Knowing His Thoughts

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

KNOWING HIS THOUGHTS

1 Cor 2:10-12

10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

NIV

We are not finished with this complete thought of Paul. However, there is something within these words that is enough for us to ponder on. Paul just said that he speaks words of wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time. God’s plan for us was before time, this glory, Jesus was destined to be our salvation before time. No man could understand that, except the person to whom the Spirit revealed this wisdom to. Here we see the Spirit searches all things. Some have seen this to mean the Spirit searches our heart, and knows our thoughts. That may very well be true in the sense that we have the Spirit dwelling within us. However, what is being said here is that the Spirit searches all the thoughts of God. Paul makes this comparison between us and God. No one in the entire world can know our thoughts, including Satan, except our own self. We are the only one who truly knows what we are thinking. There is not anyone who can perceive our thoughts. Now the Spirit is able, but not anyone else. In the same way, not a single person or spiritual being, such as angels or demons or Satan himself cannot know the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God. Now, if the Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God, and we have received the Spirit who is from God, what does that tell us? We can know the thoughts of God through the Spirit who dwells within us. What may hinder us from hearing and understanding the thoughts of God is that we may be wanting to listen to the spirit of the world too much. The truth is that this is not a both, and, situation. This is not a grey zone, as it is absolutely black and white, an either or, condition. We cannot have both the spirit of this world and the Spirit of God within us. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He sent the Spirit to us, to dwell within us. There are some who believe that has to be a second event, calling it the baptism of the Spirit. Some believe it happens at the same time of salvation. Either way, the fact remains that Jesus sent us the Spirit of God so that we would know the thoughts of God. Who are we that God would be mindful of us? We are his children, co-heirs with His Son, and as such He wants us to know His thoughts, He desires for us to know Him in the fullest sense. Consider how we started, walking in the cool of the day side by side with God, talking things over, totally intimate with each other. This is how the Spirit works in our lives, creating this total intimacy between the Father and us, so that we know His thoughts.