Bobby L. Graham preaches and is an elder for the Old Moulton Road church. He is married to Karen (Hodge) Graham and has three children: Richard, Mary Katherine Winland (Darren), and Laura Paschall (Jeremy). bobbylgraham@pclnet.net

QUESTION:

What does 1 Corinthians 2:9 mean? Does it refer to heaven?

ANSWER:

The verse in question reads thusly: “But as it is written: “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.”

The question seems to have specific reference to that part of this verse speaking of “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him,” or at least that is the part usually cited to sustain the idea of heaven. It used to be a verse frequently employed at funerals to extol the joys and blessings of heaven, even by some brethren. Is heaven what Paul here had in mind?

I do not believe that heaven is the focus in this verse. First, Paul was here dealing with the revelation of the mind and will of God in this chapter; this is the specific context of this statement. Notice the following indicators of this contextual focus: “the testimony of God,” “Jesus Christ and him crucified,” “my speech and my preaching,” “wisdom,” “wisdom of God in a mystery,” “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him,” “the deep things of God,” “the things of God,” “the things that have been freely given to us by God,” “these things we also speak,” “the things of the Spirit of God,” “the mind of the Lord,” and “the mind of Christ.” All of these expressions refer to the same thing – the revealed word of God.

Second, Paul spoke of the need for such divine revelation in verse 9, the verse in question. He indicated the means employed by men when seeking information in the natural realm – the sight of the eye, the hearing of the ear, and the consideration by the mind. Do not these find much use in various fields of scientific investigation like chemistry, physics, biology, and astronomy? Theories, hypotheses, and conclusions find their basis in what is seen, heard, and reasoned on. Such means, however useful they be in physical search for knowledge, have no place whatever in the search for truth. Truth had to be first revealed by God, through the Holy Spirit’s work, that all humanity might then know what God willed to make known, or what verse nine calls “the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” These were prepared by God before the world began (v. 8) and later revealed (v. 10). Before their revelation, they were a “mystery,” as described in verse 7, where their being “hidden” is used to clarify their nature as a mystery. The message of the gospel of Christ, planned before creation and revealed under the new covenant, is what God prepared for all human beings (Gen. 12:3), but in particular for those loving him enough to believe and obey Him.

Because heaven is included in God’s plan for the saved, it is part of His preparation for those loving Him; but this verse has no specific reference to heaven, though it speaks about what the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, or even the mind of man has not considered. Man could never have known such plans of God (forgiveness of sins, atonement through Jesus’s propitiation, justification, fellowship with God, access to God in prayer, the privilege of acceptable service and worship, and the hope of eternal life in heaven) apart from God’s initiating the revealing of His mind to the world. No tool of man is competent to find out (discover) God’s plans!