to a deaf man as to talk about the deep things of God to a man who has never been born again. What the man needs is sight, and spiritual sight comes only through the miracle of the new birth. It is so difficult for us pompous Americans, so proud of our learning, to believe that the most common day laborer may apprehend divine truth while the literati may utterly miss it. The latter may be brilliant at discerning good poetry or chemical solutions; he may be able to solve problems in big business or locate bugs in engineering—but such ability is of absolutely no value in comprehending the things of God. We cannot understand the Scriptures or gospel truth in any form without spiritual discernment. A keen mind and theological training are useful tools when they are sanctified but the Holy Spirit is our teacher and He who inspired the Bible is the best interpreter of it. How many times have we heard a humble preacher with a limited library preach nuggets of truth and gospel gems while some scholar missed the truth completely? Now if the little preacher had the scholar's library and the scholar had the little preacher's discernment, we'd really be in business! Blessed is the preacher who has both! Discernment is as important in hearing the truth as in preaching it. How we hear means as much as what we hear. Some dear souls listen for years to sound preaching and then, when a new preacher comes along preaching error, they listen with equal satisfaction. So long as the minister makes nice references to Jesus, these listeners know no difference. They have no discernment. There is a preparation for the sermon as well as a preparation of the sermon. We are told to lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls. Everybody expects the preacher to be ready to preach but who thinks of the congregation's responsibility to be ready to listen? (Playing Marbles with Diamonds-And Other Messages for America-Sermons) Tone Deaf - Robert