Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 2
The person who teaches God’s word cannot succeed merely by the usual methods. He cannot just copy the techniques of people who teach other subjects. Instead, he must teach in the power of God’s Holy Spirit (2:4). And his students must learn with the aid of the Holy Spirit too.
Really, it is God who is the teacher. He is carrying out his work in people’s lives. But God uses his servants as he carries out that great work (3:5-9).
Sometimes people have tried to understand the Bible merely by means of their own intelligence. They have recognised it as a great book that has had a powerful effect on many people’s lives. They have seen that it contains some wonderful poems and some beautiful passages. And they recognise its great authority in moral matters. But if people will not allow the Holy Spirit to teach them, the Bible will seem just another human book. They will not trust God, and God will not save them.
It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can understand God’s word. Our human minds can understand things that are in this world and in the present age. But that is their limit. God does not belong to this world – even the highest heaven cannot contain him (2 Chronicles 6:18). God’s work does not belong just to the present age (2:9). If we want to know him, we must know him in our spirits (John 4:24). And our spirits are dead until God gives life to us by his Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Next part: Does the Holy Spirit guide all Christians? (1 Corinthians 2:14-15)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.