By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
God’s Will and the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:6–16
Jerusalem is a city built on a labyrinth of intersecting hills and valleys, rises and ridges. Plunging south through one of these valleys in Jesus’ day was a long, stair-stepped road that led from the Temple Mount far downhill to the famous pool of Siloam.
In the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel we find a story in which this steep road plays a key role. John tells us that as Jesus left the temple on a particular day He encountered a blind man sitting on the ground begging for charity.
Having seen Jesus heal countless people before, the disciples could hardly have been surprised to see Jesus stoop down to restore sight to this man as well.
But instead of healing the blind man Jesus instead spat on the ground, mixed the saliva with dirt to make mud and then smeared the mud on the man’s eyes.
He then gave him the most extraordinary command: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” What must have been going through the blind man’s mind at that moment? It is not clear from John’s account that the man knew it was Jesus who had touched him or even that he had any idea who Jesus really was.
The man had no explanation at all for why Jesus smeared mud on his eyes. Additionally the command he was given to wash in the pool made no mention of his being healed if he obeyed.
Just getting to Siloam would be difficult. The stairs were steep and irregular. Merchants and their wares lined the sides. Crowds of people would be hurrying up and down. And yet the blind man went. Stumbling, groping, surely falling more than once along the path, he made his way to the pool and washed away the mud.
The man obeyed Jesus and his sight was restored. He went not because it made sense to go — it surely did not — but because the Spirit of God compelled him to go and wash his face.
On our own we can’t understand God’s wisdom or comprehend His will. (6–8)
As we seek to know God’s will for our lives there are moments when we think we can clearly see the “wise” choice. This seemingly wise choice may not always be the right choice, however. At times God through His Holy Spirit calls us to follow a path that parts company with what human wisdom would counsel.
The Apostle Paul describes just such a situation in 1 Corinthians 2. He instructs his Corinthian readers that human wisdom and divine wisdom do not always align.
The Holy Spirit reveals the mind of God. (9–11)
There are moments when God calls His children to follow an unexpected and seemingly illogical path. Like the blind man in John 9 the path God’s Spirit directs us toward may be one fraught with obstacles and difficulties. The path may be the opposite of the well-worn euphemism, “God opened a door for us.”
And yet it will be the right path because it is the one the Holy Spirit intends for us. Paul assures us that just as our own spirits know our inmost thoughts, the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God. It is this knowledge He conveys to us as He directs our steps.
We must depend on the Holy Spirit in order to distinguish God’s will from human thinking. (12–16)
It is not always easy to distinguish between taking the path we would judge as wise and taking the path God truly intends for us. Too often our discernment of the will of God devolves into gauging the path of least resistance, assuming the path with the fewest obstacles is the one God has leveled out for us.
This idea accords poorly with the way God’s people have traditionally chosen a path. Often the path of God’s people is filled with obstacles but they walk the path because they know it is the path ordained by the Holy Spirit even if it proves to be toughest road.
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