1 Corinthians 2:9-12 Oh, the sights we’ll see!
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: January 24, 2020 1 Corinthians 2:9-12
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 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. 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.
(Revelation of God) God has prepared things for me that I cannot even imagine. Through the Spirit living in me, He will reveal these things to me. God will freely give me so much. I only need to trust Him and let Him work in me.
(Understanding the Text) The Old Testament reference is from Isaiah, but it is Paul’s paraphrase of the ideas rather than an exact quote. In other words, the quotation marks here do not mean quoted material. “This passage is not taken from the LXX, nor is an exact translation of the Hebrew; but it gives the general sense.” (TSK Cross Reference) “When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?” (Isaiah 64:3-5). It is possible that Paul is taking ideas from multiple Old Testament verses and putting them together. “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” (Psalms 31:19). Paul, I think, is amalgamating a lot of scripture into this wonderful truth that God has prepared many beautiful, glorious, wonderful experiences and ideas for us that we cannot even imagine at the present time, but as long as we love God, our lives will be like a flower opening to more and more new and precious gifts. God wants to give us awesome gifts, but we have to open up to Him, so He can give them to us.
(Revelation of God / Prayer) God gave us His Spirit so that we could reconnect with Him and receive many wondrous gifts. God wants to teach us to love again, to trust, to have security, to cast out fear, to see the world through His eyes so that we can see beauty again. Sin didn’t give us the knowledge of good and evil. It took away our abilities to see good. It made us see ugliness but not beauty. It separated us from each other, as well as God. God has so much good that He wants for us, but He is limited by how much we are willing to accept from Him. I pray that I will open myself to You and accept all the beauty that You want me to have.
Through the Spirit, we can understand what God is wanting to communicate to us. Wisdom comes from God, so it is only through the Spirit that we can be wise. We are not wise because we follow a wise human teacher. The human teachers that the Corinthians were arguing over were all wise and true followers of God. Paul, Peter, Apollos, and Jesus were all teaching the right stuff and all were great leaders to follow, but only Jesus is worthy to be called Lord. And as our Lord, Jesus would not want us arguing about who we follow. Paul is telling the Corinthians that they need to get their wisdom from the Spirit of God living in them, not from the reputation of their teacher. God Himself wants to teach them, but they will only be able to receive that teaching as they mature and love God.