Limitless Word

1 Corinthians 2:16

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
  • KJV For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
  • BSB “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
  • NKJV For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
  • NLT For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

No one can instruct the Lord's mind, yet believers, by the Spirit, have the mind of Christ. Through Christ we share in God's own perspective.

Overview

Quoting Isaiah 40:13, Paul affirms that no human can counsel God, underscoring the limits of human wisdom. Yet astonishingly, believers 'have Christ's mind' through the indwelling Spirit, enabling them to think in line with Christ. This caps the argument: true wisdom comes not from the world but from Christ given to His people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Isa 40:13–14Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor?
  • Rom 11:34“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
  • John 16:13–16However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
  • John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
  • Job 15:8Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
  • Jer 23:18For who has stood in the council of Yahweh, that he should perceive and hear his word? Who has listend to my word, and heard it?
  • Eph 3:3–4how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words,
  • Job 40:2“Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
  • John 17:6–8I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
  • Job 22:2“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
  • Gen 1:12The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

Christ at the center

Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.

How 1 Corinthians 2:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.