God created humans for fellowship with Him. He walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden until the fall. At that moment Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, and man and God were separated. The effect of this event was that all through the Old Testament (under the Old Covenant), the priests and prophets were intermediaries between God and people. The normal people certainly couldn’t know God’s thoughts, because of this separation.<\/p>\n
But God had a plan to restore us to Him all along! Lets see what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. <\/p>\n
\n1 Corinthians 2:6-9 (WEBBE): 6<\/sup>We speak wisdom, however, amongst those who are full grown, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world who are coming to nothing. 7<\/sup>But we speak God\u2019s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, 8<\/sup>which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn\u2019t have crucified the Lord of glory. 9<\/sup>But as it is written,
\n\u201cThings which an eye didn\u2019t see, and an ear didn\u2019t hear,
\nwhich didn\u2019t enter into the heart of man,
\nthese God has prepared for those who love him.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe scripture by Paul quoted in verse 9 is from Isaiah 64:4 – written by an Old Testament prophet. At that time, nobody knew yet the extent of what God was planning. Paul even says that if the rulers of Jesus’ time knew what the effect would be, they would never have crucified Him!<\/p>\n
\n1 Corinthians 2:10-12 (WEBBE): 10<\/sup>But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11<\/sup>For who amongst men 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 God\u2019s Spirit. 12<\/sup>But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Verse 10 starts with “but” – this indicates that whatever comes before will no longer stand true. Nobody knew before, “But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit”. Jesus went to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. and by that Spirit, we can know ever since that day, the full riches of God’s plan for us!<\/p>\n
\nLuke 7:28: \u201cFor I tell you, amongst those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptiser, yet he who is least in God\u2019s Kingdom is greater than he.\u201d<\/font>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These are in red letters – they are the words of Jesus! He was saying that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet up to that time, because He had the best message – that Jesus was coming and soon! That makes a lot of sense. But here is the part that can be difficult to grasp: the “least in God\u2019s Kingdom is greater than he”. The least of us in God’s Kingdom after Jesus restored us to relationship with God, is greater than John the Baptist because we have God IN US! By the Spirit that lives in us, we can know Him!<\/p>\n
The last part of 1 Corinthians 2 elaborates on this:<\/p>\n
\n1 Corinthians 2:13-16 (WEBBE): 13<\/sup>We also speak these things, not in words which man\u2019s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. 14<\/sup>Now the natural man doesn\u2019t receive the things of God\u2019s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he can\u2019t know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15<\/sup>But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one. 16<\/sup> \u201cFor who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?\u201d But we have Christ\u2019s mind.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Again a “but” here in verse 16 – not knowing the mind of the Lord was the old state of affairs from the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant, “we have Christ\u2019s mind”!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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