When God Tells Secrets

When God Tells Secrets

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (NIV)
(A)6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. B7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. (C)8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— (A)10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (B)11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (C)13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. (A)14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (B)15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, (C)but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

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I.         Introduction

        We are a people who love secrets. There are books written and hungrily devoured on many subjects, such as the secret to raising a healthy garden; the secret of a happy marriage; the secrets of the CIA; and the secret of the golf swing. I searched Amazon.com for books with secret in the title and came up with 8105 hits.

        We have secret handshakes, secret family recipes, and secret clubs. Some of the women’s groups in our churches have secret sisters, whom exchange gifts and encouragement anonymously. We love secrets.

        We are not the first to love secrets. The Corinthians were intrigued by secrets as well. In this passage, Paul writes to them of the greatest secret of all time, but many of them were not able to grasp it. The Secret Wisdom of God, hidden in ages past was now revealed to mankind, but unfortunately, much of the Corinthian church was not ready to receive it. In the same way, many today are not able to understand the secret things of God. Let’s look at this passage to try and understand how we can receive the secret things of God.

II.       Investigation: The Character of God’s Secret Wisdom is Examined Intently

A.      Not Earthly Temporal Wisdom

– The wisdom of this world is passing away. Those who follow it are coming to nothing. To follow the wisdom of this age, is like asking a dying man the secret of life, or a drowning man how to swim.

B.      Not Previously Unveiled Wisdom

- In the fullness of time, Jesus came. He was the unveiling of the wisdom of God, but many did not receive Him as such, and to them, he still remains veiled, not because Christ is veiled, but because they refuse to see, their eyes are veiled.

C.      Not Humanly Accessible Wisdom

                - The things of God are not apprehended by man, but they are revealed                  by God. It is God who takes the initiative.

III.     Illumination: The Communication of God’s Secret Wisdom is Expressed Internally

A.      Secrets Whispered by God’s Spirit

-          That the great and mighty God who is elevated above all should stoop to whisper His secrets in my soul is thrilling indeed. This knowledge is to great for me. It is the secret of Christmas, that God should stoop to our frame and reveal himself in ways that we can apprehend.

B.      Secrets Whispered To Our Spirit

- A personal communication of God to me. From Spirit to spirit, we hear the voice of God within.

C.      Secrets Whispered for Spiritual Instruction

- There is purpose behind God’s communication. It is to impart wisdom. It is to share knowledge of Himself with us.

IV.    Integration: The Conception of God’s Secret Wisdom is Experienced Individually

A.      Indecipherable to the Natural Man (psychikos – soulish/carnal)

-          A life tuned to the things of the world, instead of the things of God.

-          You would sooner expect a baby to understand the speech of an adult. Though it sound like gibberish to the baby, it is really the baby who is speaking gibberish.

-          Like trying to feed meat to a baby (cf. 3:1ff)

B.      Indispensable to the Spiritual Man (Pneumatikos - Spiritual)

- The Spiritual man takes the secret whisperings of God and uses them as a lens for his life to judge all things.

C.      Indisputable with the Mind of Christ

-          You cannot pass judgment on something greater than you know.

-          For the natural man to appraise the spiritual man would be like me telling Tiger Woods how to play golf.

V.      Conclusion

        In order to hear the whispers of God telling us His deepest secrets, we must no longer be infants, baby Christians who can not discern properly. We must set aside worldly concerns and center ourselves spiritually, so that we may mature and have ears to hear as God whispers the wisdom of the ages to our spirit.

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[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.