The Spirit Searches b y Lehm an S tra u »»
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Corin thians 2:9-10).
T he expression “ as it is written,” is always used by Christ and the Apostles whenever they are cit ing one of the canonical Books of the Old Testament. It is asumed that here Paul is quoting Isaiah 64:4 which says, ‘ ‘For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, nei ther hath the eye seen, 0 God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.” The "things” of which Paul writes have been interpreted by some to be the glories of Heaven, the great un disclosed wonders of eternity which are unknown in this life. Now I do not so understand Paul’s state ment. The entire second chapter of First Corinthians is speaking about “ wisdom” and “ knowledge," things about the counsels of God which men know or do not know. These “ deep things of God” are never discover able by the human mind, but only through a super natural revelation by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle mentions three kinds of wisdom. They are “ the wisdom of men” (I Cor. 2:5), “ the wis dom of this world” (I Cor. 2:6) and “ the wisdom of God” (I Cor. 2:7). There is a wisdom which belongs to this world and which is attainable by the men of this world. But then there is “ the wisdom of God” which cannot be attained by men of this world. Man cannot know “ the things of God” except they be interpreted to him by the Spirit of God. An important word in our text is us — “ God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” None of the princes of this world know these “ things,” but God has revealed them unto “ us,” “ the church . . . to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (I Cor. 1:2). The Holy Spirit alone is capable of imparting this knowledge (2:11), and since the Spirit has been given to us (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19, 20), the revelation of spiritual truth is made known by Him to our human spirits (Rom. 8:16). The word "searcheth” in First Corinthians 2:10 does not so much as suggest the idea of inquiry for the purpose of gaining knowledge, nor does it ex press a process of investigating knowledge. The pas sage proves both the personality and deity of the 18
Holy Spirit. The fact that He searches ascribes in telligence to Him, and the fact that He searches “ all things" ascribes omniscience to Him. Both intelli gence and omniscience are essential attributes of deity. That He searches the deep things of God means simply that He penetrates their depths so as to throw light upon them. Those who receive the light are the sanctified ones in whom He dwells. W. E. Vine said, “ What is stressed here is the operation of the Spirit of God in the believer.” He is able to make known the thoughts of God to the children of God. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, our eyes can see, our hearts can hear and our hearts are able to compre hend the wonderful truths of God. But remember, one needs more than eyes, ears and a mind to un derstand God’s truth. He needs the Holy Spirit, with out whom he cannot understand the truth of God and of Christ. The mind of the most brilliant scientist in the world remains in spiritual darkness until he is born again of the Spirit of God. When Paul writes, “ The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God,” I take it that he is referring to truth about God, the knowledge and wis dom of God which is contained in the Bible. Jesus made a like statement about the Holy Spirit when He said, “ Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth . . . (John 16:13). “ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). These words of our Lord are clear. He attributes omniscience to the Spirit. Moreover, He states that the Spirit will exercise that omniscience in behalf of Christ’s own. The expression “ all things” certainly does not mean all things in the universe without qualification, else we would be omniscient like God. The Spirit would teach our Lord’s own all things nec essary for them to know for their spiritual well-being, spiritual truths pertaining to Christ and His Word. . . And bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Those who study THE KING’S BUSINESS
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