Devotional 21 October 2025

There is perhaps no verse more frequently pulled from its context than this one. Many hear it quoted as a promise of hidden blessings (health, wealth, or success) that God is waiting to pour out if we only believe hard enough. Yet Paul’s “but” at the beginning of the verse tells us he is not introducing a new topic but continuing one: the wisdom of God revealed in the cross of Christ. In the verses before, Paul reminds the Corinthians that the rulers of this age, in their human wisdom, could not comprehend God’s plan, “for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8).

The mystery Paul celebrates is not material provision but redemption. What no eye had seen, what no ear had heard, what no mind could imagine, is that the infinite, holy God would take on flesh, suffer at the hands of His creation, and die for their salvation. The gospel is the “hidden wisdom of God” (1 Cor 2:7), a wisdom so beyond human comprehension that even the prophets who spoke of it “searched and inquired carefully” (1 Pet 1:10–12).

To use this verse as a slogan for earthly prosperity is to empty it of its glory. It turns the blood of Christ into a steppingstone for comfort and wealth. Paul is not speaking of our next promotion or our next car, he is speaking of the cross, where the unimaginable became real. The plan that no philosopher could conceive and no religion could achieve has been freely given to those who love Him: reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ (Rom 5:8–11; Eph 2:4–9).

Let us not grow tired of the manna of heaven as Israel once did (Num 11:6). The miracle has already been given. The wisdom of God has already been revealed. And it is enough. The secret, the sign, the promise: the greatest gift prepared for those who love Him is Christ Himself. And Christ is enough!