Sermon Tone Analysis

The Enlightenment by God

Paul has been discussing the incompleteness of man’s viewpoint (1 Cor.

1:18–2:8) as manifested in his inability to comprehend either the way of the Cross or the wisdom of the Cross

Read 1:26-28

Sin has so blinded man to spiritual and eternal truth that only God, acting in sovereign, saving grace, can open his blind eyes and quicken his dead spirit.

Illustration - enlightenment

math in 11th grade

wishbone offence

Index Funds

Oh- now I understand

The illumination of the mind, especially by the word of God, leading to delight and increased pleasure in God

Ps

Jn 8.12

I The Revealing

First, there has to be realization (2:9).

We must recognize that we are naturally ignorant of divine things (2:9).

Both the head and the heart of the unregenerate person are involved.

Man’s spiritual blindness is total.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Paul introduces this statement by referring his readers back to the Old Testament.

First, there has to be realization (2:9).

We must recognize that we are naturally ignorant of divine things (2:9).

Both the head and the heart of the unregenerate person are involved.

Man’s spiritual blindness is total.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Paul introduces this statement by referring his readers back to the Old Testament.

Isaiah 64.4

sI

First, there has to be realization (2:9).

We must recognize that we are naturally ignorant of divine things (2:9).

Both the head and the heart of the unregenerate person are involved.

Man’s spiritual blindness is total.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Paul introduces this statement by referring his readers back to the Old Testament.

We can not what God has in store for us because we are walking with our eyes closed.

Isaiah

God can not be discovered by gazing into a microscope or telescope.

We can see His fingerprints everywhere in creation, but we can never know Him, His mind, His heart, His will, apart from divine revelation

Look at vs 10 - the spirit opens the eyes

It si the spirit that opens up the deep things of God.

No intellect, not religion not apologetics

1cor

Paul illustrated this by pointing out that nobody can fully fathom the thoughts of anyone else.

How much more necessary, then, is the work of the Spirit if the thoughts of God are to be known

Illustration of swimming in murky water

Then eyes opened - see danger and hiding place

II The Receiving

Through His spirit we can see what we have in Christ.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s special work of revelation (v.

10), Paul says, is that “we may understand what [i.e., the truths] God has freely given us” (v.

12).

Key compare vs 10 with vs 12

proof - good text

vs 1 3-

Verse 13 is one of the strongest passages in the word of God on the subject of verbal inspiration.

The Apostle Paul clearly states that in conveying these truths to us, the apostles did not use words of their own choosing or words dictated by man’s wisdom.

Rather, they used the very words which the Holy Spirit taught them to use.

What we say and tech is what God has told us.

Mare, W. H. (1976). 1 Corinthians.

In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.),

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol.

10, p. 202).

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Sitting at the feet of a great master.

you learn from him what to say and do.

Since only spiritual people are able to receive spiritual truths, it follows that the man without the Spirit, an unregenerate person, would not and could not receive the message of wisdom regardless of his intellectual abilities or accomplishments (1:20).

Like a deaf critic of Bach or a blind critic of Raphael is the unregenerate critic of God’s Word

The colorful Vance Havner advises:

The wise Christian wastes no time trying to explain God’s program to unregenerate men; it would be casting pearls before swine.

He might as well try to describe a sunset to a blind man or discuss nuclear physics with a monument in the city park.

The natural man cannot receive such things.

One might as well try to catch sunbeams with a fishhook as to lay hold of God’s revelation unassisted by the Holy Spirit.

Unless one is born of the Spirit and taught by Him, all this is utterly foreign to him.

Being a Ph.

D. does not help, for in this realm it could mean ‘Phenomenal Dud!’

Trying to explain football to a foreigner or BB to a non sports person.

we use terms and word they will never understand

I remember on one occasion taking a neighbor of mine to hear a gifted preacher.

The man spoke with great clarity and power on the text, “Ye must be born again.”

I reveled in the message.

I thought to myself, “This must be making an impression on my neighbor.”

The preacher showed so clearly the spiritual blindness of the devout and religious Nicodemus and how the Lord astounded him with a demand for a brand-new birth.

He explained just how a person becomes a child of God.

He took us back to Moses and the serpent on the pole, and then took us on to Calvary.

To me it was so crystal clear.

My neighbor sat stolidly through it all.

He maintained a dignified silence on the way home.

The next morning we shared a ride downtown.

I ventured to ask him what he thought of the message.

He hadn’t understood a word of it, although he was an educated, clever, and successful man.

He said, “My wife is a descendant of John Wesley.”

And that was that.

Somewhere in the family background there was a remote link to somebody religious.

He was content with that.

The concept of the new birth had gone right over his head!

IIIThe Spiritual Man has Discernment

Discernment

The sound judgment which makes possible the distinguishing of good from evil, and the recognition of God’s right ways for his people.

Phil 1.9-10

What asking you to know?

As a Christian your eyes have been open to the knowledge of God and the ability to discern His ways.

1