The Bible Says
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 Meaning

In 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, Paul continues to explain God’s Spirit versus the human/worldly wisdom. Though heavenly rewards are beyond our comprehension, we can gain a spiritual understanding of them through the leading and revealing of God’s Spirit: For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God (v.10).

The them in verse 10 ties to the things in verse 9. The Holy Spirit has revealed them, speaking of the great rewards God has prepared for us. The Spirit can do this because the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. Therefore, since the Spirit indwells all who believe in Jesus, this knowledge is within each believer. And to the extent we connect with, listen to, and follow the Spirit, we gain this kind of insight given through the Spirit. As we see in Romans the Spirit is actively engaged with each believer:

“He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
(Romans 8:27)

We might ask why people wrongly divide by following leaders like Paul, Apollos, and Cephas/Peter instead of uniting in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:12). People do this because they perceive a benefit that will flow to them from that association. Paul is directing the Corinthians (and all believers) to the true source of benefit that comes from God. We cannot naturally fathom all that God has prepared for those who love Him. We can only gain insight through supernatural guidance from the Spirit.

And how do we love God? Jesus tells us directly. As He instructed His disciples:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
(John 14:15)

If we follow God’s commands, He promises to make it more than worthwhile. Jesus asserts in Mark 10:29 that anyone who gives up something because of Him will “receive a hundred times as much” from Him as a reward. This again alludes to the immense reward God has for those who follow Him.

The book of Revelation promises a great blessing to those who heed the words of that prophecy and keep its exhortations/follow its instruction (Revelation 1:3). Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation set forth a number of rewards God will give to believers who “overcome” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26-28, 3:5, 12, 21).

The rewards enumerated in the book of Revelation culminate in Revelation 3:21 where Jesus promises an immense reward to all who overcome as He overcame. The reward He promises is to share His throne, just as the Father shared His throne with the Son as a reward for His obedience (Philippians 2:8-10).

In describing the Spirit’s activity, Paul points out that the Holy Spirit has complete access to the depths of God. That is an astounding reality in that God is infinite, holy, and righteous. Nothing remains hidden from Him. That is all the more reason for believers to listen to and follow the Spirit, while setting aside the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

This fact should bring tremendous comfort to believers: we can trust that the One who lives within us is intimately aware of who God is and what He desires for us. We are even told that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (Romans 8:26-27). Our spiritual growth is not reliant on our human capacity alone but on the Spirit’s revelation and guidance.

Through the Spirit’s indwelling, the believer is connected to God’s heart and mind, receiving wisdom that extends beyond human boundaries. This is why believers in Christ are called to walk by faith, informed by the Spirit’s leading and Scripture’s instruction (2 Corinthians 5:7).

We are not called to a way of life that is beyond our reach in this world, but into a walk and life made possible by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16,25). God’s deep mysteries become clearer when we open ourselves to His revealing Spirit. We might ask "how do we open ourselves to His revealing Spirit?" Jesus, as He was giving the promise of the Holy Spirit to His disciples, said:

"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
(John 14:21)

Obedience breeds insight, and insight leads us to obedience. And obedience simply aligns us with God’s design for us, which is also for our best. Paul clarifies further, 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 (v.11).

He uses a simple illustration: no one can truly know another person’s innermost thoughts. Even if someone voluntarily shares their thoughts, you don’t know if they are telling the truth. Only that person actually knows their inner thoughts. The only person who knows the thoughts that person has is the spirit of the man which is in him.

The expression the spirit of the man refers to something deep within that person’s inner life or sense of self—what some call their metacognition. Metacognition is the capability to recognize or consciously observe one’s own thoughts. It is the capacity to see one’s own thoughts and reflect or think about them. The spirit of a man is able to see and know his own thoughts. This capability separates humans from animals; it is part of being made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27).

A man’s spirit is able to see and observe his inner thoughts because: “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of his being” (Proverbs 20:27). Paul refers to the spirit of a man which is in him because a person’s spirit is part of their inner life.

While everyone can see a person’s external actions which are visible, only the person’s invisible spirit can know their inner thoughts which are invisible. Paul’s rhetorical question: “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?” implies an answer of: “No one other than that man’s spirit within him can know his thoughts.”

By analogy, only the Spirit of God has access to God’s infinite mind; the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Yet the amazing thing is that believers are indwelt by that same Spirit of God. This is yet another thing beyond our capacity to fully grasp.

We can look at Paul’s letter to the Romans and this companion passage for more insight:

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
(Romans 8:16-18)

Note that in this Romans passage that God’s Spirit within us “testifies with our spirit” that “we are children of God.” Believers in Jesus can have assurance that we are born into God’s family because His Spirit is speaking within us. Further, the Spirit testifies to us that we are “fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him.” The Spirit is speaking to us, telling us that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” as stated in Romans 8:18.

Romans 8:18 is a companion to verse 9, which says only the Spirit can reveal to us the glory God has in store, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. We can see that the path to possess our inheritance and receive the promised glory is to love God (1 Corinthians 2:9) and “suffer with Him” (Romans 8:17). To suffer with Christ is to endure rejection of the world, and the loss that attends that rejection, because we are looking forward to the rewards (joy) set before us (Hebrews 12:2).

It is the Spirit who gives us a spiritual assurance that these rewards are real. We gain this assurance when we learn to hear and heed His voice, which is a key skill believers need to learn in order to mature.

Paul speaks extensively of this need to choose the Spirit over the flesh in Galatians 5:16-26. That passage presents a picture that both our sinful flesh as well as God’s Spirit is constantly speaking to us in our minds, exhorting our inner spirit to follow in its path. When we listen to the Spirit and follow His voice, we will walk in Jesus’s commands. In doing so we will be loving Him and we will suffer rejection from the world, as He suffered. That is what leads to the immense reward that is beyond the human capacity to comprehend.

In the ancient Greek city of Corinth, the populace prided itself on philosophical inquiry, but Paul insists that human reasoning alone is insufficient to truly grasp God’s intentions. The Holy Spirit stands as the ultimate revealer, assisting believers to peer into eternity and bolster their faith that all we give up in this life for God will be disproportionally rewarded, to a degree that is unimaginable—perhaps something like a person being left a billion dollar inheritance because they once held the door open for a wealthy lady.

Furthermore, recognizing the Spirit’s pivotal role liberates believers from dependency on fallible and misguided human wisdom. Instead, we can lean on the Holy Spirit, trusting that He intimately knows the Lord’s will and can reveal it to us in His timing (John 16:13). To underscore this divine gift, Paul states, 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 (v.12).

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to all who believe allows us the insight to comprehend the things freely given to us by God. These things are beyond our comprehension in our natural man. But God can reveal them to us through His Spirit, because the Spirit is from God and searches the deep things of God. This is available to all who have God’s Spirit dwelling within.

What stands in the way of us understanding all that God has granted us in Christ is the spirit of the world. It is the spirit of the world that stands opposed to the things of God. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul speaks of these things as “speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.” Paul states that his goal is to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The spirit of the world is connected to the flesh, which stands in opposition to the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17).

As Paul told the Romans,

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect."
(Romans 12:2)

We see that there is a juxtaposition, where “the world” is the opposite of having a renewed mind. A renewed mind proves “what the will of God is.” A renewed mind recognizes and opposes the spirit of the world, which is that which stands opposed to the will of God. When Jesus teaches believers to pray that His will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, He is also telling us that this current earth is in rebellion against God (Matthew 6:10).

The spirit of the world is the spirit of Satan, who desires to rule in power. He is one who uses power to exploit, being a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The way of the world is to exploit and extract. The way of Christ is to love and serve. These stand in opposition. It is the Spirit who can lead us into the truth that God’s way is for our best and will ultimately prevail. The Spirit and God’s word offer us insight to the truth that if we humble ourselves under His mighty hand He will exalt us in due time (1 Peter 5:5).

In ancient Corinth, the spirit of the world would have been pervasive. The city overflowed with idols, influential orators, and a general mindset of competition. Exploitation was the order of the day. But there is a better way.

God’s Spirit assures us that we can know the things freely given to us by God. This includes the free gift of eternal life, being justified in God’s sight by faith, through Jesus’s death on the cross (Romans 5:15). It also includes spiritual gifts Jesus endows us with in order to serve the Body of Christ, which is made up of all who have believed. Paul will go into this in detail in Chapter 12, where he will tell us “to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Paul expands on how this revelation by God’s Spirit works through him, 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 (v.13).

Here Paul claims that he is teaching the Corinthians things that were taught to him by the Spirit. He is combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words in order to teach the Corinthian believers how to press on to spiritual maturity (which is his aim, as he expressed in 1 Corinthians 2:6). These spiritual truths stand in contrast to human wisdom. This again underscores why the Corinthians should cease dividing among themselves over which human leader they identify with, and instead unite in Christ, which is the primary issue that is the current context for Paul’s comments in Chapter 2 (1 Corinthians 1:10-12).

In the culture of Corinth, eloquent speech was highly prized, and orators often used refined techniques to captivate audiences. Paul, however, indicates that the genuine gospel is communicated by the spirit which transcends mere human craft. Paul is urging the Corinthians to look beyond mere human wisdom that acknowledges rhetorical splendor and elaborate discourse.

He wants them to pursue the truth, and that comes through the inner guidance, being taught by the Spirit. Paul’s claim that his teaching is taught to him by the Spirit is validated in that his teaching is part of the scripture, this book of 1 Corinthians for example, and all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).

The apostles, prophets, and the early church leaders relied on divine guidance to convey spiritual truth. This was not about an isolated mystical experience but a collaboration between the Spirit’s prompting and the speaker’s faithful obedience (2 Peter 1:20-21). What Paul and fellow ministers taught should never be reduced to mere human ideas; their teachings should only be from those things taught by the Spirit.

These principles have current application. As Jesus said in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Believers are urged to walk after and in the power of the Spirit rather than the flesh. Paul tells us how to judge whether our actions are rooted in the flesh (human wisdom) or come from a seed that is taught by the Spirit. We can assess this through looking at the fruit of our decisions (Galatians 5:19-25). This allows us to act, learn, and adjust in our growth toward Christian maturity.

The phrase combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words points to the power of divine revelation to shape our lives. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to discern spiritual truths and live them out in their daily lives. We can see from Paul’s example that we can also communicate spiritual thoughts and spiritual words effectively through the power of the Spirit.