Why has God given believers the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 2:12?
According to 1 Corinthians 2:12, God has given believers the Holy Spirit so that they might know the things that are freely given to them by God. The Spirit is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, making the things of God understandable.
Les explains that Paul writes, “Now we have received,” in the past tense, and he is speaking not only of himself but also of those to whom he is writing. They did not receive the spirit of the world. Instead, they received the Spirit which is of God, so that they might know the things that are freely given to us, not by Paul, but by God. Les illustrates this by saying the unsaved person cannot comprehend the things of God; they are a closed book. But once a person enters into a salvation experience and is born again by the Spirit of God, the book opens up, and these things become understandable because the Spirit reveals them.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.