1 Corinthians 2

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

This is a continuation of the thought in the last chapter that the power of preaching is not in the speaker, but in the power of the Holy Spirit working through him.  Speaking is not only communication, but creation.  God spoke the universe into existence, and Christ himself is called the Word.  Human speech also has the power to build up, or to destroy; James spends a whole chapter about the power of the tongue (James 2).  Nonetheless, words devised by men, no matter how clever or eloquent, cannot create a new man, the new creation alluded to in 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Only the power of God can bring life to that which was dead (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5, and others), and that power is manifest in spirit-anointed preaching.

Only when we are weak can God's power really work through us.  If we're able to do things in our own strength, we have no need of the Spirit's power.  One of the great dangers for people who possess great natural talent and ability is spiritual pride, the idea that they have accomplished something on their own.  In Paul's case, an apparent physical infirmity, his thorn in the flesh, was a constant reminder of his weakness and God's strength (2 Corinthians 12:7).  Just as our salvation should not be based on human effort, and cannot be if it is genuine, so should our faith not be in men.  It is very common for great churches to be built around, and sustained by, great men of God.  Those who put their faith in the men rather than in the God they serve are doomed to disappointment or disillusionment, because a great leader will inevitably fall short of being God, or will ultimately leave or die.  That's not to say that leadership is not important in establishing a church; it is absolutely vital.  The problem comes when the pastor himself, willingly or not, becomes the focus for worship or adoration.  It is not accident that cults center around personalities; their leaders deliberately set themselves up as objects of worship.

"Perfect", as used in the King James version, means mature or complete.  The goal of Christian living is the ongoing process of becoming spiritually mature, a process sometimes called "sanctification".  Just as only a worldly scholar with sufficient training can understand an advanced discussion in his or her area of expertise, so only a mature Christian can understand the deeper things of God.  A small child can't grasp concepts of advance physics, and neither can a baby Christian lay hold on the true significance of the sacrificial system under the two covenants.  Much less, then, can those in the world, beyond some intellectual understanding, really understand the wisdom of God.  The mystery to which Paul refers, the truth of the Gospel, was written down in the Psalms and prophets for centuries before Christ appeared in the flesh, but none, even those who wrote down the words, really understood what it meant.  It was hidden in plain view, because no one had eyes to see.  The same is true now; the mystery of God's plan for man has been revealed for all to see, but only those who allow their eyes to be opened by the Holy Spirit really understand it.  I have often wondered that, if Satan knew what the death of Christ, and his promised resurrection really meant, he would have directed his minions to crucify the Lord of Glory.

 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

What a glorious promise!  It's not just that God has prepared such a glorious reward for us, we who serve him, but his Spirit reveals it to us.  For all of us who are his, he promises eternal life, but even beyond that, he promises crowns for our service to him (see, for example, Isaiah 62:3, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 1 Timothy 4:8).  As pointed out in the previous section, the revelation of the deep truths of God comes only from his Spirit.  No human being knows us like we know ourselves, and no one understands God but his own Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher; that's why we can read the same passage of Scripture dozens of times, or more, and see something new each time, because the Spirit is our instructor.  Somewhat like the layers of an onion, but without its physical limits, we always find something else underneath when we peel off a layer of understanding.  Spirit-directed Bible study doesn't just increase our knowledge, though; it provides the spiritual food, Christ's own flesh, without which our own spirits cannot thrive and grow.  It is a marvelous joy to read a passage of Scripture and see how it relates to another in a way we had never before seen, comparing one spiritual truth to another as Paul says.  The greatest sorrow for an unsaved sinner is never knowing the joy of eternal life, but only the eternal punishment of Hell.  Along the way, though, it is a great pity as well for the spiritually ignorant never to see the truths of God, hidden in his Word and revealed only by his Spirit.  Unfortunately, many born-again Christians are numbered among the ranks of the ignorant, because they choose not to take the time and effort needed to feed on the Word.  No man ever understood the truths of God more than Christ, who is himself both God and Truth.  What a true waste of our lives not to take advantage of the fact that his very mind, as Paul says, is in us.