Michael-Grams: M-G 12.18.16 // Going into Theological Absurdity as a Believer, Part 4 of 7

If you recall in Part 3, God communicates His wisdom to man through revelation (1 Cor 2:9-11), inspiration (1 Cor 2:12-13), and illumination (1 Cor 2:14-16).

Revelation (1 Cor 2:9-11)

As we continue with our look at these verses on divine revelation, we come to v10,

“But God has revealed them [ referring to v7] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” [emphasis mine].

The “has revealed them to us” (1 Cor 2:10) has to do with the phrase, “the things” (1 Cor 2:9) which refer to “the wisdom of God in a mystery [a truth previously unknown is now made known, added], the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory” (1 Cor 2:7).

“Through His Spirit” means that whatever God knows, God the Holy Spirit knows as well. Since the Holy Spirit is God, He is omniscient or all-knowing, “the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God,” not ever learning! The Holy Spirit is all-knowing and comprehends the deep things of God. Contrast the finiteness of man in Rom 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” “The Spirit searches all … the deep things of God.” Consider that God is infinite, eternal, and omniscient….

We can infer from these verses that man had nothing to do with the revelation of God (except for writing it down under the guidance of the Holy Spirit during inspiration, 1 Cor 2:12-13). It was hidden from man (1 Cor 2:7), and God the Father revealed His wisdom to man “through His Spirit” (1 Cor 2:10), and that only the Spirit of God knows the things of God, “No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit” (1 Cor 2:11, NLT). “WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE MAY INSTRUCT HIM” (1 Cor 2:16)?

Whatever we know and understand of God is because of the Holy Spirit’s involvement with revelation (Deut 29:29), inspiration (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21), and illumination (Psa 119:18). The operation of revelation and inspiration ended when the Holy Spirit, working with the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos, completed the Apocalyptic book of Revelation (~ A.D. 94-96). Illumination is the only process that continues until the end of time. Unless the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding of the Word, there is no illumination apart from God. I know we want to take credit for intellectual prowess, but God gives that to man, and the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding as a believer when sin is not causing interference.

Think of it! The exclusive collection of the revelation of God is contained in Genesis to Malachi/Matthew to Revelation, 66 books, in toto. What was once in the mind of God in eternity past is now in our hands! It was beyond man’s wildest imagination to come up with any of its content. Man couldn’t beg, borrow, or steal from it because it was hidden from him (1 Cor 2:7, 8). Anything purported to be a new revelation from God is part of the lie (Lucifer is exaggerating).

Inspiration (1 Cor 2:12-13)

(1 Cor 2:12, NLT) And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

(1 Cor 2:13, NLT) When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths.

Here we see that the process of inspiration which involved the Holy Spirit turning the spiritual thoughts of God into spiritual words. Revelation/inspiration is the miraculous process that transpired over a period of 1500 years. It wasn’t because there was a lot to write about (there was, but contrast Jn 21:25; cf. Jn 20:30-31)! Also, we had ~400 years of silence between the Old Testament (Nehemiah, the last OT book written: ~424-400 B.C.) and the New (James first NT book written: A.D. 44-49).

Remember, our English Bible is laid out thematically, not chronologically; it makes sense to place Genesis (~1445-1405 B.C.) as the first book in the Bible, “In the beginning” (Gn 1:1) even though the book of Job is considered to be the oldest book based on internal evidence predating the writing of Genesis by Moses. It is believed to be post Babel and either before or during the time of Abraham (~2000 B.C). We will leave that debate with the Bible scholars.

The writings of individual books throughout those 15 centuries were determined by the Sovereignty of God as He progressively revealed more and more concerning who He is and the expressions of His will to man (2 Pet1:20-21). In 2 Tim 3:16 Paul is telling Timothy at the time of the writing of his epistle (~62-64 A.D), the phrase “All scripture” (2 Tim 3:16), technically speaking, refers to all of the 39 books comprising the Old Testament (Genesis to Malachi) and the 18 NT books already written while Paul was penning the epistle of Second Timothy. This would logically include any Scripture (Gk, graphē), including the second epistle to Timothy and eight to follow: 2 Peter; Hebrews; Jude; John; 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation.

There is absolutely no way we can know God’s thoughts apart from the Holy Spirit. The only way we can receive Him is through regeneration or being born again or from above (Jn 3:3). Did you pick up on Paul’s words, “we have received, not the spirit of the world” (1 Cor 2:12, NKJV). The spirit of the world cannot help us in understanding the thoughts of God, only the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:11).

We get that, but what we don’t get is when believers go to the world on things concerning the Bible and then go completely stupid by embracing its interpretation of Scripture, and get mad at others in church because they do not believe what the world is peddling, and they do! You may already know or have figured out what the real theological absurdity is, but I want to hold off just a little longer before “officially” providing the single greatest reason why it is a theological absurdity for any believer to go to the world for spiritual truth. There is no spiritual truth in the world, only spiritual trouble.

Both God the Father (2 Tim 3:16) and God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:10; 2 Pet 1:21) were involved in taking the thoughts of God and releasing them to divinely chosen holy men of God through a miraculous process called the “inspiration of God,” which literally means “God-breathed” or “God-exhaled” (Gk, theopneustos, occurring only in 2 Tim 3:16). The Holy Spirit superintended or guided the very words of God unerringly to man with divine precision. Inspiration is limited to the original manuscripts not to any translations, of course (cf. Prov 30:5; 1 Thes 2:13).

Unlike general revelation, special revelation is more specific, allowing God to reveal much more about Himself to man through the written word with objective, progressive, propositional truth. Because all of God’s attributes are infinite, eternal, and immutable, God in His infinite wisdom imposed a limitation on the revelation of Himself to man because man is finite, temporal, and malleable. In the words of Utley, “No human can comprehend that level of reality,” but Moses said that “those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut 29:29b; cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17; Rom 12:2).

Dr. Bob Utley said it well, “The Bible is not exhaustive truth, for no human can comprehend that level of reality, but it is trustworthy, adequate truth about God, about sin, about salvation, about godly living, and about eternity.”1

(1 Cor 2:13, NKJV) These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual [emphasis mine].

Incidentally, there is a gender question in verse 13 concerning the second word “spiritual” that lends itself to two possible interpretations. So, the phrase “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” could mean that the Holy Spirit taught the writers of Scripture by expressing or expounding spiritual things or truth with spiritual words (neuter gender). Some hold to “interpreting spiritual truths to spiritual men” (masculine gender). I prefer the neuter gender.

This passage in Corinthians is the strongest passage on verbal inspiration, meaning that every single word was given precisely by the Holy Spirit in the original manuscripts.

Illumination (1 Cor 2:14-16)

(1 Cor 2:14) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(1 Cor 2:15) But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

(1 Cor 2:16) For "WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE MAY INSTRUCT HIM?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Since there is no further revelation or inspiration taking place today. Some may question why is revelation limited to Genesis to Malachi / Matthew to Revelation. Wasn’t it man making that determination of canonization of what books were inspired? Who is to say that God didn't reveal more revelation outside the framework of the OT and NT? Cultic groups make that a common practice, but this gets into the sphere of the curse by adding to or subtracting from Holy Writ. This discussion is out of our scope here, but the same Holy Spirit that was involved with revelation and inspiration in communicating the wisdom of God to us is also involved in illuminating God’s wisdom to us right now.

I trust you are picking up on just how vital the role of the Holy Spirit is for us in understanding and applying the truth of God, and how worthless the world’s spin on Scripture really is. In Part 5 we will see the absurdity of going theologically haywire. <><

THOT: Computer law: garbage in garbage out. Spiritual law: garbage in garbage out.

Tender Moment: Never underestimate the adversary, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made” (Gn 3:1a). He will throw you a worldly treat, but it will invariably poison your mind about the truth.