Before we consider those verses, we need to read and comment on verses 1-5. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did NOT COME WITH EXCELLENCE OF SPEECH AND WISDOM declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were NOT WITH PERSUASIVE WORDS OF HUMAN WISDOM, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should NOT BE IN THE WISDOM OF MEN but in the power of God.” Paul, in true humility, emphasizes that he came to them with a simple message from God, and not as an eloquent speaker using words that would dazzle the hearer and appeal to their intellect or emotions. He wanted to draw attention to the Person and Work of Christ, to “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” He knew they would most likely consider him as “a weak man who lacked the power of persuasion,” but that was okay because his desire was to “preach the Word of God” to produce “faith in the Word.” Elsewhere in Scripture Paul stated the “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17) and that was his goal. He knew if they put their faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross, they would not be relying “on the wisdom of men” (which is WEAK), but “in the power of God.”

Now we are ready to go over verses 6-10. What we will see is that after one has become a believer in Christ, they are ready to receive further truth. This truth will not be as “simple” as the gospel message that goes out to all the world; this truth will contain “the deep things” of God.

Verse 6: “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.” The further WISDOM which Paul wanted to reveal to them would require the believer to be MATURE; that is, “spiritually mature” as opposed to being “babes in Christ.” We see this difference in 3:1, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to SPIRITUAL PEOPLE but as to carnal, as to BABES IN CHRIST.” The wisdom he wanted to convey to them was NOT the wisdom of the world which is what the world’s rulers had.

Verses 7-8: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a MYSTERY, the HIDDEN WISDOM which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” The word “mystery” speaks of truth that had not been revealed in previous ages; in that sense it was “hidden wisdom.” Paul was given various “mysteries” (revelations from God) that were now ready to be revealed to mature believers in this “church age.” Paul writes of the greatest mystery in Ephesians 3:1-5, “For this reason I, Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the MYSTERY (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the MYSTERY OF CHRIST), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” He also writes of this in Colossians 1:24-27, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His BODY, which is the CHURCH, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God, the MYSTERY which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of THIS MYSTERY among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Verses 9-10: “But as it is written: ‘eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the DEEP THINGS of God.” We saw that the rulers of this world were ignorant of these things. Why? Because they could not be revealed to one through their natural EYES, EARS or MIND; they must be revealed to believers through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God, who IS GOD and thus “knows all the truths of God,” is the One who can give us to know ALL THINGS (all MYSTERIES). Sometimes I hear a believer say, “This passage of Scripture is ‘too deep for me’; I can’t understand it.” I love to respond by saying, “You’re right, it is too deep for you, and for me. We must allow the Spirit of God, who ‘searches…the DEEP THINGS OF GOD,’ to reveal them to us!”  (DO)  (606.1)