“Don’t tell secrets!” Remember hearing that from your parents when you were a kid? Remember ever saying that to your son or daughter? And it wasn’t just that we shouldn’t talk about someone behind their back . . . it was also that we shouldn’t exclude someone from our little group of “secret knowers.” In fact, wasn’t there a childish taunt that went something like, “I know something you don’t know!” Yup . . . maybe we shouldn’t tell secrets but who didn’t like being “in the know”. Honestly, not that you necessarily want to exclude anyone, but don’t we feel special when we’re “in the loop?”

“Eye has 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.” (1Cor. 2:9-10a)

Ok . . . read that verse and a half again . . . isn’t that a mindful?!? Things which have never been seen or heard . . . things which don’t even show up on the radar for the natural man . . . things which God prepared in heaven itself and from eternity past . . . things Paul refers to as “the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory” (1Cor. 2:7) . . . hidden things . . . secret things . . . blow your mind things . . . those are the things God has revealed to the believer. Unreal! Talk about telling secrets . . . talk about being in the loop.

And they are not things which are imparted with “persuasive words of human wisdom” (2:4) . . . they are not things which align to the wisdom of this age (2:6) . . . in fact they are spiritual things, indiscernible by the natural mind (2:14a). And they aren’t things which are understood because someone is particularly bright or learned . . . has nothing to do with IQ . . . watching Discovery Channel or reading National Geographic won’t help at all . . . they are things which are spiritually discerned (2:14b) . . . things which are received by faith (2:5) . . . things which are revealed by God Himself (2:10a).

And entrance into this “insider’s world” isn’t restricted . . . and it isn’t too complex . . . but for many, it is foolishness. Paul says, that in order to open up this door to the Corinthians, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (2:2). The “secret” to knowing “the secret” comes down to a Person and a Work. The Person is Jesus Christ . . . God incarnate . . . the King who came as a Servant . . . the Shepherd who took the place of the Lamb . . . God who became fully man that He might make a way for man to enter fully into the holy presence of God. And the work was that which was accomplished on the cross . . . Christ crucified as the atoning sacrifice for the penalty of my sin . . . He who knew no sin becoming sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21). Christ risen from the dead showing that the work was finished . . . demonstrating His victory over sin and death . . . proclaiming it could be our victory, as well.

And when by faith we believe in the Person of Christ and receive on our behalf the work of Christ . . . then we’re brought into the loop. A light goes on . . . the spiritual DNA is activated . . . and the Holy Spirit takes that simple starting point and opens up to us the deep things of God . . . the things not seen by the eye nor heard by the hear nor even conceived of by natural man. The things which sound crazy to the outsider are now the things that infuse within us hope and assurance . . . they are the things that cause us to determine, as much as lies in us, to live for Him . . . they are the things that fill us with wonder and joy and praise and worship. Oh praise God for being in the loop!

And far from taunting outsiders with “I know something you don’t know” we desire that all would be brought into this secret place. And so we too proclaim the foolishness of the cross . . . to know among this “wise world” only Christ and Him crucified . . . that their faith would not be in us . . . nor our church programs . . . nor in the wisdom of men . . . but in the power of God. That they too would know the grace of God which reveals the deep things of God.

Oh, to know something of the secret things . . . to know the things that have been freely given to us by God (2:12) . . . to be taught by the Holy Spirit Himself (2:13) . . . to have the mind of Christ (2:16) . . . to be in the loop . . . not because of who I am but because of who He is . . . despite what I have done but because of all that He has done . . . what a blessing . . . what a joy! All glory to God . . . amen!