1 Corinthians 2:11-12

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

True wisdom. I. IS FOUND IN CHRISTIANITY . Paul has been speaking slightingly of" wisdom." Might lead some to suppose that Christianity was unwise, or at all events a one-sided system; that it was a religion for the heart only, and unfriendly to the intellect. The apostle guards against this damaging supposition by claiming true wisdom for Christianity. What he has been decrying is the ineffective wisdom of the world. Christianity is for the whole man. When a man is in a right... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:9-14

The revelation of the things of God. It may be that we have here a free quotation of Isaiah 64:4 . But whether a quotation or not, it expresses a principle true in every age. The great "things of God" have ever been beyond the reach of the unaided powers of man. What are these "things which God hath prepared for them that love him"? To apply this expression, as is sometimes done, merely to the glories and joys of the heaven of the future, is to narrow its meaning. Those heavenly things,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

The gospel school. "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit," etc. Because man naturally craves for knowledge and deeply needs it, schools abound everywhere throughout the civilized world, especially here in England—schools of science, schools of philosophy, schools of art, etc.. But there is one school that transcends all—the gospel school. Three facts are suggested concerning this school. I. That here the student is INSTRUCTED IN THE SUBLIMEST REALITIES . "Deep... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

The Holy Spirit as the Revealer. In this section the apostle develops more fully the subject of revelation through the Spirit of God. The things prepared by God for them that love him have not been discovered by human wisdom, nor can they be apprehended by natural reason. As they come from God, they are made known to us by God through the operation of the revealing Spirit. I. THE COMPETENCE OF THE REVEALING SPIRIT . "For the Spirit searcheth all things," etc. He is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:11

The things of God none knoweth. Some manuscripts have not the same word ( οῖδεν ) as that rendered "knoweth" in the earlier clause, but "hath learnt" ( ἔγνωκεν ); comp. John 21:17 ; 2 Corinthians 5:16 . All that is meant is that our knowledge of God must always be relative, not absolute. It is not possible to measure the arm of God with the finger of man. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:12

The spirit of the world. The heathen world in its heathen aspect is regarded as under the power of the devil ( 2 Corinthians 4:4 ; Ephesians 6:11 , Ephesians 6:12 ). Freely given to us by God. The word "freely" is here involved in the verb ( χαρισθέντα ) "graciously bestowed." It is different from the phrase used in "Freely ye have received," which is gratuitously ( δωρεὰν , Matthew 10:8 ). All God's gifts are "without money and without price" (Is 55:1), and not "to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

Speech in the power of the Spirit. The personal references in St. Paul's Epistles are suitable to the epistolary style of correspondence, and necessary as the vindication of a man who was seriously attacked and slandered. Generally his allusions arc more or less directed to his claim as an apostle. Because this did not take precisely the same grounds as the claims of the earlier apostles, it was easy for his enemies to question and even deny his rights. St. Paul's chief argument is that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 2:11

For what man ... - The design of this is, to illustrate what he had just said by a reference to the way in which man acquires the knowledge of himself. The purpose is to show that the Spirit has an exact and thorough knowledge of the things of God; and this is done by the very striking thought that no man can know his own mind, his own plans and intentions, but himself - his own spirit. The essential idea is, that no man can know another; that his thoughts and designs can only be known by... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 2:12

Now we have received - We who are Christians; and especially we, the apostles. The following verse shows that he had himself and the other apostles chiefly in view; though it is true of all Christians that they have received, not the spirit of this world, but the spirit which is of God.Not the spirit of this world - Not the wisdom and knowledge which this world can give - not the learning and philosophy which were so much valued in Greece. The views of truth which we have, are not such as this... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 2:9-11

1 Corinthians 2:9-11. But This ignorance fulfils what is written concerning the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom; eye hath not seen, &c. No merely natural or unenlightened man hath either seen, heard, or known; the things which God hath prepared, saith the prophet, for them that love him “These words do not immediately respect the blessings of another world, but are spoken by the prophet of the gospel state, and the blessings then to be enjoyed by them that should love God,... read more

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