1 corinthians 2

Read 1 Corinthians 2 at Bible Gateway.

“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Cor 2:6-8

Paul is continuing his same discussion begun in chapter 1, how man cannot come to know God by man's wisdom. How man's religions seek to know God by man's wisdom, but God can only be known by the relationship that He establishes by His work and by His Spirit.

God is not against wisdom or knowledge. But what the world considers wisdom is not true wisdom, or God's wisdom.

A characteristic of man's religions is hidden knowledge, which can only be discovered as someone advances through levels. Paganism, wiccan, Mormonism, gnosticism, Masonry, and who knows what other religions have this in common.

With God, all the facts are up front, for God is the One who tells the end from the beginning (He says this seven times in Isaiah alone, i.e. Isa 46:10!). All the major doctrines of Christianity can be found in the first four to eleven chapters of Genesis, and all the prophecies of the entire Bible are hidden in plain sight in Torah (the Torah is in fact a book of history which is prophecy). But the things of God are spiritually discerned - they need the Spirit of God to reveal them so that they can be understood. The world does not have the Spirit.

This is how some things, which God has spoken up front from the beginning, have remained a mystery until the time that the Spirit reveals it. It is not the same as man's religions with hidden knowledge, which is not spoken up front and remains hidden to all but the elite. At the first coming of Messiah, the Spirit revealed the mystery of Messiah which had been in plain sight, being foretold from the beginning, but hidden in plain sight until the Spirit should make it known. God did this for a very specific reason - His enemy was seeking to stop the coming of the Promised Seed and the deliverance the Promised Seed would work. If it had not been hidden, the rulers of this age would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

There is another mystery which has been hidden until the second coming of Messiah, and that is the mystery surrounding His return and all that would happen at His return. (Notice the pattern: the mysteries have to do with Messiah's coming.) The mystery of the two witnesses is part of this, as their purpose is to prepare the way for Messiah's coming. God has also told the things concerning Messiah's return from the beginning, but again hidden it until the proper time for it to be revealed:

“Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?” And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” Dan 12:8-9

The reason these things have remained hidden is the same reason: God has an enemy who is trying to stop the coming of the Promised Seed! If everything were understood, then perhaps the rulers of this age would not do the things they must do in order for all prophecy to be fulfilled.

But as time gets closer and closer to the end, more and more of the mystery will be revealed - to those who are spiritual, for they are spiritually discerned!

Now the great thing with God, is there is no elite with Him! He does not respect persons, and anyone can be spiritual - it is entirely up to us! We are the ones who determine how far God goes with us, not Him. The more we bow the knee to His kingship, and allow His Spirit to overcome that which is natural (carnal), the farther He will take us!

“For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor 2:16

Paul has been talking about man's wisdom and man's knowledge and the wisdom and knowledge of the world. He continues the discussion on the world's wisdom and ways as opposed to God's wisdom and ways in the next chapter. But here in the center of the discourse he reveals to us that we have the mind of Messiah. What does that mean?

“Mind” is in Greek, Strong's G3563, nous, meaning the mind, the faculties of perceiving and understanding. This is the same word that we saw in Rom 12:2;

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

So far, it seems from Romans, that if a Christian is living conformed to this world (i.e., according to the world's wisdom), then his mind has not yet been renewed (so that he has the mind of Messiah?), for the evidence of a renewed mind is one whose life has been transformed.