1 Corinthians 2:6-12… “But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” vs. 7
Paul didn’t depend on his good looks and charm as he preached among the Corinthians, which is fortunate because he seems to have lacked both. And he didn’t regurgitate popular cultural religious teachings, and he certainly didn’t have a political agenda. Paul says that he spoke God’s secret and hidden wisdom, truths that had been present from the beginning. And where did he discover this wisdom? He says that it came into his understanding through the Spirit of God and the mind of the crucified Christ.
Paul is referring here to what we might call universal truths, those concepts that have defined human community among all people for all time. They aren’t laws or commandments, and they aren’t the sole possession of any particular religious group or denomination. They’ve often been subverted by human efforts to control or dominate, but periodically prophets, speaking by the Spirit, have called them to mind. Paul doesn’t enumerate them as we might be tempted to do, but they certainly undergird his teachings. And chief among them is his insistence on the importance of a unified community, where suffering people can fully experience the love of Christ.
As we live in community as saints and sinners, we come to know God intimately and soon discover that there is no great gain than to experience unconditional love through sacrificial service. Thought for the Day: What are some of the universal truths?
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