First Corinthians 2:10 says, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” The depths of God refer to the deep things of God, which are Christ in many aspects as our eternal portion, foreordained, prepared, and given to us freely by God. These deep things have never arisen in man’s heart, but they are revealed to us in our spirit by God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God explores the depths of God concerning Christ and shows them to us in our spirit for our realization and participation. Hence, we must be spiritual in order to partake of them. We must move and live in our spirit so that we may enjoy Christ as everything to us.
Christ Himself is the depths of God. Every genuine Christian knows that Christ is the Savior who died on the cross for our sins. However, to know Christ in this way is to know only superficial things. To know the depths of God is to know Christ in many aspects as our eternal portion. Christ is the center of God’s economy, the portion given to us by God for our enjoyment and the mysterious wisdom hidden in God. God’s wisdom in a mystery is Christ as the deep things of God. Therefore, the depths of God are Christ Himself as the mysterious and hidden wisdom, the focus of God’s economy, and the portion given to us by God for our enjoyment. Christ, the all-inclusive and extensive One, is truly the depths of God.
We may be believers and yet not know the depths of God. We need to know God according to His depths, knowing those matters which God regards as deep. If we would know the depths of God, the deep things of God, we need to know the books of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews, John, and Revelation. But not even these books, books that reveal deep and profound matters, tell us that Christ, the last Adam in the flesh, has become the life-giving Spirit. Only in 1 Corinthians 15:45 do we have such a statement. Moreover, only in 1 Corinthians does Paul say, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit” (6:17). What is deeper than this? What is deeper than the last Adam becoming the life-giving Spirit and our being joined to the Lord as one spirit? These things are unfathomable; they are immeasurably deep and profound.
In order to know Christ as the depths of God, we need to know that through incarnation God one day became a man named Jesus. Through His crucifixion the Lord Jesus terminated the old creation and released the divine life that it might be imparted to all those who believe in Him. Now, in resurrection, He is the life-giving Spirit who indwells our spirit and who has become one spirit with us. We have a mingled spirit within us, our regenerated human spirit mingled with the divine Spirit. This is a very deep matter.
If we consider the context of the whole book of 1 Corinthians, we shall have the assurance to interpret the depths of God in 2:10 as referring to the all-inclusive Christ who, as the life-giving Spirit, indwells our spirit. After accomplishing redemption, this Christ became a life-giving Spirit. As such, He is so available to us that we are joined to Him as one spirit. Nothing is deeper than this.
When we enjoy Christ continually, we shall eventually enter into the depths of God’s being. Then we shall realize that we are in the very heart, the depths, of the almighty God, and that He is becoming our inner element. Then in Christ we shall be mingled with God. When we enjoy Christ, we touch the depths of God, and God becomes the element within us.
Christ is practical to us in our experience. He is not only our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30) but also the depths of God. Because our experience is limited, we are not able to explain adequately what it means for Christ to be the depths of God. But one day we shall advance in our experience and we shall truly know Him as God’s depths.
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