1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (Wisdom on Eternity)

1 Corinthians 2:9-10

It is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”-the things God has prepared for those who love Him-these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.

What does God have planned for us; for our eternity? Have you ever wondered about this; asked yourself what lies beyond the "veil" of this life? If you ever have, you're not alone. One of the wisest people who lived once remarked that God has "set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end," (Ecclesiastes 3:11). So if you're a living human (which you must be, if you are able to read this), then it's a God given guarantee that you are or have at some point in your life wondered about your eternity. You've asked. Would you like to know?

Answering this question takes wisdom from God, and Paul spoke about this kind of wisdom, when he wrote to the church in Corinth. What he said centuries ago is still relevant to us living today. He told the church that the wisdom they desired about eternity is the wisdom that he and other believers spoke. Paul said to the Corinthians, "We do speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began," (1 Corinthians 2:6-7). How magnificent for Paul to say that He can speak wisdom beyond that of the world; even beyond time itself? He, and other believers, can speak what was once a mystery, but is not a mystery anymore. 

We won't hear this wisdom about eternity from anyone in this age; not even from the greatest godless rulers, scholars or priests among us. Paul says, "None of the rulers of this age understood [this wisdom], for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," (1 Corinthians 2:8). Paul also sadly states that those who do not know God will not accept or even understand this wisdom, because it is foolishness to them (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Some people will look to someone like this for answers about eternity,
but believers should never consult with mediums or psychics (Isaiah 8:19)

So, how come so few people know this wisdom and why do certain people apparently have it? Paul answers this. He says, "as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived'- the things God has prepared for those who love him-these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit," (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). Note that Paul is quoting part of a prophecy from the book of Isaiah, (Isaiah 64:4). So what Paul is doing is acknowledging that ancient prophets (the ones in the Old Testament) claimed that they did not possess this wisdom of which Paul is speaking. Paul is saying he has wisdom not even the prophets had. More so Paul is saying that all living believers too have this wisdom, when he says, "these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit," (1 Corinthians 2:10). How is it possible that you and I, as believers, possess wisdom that not even the prophets had? It's possible, because of the Holy Spirit.

How does the Holy Spirit make this possible? Paul says, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?" (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). What Paul is saying is that a person knows what they are thinking, because both their mind and their soul dwell on their own thoughts. Now, since God and the Holy Spirit, though different persons, are both God, they share the same mind and soul (or spirit, if you will). So, if someone has been born again of the Spirit (John 3:3-6) then the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit is with them (John 14:20), and if the Holy Spirit, who has the mind of God, is with a believer, then that believer has the wisdom of God. Paul confirms this, as he continues to write, "No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us," (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). Paul states that the Holy Spirit has taught God's followers the wisdom they need about eternity (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Let us remember that the Holy Spirit is a person, someone with whom
we can have a relation, and in knowing this let us trust Him
as the great teacher who calls Scripture to our minds (John 14:26).

So, we as believers have wisdom about our eternity; wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit. So, what's this wisdom we got? In order to understand that we must first understand what the Holy Spirit does. Take a look at how Jesus describes what the Holy Spirit does, and what Charles Spurgeon calls "the Holy Spirit's chief office." Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, "He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you," (John 16:14-15). The Holy Spirit's primary purpose is to point people to Christ and to give believers the wisdom of Christ. The wisdom we have about eternity is wisdom we were taught by the Holy Spirit that has been given through Christ.

Here is the wisdom of Christ; the wisdom we understand by the power of the Holy Spirit: Christ teaches that on the day a human dies they are taken into one of two eternal places. Those who have repented of their sins and have been born again by the Holy Spirit are taken to Heaven; the kingdom of God that is a paradise (Luke 23:42-43). Those who have rejected Christ, have not repented of crucifying Him by their sins and who live according to the spirit of the world are sent to hell; a place of eternal fiery torment where bodies are forever eaten by worms and yet never die (Mark 9:47-48). This is the wisdom of Christ. This is what the Holy Spirit teaches about eternity.

The Bible is how God has chosen to reveal His wisdom to you,
so study it well that you may be called a worker approved by God (2 Timothy 2:15).

We, as believers, should be encouraged to speak this wisdom, especially to those in want of it. Those who are going to teach, though, should truly understand the last words Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. He says, "The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, 'Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ," (1 Corinthians 2:15-16). If you understand Christ's wisdom on eternity, then be encouraged to teach it knowing that you have the mind of Christ; you have access to the wisdom of God. Understand that those who teach the things of God will be judged more strictly by God (James 3:1), and that those who understand God's wisdom will have much more asked of them than those who do not (Luke 12:47-48). Be encouraged, though, knowing that the Lord has put His word in your mouth and He is protecting you with His hands (Isaiah 51:16).

Sources

• The Bible (New International Version)
• Charles Spurgeon: The Holy Spirit's Chief Office