But, as it is written,
1 Corinthians 2:9-10a (ESV)
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
Wisdom was highly valued in the Greek culture that permeated the city of Corinth and the church there. Wisdom is a good thing. But it can also be a problem. And based on the early part of this letter, that seemed to be true for the church at Corinth.
Wisdom generally has to do with the accumulation and application of knowledge. In particular, it involves the ability to figure things out. And this is a valuable trait to have. Until we try to apply it to spiritual things and our relationship with God. And when we do that, our human wisdom will lead us in the wrong direction.
But there is another source of wisdom. God’s Spirit reveals to us those things that are beyond the reach of human wisdom. Human wisdom depends on the external information we receive (what we see and hear) and the mental processing of that information (the imagination of our hearts).
But what God has prepared for those who love him is beyond human experience and our native ability to comprehend. Those things are only revealed to us through the Spirit. Left to our own wisdom, we will never understand.
Does that mean that, as believers, we should abandon human wisdom? I do not believe so. Human wisdom is still applicable to much of our life. And, when guided by the Spirit, it helps us to understand spiritual truths we would not otherwise be able to.
As a believer, I am not called to check my brain at the door. But I need to be careful that the Spirit guides all of my thoughts. And that is especially true when seeking to understand spiritual truths.
