“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Corinthians 2:16 Mean?
"We have the mind of Christ." After asking a rhetorical question — who has known the Lord's mind well enough to instruct Him? (quoting Isaiah 40:13) — Paul makes a staggering claim: we have the mind of Christ. The mind that nobody can instruct, nobody can fully comprehend, nobody can counsel — believers have it. Access to Christ's thinking has been given to the community.
The word "mind" (nous) means the faculty of understanding, reasoning, and perceiving. Having the mind of Christ doesn't mean Christians are omniscient. It means they have access to Christ's perspective — a way of seeing, understanding, and evaluating reality that comes from the Spirit (verse 12-13).
The "we" is communal, not individual. Paul doesn't say "I have the mind of Christ" — he says "we." The access to Christ's thinking is given to the believing community, not to isolated individuals. You perceive the mind of Christ in community, through the Spirit, as Scripture is read and discussed together.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do you access the mind of Christ — through Scripture, prayer, community, or the Spirit?
- 2.What does seeing reality through Christ's perspective change about your evaluations?
- 3.Why is the mind of Christ given to 'we' (community) rather than 'I' (individual)?
- 4.What decision are you facing that needs Christ's mind rather than your own?
Devotional
We have the mind of Christ. The mind nobody can instruct — we have access to it. The thinking nobody can comprehend — we participate in it. Through the Spirit, the community of believers shares the perspective of Christ Himself.
This is the most audacious claim in Paul's epistle: human beings, limited and finite, have been given access to divine thinking. Not all of it — we're not omniscient. But the lens, the perspective, the way Christ evaluates reality — it's been shared with us through the Spirit.
The 'we' is critical: the mind of Christ is given to the community. Not to you alone in your private devotion — to us, together, as we read Scripture, discuss, pray, and discern together. Your individual access to Christ's mind is real but partial. The community's access is fuller because multiple Spirit-filled minds perceive what one can't.
Having the mind of Christ means you can evaluate reality the way Christ does — not by worldly wisdom (verse 6) but by spiritual discernment. You see through appearances to substance. You perceive what the natural mind can't (verse 14). The perspective is supernatural, given by the Spirit, and accessible to the community.
Are you using the mind of Christ? Not just your own reasoning — the Christ-shaped perspective the Spirit provides? The access has been given. The lens is available. The thinking of Christ is shareable. But you have to engage it — through Scripture, through the Spirit, through the community.
You have the mind of Christ. Use it.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For who hath known ... - This passage is quoted from Isa 40:13. The interrogative form is a strong mode of denying that…
For who hath known the mind of the Lord - Who that is still an animal man can know the mind of God? so as to instruct…
In this part of the chapter the apostle shows them that though he had not come to them with the excellency of human…
For who hath known the mind of the Lord See note on 1Co 1:10. The Hebrew of Isa 40:13, here quoted, has spirit, the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture