Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 2:6-10
The title of this message is “God’s Wisdom in a Mystery, Christ as the Deep Things of God.” The comma in the title indicates that Christ as the deep things of God stands in apposition to God’s wisdom in a mystery. God’s wisdom in a mystery is actually the all-inclusive Christ as the deep things of God.
Chapters one and two of 1 Corinthians are a very deep portion of the Word. Not many readers of the Bible understand these chapters properly and adequately. Paul’s word in 2:6-10 is especially deep. We should not take these verses or these chapters for granted. Furthermore, knowing these chapters is necessary for understanding the remainder of the book. The gateway to understanding 1 Corinthians is found in chapters one and two.
In 2:6 Paul says, “But we speak wisdom among those who are full-grown, yet a wisdom not of this age, neither of the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nought.” In the foregoing verses Paul says that he did not come with excellence of wisdom and that his speech was not in persuasive words of wisdom. But in verse 6 he says that he speaks wisdom among those who are full-grown. When Paul wrote this Epistle, he certainly realized that the believers at Corinth were far from full-grown. Why, then, does he say that he speaks wisdom among those who are full-grown? His purpose in doing this was to belittle the Corinthians. Here Paul seems to be saying, “You Corinthians think you have attained something great, but actually you are still babes. We do speak wisdom, but we speak wisdom among those who are full-grown. Furthermore, the wisdom we speak is not a wisdom of this age, neither of the rulers of this age. The common people do not have this wisdom, and those in the ruling class do not have it either. In fact, the rulers of this age are being brought to nothing.”
In verse 7 Paul continues, “But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages for our glory.” God’s wisdom is Christ (1:24), who is the hidden mystery (Col. 1:26-27), predestined, predesignated, and foreordained before the ages, in eternity, for our glory.
Glory in this verse refers to Christ, who is the Lord of glory (v. 8). Christ is our life today (Col. 3:4) and He will be our glory in the future (Col. 1:27). To this glory God has called us (1 Pet. 5:10), and into it He will bring us (Heb. 2:10). This is the goal of God’s salvation.
According to verse 7, God’s wisdom is in a mystery; it is a mysterious wisdom. Hence, God’s wisdom is not like Greek wisdom, which is open and very shallow. Furthermore, God’s wisdom is the wisdom which has been hidden and which God predestined before the ages for our glory. God’s wisdom is our destiny, and this destiny was determined by God, decided by Him, beforehand. In eternity God determined our destiny. He predestined His wisdom to be for our glory. This means that in eternity He decided that His wisdom would be our destiny and glory. Our destiny is not merely the enjoyment of eternal blessings in heaven. Rather, our destiny is God’s mysterious wisdom. God has predestined His mysterious wisdom to be our glory.
In verse 8 Paul continues his thought from verse 7: “Which not one of the rulers of this age has known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” In this verse the relative pronoun “which” refers to wisdom in verse 7; it does not refer to glory.
In verse 9 Paul goes on to say, “But even as it is written, Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not come up in man’s heart, how much God has prepared for those who love Him.” The sphere of what the eye can see is narrow; the sphere of what the ear can hear is broader; and the sphere of what the heart can realize is without limitation. God in His wisdom (that is, in Christ) has ordained and prepared for us many deep and hidden things, such as justification, sanctification, and glorification. All these the human eye has never seen, the human ear has never heard, and the human heart has never realized.
Verse 10 says, “For God has revealed them to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” As we shall see, the depths of God here refer to Christ as the deep things of God.
The more we consider 2:6-10, the more we realize that these verses are deep, profound, and difficult to understand. To understand them we need to consider the context of chapters one and two, chapters which give us a clear view of Christ as God’s center and our portion. In these chapters Paul emphasizes the fact that Christ is God’s center and our portion. God has an economy which He desires to fulfill. This economy is His will, His purpose. The focal point of God’s economy is Christ. As the One who is the power of God and the wisdom of God in His economy, Christ is God’s unique center. God has called us into the fellowship, the participation, the mutuality, of this center. As a result, Christ as the unique center becomes the portion for our enjoyment. This is indicated by the phrase “theirs and ours” in 1:2.
The central thought of 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 is expressed by the words center and portion. According to these chapters, Paul regards Christ as God’s center and our portion. This means that God’s center has been given to us as our portion for our enjoyment.
First Corinthians 1:30 says, “But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, Who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Here we see that Christ has become wisdom to us from God. As such, He is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. These terms are a further definition of what Christ is to us as our portion. Not only is Christ our righteousness for the past, our sanctification for the present, and our redemption for the future, but even in our daily life He is righteousness, sanctification, and redemption to us. This is what Christ is as our portion for our enjoyment.
If we have this understanding of the central thought of chapters one and two, we are prepared to consider 2:6-10. As God’s center and our portion for our enjoyment, Christ is God’s wisdom in a mystery. The wisdom in 2:7 is deep and profound. It is a wisdom beyond human understanding, for it is a mysterious wisdom, wisdom in a mystery. Within God there is something which Paul describes as wisdom in a mystery. This is Christ, the center of God’s economy and the portion for our enjoyment. Few ministers today preach Christ as God’s wisdom in a mystery. The majority of today’s Christians do not know Him as this mysterious wisdom. By the Lord’s mercy we are endeavoring to minister Christ and testify Him as such a wisdom in a mystery. It is helpful even to have the expression “wisdom in a mystery” in our Christian vocabulary. Praise the Lord that we see that this Christ is God’s center and our portion!
In verse 7 Paul says that this wisdom has been hidden and predestined before the ages for our glory. A destiny is a person’s final, ultimate portion. As Christians we have a destiny, and this destiny is the ultimate and consummate portion of our enjoyment. God’s wisdom in a mystery has not only been hidden, but also predestined by God to become our destiny for our glory. Glory is our destiny, our destination. In eternity we all shall be in glory.
The believers at Corinth, being Greeks, regarded themselves as philosophical and full of wisdom. But to God their wisdom was not wisdom at all; it was foolishness. Real wisdom is the wisdom which has been hidden in God. The wisdom of human philosophy is not true wisdom.
As a person born and raised in China, I became familiar with the classical writings of Confucius. Apparently these writings are full of wisdom. Actually, in the sight of God, they are foolishness. I eventually came to pity the Chinese who were learned in the ethical philosophy of Confucius. This philosophy veiled them and kept them from seeing God, Christ, the Spirit, and God’s salvation. Because they were veiled by philosophy, these ethical Chinese could not see these wonderful realities. No doubt, the principle is the same with Greek philosophy. This philosophy was a thick veil covering the Greeks. Even those at Corinth who had believed in the Lord and received Him were still veiled by their philosophy and wisdom.
Philosophy makes people foolish because it causes them to reject God and deny Christ. What could be more foolish than this? It is the philosophical people who deny God and Christ. Therefore, in the eyes of God, their philosophical wisdom is nothing but foolishness. When I was in China, I earnestly desired that the learned Chinese could turn from their philosophy and see God and Christ.
According to Paul’s understanding in chapters one and two, real wisdom is the mysterious wisdom hidden in God. As we have pointed out, this wisdom is Christ Himself. God has made this mysterious, hidden wisdom to be our destiny. This means that God has determined that the mysterious and hidden Christ become our destiny. Do you know what your destiny is as a Christian? Your destiny is the mysterious and hidden Christ, the One who is the wisdom of God, the center of God’s economy and our portion. Have you ever heard that Christ is your destiny? We all know that Christ is our Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Master, and even our life. But probably you have never realized that Christ is your destiny. Nevertheless, this marvelous fact is revealed in 2:7. Here Paul says that there is a wisdom, a mysterious, hidden wisdom, a wisdom hidden in God, which is Christ Himself. Furthermore, God has predestined this wisdom for our glory. This surely indicates that God has made Christ to be our destiny. Praise Him that He is not only our Savior, Lord, and life — He is also our destiny! This destiny will eventually lead us into glory.
Although it is correct to say that glory is Christ, we need to remember that glory is God expressed. To say that glory is Christ actually means that Christ is God expressed. The expression of God, Christ, is our destiny. What a destiny we have! This destiny will bring us into glory, a glory which is the very expression of God. If we see this, we shall want to bow down before the Lord, worship Him, and offer our thanks and praise to Him.
In verse 9 Paul says, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not come up in man’s heart, how much God has prepared for those who love Him.” To realize and participate in the deep and hidden things God has ordained and prepared for us requires us not only to believe in Him, but also to love Him. To fear God, to worship God, and to believe in God, that is, to receive God, are all inadequate; to love Him is the indispensable requirement. To love God means to set our entire being — spirit, soul, and body, with the heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30) — absolutely on Him, that is, to let our entire being be occupied by Him and lost in Him, so that He becomes everything to us and we are one with Him practically in our daily life. In this way we have the closest and most intimate fellowship with God. It is thus we are able to enter into His heart and apprehend all its secrets (Psa. 73:25; 25:14). Thus, we not only realize, but also experience, enjoy, and fully participate in these deep and hidden things of God.
In verse 6 Paul says that the wisdom we speak is not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age. In themselves, human beings are not capable of knowing this wisdom. It must be revealed through the Spirit. Therefore, in verse 10 Paul says, “For God has revealed them to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” God reveals the deep and hidden things to us through the Spirit, for these things have not been seen by man’s eyes, heard by man’s ears, nor have they come up in man’s heart. This means that man has no idea concerning them, no thought of them. They are altogether mysterious, hidden in God, and beyond human understanding. But God has revealed them to us through the Spirit, who searches all things, even the depths of God.
To have something revealed to us is different from being taught about that thing. To teach is related to our mind; to reveal, to our spirit. To realize the deep and hidden things God has prepared for us, our spirit is more necessary than our mind. When our entire being becomes one with God through loving Him in intimate fellowship, He shows us, in our spirit through His Spirit, all the secrets of Christ as our portion. This is to reveal the hidden things planned by His wisdom concerning Christ, things which have never come up in man’s heart.
First Corinthians 2:10 says that the Spirit searches all things. The Greek word rendered searches includes active research and implies accurate knowledge not in discovering but in exploring. The Spirit of God explores the depths of God concerning Christ and shows them to us in our spirit for our realization and participation.
The depths of God refer to the deep things of God, which are Christ in many aspects as our eternal portion, foreordained, prepared, and given to us freely by God. These have never arisen in man’s heart, but are revealed to us in our spirit by God’s Spirit. Hence, we must be spiritual in order to partake of them. We must move and live in our spirit that we may enjoy Christ as everything to us.
Many of those who believe in God do not know the depths of God. They know God only in a superficial way. This is true of Jews, Moslems, and the majority of Christians. How many Christians today know God according to His depths? Many believers do not even have a proper realization of the matters which God regards as truly deep. Some think that to have biblical knowledge about the seven heads, the ten horns, and the seventy weeks is to know deep things. According to them, to understand such matters is to know the Bible in a deep way. Certain believers even think that speaking in tongues is something deep. Actually, tongues-speaking is a very shallow matter. It has nothing to do with the depths of God spoken of in verse 10.
If you wish to know the depths of God, the deep things of God, you need to know the books of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews, John, and Revelation. But not even these books, books which reveal deep and profound matters, tell us that Christ, the last Adam in the flesh, has become the life-giving Spirit. Only in 1 Corinthians do we have such a statement. Moreover, only in this book does Paul say, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (6:17). What things are deeper than these? What is deeper than the last Adam becoming the life-giving Spirit and our being joined to the Lord as one spirit? These things are unfathomable; they are immeasurably deep and profound.
To know God only as Creator is to know Him very superficially. Even medical students who study physiology may conclude that the human body must have had a Creator. Through their study they may come to know God and acknowledge Him as Creator. Others may know that God is sovereign and that He can provide everything we need. But not even this is the knowledge of the deep things of God.
If we would know the depths of God, we must know that through incarnation God one day became a man named Jesus. Through His crucifixion the Lord Jesus terminated the old creation and released the divine life that it may be imparted into all who believe in Him. Now, in resurrection, He is the life-giving Spirit who indwells our spirit and who has become one spirit with us. We have a mingled spirit within us, our regenerated human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit. This is a very deep matter. Unfortunately, few Christians know these deep things.
If we consider the context of the whole book of 1 Corinthians, we shall have the assurance to interpret the deep things of God in 2:10 as referring to the all-inclusive Christ who, as the life-giving Spirit, indwells our spirit. After accomplishing redemption, this Christ has become a life-giving Spirit. As such, He is so available to us that we can be joined to Him as one spirit. Nothing can be deeper than this. How sad that these depths are neglected by so many Christians today!
To know the depths of God is to know Christ in many aspects as our eternal portion. Christ is the center of God’s economy, the portion given to us by God for our enjoyment, and the mysterious wisdom hidden in God. God’s wisdom in a mystery is Christ as the deep things of God. I encourage you all to pray and fellowship concerning this and to seek a deeper understanding of the depths of God — Christ Himself as the mysterious and hidden wisdom, the focus of God’s economy, and the portion given to us by God for our enjoyment. Christ, the all-inclusive and extensive One, is truly the depths of God.
