¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. ¹⁶ For,

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT

By virtue of his union with Christ, each believer has received the righteousness of Christ. But as this verse points out, he has also received the mind of Christ. The Greek word Paul used is nous and it refers to the understanding or, as the Outline of Biblical Usage puts it, “ the faculty of perceiving divine things.”

We have been given the capacity to perceive the things of God, or as Jesus said to His disciples: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13:11 ESV). Jesus was responding to a question regarding His use of parables. The disciples wanted to know why He chose to speak to the crowds using these rather obscure-sounding stories whose messages were not always clear – even to the disciples. And Jesus let them know that there were certain truths that would remain hidden from the majority of those who flocked to hear Him, because they weren’t really interested in the truth. Jesus flatly stated: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13 ESV). Their presence in the crowds that followed Jesus around was not an indicator that they believed in who He was. They were looking and listening, but they were not really interested in what Jesus was offering. Jesus compares them to the stubborn people of Judah during the days of Isaiah.

“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them. – Matthew 13:14-15 ESV

The people of Judah had grown so distant from God that they could no longer hear from Him. They had eyes and ears, but a spiritual incapacity to see and hear the truths of God. That’s why they stubbornly refused to hear what Isaiah had to say to them. They rejected His repeated warnings of coming judgment.

And Jesus, when speaking to the crowds who gathered to witness His miracles and hear His teaching, recognized that they had the same problem. They had dull hearts, deaf ears, and dim eyes. So, He spoke to them in parables, which revealed divine truths, but in a somewhat veiled, metaphorical sense. And His use of parables left even His disciples scratching their heads in confusion as they attempted to glean the meaning behind His message. But despite their struggle to comprehend the meaning behind the parables, Jesus told His disciples, “blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:15-16 ESV).

Jesus was revealing concepts to them that even the Old Testament prophets and saints would longed to have know. Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, and many others would have sacrificed everything to hear what Jesus was revealing. But these individuals were all recognized for their faith in God, even though they didn’t know all the mysteries of God in advance. The author of Hebrews states that “these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised” (Hebrews 11:39 NLT).

And yet, here was Jesus, the Son of God, relaying new details regarding the Kingdom of God to His followers. And to make sure they understood what He was saying, He went out of His way to explain every detail of God’s plan hidden by the imagery of the parable.

All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;
    I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” – Matthew 13:34-35 ESV

And when His disciples said “Explain to us the parable” (Matthew 13:36 ESV), Jesus did just that, and followed it with His own question: “Have you understood all these things?” (Matthew 13:51 ESV). And they were able to answer, “Yes!”

Jesus went out of His way to make sure His disciples understood the content of His teaching. He explained His messages so that they would understand the full scope of His ministry and the impact it was going to have on their lives. And Jesus later informed His disciples that they would one day receive a divine capacity to understand all that He had taught them.

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” – John 14:25-26 ESV

The arrival of the Spirit would be a game-changing moment in the lives of Christ’s followers. With His presence in them, they would discover a new source of power and a new capacity to understand the truths that Jesus had trying to share with them. And the same is true for us today. As followers of Christ, we too have the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. And, as a result, we have the mind of Christ. We are able to comprehend divine truth like never before. Paul describes it as “a secret and hidden wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 2:7 ESV). And Paul makes it clear that the source of new capacity to comprehend the secret and hidden wisdom of God is because of the Spirit of God.

…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:10 ESV

It is the Spirit of God who allows us to know the things of God. He gives us the mind of Christ, a supernatural ability to apprehend the incomprehensible and appreciate the inconceivable. While the rest of the world responds to our faith with derision and disbelief, we know that the message of the gospel is true and the promises of God are real. Paul described the antagonism of the world against the gospel message using terms of wisdom and foolishness.

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. – 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV

One of the primary benefits of our sanctification is our ability to understand the deep things of God. Without the sacrifice of Christ that made our restored relationship with God possible, and the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God who makes known to us the deep truths of God’s Word, we would still be fools. We would remain blind to the beauty of Christ and deaf to His offer of salvation. But we have the mind of Christ.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.