Carson: how we understand

Wednesday, November 11, 2015
    Feast of Martin, Monk, Bishop of Tours, 397
Meditation:
    None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
    —1 Corinthians 2:8-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    There has not only been an objective, public act of divine self-disclosure in the crucifixion of God’s own Son, but there must also be a private work of God, by his Spirit, in the mind and heart of the individual. That is what distinguishes the believer from the unbeliever, the “mature” from the people of this age and the rulers of this age. If we “see” the truth of the gospel, therefore, it has nothing to do with our brilliance or insight; it has to do with the Spirit of God. If we should express unqualified gratitude to God for the gift of his Son, we should express no less gratitude to God for the gift of the Spirit who enables us to grasp the gospel of his Son...
    Unless the Spirit enlightens us, God’s thoughts will remain deeply alien to us.
    ... D. A. Carson (b. 1946), The Cross and Christian Ministry: An Exposition of Passages from 1 Corinthians, Baker Book, 2004, p. 52,61 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 2:8-10,14; Matt. 11:25-27; 13:11; 16:17; Luke 10:21; Eph. 3:4-5; 1 Pet. 1:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we know You through Your Spirit. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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