The Spirit Searches God’s Depths and Gives the Mind of Christ

Paul compares human self-knowledge with divine knowledge: just as a person’s own spirit knows the inner life of that person, God’s Spirit knows the things of God. Believers have received the Spirit “which is of God” so they may understand what God freely gives. The “natural” person does not receive the things of the Spirit, while the spiritual person is taught to evaluate reality by God’s revelation.

Paul closes by quoting Isaiah 40:13: “Who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?” Isaiah’s question exalts the incomparable wisdom of the LORD. Paul’s startling conclusion is “But we have the mind of Christ.” The point is not that Christians become omniscient, but that God’s Spirit gives access to the wisdom revealed in Christ.