1 Corinthians (5)

The Work of the Spirit

What had happened at Corinth is happening in churches today: men are mixing philosophy (man’s wisdom) with God’s revealed message, and this is causing confusion and division.

Different preachers have their own “interpretation” to God’s message, and some even invent their own vocabulary!

Paul explained the Gospel message did not stand in the wisdom of men and urged his readers to return to this truth

That was the part of the division they had such and emphasis on wisdom and rhetoric but the root of that was pride

Paul is teaching them it is not about what man can do.

The gospels centers around another power. Another wisdom

And that the power of the gospel is in the power of the Spirit of God

And he takes this chapter and explains the spirits working in a man bringing him to salvation.

Ask yourself this question

What role does the Holy spirit have in my working for Christ is it prominent in the forefront and does it do the leading and guiding and provide the power or do I provide the power?

Do I lead , Do I direct? Do I place the responsibility for what gets done on my shoulders and my ability or do I depend on the Holy spirit?

God is taking away all boasting all pride

He wasn't to remove it all from our lives.

The Spirit Demonstrates the Gospel 2:1-5

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

Paul is talking about the first time he came to them to give them the gospel in acts 18:1-18

He had just come from Athens were all the philosophers were and the Athenians and the Epicureans

Were they would spend all their time te hear or tell some new thing and they took him to the areopagus and they said what will this babaler say

And he saw the fruitlessness of that and he said this is not the way for men in the church to be leading we are not just another babbler we have something different.

They loved it they called it magic they had speakers that bewitched people by their speeches held them spellbound.

And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.

And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.

And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

That was their culture

That was their entertainment

Amphitheaters now we have theaters

The church today is doing the same thing

They are using movies to communicate

God chose the foolishness of preaching

Not speech making

I did not use those methods to declare unto you the testimony of God

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

I was not professing to know all about that other stuff although he did know it as you can see in acts 17 mars hill

People say I cant witness to Muslims I do not know what they believe

I cant witness to Mormons or Buhdists

The men of the bible taught the truth they did not lecture on eastern religions

You would be better off studying the gospel

They already know the other stuff they do not know the gospel.

I declare unto you to know the bible and the Lord and the gospel

Not politics

Heard one guy say stay in your lane I thought that is pretty good

That is what Paul did.

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

Thorn 2 cor 12:7

Bad eyesight gal 4:13

Sickness fastings

Fear

Could have been the danger when they drug him to the judgment seat and beat sosthenes

It was a violent culture they would beat people they disagreed with

Read the bible public beatings and theater lions were their culture.

The point was he was weak he still went

He was fearful he still went

He was trembling he still went

Do we let fear and weakness and inability to stop us or do we go anyway.

He had doubts but God used him anyway

You feel inadequate join the club

God had to personally appear to Paul to encourage him

He was fearful

Bt look at how God used him

And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.

For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,

Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

Courage is acting in spite of fear not the absense of fear that is usually stupidity

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

You can't argue someone into the kingdom of God

If you are convinced by arguments and it is only a head believe it is not salvation

Has to go from head to heart

Devils believe and fear and tremble

Demonstration is his testimony

We are a living demonstration of the spirits power

Look at what God did for me he saved me from persecuting the church from judaism from hell from anger and hate

Look at what he is now doing through me

And look at how the spirit is working through me

What better demonstration could you give?

Could you give a speech that would equal a changed life?

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

If it stands in arguments it will fall in arguments

If it stands in the smart people it will fall with the smart people

If it stands in your parents it will fall when you see inconsistencies in them.

The Spirit Reveals the Gospel 2:6-10

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

Them that are already saved we talk about the wisdom of God and deep things but not to lost people they do not understand.

But we do not promote the wisdom of this world or the great people of this world

Because they will all come to nothing.

All the accumulated greatness

All the accumulated wisdom and wealth will perish with them

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

mystery refers to a secret openly revealed by God—the secret being the gospel message that the Lord of glory is truly the Christ crucified.

The mystery is The gospel

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

It is

The indwelling of the Holy spirit

Eternal security

Salvation by grace through faith

The body of Christ

He did a lot of things before the world began

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

If they knew it was Christ

If they knew who he was

Than they would not have done it

He told them but they did not believe him

They did not know because they did not believe

Same today

If they knew they would not choose hell

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.

We can definitely apply this to heaven but what he is talking about is the mystery of Christ in you

is talking about salvation

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Because they are revealed through the spirit.

He reveals Christ to you

The Spirit Converts the Sinner 2:11-12,14

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

That spirit of man as face answereth to face in water so the spirit of man to man

You cannot recognize what a man is going through except for the fact you have the same sinner.

When my dog is depressed I do not know why and I can't find out.

I ask but it does no good it actually makes things worse.

It is the same way with a lost person.

He can't know the things of God

Because he does not have his spirit and can't communicate

The conversation between him and God is like me and my dog

It might make me feel good

But there is no intellectual benefit to the dog

The reason lost people think they have a relationship with God is they have created a god after their own image and imagination.

They mistake their own thoughts and emotions for God.

And that God never condemns them

He never tells them to repent

He never tells them hard truth.

And at the end of it they do not know God and they are no more like him than when I started.

No matter how much time my dog spends with me he never becomes like me.

He never understands me.

And at best our relationship is just therapeutic he is a therapy dog. Only there for my benefit.

That is how a lost man interacts with God

He is there for his benefit.

My dog has not become more like me

What is missing ?

The Holy spirit

He converts you

He is the one that is like a candle searching all the inward parts

He is a decerner between the thoughts and intents of the heart

Just like the holy spirit put Christ inside of Mary so the holy spirit puts christ in you

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

1Co_6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

1Co_12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Spiritual baptism

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Know what he has given us

Salvation it just keeps getting deeper and better.

The holy spirit

Prayer

The fruit of the spirit

Heaven

Eternal life and the list goes on and on

You will not know those things or appreciate them if you do not have his spirit

And you don't get it by signing the bylaws or agreeing with the church on a head level but by being born again by his spirit

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

You ever witness to someone and they do not get it ?

They are not supposed to get it.

Like speaking in a different language.

I have taken a simple concept

Sin is the transgression of the law

This is what sin is when you break gods law when you transgress it

When he says no and you do not get it.

IF you have ever tried to teach lost people thinks it is impossible.

They do not understand.

They understand the wisdom of this world and getting ahead and being positive and chasing your dreams and being all you were created to be and striving to be better and becoming successful

But they do not understand this book.

Because they are spiritually discerned

You see the holy spirit is the translator

The Spirit Teaches the Truth 2:13-14,16

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

We depend on God to do the teaching

And he will you must depend on him

If you do not understand you write out what you do not understand and said Lord you promised the Holy psirit would teach me

You said if anny man lack wisdom let him ask of God would you show me ?

Jas_1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

He will show you and it probably will not be right than but weeks or months later

Hearing someone preaching something unrelated

Hearing someone on the radio

A discussion with someone about the topic

He may use a man to show you or circumstances

But he will show you when you are ready.

I have a question my wife has asked me if I prayed about it and got the answer I said I expect an answer within the next 6 months and that by degrees.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The Spirit Corrects the Thinking 2:15

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

That the spiritual person cannot be judged by anyone means he does not need to be concerned about negative human evaluations of the gospel

because a spiritual person has the right perspective—the mind of Christ.

With respect to spiritual things, the person without the Spirit does not have the capability to instruct those who have the mind of Christ.

Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Give the Lord your heart and he will straighten out the kinks in your head

Pro_16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.