Divine Download

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the Spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”—1 Corinthians 2:10–12 (NKJV)

Quite often, you can get a grasp of what God’s Word is saying by simply observing the repetition of certain words. With this in mind, check out how many times the words “Spirit” and “spirit” show up in this passage. We see Paul using “Spirit” three times and “spirit” twice. There’s clearly a spiritual focus here! But this can also be confusing if we aren’t careful with how these words are used and the order they’re used in. So, let’s walk through this in an orderly fashion.

Paul starts by stating, “the Spirit searches all things, yes, even the deep things of God.” When “Spirit” is capitalized, it indicates that the person of the Holy Spirit is being referenced. He “searches” or, more literally, “examines or investigates” the deep things of God. Examination and investigation are for the purpose of making all that is knowable, known. And it’s the Holy Spirit’s role to reveal the depths of what God knows.

Nobody can do this except God’s Spirit, because only God can reach the depths of God. Something must be known by its own kind in order to be truly understood. Paul illustrates this principle by rhetorically asking, “What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man?” The word “spirit” here refers to that immaterial part of our being that exists alongside our body and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23). A human spirit is required to know human things. In other words, it takes one to know one. And it takes God’s Spirit to know God, as Paul goes on to write, “No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”

Now Paul points to something opposite of what he’s been describing, something those in Christ have not received: “the spirit of the world.” This “spirit of the world” doesn’t refer to a person like the Holy Spirit or even part of our person. Instead, this speaks of an immaterial attitude. It’s the disposition of “the world,” which is the part of creation that does not and will not submit to God’s authority. It lives by a different ethic and walks apart from God’s will.

That’s not what the follower of Christ is to be influenced by. Instead, we receive “the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” Again, this is the Holy Spirit, who makes the things of God known to us. An infinite gap exists between God and us. There’s no way we can ever cross that gap from our end. But the Holy Spirit bridges this distance to our spirit by revealing what God knows to us.

Amazing! God makes His mind known to us by His Spirit. When we’re without understanding or wisdom, without guidance or direction when we need it most, the Holy Spirit is there to give us a divine download!

Pause: What is the Holy Spirit’s function according to this passage?

Practice: Consider how you have experienced this operation of God’s Spirit in your own life.

Pray: Lord God, I confess that I’m in desperate need to know You more and more and for Your Spirit to be my tutor to this end. Please continue to reveal Yourself to me as I grow in my understanding by Your grace and through Your Holy Spirit. Amen.