God has revealed the things He has prepared to believers through the Holy Spirit, while the gospel remains hidden from the lost.
The Bible says God has revealed these things to believers by His Spirit: 'But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit' (1 Corinthians 2:10). Les Feldick emphasizes that God sovereignly keeps the secret things to Himself until He is ready to reveal them, and that the revealed things belong to us and our children (Deuteronomy 29:29). Unbelievers, by contrast, have the gospel hid to them because the god of this world blinds their minds (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
1 Corinthians 2:10 — Paul directly answers the question: God has revealed the things prepared for believers to them by His Spirit.
Scripture plainly answers the question in 1 Corinthians 2:10, where Paul writes, 'But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.' The 'us' in this context are believers — those who love God, for whom, as verse 9 says, God has prepared these unseen things. Deuteronomy 29:29 draws a clear line between what is secret and what is revealed: 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.' The revealed things are given to God's people. The New Testament likewise teaches that the mystery of God's will has been made known to believers (Ephesians 1:9), and that this mystery 'was not made known to the sons of men' in earlier ages but is now revealed to God's holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:5). At the same time, Paul warns, 'if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost' (2 Corinthians 4:3).
Les Feldick teaches that the whole concept of revelation in Scripture centers on God's sovereignty to keep things secret until He chooses to reveal them. He repeatedly turns to Deuteronomy 29:29 — 'the secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children' — to show that God does not reveal everything at once, but when He does reveal, He expects His people to believe it. Les stresses that the mysteries and doctrines that have come to us through the Apostle Paul — that whole sphere of doctrine and revelation — were for the most part kept secret in the mind of God until He revealed them to Paul. As Paul writes in Ephesians 3:5, these things were not made known in other ages but are now revealed. So the things of God have been revealed to believers, and particularly to and through the Apostle Paul, for the benefit of those who believe. The other side of the coin is that the gospel is hid to the lost. Les points to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, where the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. And he notes that the Spirit of God is the one who opens the Word to believers, giving wisdom and prudence and making known the mystery of God's will (Ephesians 1:8-9).
Paul writes, 'But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.' Here 'us' refers to believers. This is the very passage Les introduces in his study of 1 Corinthians 2, showing that the things God has prepared for those who love Him are not discovered by human intellect — they are revealed by the Spirit to God's people.
Les teaches that our gospel is hid to them that are lost. In 2 Corinthians 4, the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, so the light of the glorious gospel cannot shine in. Unbelievers do not understand what they are missing, because the gospel is hidden from them.
Les returns again and again to Deuteronomy 29:29: the secret things belong to the Lord, but the things which are revealed belong to us and our children forever. God has the prerogative to keep things secret until He is good and ready to reveal them. When He does reveal them, they are given for His people to know and believe.
Les points to Ephesians 1, where believers are given wisdom and prudence and the mystery of God's will is made known unto them. He tells of a student who grew remarkably in grace, and explains that the Spirit does that work: 'He opens it.' The Spirit of God searches the deep things of God and reveals them to believers.
Les emphasizes that the great body of doctrine revealed through Paul was kept secret in the mind of God until He revealed it to the apostle. Ephesians 3:5 says the mystery was not made known to the sons of men in other ages as it is now revealed. Once revealed, Paul was commissioned to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ — and those revealed things now belong to us.
Introducing 1 Corinthians 2:10
Les moves from verse 9 into verse 10 in the passage where Paul says the Spirit reveals the things God has prepared — introducing the very text that answers this question.
The secret things and the revealed things
Les explains that the secret things belong to God and are revealed in His own time; the things which are revealed then belong to us and our children.
Secrets kept for the Apostle Paul
Les emphasizes that the doctrines and revelations given through Paul were kept secret in the mind of God until He revealed them to Paul.
Revealed things must be believed
Les stresses that when God has revealed something, His people are to believe it — and the revealed things belong to us and our children.
Gospel hid to the lost
Les contrasts those who receive revelation with those who do not: the gospel is hid to the lost, whose minds are blinded by the god of this world.
Deuteronomy 29:29 explained
Les cites Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that God keeps the secret things to Himself but gives the revealed things to us and our children forever.
Mystery now revealed
Les shows from Ephesians 3 that the mystery was not made known in other ages but is now revealed, and Paul was sent to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The Spirit makes known the mystery
Les teaches that the Holy Spirit opens the Word and gives believers wisdom and prudence, making known unto us the mystery of God's will.
1 Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Establishes what God has prepared for those who love Him — the things that are then revealed to believers.
1 Corinthians 2:10: But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Directly answers the question — God reveals these things to believers by His Spirit.
Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The foundational verse Les uses to show that revealed things belong to us and our children.
Ephesians 1:8: Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
The wisdom and prudence the Spirit gives believers as He opens the Word.
Ephesians 1:9: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
God has made known to believers the mystery of His will.
Ephesians 3:5: Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
The mystery was not made known in other ages as it is now revealed.
Ephesians 3:8: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Paul's grace to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ after the mystery was revealed to him.
2 Corinthians 4:3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
The gospel is hid to them that are lost.
2 Corinthians 4:4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Explains why the lost cannot see the gospel — the god of this world blinds their minds.
The things of God have been revealed to believers through the Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, 'God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit' (1 Corinthians 2:10). Les Feldick adds that the revealed things belong to us and our children, while the gospel is hid to them that are lost.
No. Les teaches that God sovereignly keeps the secret things to Himself until He is ready to reveal them (Deuteronomy 29:29). For unbelievers, the gospel is hid because the god of this world has blinded their minds (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals them. Les teaches that the Spirit opens the Word and gives believers wisdom and prudence, making known to us the mystery of God's will (Ephesians 1:8-9). Believers grow in grace as the Spirit leads them into the deep things of God's Word.
Watch the Teaching: What the Holy Spirit Reveals to Believers - 1 Corinthians 2:9-13 Explained