1 Corinthians 2:11 Meaning and Explanation
“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Just as only a person's own spirit truly knows their inner thoughts, so only the Spirit of God knows the things of God.
What Does 1 Corinthians 2:11 Mean?
Paul offers a comparison drawn from common experience. No one knows the inner thoughts of a person except that person's own spirit within them. In the same way, the inmost things of God are known only to the Spirit of God.
The point is both humbling and hopeful. By ourselves we cannot peer into the mind of God any more than a stranger can read our secret thoughts. Yet the Spirit of God knows those depths perfectly and is the one given to teach us. This guards us against the pride of imagining we have figured God out, while pointing us to the only sure source of understanding. To know the things of God, we must receive what the Spirit gives. The closeness God offers is not earned by cleverness but granted through his own Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:11 in the Original Language
pneuma (πνεῦμα), 'spirit' -- breath or wind, here the inmost self of a person and, in its fullest sense, the Spirit of God who alone knows God's depths.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Corinthians 2:11
What does 1 Corinthians 2:11 mean?
Just as only a person's own spirit truly knows their inner thoughts, so only the Spirit of God knows the things of God.