Telling About Christ and the Cross 1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man 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 the Spirit of God. Even in human affairs no one knows what a man is thinking but he himself. No one else can possibly find out unless the man himself chooses to make it known. Even then, in order to understand a man, a person must have the spirit of a man. An animal could not fully understand our thinking. So it is with God. The only one who can understand the things of God is the Spirit of God. **1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ** The we of verse 12 refers to the writers of the NT, although it is equally true of all the Bible writers. Since the apostles and prophets had received the Holy Spirit, He was able to share with them the deep truths of God. The apostles could never have received the divine truths of which Paul is speaking and which are preserved for us in the NT without God’s Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Having described the process of revelation by which the writers of Sacred Scripture received truth from God, Paul now goes on to describe the process of inspiration, by which that truth was communicated to us. Verse 13 is one of the strongest passages in the word of God on the subject of verbal inspiration. The Apostle Paul clearly states that in conveying these truths to us, the apostles did not use words of their own choosing or words dictated by man’s wisdom. Rather, they used the very words which the Holy Spirit taught them to use. And so we believe that the actual words of Scripture, as found in the original autographs, were the very words of God (and that the Bible in its present form is entirely trustworthy). A howl of objection arises at this point since to some people what we have said implies mechanical dictation, as if God did not allow the writers to use their own style. Yet we know that Paul’s writing style is quite different from Luke’s, for example. How, then, can we reconcile verbal inspiration with the obvious individual style of the writers? In some way which we do not understand, God gave the very words of Scripture, and yet He clothed those words with the individual style of the writers, letting their human personality be part of His perfect word. The expression comparing spiritual things with spiritual can be explained in several ways. It may mean (1) teaching spiritual truths with Spirit-given words; (2) communicating spiritual truths to spiritual men; or (3) comparing spiritual truths in one section of the Bible with those in another. Paul is saying that the process of inspiration involves the conveying of divine truth with words that are especially chosen for that purpose by the Holy Spirit. Thus we could paraphrase: “presenting spiritual truths in spiritual words.” It is sometimes objected that this passage cannot refer to inspiration because Paul says we speak, not “we write.” But it is not uncommon to find the verb “to speak” used of inspired writings. Some supporting scriptures..John 12:38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 2 Peter 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, :21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. This refers to the unconverted, who lack supernatural life and wisdom. Through illumination of the Word, the Holy Spirit provides His saints the capacity to discern divine truth…… Psalm 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. The spiritually dead are unable to comprehend …..John 5:37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. :38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. :39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. :40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. The doctrine of illumination does not mean we know everything or, that we do not need teachers……. Ephesians 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, :12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, :13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; :14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery. . . . Macdonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.