2:11
Paul now addresses the question of why do we need the Spirit to reveal to us the thoughts of God. The answer is obvious if we think about it a little. Who knows my thoughts unless I tell you, either verbally or writing them down? You would not know what I think about various Bible passages unless I revealed them to you in these blog posts. Likewise, no one can know God’s thoughts unless He reveals them to us. A fundamental point here is that God is a person (three persons, in fact, Father, Son and Holy Spirit), He is not a mere idea or force.
2:12
The defining characteristic of a Christian is that they have received the Holy Spirit. Jesus said no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again, born of the Spirit. We have received the Holy Spirit, and He sees things rather differently than the world sees them! So we should not be surprised if our outlook is somewhat different from that of the world. And a key part of the Spirit’s work is to enable us to “understand what God has freely given to us”. So how does this work in practice? Well, we read and study the Bible, the word of God, and as we do so the Spirit enables us to understand. This does not mean that we have no part to play in the process, far from it. God has given us minds, and a mind that is looking to God, rather than rebelling against Him, functions well.
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