1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (KJV)  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  [10]  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:11-16 (KJV)  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.  [12]  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  [13]  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  [14]  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  [15]  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  [16]  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

One of my favorite preachers – gone to be with Jesus over 150 years ago – is C.H. Spurgeon. Pastor C.H. Spurgeon wrote:

“HOW very frequently verses of Scripture are misquoted! Instead of turning to the Bible to see how it is written, and saying, “How do you read it?” we quote from one another. And thus a passage of Scripture is handed down misquoted, by a kind of tradition—from father to son, and passes as current among a great number of Christians! How very frequently at our prayer meetings do we hear our brethren describing heaven as a place of which we cannot conceive! They say, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” And there they stop, not seeing that the very marrow of the whole passage lies in this—“But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit,” so that the joys of heaven (if this passage alludes to heaven, which I take it is not quite as clear as some would suppose), are after all not things of which we cannot conceive, for “God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit.”

I have been guilty of this myself.

It is so easy in the flesh of man to allow the flesh to guide us. Too many Pastors and Churches have departed from the Scripture and gone off into the unknown realm of public opinion and speculation. We must read the Scripture in this New Year. We must bring our Bibles into the Church with us. We must meditate and mark in our Scriptures, learning the truths that God would have us know.

The Apostle writes – let’s read that again –

EYE hath not seen, nor EAR heard, neither have entered into the HEART of man, the THINGS which God hath prepared for them that LOVE him.

People read this and say “yes, Heaven is unimaginable in glory”, and I agree with that. But the text does not have the word “Heaven” in it at any place. The text speaks of the THINGS that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Certainly Heaven is one of the THINGS that those who love the Lord have to look forward to. Jesus promised us Heaven with mansions and His glory. He said …

John 14:2-3 (NKJV) In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Heaven is a beautiful place that we cannot comprehend in our human minds. John the Revelator wrote of Heaven. But I have no doubt that when we get there we will be amazed. But the Apostle in our text is not speaking of just Heaven. He is saying that we – with our human processes – cannot fully understand all the things that God has prepared for His Children. Our human minds cannot fully grasp the blessings of God. This is why he continues with:

BUT GOD HATH REVEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT

The carnal fleshly mind cannot grasp how much God wants to bless us. Now I’m not talking about the “Wealth and Prosperity” Gospels of Joel Osteen, et al.

There are indeed poor Christians in this world Jesus said “The poor you have with you always” (Matthew 26:11) and “The poor have the Gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:5).

There are indeed persecuted Christians in this world Jesus said “A servant is not greater than his Master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). Christians are martyred today at a rate that EXCEEDS the murders of the ancient Roman Empire.

There are indeed plagued Christians in this world Christians suffer disease and sickness just as non-Christians do. I know many good Christians who love the Lord that have been afflicted by disease and physical death. Hospitals are filled with believer and non-believer.

But there are NO abandoned Christians in the world God the Holy Spirit abides with the Children of God. He is with us INDIVIDUALLY

What the Apostle is telling us in this passage is not focused on Heaven, but on the Holy Spirit of God. The text is telling us that the blessings God has for His Children – those who love Him – cannot be understood or processed by the human mind. We must have the inspiration and guidance of God. We must be illuminated by the Holy Spirit.

You can strain, you can work at it, but until you release yourselves to the Holy Spirit of God you will not grow to know the fullest blessings of God. The Apostle said “but God hath revealed them (these blessings, these things) unto us by His Spirit. The blessings of the Christian way of life do not come in OUR power but through HIS Power.

Let’s Follow The Word THINGS In The Context

Do you see that word THINGS in verse 9? 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the THINGS which God HATH PREPARED FOR THEM THAT LOVE HIM.

Let’s follow that word “things” (Greek ὅς hos) as it presents through our text. Verse 10:

1 Corinthians 2:10 (KJV)  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all THINGS, yea, the deep THINGS of God.

God’s Spirit – His Indwelling Presence – reveals the THINGS that God has prepared for us His Children. The Holy Spirit searches all THINGS, the DEEP THINGS of God. The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us the truths that God would have us know. When you received Christ as Lord and Savior God the Holy Spirit came to live inside of you. The unbeliever cannot understand the THINGS of God. This is what we are told in this context:

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)  But the NATURAL MAN RECEIVETH NOT THE THINGS of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

A lost person cannot understand the deep things of God, no more than the darkness can understand the light. Only a saved OR A SUPERNATURAL person can. You cannot understand the deep things of God unless you are in God and God is in you.

People do things all the time that I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I am sure there are things I do that YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. If you could get inside my soul you would understand better. That’s what Paul is saying in

1 Corinthians 2:11 (KJV)  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

We only truly understand ourselves. We can somewhat grow to understand others, but never fully understand them, because we cannot get into their minds nor they into our minds. Only the Spirit of God knows the THINGS of God. I can talk all day long to a lost person, and all that person will ever grasp is the basic Gospel of salvation. The Gospel is simply:

Repent – surrender yourselves as sinners to God – believing Christ is your Lord and Savior

The Gospel is not hard.

Until a person surrenders to the Gospel they will not understand the deeper THINGS of God.

UNLESS you are surrendered to the Gospel you will NOT receive the Spirit of God.

And if you DO NOT have the Spirit of God you cannot understand the deeper things of God. The Holy Spirit of God is God Himself teaching and reaching. You cannot have Cable Television without Cable. You cannot have Internet without Broadband. You cannot have Electricity without a Generator. You cannot understand the things of God without His Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV)  Now WE have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the THINGS that are freely given to us of God.

The lover of God – the genuine believer in Christ – receives the Holy Spirit of God into his or her life at the moment of salvation. When you RECEIVE Christ by faith you RECEIVE the Spirit. At that point a person becomes a member of Christ’s Body, His Church. The Holy Spirit of God never, never, never leaves the one who loves God. Jesus said:

John 14:16-17 (NKJV) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter), that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom THE WORLD CANNOT RECEIVE, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

The person who loves the THINGS of this world cannot receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is promised to them that love God, not to those who love the world, the flesh, or the devil. The definition of “LOST” is “One Who Has Wandered From God.

Saved people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When you are born again through the operation of the Spirit the Apostle says:

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV) Do you not know that YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD and that the SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU?

Romans 8:9 (NKJV) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NOT HIS.

The Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father, the blessing that Jesus bestows on His people. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

John 16:5-15 (NKJV) But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, HE WILL CONVICT the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All THINGS that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

In John 16:15 we see that word THINGS again, but this time it is the Greek πᾶς pas which means ALL THINGS. Jesus has all things that the Father has. The Spirit shares these things with us who love Him.

What Are The THINGS God Has Prepared For Them That Love Him?

Certainly Heaven is one of those things. One day we shall be with the Lord we love forever. But Heaven is on the other side. What are the THINGS God has prepared for His Children now?

I Have Been REDEEMED From Enslavement To Sin And The World

The Bible tells us that:

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 9:14 (NKJV) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

When I was in the world I lived to please fallen man and fallen self. I was enslaved to sin and its effects. But because of Christ I have been set free. I am enabled through God’s Spirit to “put off the old man and put on the new man”. The Apostle said:

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NKJV) … that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

I do not live to please or serve the devil, the world, or the flesh, but I live to please my Savior and His Indwelling Spirit. I am no longer lost, but found. I am no longer a child of his world but I am a child of HIS KINGDOM – victorious in Him.

I Am JUSTIFIED, Made Righteous Before God Because Of Christ

Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 3:24-25 (NKJV) being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

To be justified means that God can now see you as His Child, not as a lost sinned. You stand in His presence whole and complete, loved of God, eternally in His Family. You come under the watch care of God as His precious Child. You are no longer a Child of this world, but live in this world as a stranger and pilgrim. You are on mission every day of your life telling others of the love of God available through Jesus Christ.

I Am UNITED With Christ Jesus

The entire purpose of the Christian is to be like Christ, and God does this through His Holy Spirit. The Bible tells me that the lover of God in Christ …

Created In Christ (Ephesians 2:10)

Crucified With Christ (Galatians 2:20)

Buried With Christ (Colossians 2:12)

Baptized Into Christ And His Death (Romans 6:3)

United With Christ In His Resurrection (Romans 6:5)

Seated With Christ In The Heavenly Places (Ephesians 2:6)

Christ Is Formed In Believers (Galatians 4:19)

Christ Dwells In Our Hearts (Ephesians 3:17)

The Church Is The Body Of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:15; 12:27)

Christ Is In Us (2 Corinthians 13:5) And We Are In Him (1 Corinthians 1:30)

The Church Is One Flesh With Christ (Ephesians 5:31–32)

In Christ We Are Sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:2)

Called (1:9)

Made Alive (Ephesians 2:5)

Created Anew (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Adopted (Galatians 3:26)

And Elected (Ephesians 1:4–5)

The destiny of the Christ Follower is bound to Jesus. God promises an ABUNDANT life as well as an ETERNAL life once we give ourselves to Him. But these precious promises only come to those who love God NOW, who give themselves to God NOW.

the things which God hath prepared for them that love him

God has a great life prepared for you. But you must come to Him believing that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him. You can continue with life as existence, life in this world enslaved to the things of this world … or you can come to Jesus and give your lives to Him. He will take you into His Family, He will save you. Come to Him surrendered!

May God touch your hearts with His Word!