What does “things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man” mean?


The biblical text to which I refer is found in the first epistle of the apostle Paul to the community of faith in Corinth, where we read properly:

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. 1st. Corinthians 2:9

And it is a direct reference to the writings of the prophet Isaiah, when he writes:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Isaiah 64:4 (65:17)

It is a text well known to all those who militate in the ways of faith, but what does it mean?

I’d like to give you a non-theological explanation of the text. One of these mornings as I was praying to the Lord, asking Him about the need we have throughout the world for the Revelation of the Good News to reach more and more people, He made me understand that the Revelation of the Gospel is not established on earth, not because of the absence of proclaimers of the Kingdom, but because of the lack of understanding we have about how to live the life of Heaven on earth, and this because of impediments we have to “see”, to “hear”, and to “receive” the Revelation of God in our hearts.

The life of faith is a life of conviction, that knowledge we have understood; but since faith is not a human elaboration but the effect of the establishment of the Spirit of Truth through the Word of God (John 8:32), the life of faith is the life of Heaven’s standards of living, on earth of course.

Then, things that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, means to live no more by the things that are proper to our existence, and to substitute them by the spiritual realities under which it is lived in Heaven. It is a substitution of models of life, it is a matter of making material things disappear, that is, the most immediate things, those things by which we have learned to live, those that were part of the essence of our existence, and learning to live by the rules of life of the existence of Heaven; we had already been exhorted to this by the apostle Paul, when he instructed the community of Colosse:

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

Things that eye did not see, nor ear heard, nor have risen in the heart of man, means not being affected, negatively and/or positively, by the factors of atheistic social existence under which one lives existentially, but, above all, understanding that human experiences are deformed realities that need to be transformed into “holy” realities; this activity is properly the process of Evangelization, that is, the process by which the reality of people together with their circumstances is transformed.

Only the man/woman of faith has the authority and power to transform deformed realities and make them precedents for acts of faith by which others can see, hear and receive into their hearts the transforming Grace; of this also the apostle teaches, and writes:

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ephesian 4:28

Things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, means the constant activity of establishing the instructions of the doctrine of Christ; it means understanding and acting on what Jesus taught when at the beginning of His ministry He established the basis of the Gospel: Ye have heard that it was said, …But I say unto you.

Revelation will not come until we make the “switch” of life intentionality, everything begins with the decision to change according to the instructions of the Spirit by the Word, as it is written:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

Things eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man, is the operation of the Spirit whereby man is freed from his religious bonds, and led by the Spirit Himself to establish understanding of Life in all his activities. May the Lord give you understanding.


The biblical quotations are taken from the Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)


Pastor Pedro Montoya

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The doctrine of Christ is embodied in the texts of the Mosaic Law, in the prophetic writings, and in the psalms


The doctrine of Christ is not an innovation of Christianity, not even a doctrine coined by Jesus Himself.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. John 10:18


Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. John 14:10

The doctrine of Christ is found scattered in the writings of the Law, the prophets, and the psalms,

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself   …   44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:27, 44

All the references cited in the four Gospels recognize a difference in the teachings of Jesus from those known at that time, but they also recognize that such teachings belong to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22But I say unto you, … Matthew 5:21, 22


Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you,  … Matthew 5:27, 28


Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39But I say unto you, …       Matthew 5:38, 39


Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, … Matthew 5:43,44


And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28, 29


But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.            Matthew 15:9


Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:12

Therefore, the doctrine that Jesus proclaimed is not a new doctrine originated in Him or by Him, His doctrine it was elaborated starting from the statutes of Mosaic Law, from prophecy of the prophets and in the singing praises of Psalms.

The religious departed from the spiritual teaching and added their own interpretations, far from the purposes for which it was established. That was the reason why Jesus constantly rebuked them, because they saw it more important to keep their tradition than to take care to put into practice the Word of God. Jesus regains the real emphasis and establishes the true spiritual value of its promulgation.

This is the part of the teachings about Jesus that many have not understood in relation to the validity of the Old Testament for the New Testament church. The majority of the contemporary faith communities have decided to renounce to the Veterotestamentary teachings, arguing that everything of the Old Testament no longer has validity on the Grace, incurring without knowing it in the greatest doctrinal error of the present time, and unfortunately, exposing themselves also to apostasy. All of them ignore that the, 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 (1st. Corinthians 2:9), to which the apostle Paul refers, are mysteries of Revelation still found in the Old Testament.