Lately there has been much talk about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. We just recently finished a Sunday School series on the Holy Spirit, and we have seen the Spirit all through our sermon series on Romans 8. These lessons made me think of a passage in 1 Corinthians 2 that addresses our need of the Spirit. Starting in verse 6 and continuing to the end of the chapter, Paul talks about the need for the Spirit to enable us to understand God’s word. “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

That’s right! Without the Spirit working in us, the things of God are foolishness to us. Can we really believe that our Lord died for us and was then raised and ascended into Heaven? Can we believe that our sins are forgiven and that we do not have to earn salvation? From a worldly perspective, these are difficult truths to accept.

The more I think about this, the more I am humbled. According to Paul, I would think God’s word is foolishness if the Spirit had not enabled me to understand. This should take away any personal pride I have in understanding the scriptures. Not only can I not live a life to save myself, I cannot even understand that Jesus has saved me, unless the Spirit reveals it to me.

For the believer, this should create a spirit of gratitude, humbled by the fact that the Spirit has given us “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) so that we may understand our Savior. We should approach worship and life in general with humility when we consider our reliance on the Spirit to reveal the truths of God. We also can approach worship and life with confidence, that the Spirit loves us enough to enable us to live for Christ.

When we consider those that do not know the Lord, I hope we take into account that we, as believers, are knowledgeable of Christ only because the Spirit has made it believable to us. This should create a healthy fear of the Lord with tremendous gratitude and humility. May God use us as His instruments in conjunction with His Spirit to reach those that do not “understand” (1 Corinthians 2:12)!