Revelation: Walking in the Knowledge of God

Sermon preached on January 29, 2023 – 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 – Revelation: Walking in the Knowledge of God

We’re beginning a new sermon series today. This is going to be a series of word studies. I’m not going to preach through a particular book of the Bible, but I’m going to preach on particular words from the Bible. Each sermon will focus on a different biblical word that describes some important aspect of our Christian walk. We’re going to consider words like faith, grace, justification, regeneration, election, and so on. Because each of these words describes some important aspect of our Christian walk, I’m calling this sermon series, “These Words Are Meant for Walking.”

The word we’re going to be focusing on this morning is “revelation.” Our sermon text explains that if the Spirit of God had not revealed the things of God to us, then we would not be walking with God. We would actually think that the things of God are foolishness, so we would very content to reject God. We would be very content to walk apart from God.

Revelation, therefore, is essential for our ability to walk with God. If you and I are going to stay on the narrow path without turning to the left or to the right, then we’re going to need the revelation of God that’s given to us by the Holy Spirit.

But before we jump into the details of our sermon text, let’s define what revelation is. The Greek word is apokalypto (a-pock-a-loop-toe). This is where we get the English word “apocalypse,” which means “to reveal or uncover.” The Greek word literally means “to pull the lid off.” If you pull the lid off a pot that’s on the stove, you can see what’s cooking inside, right? That’s the idea apokalypto. The revelation of God is Him “pulling the lid off” of the unknown things in this world so we can see what’s inside. In other words, God’s revelation makes truth known to us. It’s how He gives us certain knowledge of things we would not know otherwise. In very simple terms, revelation is God speaking to mankind. He tells us who He is, what He has done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He plans to do in the future. For example:

Concerning the past, He tells us how He has created the world, judged the world, loved the world, sent His Son to redeem the world.

Concerning the present, He tells us how He upholds all things by the word of His power. He tells us how He working all things for the good of those who love Him. He tells us how Jesus saves to the uttermost those who are coming to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Concerning the future, God tells us how Jesus is going to return to judge this world. He tells us of the eternal new heavens and new earth that He has prepared for those who are His people, and He tells us of the eternal lake of fire He has prepared for those who are not His people.

Moreover, God tells us what He thinks about us and how we ought to respond to Him.

He gives us direction, and counsel, and promises, and warnings.

He teaches us His moral values. He gives us all the details for knowing the things He approves of, as well as the things He hates.

And because God has given us the revelation of Himself, we’re able to know Him. He’s not some distant, impersonal deity that we can only speculate must exist somewhere out there beyond the distant stars. We’re able to know Him. We’re able to know Him because He has “pulled the lid off” and revealed Himself to us.

In Acts 17:23, we read how the Athenians had built an altar to “the unknown God.” The apostle Paul corrected them on this matter by telling them that they really do have knowledge of the one true God. Paul said they can know Him by looking at creation because He’s the God who created the world and everything in it. He’s the One who gives life and breath to all things. He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth, and He commands them all to repent. Why? Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world. So Paul is telling the Athenians that they can know all of this simply by observing God’s creation.

Paul gives a very similar message in Romans 1. He writes in verses 18-20…

18 For the wrath of God is revealed—that’s the word apokalypto—for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…

Notice how many of the verbs and adjectives in these three verses confirm the knowability of God.

“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven,” verse 18.

“What may be known of God is manifest,” verse 19.

“For God has shown it to them,” verse 19.

“His invisible attributes are clearly seen,” verse 20.

“His invisible attributes are understood,” verse 20.

And then verse 20 concludes by saying that all of this is so clearly revealed to mankind that all people are without excuse. Nobody will be able to say on Judgement Day that they didn’t know who God is or what He required of them, because it’s been so clearly revealed to them. It’s been “revealed from heaven … by the thing that are made.” Psalm 19:1-3 puts it this way…

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

So in Psalm 19, and Romans 1, as well as the discourse Paul had with the Athenians in Acts 17, we see that the creation reveals its Creator. God is clearly known and seen by the things that He made. And this is evident to all people. There is no speech or language where the voice of creation testifying to the Creator is not heard.

Our sermon text is another passage that tells us about God’s revelation. An obvious indication of this is that fact that the word apokalypto appears in verse 10. “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit,” we read in verse 10. Yet when we consider what our sermon text is telling us about revelation, one of things that comes through loud and clear is that God doesn’t give this revelation to everybody.

That’s different from the passages we’ve already looked at. Psalm 19, Romans 1, and Act 17 tells us that God gives His revelation to everyone. And everyone understands it. There’s no speech or language where the voice of creation testifying to the Creator is not heard. This is why all people are without excuse.

So how do we reconcile the universal revelation of God that’s described in Psalm 19, Romans 1, and Acts 17 with the selective revelation of God that’s described in our sermon text?

The answer has to do with the content of God’s revelation; that is, the specific information God is revealing. God reveals some information to all people and He only reveals other information to some people. Our sermon text is dealing with the information God only reveals to some people.

If you look at verses 6 and 7, you’ll see Paul contrasting two types of wisdom. He speaks about the wisdom of this age and the wisdom of God. He actually began this contrast back in verse 4. That’s where he wrote about human wisdom. He said that the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified was not preached with persuasive words of human wisdom, but it was preached in the power of the Spirit of God. Then in verse 6, Paul repeats himself. He says that we speak “wisdom” among the mature, but it’s not the wisdom of this age. What we speak, he goes on to say in verse 7, is the wisdom of God. And then he makes the point in verse 8 that if the rulers of this age had known the wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of this age, then they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

So in our sermon text, Paul is establishing a sharp contrast between the divine wisdom of God and the human wisdom of this age. And he illustrates this contrast by showing that the type of wisdom you walk in will lead you down drastically different paths. Had the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Roman soldiers, and Pontius Pilate known the wisdom of God, then they would have known the true identity of Jesus Christ and would not have crucified Him. But because they only knew the wisdom of this age, they ended up committing the absolute worst crime in all of human history. They crucified the Lord of glory.

The reason the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Roman soldiers, and Pontius Pilate didn’t know the wisdom of God is because the wisdom of God has not been revealed to all people. Look at verse 7…

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory

When we hear the word “mystery,” many of us probably think of something that’s impossible to understand or explain. This is because in English, a mystery is some cryptic thing that people have tried to understand, but are unable to understand. For example, we speak of the mystery of dark matter because we think it’s there, but we can’t really prove it or explain its existence. Or we speak of the mystery of Jimmy Hoffa. We know he’s dead, but how he died and where his body is located is a mystery.

But in the Greek language, “mystery” has a slightly different meaning. It describes something that used to be unknown, but has been made known by revelation. Biblically speaking, a mystery is something that can only be known by divine revelation, and God appoints the manner and time when He makes it known to people. This biblical definition changes how we understand certain passages of scripture. For example, In Ephesians 5, when Paul is writing about how a wife needs to submit to her husband and a husband needs to lovingly lay down his life for his wife, he concludes this instruction by writing in verse 32…

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Many of us read this and we think to ourselves, “Paul is saying that nobody can really understand these things. A man and his wife have some vague of correlation with Christ and the church, but Paul says it’s ‘a great mystery.’ We can’t understand it. Maybe we’ll be able to understand it when we get to heaven, but for now, it’s a mystery.” But that’s not what Paul is saying! What he’s actually saying is, “I just explained to you the correlation a man and his wife have with Christ and the church. In the past, nobody understood this. Nobody had any clue that there was such a correlation. Everybody just thought that marriage was marriage. But now, because God has chosen to reveal this great truth to us, we get it. We understand the correlation. We see how our earthly marriages are a picture of Christ Jesus making His bride holy and without blemish.”

So coming back to our sermon text, Paul is saying that the wisdom of God contains the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and this wisdom is a mystery. It’s something that the Corinthians did not know or understand in the past, but God has appointed this particular time and place for the truth of Jesus Christ to be made known to them…

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory

The reality is that it’s impossible for fallen human beings to know this wisdom of God, unless the Lord is pleased to reveal it to them. Paul makes this point in verse 9 by quoting Isaiah 64:4. He writes…

But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit,” he goes on to write in verse 10. “But God has revealed them to us”—not to everybody; God hasn’t revealed the secrets of His hidden wisdom to everybody—“but God has revealed them to us through His Spirit,” it says in verse 10.

As I said a few minutes ago, the type of revelation that’s being described here in our sermon text is different than the type of revelation that’s described in Psalm 19, Romans 1, and Acts 17. Theologians have given us two helpful terms for understanding the differences between these types of revelation. “General revelation” is that which is God gives to all people, and “special revelation” is that which God only gives to some people. General revelation provides all people with the knowledge of God and His invisible attributes. This includes God’s attribute of wrath against sin, as well as His power to administer justice. Which means, general revelation makes all people aware of their guilt and condemnation before this holy God. They are without excuse.

General revelation speaks to all people through creation, as we’ve already seen. But it also speaks to all people through their conscience. Romans 2:15 says that when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do the things that are required by the law, they “show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,” either accusing them or excusing them.

What Paul is describing there in Romans 2:15 is a part of God’s general revelation. He has given all people a conscience which either accuses or excuse them according to the moral law that God has written on their hearts. Of course, many people ignore their conscience. In unrighteousness, many people suppress the truth of what their conscience is accusing them of. In so doing, the voice of their conscience eventually becomes muted. This is what God was describing back in Romans 1:28 where He describes giving people over to a debase mind. If you’ve ever seen a person who can sin without any guilt or remorse for what they’ve done, that’s a person who’s been given over to a debase mind. Their conscience doesn’t accuse them anymore; not because they never had a conscience, but because God gave them over to a debase mind.

Brothers and sisters, there’s a deliberate path you must walk to be given over to a debase mind. It starts with suppressing your guilt. You commit a sin and your conscience immediately tells you that what you just did is wrong. If you don’t listen to your conscience and allow it to bring you to repentance, you’ll end up suppressing your conscience, telling it to be quiet. And when you keep doing this, you’ll eventually get what you desire. The voice of your conscience will become quieter and quieter until God eventually silences your conscience completely, allowing you to pursue your sin without any distractions from a guilty conscience. That’s an incredibly dangerous place to be, dear friends. You don’t want to find yourself in that category of people whom God has given over to a debase mind. You definitely want to stop and make a U-turn if you’re traveling in that direction. The way you’ll know you’re on the path to that dangerous place is by monitoring how loud the voice of your guilty conscience is. Are you able to sin without hearing your conscience screaming at you? Have you fallen into a pattern of sin and you’re experiencing less guilt each time you commit the sin? Has it become easier for you to sin because your conscience has become quieter?

Ephesians 4:19 speaks of those who are walking apart from God and it describes them as “being past feeling,” having “given themselves over to uncleanness.” To be “past feeling” is to no longer experience a guilty conscience. To have “given themselves over to uncleanness” means they’ve made peace with the patterns of sin in their lives. That’s not how you want to be, dear friends. You want to be like Timothy, who Paul described in 1 Timothy 1:19 as a person who wages good warfare, having faith and a good conscience. To not wage good warfare by faith and a good conscience will most certainly lead to the shipwreck of your faith. That’s what happened to Hymenaeus and Alexander; they suffered shipwreck of their faith. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:20 that they were delivered over to Satan that they may learn not blaspheme.

Special revelation is much more specific than general revelation. Whereas general revelation gives us the moral law of God written on our hearts, special revelation gives us a more detailed definition of God’s moral law. And it also gives us God’s ceremonial law, which is a shadow of the holiness that He requires of all of us. Galatians 3:24 tells us that the ceremonial law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But you wouldn’t any of know this if it weren’t for God’s special revelation.

God’s special revelation, therefore, is where we learn of the promises of God, of the person and work of Jesus Christ, and that the good news of salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Over the course of God’s unfolding plan of redemption, special revelation has been given to select people in several different ways. In the garden, God spoke face to face with Adam and Eve. After the fall, under the Old Covenant, God spoke to select people through dreams and visions. At other times, He spoke to through angels and prophets. But under the New Covenant, God’s special revelation is given in Jesus Christ. Listen to what is written in Hebrews 1:1…

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son

When you consider that the book of Hebrews is repetitively making the point that what happened under the old covenant was not as good as what’s happening under the new covenant, we understand the verse I just read to be saying that God used to give special revelation through prophets and a variety of other ways, but now He gives us His special revelation through the person of Jesus Christ, which is better. And this fits with the rest of the New Testament because John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is “the Word.” And John 1:14 tells us the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And John 14:7 says that if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the Father, because according to Colossians 2:9, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form in the person of Jesus.

So today, God communicates His special revelation through Jesus. But how do we “see” Jesus, since He’s ascended into heaven? John 5:46 and Luke 24:27 tell us that every page of the Scriptures is about Jesus, so we “see” Him by reading the Holy Scriptures. And let’s not forget that 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That’s just another way of saying that all Scripture is breathed out by God; that it’s the very Word of God.

So we don’t look for God’s special revelation in dreams and visions anymore. Nor do we look to angels to give us a private message. Nor do we look to modern day prophets for any new revelation. Which means, if anybody comes up to you says that the Lord has given them “a word to prophesy over you,” unless the word they’re prophesying is a quotation or exposition of the Holy Scriptures, you should reject their message. Jude 3 says that the faith has once for all been delivered to the saints. The faith has once for all been delivered to the saints. There’s no new special revelation. Therefore, we can say that God’s special revelation began in the Garden of Eden and ended with the apostolic age.

Somebody will ask, “Does this mean that God doesn’t speak anymore? Does this mean that for the past 19 centuries, God has not been speaking to people?” No, it does not mean that. It’s true that there’s hasn’t been any new revelation since the apostolic age, but this doesn’t mean that God is no longer speaking. God is still speaking to His people; He’s just saying the same things He been saying since the apostolic age. Because the faith was once for all delivered to the saints in the apostolic age, God is pleased to continue repeating the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified until the Second Coming. J.I. Packer made this point in an article he wrote for Intervarsity magazine…

…when we read, or hear read or expounded, the biblical record of what God said in Old or New Testament times, we are as truly confronted by a word of revelation addressed by God to us, and demanding a response from us, as were the Jewish congregations who listened to Jeremiah or Ezekiel, or Peter, or Christ, or the Gentile congregations who listened to the sermons of the apostle Paul.

So what does this mean for your Christian walk? It means that when you’re looking for direction, you should look to the Holy Scriptures because that’s where you’ll learn about Jesus Christ. That’s where God continues to speak to people today. That’s where He proclaims that there’s no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved. It’s only in the name of Jesus Christ. To walk in any other knowledge or wisdom is to be lead astray of God. So what are the essential differences between general revelation and special revelation? We can boil it down to two things. First, general revelation carries no redemptive message. It gives no hint that God is gracious and merciful to those who break His law. General revelation assures sinners of their condemnation, but it offers no hope of forgiveness. Or to put it in slightly different words, general revelation preaches the law, but not the gospel. The gospel is only made known through special revelation.

And the second essential difference is that anybody can understand general revelation, but only those in whom the Spirit of God dwells can understand special revelation. This is main point of our sermon text. Look at verses 10-12. Speaking of the mysteries of God’s hidden wisdom…

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Now look at verse 14…

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So when it comes to truly knowing and discerning and understanding God’s special revelation, only those who have received the Holy Spirit are able to understand. Those people who have not received the Holy Spirit cannot know the things of God. Notice that the claim is not that the natural man is incapable of reading the Bible, or that the natural man is incapable of hearing the gospel. No, the natural man can obviously read the Bible, and he can repeat its content back you. He can tell you the stories of Adam, and Noah, and Moses, and David. He can tell you how Israel was a chosen nation. He can tell you how the Pharisees and Sadducees were plotting against Jesus. And he can even tell you what the Bible says about the gospel; he can tell you that Ephesians 2:8-9 says that sinners are saved by grace through faith and not by works.

So our sermon text is not telling us that people who have not received the Holy Spirit cannot know the special revelation of God at an intellectual level, but that they cannot know it at a spiritual level. In other words, they cannot believe it. They cannot receive the special revelation of God by faith. Why not? Because of what it says in verse 14…

the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Dear friends:

If you hear the declaration of the gospel and say to yourself, “Yeah, I know the drill. I’ve heard it a million times. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. But really, what good is that going to do? How is that going to change anything? Can a silent prayer I whisper in the privacy of my mind really change anything?” If this is what you think, then you’re hearing the gospel with natural ears, but you’re not hearing it with spiritual ears. This is a reason to question whether you’ve received the Spirit of God.

Or if you read the account of Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, and you say to yourself, “I understand the story I just read. I know that Jesus met an immoral woman and had a conversation with her, but I don’t know how this is relevant to us today. I don’t know how this has any significant meaning to me. It’s just a story.” If this is what you think, then you’re reading with natural eyes, but you’re not reading with spiritual eyes. This is a reason for questioning whether you’ve received the Spirit of God.

And if you attend our worship services every Sunday, but you find yourself saying, “Here we go again, it’s always the same routine. We sing a few boring songs. We hear about had bad we are. We hear about how good Jesus is. We sit through a 45-minute sermon. We take communion. And then, finally, we get to eat lunch and have some fun.” If this is how you think about worship, then at best, you’re worshipping like the Athenians worshipped; you’re worshipping an unknown God. More likely, however, you’re probably not worshipping at all. You’re simply going through the motions. This is a reason for questioning whether you’ve received the Spirit of God.

On the flip side:

If you hear the declaration of the gospel and say to yourself, “’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word; Just to rest upon His promise; Just to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’” If this is what you believe, then you’re hearing the special revelation of God with spiritual ears. This is reason to rejoice, because it’s an indication that you’ve received the Spirit of God.

Or if you read the account of Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, and you say to yourself, “I can see Jesus’ compassionate heart for this immoral woman. I can see how tenderly He broke down her defenses and enabled her to see her need for the living water He was offering her. That’s what my Savior has done for me, as well. He has come to me in my sinfulness and He has shown me my need to drink of His living water so that I no longer thirst.” If this is how you read the account of the Samaritan woman, then you’re reading God’s special revelation with spiritual eyes. This is a reason to rejoice, because it’s an indication that you’ve receive the Spirit of God.

And if you attend our worship services and you find yourself saying, “I want to assemble together with the saints. I want to stir up love and good works within the body. I want to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with grace in my heart to the Lord. I want to have the word of God expose my sin to me so that I can repent of it. I want to hear the assurance of God’s pardon from His word. I want to hear His word faithfully preached and applied to my life. I want to celebrate my union and communion with my Savior. And I want to hear the blessing of God pronounced over me, because that brings comfort and peace to my soul.” If this is how you worship, then you’re worshipping in spirit and truth. You’re comparing spiritual things with spiritual. This is a reason to rejoice, because it’s an indication that you’ve receive the Spirit of God.

Brothers and sisters, our sermon text shows us the great disparity that exists between the natural man and the spiritual man. The natural man can only walk in the wisdom of this age, while the spiritual man walks in the wisdom of God. The wisdom of this age is coming to nothing, we read in verse 6. The wisdom of this age compels people to do very unwise and sinful things. The wisdom of this age causes people think that crucifying the Lord of glory is a good thing. And the wisdom of this age makes people think that the wisdom of God is foolishness.

Dear friends, if you’re going to enter the narrow gate and walk with Jesus Christ through the remainder of your life, you need to have the Spirit of God. If you’re unsure whether you’ve received the Holy Spirit, then ask our Heavenly Father to send Him to you. Ask our Heavenly Father to Send you His Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Ask Him to give you that mind of Christ so that you may know the deep things of God and that you may walk in His wisdom.