“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.” 1 Corinthians 2:12
January 18, 2023
A flashlight can make a huge difference when trying to find your way around an unfamiliar place. The light helps. Likewise, we need the Holy Spirit of God to see our way around in the Bible. This is not to say that the Bible is a dark book. It is not. We need additional light to gain insight into the Scriptures. The problem is the effect of sin upon our minds. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is what is called illumination. When we become a new believer the lights begin to come on as we read and study the Scriptures. Paul is telling the Corinthian church that in order to grasp the wisdom of God in the gospel, the person of the Holy Spirit gives us understanding of biblical truth. We may not feel it, but it happens. This involves studying the words, following the grammar (e.g., subjects and verbs), examining the context, and determining what the readers need to know. Are you finding this to be true in your own experience of studying the Bible? Thank God for His Holy Spirit who gives us light so we can see how biblical truths fit together. See if you can explain the meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:12 to someone else. How wonderful it is to experience increased understanding of God’s Word, to gain stronger conviction of the truth of the Bible, and have it search out our hearts so that we can be doers of the Word.
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“Thank you, Father, for giving us the exact words in the Bible. Teach me how to meditate on what you want me to know about the wisdom of the gospel.”