1 Corinthians 8:2 English Standard Version (ESV) If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

1 Corinthians 8:2 King James Version (KJV) And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

The mind is a powerful tool but it is just a tool. Imaginations are not real. Thinking that you know a thing simply because you have the power to reason does not make it true. Hearing God is a spiritual gift activated by faith because it pleases God to do so.

Men can be very convincing. Their reasoning skills can be very persuasive. Does that make them the voice of God? No, only the Holy Spirit is the voice of God. His ability to speak to us is by faith and is a revelation not mental reasoning.

Bringing things into remembrance sounds like a memory skill but it comes from a different place. His indwelling is the new heart not the renewed mind. His affirmation of truth is a yes and amen which comes to us by faith and not by reasoning. When a pastor or teacher speaks truth the spirit confirms by faith not by reasoning.

Reading God’s Holy Word without thinking about what it means is our first encounter with hearing by faith.

Romans 10:17 English Standard Version (ESV) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Nowhere in that verse is there a reference to our reasoning skills. It is a spiritual exercise. We fool ourselves if we tell ourselves that our reasoning skills brings us to His truth. He reveals truth from the heart which is the seat of true choice. That is His abiding place. He does not occupy our mind.

We are not puppets. We must choose to hear and obey. That is an exercise of our free will.

Choose to love God.