PODCAST
A New Way Of Knowing
September 19th, 2017
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
A friend recently showed me his new smartphone. After describing its many features he said, “Now, someone needs to show me how to use it!” For Paul, the ministry of the Holy Spirit enables believers to understand the wonders God has accomplished for them through “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Clearly, “human wisdom” cannot comprehend what “God has freely given to us” because these gifts are “spiritually discerned” (v. 14). He concluded his thought by declaring that the ministry of the Holy Spirit gives to us “the mind of Christ” (v. 16).
Paul reminded believers that the proclamation of Christ crucified would sound like foolishness to those who were living according to the “wisdom of this age” (v. 6). He knew that other Christian preachers and teachers did not accept what the Spirit had taught him about what God had accomplished through Jesus Christ. Therefore, he urged the Corinthians to listen to the Spirit of God.
The apostolic gospel cannot be properly understood as the story of God’s reconciliation in Christ apart from the cross.
Author: Robert W. Smith
