All that God has prepared for those who love Him.

1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; ⁹ but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, ¹³ which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

¹⁴ But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. ¹⁶ For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, ³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?

Today’s text says:   Just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God… a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.   Paul closes saying:  I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?

Here’s the thing regarding the application of this for ourselves: We are body, human flesh and minds. We are also spirit; and if we are believers in Christ we have the Spirit of God in us. Having the Spirit of God, Paul says that also:  we have the mind of Christ. So, when we think about, All that God has prepared for those who love Him, what is it that hinders us? What is it that keeps us from knowing and receiving ALL that God has prepared for us? In John 4:24 Jesus says:  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  In Psalm 37:4, the psalmist says: Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.  To worship God, to delight in the Lord, we must do it in spirit. The reason we lack some of ALL that God has prepared for us, is that we still seek Him and it, ALL He has, with our own natural minds and our own flesh. A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.   We cannot accept or understand ALL that God has for us. Our natural human finite minds cannot comprehend ALL that the infinite God has done and prepared for us. We are body and spirit and it is to the extent that we reason with, seek with and understand with our natural minds that we fail to receive ALL that God has for us.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says:  We walk by faith, not by sight.   It is to the extent that we do indeed walk by faith in God, rather than by what we see and know with our natural mind and senses, that we will know and receive ALL that God has for us. Jesus said that we must worship God in spirit and in truth. So, truth is also vital to our receiving ALL that God has for us. The truth that we need to know, to understand and to believe is God’s truth. We cannot receive ALL that God has for us, if we believe the truth the world teaches, a truth that is based on the finite minds of people and subject to the desires of human flesh. In today’s text Paul says:  You are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? So, he indicates that jealousy and strife are standing in the way of ALL that God has for them. In Galatians 5:19-21 it says:   Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.    Any or all of these things, the works of the flesh, will keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God. That is really ALL that God has for us; His kingdom. Jesus taught us that we should pray:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Here though is the truth to obtaining ALL that God has for us. Jesus says:  “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)  The truth is that ALL that God has prepared for us is already in us. We have the Spirit of God. We have the mind of Christ and we have the kingdom of God within us. In Galatians 5:16;22-25   Paul says:  I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.   If we will walk in the Spirit, we will know and have ALL that God has prepared for us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You that by the power of the cross and the resurrection I can crucify the flesh. I have the Spirit of God within me. I have the mind of Christ to believe by faith. I have the kingdom of God, All that You have prepared for me, already within me. Help me to fully walk in the Spirit, to worship in Spirit and truth, to believe and receive ALL that You have given me.  Amen.