“Western society has moved from Romanticism to German Idealism to Positivism to Modernism to Postmodernism“ (Microsoft Copilot).
We might characterize the present as The Age of Confusion. I recently forwarded a video I thought was real, but later learned it was AI-generated. How will we, and future generations, differentiate AI from reality? We originalists who believe the Bible to be the Word of God have reason to be cautious. AI is useful. However, some believers will use it as a shortcut or crutch rather than a genuine transformation, as Paul exhorted the church at Rome:
.. . do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. . . (Rom 12:2)
This transformation is not automatic and requires diligence, as Paul taught Timothy:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)
It is tempting to bury our heads in the sand and let the world go by. But generations that follow depend on us to hold the line. God has equipped us to navigate the confusion of our day through spiritual rebirth and the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote:
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. (1 Cor 2:12-14)
The last phrase, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words, highlights the confusion in translating and interpreting this entire chapter. (Omit the terms crossed out) The conclusion some draw is that Paul is only addressing those who preach and teach. However, this passage is about the wisdom of God in providing His crucified Son (v. 2) and the application of this event to all of life. Paul wrote:
Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. (1 Cor 2:6-10)
The last term, combining, in v. 2:13b, is sunkrínontes, from sun, together, and krino, to judge. It is a Participle and Predicate Adjective modifying we (vs. 6a and 12a). The use of the Present Active Participle emphasizes the character of the one doing the action. To paraphrase, we… combiners of spiritual matters with spiritual matters. (DJB) By inserting this phrase, Paul summarizes what he has just said in chapter 2 regarding all whom the Spirit of God teaches the wisdom of God. In the remainder of this epistle, Paul addresses issues that require correction by those who have the mind of Christ (v. 16b). This involves combining spiritual matters with spiritual matters.