Understanding The Depths Of God

(1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

Who can understand the depths of God? Who even thinks it is possible to do so? Surely to think so would be madness and the height of foolishness!

No man can possibly understand the depths of God. Even in all that has been created, man is still only scratching the surface of what God has done. And that applies only to those things that can be determined through scientific methods, which deal solely with what can be measured by physical means.

But God is not physical. God is spirit and man cannot measure the spiritual realm with the dimensions, tools and measures of man. So to even think a man could ever measure or know the depths of God is utter foolishness. Or is it?

Spirit Perceived

God is not like man even though man is being made in His image through Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for us. God is spirit and in His spiritual grace and compassion He has allowed us to gain insights into the depths of God.

In fact He wants man to understand Him and to understand His ways. God is love and His desire is that through coming to Christ Jesus and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit we can learn what His love is and live in accordance with His love.

To do this, to become like God in the image of Jesus Christ, we need to understand the deeper things of God. We need to be able to understand Gods mercy, compassion, justice and most of all His love if we are to ever be like Him.

In this section of scripture we see that God has provided the way in which we can begin to understand the depths of God.

He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our personal teacher and has given the Holy Spirit full access to all the depths of God. What He tells us in this scripture is that just as no person can understand the thoughts of another person except that other person, so too no one can comprehend the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. And God has given us His Holy Spirit so that we can understand an comprehend the thoughts of God.

Taught By The Spirit

We are thus now being taught how to be like God by the spirit of God. Look at what these verses have to say about this matter and how it repeats and emphasizes that we are being taught by the spirit of God how to become like God.

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. – (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

Jesus also said that this would come to pass as He quoted the words of the prophets who prophesied that we in this age would be taught by God. He said,

It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me- – (John 6:45)

Note that this can be read several ways. First, the people are being taught by Jesus who is the Son of God and is God. Second, we are being taught by the Holy Spirit at the behest of and as appointed by God so that we may learn the depths of God. And finally as we see in this verse, we are being taught by God the Father. He is the instigator of our learning as Jesus says that it is those who have heard and learned FROM THE FATHER that come to Jesus to walk in the ways of God.

And as we walk with Christ, we walk by the spirit of God to lean the ways of God and to put to death the ways of this world within us. As we grow through the knowledge of the depths of God given to us by the Holy Spirit, we learn how to apply the teachings of the spirit to put to death the deeds of the body. We learn how to fight in the spirit against the passions of our flesh that would lead to sin if left unchecked.

The natural human in this world without the Holy Spirit and the teachings of God cannot overcome the desires of the flesh. They do not have the strength to fight a spiritual war, and in fact they do not even know there is a war going on in the spiritual realm.

But the spiritual man, filled with the Holy Spirit from God and following in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ, receives the power to overcome the desire of the flesh to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and to receive victory over him through Jesus Christ. Through Christ we learn how to walk in the spirit and ultimately how to walk in love and so live as true children of God.

The Plan For Perfection.

And this is the plan of God for us. He wants a people to come to Him of their own accord, desiring to live a godly life. Free from sin, free from the passions of the flesh and living in harmony with God and each other…eternally.

The goal that we are to strive for and the ultimate aim for all Christians was defined by Jesus and later reinforced by Paul as we see in the following two verses.

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – (Matthew 5:48)

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. – (Philippians 3:12-15)

In the first of these verses Jesus makes it quite clear that we must become perfect as the Father is perfect. He did not say we “should” be perfect, or it would be good if we “could” become perfect. No, He said you MUST be perfect just as God is perfect.

The truth of the matter is that we will not be able to stand in the presence of the Father unless and until we attain perfection. Not what we consider is perfect, but what God considers is perfect. We do not know, understand or comprehend just what perfection is as human beings for the perfection in the depths of God is beyond human understanding.

And that is why God helps us by giving us His Holy Spirit to guide, teach and lead us to perfection through Christ Jesus, so that we WILL be perfect as God the Father is perfect. This is not our doing, it is the work of God by His spirit working in and on us to bring us to perfection in Christ Jesus.

And as we see in the second scripture from Philippians above, this is our goal. Perfection is our goal in Jesus Christ. He did not consider himself perfect, and nor can anyone else, for that is the judgement of God alone. But like Paul, we too must press on and strain forward seeking the way to perfection through Jesus Christ.

We are called to “walk” with Christ Jesus and this is the walk we are on. A walk to seek, understand and find perfection so that we can stand with God. And God wants us with Him, which is why He has given us His Holy Spirit and opened up everything, including the depths of God himself, so that all power can be brought to bear to bring us to perfection.

Humbling isn't it? When you realize what God has done and how far He is prepared to go to help you to be like Him, it is humbling. And it makes you stop and consider what kind and how should you live your life now as we await His great salvation.

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