I CORINTHIANS 2:11-12: “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. 12 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.” (ESV)

OBSERVATION: Have you ever heard the expression – “A penny for your thoughts.” This is said in hopes of learning what a person is thinking. It affirms the reality that no one knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person. It is only the living spirit within us that thinks. When a person dies they no longer think. No one has ever said to someone in a casket – “A penny for your thoughts.” You must be alive to have thoughts. You must have a spirit.

This is true both in the natural and in the spiritual. It is possible to be physically alive, but spiritually dead. The “natural man” is alive in his human spirit, but his human spirit is dead towards God because of sin. This is why Jesus said that in order to enter the Kingdom of God we must be “Born Again” of water and the spirit. We enter into this new relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance (water), and faith in Jesus Christ whereby we receive a spiritual rebirth of our spirit. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit both recreates our heart and comes to abide within us.  Jesus told His disciples regarding the Holy Spirit – “…You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17).

This is both a wonder and a mystery of the Christian life. We are not simply forgiven, we are not simply made new creations, we are filled with the Holy Spirit of the Living God. The very living presence of God comes into our lives through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to reveal the full nature of the Father and the Son in our lives. This is the reason the Holy Spirit is given. The Holy Spirit comes so that we might understand the things freely given us by God! Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to know the “thoughts” of God. Paul proclaims –

“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.” (I Corinthians 2:9-10, ESV)

The implications of this are astounding. We are no longer called to live within our limited finite perspective. We are reborn into a new life in the Spirit and we can now see through God’s Eternal Perspective. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word of God in our lives. He reveals the truth and nature of Jesus Christ in our lives. He glorifies and exalts the Father in our lives. We now have the awesome privilege of talking directly to God – and hearing directly from God. The Holy Spirit is our “red line” to the Father. It is a “red line” because this awesome privilege was given to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

Lord, this morning come and fill my heart anew. Holy Spirit, come in Your fullness and lead me into the things that have been freely given to me by God. Help me to see Jesus, to glorify the Father, and to understand the truth of the Word of God. Father, thank You for this awesome promise and gift of the Spirit given through Jesus Christ my Lord! In Jesus Name!