1 Corinthians 2:10

What kind of things then are these? That by what is esteemed to be the foolishness of preaching He shall overcome the world, and the nations shall be brought in, and there shall be reconciliation of God with men, and so great blessings shall come upon us! How then have we known? "Unto us," he saith, "God hath revealed them by His Spirit;" not by the wisdom which is without; for this like some dishonored handmaid hath not been permitted to enter in, and stoop down and look into the mysteries pertaining to the Lord. Seest thou how great is the difference between this wisdom and that? The things which angels knew not, these are what she hath taught us: but she that is without, hath done the contrary. Not only hath she failed to instruct, but she hindered and obstructed, and after the event sought to obscure His doings, making the Cross of none effect. Not then simply by our receiving the knowledge, does he describe the honor vouchsafed to us, nor by our receiving it with angels, but, what is more, by His Spirit conveying it to us. Then to show its greatness, he saith, If the Spirit which knoweth the secret things of God had not revealed them, we should not have learned them. Such an object of care was this whole subject to God, as to be among His secrets. […]

Someone might ask: if it has not entered the heart of man, then how did you learn of this? He answers: God revealed it to us by the Spirit, and not by human wisdom. For it was neither worthy nor able to see the mysteries …

"But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to …

The third fruit of wisdom consists in contemplating the supreme good which arises from a close consideration of the gifts of grace. For grace can be so great that a man living in it would be existing as it were in paradise. He would have …

In this passing over, however, if it is to be perfect, it is necessary that all intellectual operations be relinquished, and that the summit of affection be wholly transferred and transformed into God. This, however, is mystical and most secret, which no one knows unless …

Then when he says, But to us, he proves the above explanation of divine wisdom in relation to the faithful: first, he states his proposition; secondly, he proves it (v. 10b). He says, therefore: I have stated that none of the rulers of this world …

Here is a proof of the divine authority of the holy scriptures. Paul wrote what he taught: and what he taught was revealed of God by his Spirit, that Spirit that searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, and knows the things of God, as the spirit of a man that is in him knows the things of a man,

But God hath revealed them unto us,.... Should it be said, that since this wisdom is so hidden and mysterious, the doctrines of the Gospel are so unknown, so much out of the sight and understanding of men, how come any to be acquainted with them?

Spirit--The inspiration of thoughts (so far as truth essential to salvation is concerned) makes the Christian (1Co 3:16; 1Jo 2:20, 27); that of words, the PROPHET (2Sa 23:1, 2; 1Ki 13:1, 5), "by the word of the Lord" (1Co 2:13;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

HOW very frequently verses of Scripture are misquoted! Instead of turning to the Bible, to see how it is written, and saying, “How readest thou?” we quote from one another; and thus a passage of Scripture is handed down misquoted, by a king of tradition, from father to son, and passes as current among a great number of Christian persons. How very frequently at our prayer meetings do we hear our brethren describing heaven as a place of which we cannot conceive! They say, “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;” and there they stop, not seeing that the very marrow of the whole passage lies in this—“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” So that the joys of heaven (if this passage alludes to heaven, which, I take it, is not quite so clear as some would suppose), are, after all, not things of which we cannot conceive; for “God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” I have hinted that this passage is most commonly applied to heaven, and I shall myself also so apply it in some measure, this morning. But any one who reads the connexion will discover that the apostle is not talking about heaven at all. He is only speaking of this—that the wisdom of this world is not able to discover the things of God—that the merely carnal mind is not able to know the deep spiritual things of our most holy religion. He says, “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 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.

HOW very frequently verses of Scripture are misquoted! Instead of turning to the Bible, to see how it is written, and saying, “How readest thou?” we quote from one another; and thus a passage of Scripture is handed down misquoted, by a king of tradition, from father to son, and passes as current among a great number of Christian persons. How very frequently at our prayer meetings do we hear our brethren describing heaven as a place of which we cannot conceive!

But God hath revealed them - That is, those elevated views and enjoyments to which people everywhere else had been strangers, and which have been under all other forms of religion unknown, have been communicated to us by the revelation of God - This verse commences the “third” part of this chapter, in which the apostle shows how these truths, so full of wisdom had been communicated to Christians. It had not been by any native endowments of theirs; not by any strength of faculties, or powers. but solely by revelation from God.Unto us - That is, first to the apostles; secondly, to all Christians - to the church and the world through their inspired instructors; and third, to all Christians by the illuminating agency of the Spirit on their hearts. The connection shows that he did not mean to confine this declaration to the apostles merely, for his design was to show that all Christians had this knowledge of the true wisdom. It was true that this was revealed in an eminent manner to the apostles, and through their inspired preaching and writings; but it is also true, that the same truths are communicated by the agency of the same Spirit to all Christians; Joh 16:12-14. No truth is now communicated to Christians which was not revealed to and by the inspired writers; but the same truths are imparted by means of their writings, and by the illumination of the Spirit to all the true friends of God. By his Spirit - By the Holy Spirit, that was promised by the Saviour. Joh 14:26; Joh 15:26-27; Joh 16:7-14. […]