Who has Known the Lord's Mind 1 Corinthians 2:16

When sharing about “spiritual things”, the apostle Paul told the Corinthian church members, “he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man”, and in chapter two and verse sixteen of First Corinthians, Paul asked “who has known the mind of the Lord” where we read:

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The verse begins, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?...” Paul began with the word, “For” which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore” “who has known” or “what person has come to know, learned, got a knowledge of, perceived, felt and understood” “the mind” which means “the intellectual faculty, capacity for spiritual truth, higher powers of the soul or the faculty of perceiving divine things and of recognizing goodness and hating evil” “of the Lord” or “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”, “that he may instruct” which means “to cause a person to unite with one in a conclusion or come to the same opinion, to prove or demonstrate” “him” which refers to “God Almighty”. Paul desired to know who among people “knew” God's “thoughts and mental capacities” so well they thought themselves great enough to give Him “instructions”.

The verse goes on to say, “But we have the mind of Christ.”. Paul continued with the word, “but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated “we have the mind” which means “Paul and his companion believers have the intellectual faculty comprising alike the perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging and determining” “of Christ” or “by the anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God”. Paul and his companions possessed “understanding” that was provided by Jesus Christ.

When we think through these words from Paul, we see how he desired for the Corinthians to know the difference between having the “natural” mind versus having “spiritual” “mind of Christ”. There was no way to understand “spiritual” things without having the “spiritual mind” of Christ, and by receiving Jesus Christ as their “Savior and Lord”, Paul and his companions knew what God had in mind. We may encounter people who “do not understand” when we share with them concerning the “saving grace” of Jesus Christ, and it is because they do not yet have “His mind”. We should pray for people who do not “understand or perceive” but never be surprise when they reject the “good news” of Jesus Christ. May all who read these words have their “minds and hearts” open to receive “the mind of God” through Jesus Christ the Lord.

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Paul share how he “could not speak unto” the Corinthian church members “as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.