Good morning. I have a casual friend who lives in Greece, and we talk on the phone once in a great while. He speaks very little English, and my Greek is of the ancient, “Koinai” variety. That means that my form of Greek is about 2,000 years old, from the time that scripture was written. Imagine having a conversation with William Shakespeare. Now imagine trying to speak to him with a form of English that Shakespeare would have considered too old to easily understand. Good luck with that conversation, right? But Nicolaus and I manage to communicate, although he does laugh at me regularly.
The apostle Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth, was explaining to them the difficulty in trying to instruct the unsaved in matters of the Spirit.
But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“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. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts 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 understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:7-14
For the first two weeks of their life after birth, puppies can’t see the world around them. But then, slow but sure, their eyes are opened, and they begin to see. We are like those puppies in a way. When a person is born-again into Christ, initially there is a kind of blindness. We find joy in the love of the Lord. We often rejoice in the happiness that comes from knowing that we are not alone but are a part of the Kingdom of God. We realize that we are a part of the Body of Christ, part of a new and loving family created in His image. But even with all of that, the newborn Christian needs to grow up in Christ before spiritual vision and understanding becomes more natural.
One must live in the Spirit for a while to begin to understand the truths of the Spirit. One must pray with the Spirit for a while in order to learn what it means to allow the Holy Spirit to carry our needs to the throne of God. Spiritual truths are not natural to this world.
When we share the joy of our faith in Christ, His Good News, we need to be patient. The person who is new to the realities of Christ Jesus is going to take some time before they begin to understand spiritual truths. In the passage quoted, Paul speaks of the glory of heaven that awaits us, but that those truths are too spiritual in nature for even the most mature Christian to fully comprehend this side of the spiritual realm:
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
But we do, through growing faith, learn to trust in God and we come to believe with certainty that what awaits us is glorious.
Please give some thought today to these facts: You are not a finished product in the Spirit. God is still working in you and your Spiritual understanding is taking time. Also, the people you are reaching out to in Christ, those with whom you are sharing His Good News, cannot immediately understand spiritual truths. It will take time.
Be patient, with yourself as well as with others, and allow the Spirit of God the time to do His work.
Vern