Do we recognize HIM ?
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
If I had a dollar for every time I have heard someone stand up and get worked into a charismatic frenzy while quoting this verse I would not need to work. The idea being that God is a mystery and with our finite brains we just cant know the things he has in store for us . Can I be so bold as to say that if this is your paradigm you may actually be opposed to Gods interest in the Earth and not even Know it.
Getting emotional about this verse in a positive way might in fact suggest that you do not really know Him. There is a very specific point that Paul is trying to get across to the Corinthian believers with this and to represent it any other way than the way Paul represented it is error… NO MATTER HOW STRONG OF AN ADRENALINE RESPONSE YOUR INTERPRETATION MAY GIVE YOU.
In CONTEXT this is talking about Pharisees (religious performers) not recognizing our Lord!!! It is speaking about them not having the Mystery of Christ that Paul was given revealed to them which is what ultimately led to them crucifying our Lord! It is essentially saying that because their eyes have not seen, nor their ears have heard nor has these things entered into their hearts they did not see God’s eternal purpose and KILLED HIM! They Mystery that Paul is speaking about is spoken of in many places but for sake of argument it is this…Colossians 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We see the same thing happening today. Someone comes along who preaches the grace of God in truth and the religious elite rise up in condemnation to crucify him and ultimately crucify the truth about Christ and His work on the Cross and in His resurrection.
We have a heavenly Father who does NOT want to remain a mystery to us. He can be know, think about this …2 Corinthians 5:19 says that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. OK how was he doing that? Obviously we know that he did it through His cross. Beyond that though we know that to truly be reconciled both parties want to be reconciled. If a wife leaves her husband and he desperately wants to get back together with her, unless she also wants to they won’t be reconciled even though the husband may have made every possible attempt to do so.
I see reconciliation this way. God was in Christ revealing the truth about himself to the world so that the world would WANT to be reconciled to him. Think about the religious atmosphere when Jesus began his ministry. There was a hugs clergy/Laity separation in the culture that divided people into 2 basic classes…those who God accepted and those who he rejected (sound familiar?). Think for a moment about the Leper of Matthew 8… why do you think he asked the question “If you are willing you can make me clean”? He was not sure if Jesus was willing, this man was an outcast to society.
He was looked upon by the religious elite. The words “I am willing” meant much more to him that we can possibly imagine. Not only was he healed physically but in one moment his rejection turned into acceptance and it had nothing at all to do with his Goodness or works. Jesus did nothing unless He saw his Father doing it first. His desire was to reveal the truth about himself to the world so that the world would not be afraid to come to Him. John 17:3 says that Eternal life is to Know God and He is trying to make Himself known to the world. He does not want to be a mystery to His own flesh and blood Kids and contrary to popular belief He does not simply want to be served. He wants to be Known and when He is truly known He will get our time and energy.
