Taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

“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, NASB95)

Yep. I know. I already jumped into this in the last post and could have easily included these verses. But, the richness of this truth is so absolutely incredible that its merits not one post, but hundreds and hundreds of them as we look into the Word of God in its entirety and discover how He has revealed Himself to us and are blessed by the understanding of those words by the very Spirit of God in us.

Looking to all of God’s creation, the depths of our hearts, and the infiniteness of our LORD, the Spirit has searched all of these things and made them known to us. This is an amazing gift we have been given by God that He would choose to reveal Himself to us so freely. Man has written lots of books. He has speculated into all sorts of areas. And, he has boasted in great knowledge and astounding discoveries. But all of these things pale in relation to what the Spirit knows and has revealed.

I am reminded again of the first verses of Psalm 139 where we read of just how intimately God knows us, and to think that the Spirit of God being fully God and knowing everything of God has revealed God to us. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psalm 139:1–6, NASB95) Then in verse 7 the psalmist added, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7, NASB95) We cannot flee from the view of Spirit and the Spirit cannot separate from the Father or the Son.

Between God and us is the Spirit of God. When we trusted in Christ and were saved we received from God the Spirit of God to be in us. What an inedible connection God has established with us!! Where once we were in darkness and connected with the spirit of the world as slaves to sin, now we have been given the true Light in Christ and the Spirit of God to enable us to see and treasure what the world cannot. With all of this comes the things that God freely gives us, just as we were so freely given our salvation in His Son. By grace we are saved and according to His continued gifts of grace we walk and grow.

We are no longer bound to the speculation and teaching of man who is limited in what he can know and discover in darkness. We have as our teacher the Spirit of God who has moved Men of God to record the Word of God. “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:21, NASB95) And, we have the Creator of light to shed light on all that we face in our lives. Oh, what an incredible gift we have in us. We hide the word of God in our hearts so that we can then think the thoughts of the Spirit working in us. “Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:12, NASB95)

Paul wrote, “but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” In the English Standard Version we read, “…interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” The words “combining” and “interpreting” come from the Greek word used, “synkrinontes” or “synkrinō.” This sounds very much like another word we use today—synchronize. When gears are put in motion it is important that each gear wheel is in sync or comes together smoothly with the other wheels. If the cogs do not match up then the whole machine can come to a stop or cause teeth to be busted off. This word has the meaning of bringing things or truths in line with each other or into a union.

This is what the Spirit does for us as the Spirit helps us to think in oneness with the wise words of God. Through this the wisdom of God is imparted to us such that we can walk according to the will of God. It is this wisdom that Paul wrote was imparted and which we are to impart to each other. It is the wisdom that comes from growing in understanding of God’s word such that we think wisely about how to walk in it. It is then that the word truly does become, “…a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path.” (Psalm 119:105, NASB95)