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"EYE HATH NOT SEEN ..."
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared form them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9). How often have we heard this verse applied to heaven? While it is true that we do not know all that awaits us in heaven, this verse in set in quite another context. Paul's subject in this chapter is the process of God's revelation. Note in the first four verses he spoke of his manner of preaching among the Corinthians. Then in verse five he tells why he preached the way he did "that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." It was this "hidden wisdom" (v. 7) that the apostles spoke, a lack of which caused Christ to be crucified (v. 8). What are "the things" Paul speaks of in verse nine? They are the "deep things" of God (v. 10), and they are "deep" because man cannot search them out on his own; the function of the Spirit was to reveal these things to the apostles. In verse 12 the apostle says, "we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God." Why was this? The verse goes on to say, "that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." In verse 14 Paul says the "natural man" does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. This "natural man" is the uninspired man; he treats things based upon how he sees them with the natural senses. In fact, Paul says these things are "foolishness" with him, because "they are spiritually discerned," which discernment cannot come from the natural senses of man. In verse 15 Paul talks about the "spiritual man." This man is not the sort of man we would think of as "spiritual" as opposed to "wordly" or "carnal." Rather, it is the inspired man. He has some help in understanding and revealing the things of God, which help came in the form of the Holy Spirit. Incidentally, note all through this context how many times Paul refers to "the things of God." Now back to verse nine. Yes, it is certainly true that we cannot know what is in store for us in heaven other than that such anticipation will be glorious. But the context will not allow such an application here. When Paul says "eye hath not seen... neither ear heard" he is saying that the hidden wisdom of God; the "things of God" can never be learned by men by the natural senses of hearing and seeing. Certainly men can read the word of God with their eyes; they can hear it read with their ears. But before that could ever take place, there had to be a revelation from God which man could never learn on his own. Hence, God inspired his apostles to hear, receive, understand and deliver his word; the "things of God," if you please. When we in turn read what those apostles wrote, we can then understand what God wants us to know (Eph.3:1-4). – Bill Moseley AND ANOTHER THING ...
(Ridiculous Reasonings) I once read of a man who was hauled into court on charges. Seems that he had deliberately and with cold-hearted malice aforethought ed his own father and mother. When he was brought before the judge, he pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. Sort of reminds me of us .. we .. them, or whomever. We stay out all hours on Saturday evening, and then complain because we're too tired to attend worship services on Sunday morning. We spend all our money all on the gimmicks, gizmos and gadgets known to mankind, and then excuse ourselves because we don't have the wherewith to give to the Lord's cause. Or we let our children do what they want, go with whom they want, stay until they get ready to come home, and then complain because "I can't figure what we did wrong." Or some spend all their time on trivial pursuits (not necessarily the game), reading this, going to that movie or sporting event, and then envy those who have the knowledge of God's word they ought to have. Such reasoning escapes me. Why can't we see there is a price to pay for being a disciple of Christ's, and that the things we sometimes suffer are nothing more than the consequences of our own actions? Looks to me like we've got lots of "orphans" in the church! - Bill Moseley
Sort of reminds me of us .. we .. them, or whomever. We stay out all hours on Saturday evening, and then complain because we're too tired to attend worship services on Sunday morning. We spend all our money all on the gimmicks, gizmos and gadgets known to mankind, and then excuse ourselves because we don't have the wherewith to give to the Lord's cause. Or we let our children do what they want, go with whom they want, stay until they get ready to come home, and then complain because "I can't figure what we did wrong." Or some spend all their time on trivial pursuits (not necessarily the game), reading this, going to that movie or sporting event, and then envy those who have the knowledge of God's word they ought to have. Such reasoning escapes me. Why can't we see there is a price to pay for being a disciple of Christ's, and that the things we sometimes suffer are nothing more than the consequences of our own actions? Looks to me like we've got lots of "orphans" in the church! - Bill Moseley
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