Deep Thoughts by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)| Keith Krell There is another clause that follows immediately in 2:15: “...yet he himself is appraised by no man.” This phrase has been terribly misunderstood by some Christians. Some have suggested that this verse teaches that the Christian should not be judged by anyone. Yet, later in this very letter Paul will command believers to judge the flagrantly disobedient in their midst (5:3-5), to evaluate those who claim to bring words from the Lord (14:29), and to examine themselves to see if they are behaving appropriately enough to take the Lord’s Supper (11:27-32). Here, therefore, he is thinking primarily of being unjustly evaluated by non-Christians (or by Christians employing worldly standards), who have no authority to criticize believers for their misbehavior, since they themselves do not accept the standards they employ in making their judgments.30 In reality, the natural world can’t figure us out. We are an enigma. They can’t understand why someone would volunteer for children’s ministry or youth ministry year after year, or give 10% of their income to the Lord’s work. They can’t appreciate why someone would want to talk about Jesus. Our lifestyle appears strange to the people of this world. We will hold convictions that other people don’t, based on a different set of absolutes. We will be kind and compassionate at times when others are cruel. We will be intolerant when other people are very tolerant. It’s all because we have insight into the mind of God.31 Paul closes out this section in 2:16 with these dramatic words: “For WHO HAS KNOWN32 THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” Here Paul quotes Isa 40:13 to remind us that we can’t know the mind of God apart from the Holy Spirit. For without the light of God’s Spirit, we’ll be in the dark. Fortunately, Paul writes that “we have the mind of Christ.” Going back to 1 Cor 1:10, Paul urges us to be of the same mind. This means to share the mind of Christ, which is focused on unity and community life (see John 17). In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul urged his readers to adopt the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5).33 He then spoke of the death of Christ.34 To have the mind of Christ is to participate in the pattern of the cross.35 God’s heart is that we put to death our selfish ambitions and humble ourselves before one another.36
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 16:02:07 +0000
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