Revealed by the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Today we will be looking at 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
Paul has been addressing the divisions that are in the church in Corinth. The believers there were aligning themselves with Paul, or Apollos in order to gain status. Following their culture, they were all about gaining more influence, and position.
Paul challenged their thinking on this by asking questions. “Is Christ divided,” (or portioned out)? “Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
Paul wanted to bring them back to the foundation, the gospel of Christ. Doing this, he showed that God’s wisdom is much greater than the world’s wisdom. And that when he came, he did not use wise and persuasive words, but rather, relied on the message of the cross, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, in the section today, Paul is going to show that we believers have wisdom, God’s wisdom. This wisdom is revealed by the Spirit.
Let’s read this section together.
1 Corinthians 2:6–16 (NIV)
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.
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden
and that God destined for our glory before time began.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them?
In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,
so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom
but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God
but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them
because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things,
but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Let’s pray, and then go through this passage verse by verse, and then look at some more specifics of what this means for us today.
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.
Paul had just told them that when he came he did not use wise and persuasive words. When he came to them, he relied on the foolish message of the cross, and the power of the Spirit to convict of sin, righteousness and judgment. He relied on the Spirit to change their lives.
However, that does not mean that believers are unwise. No, among the mature he shared a message of wisdom.
What does he mean among the mature? This would be among the believers who were growing in Christ.
For those who are unsaved, the wisdom of God appears foolish. But for those who are saved, God’s wisdom is true wisdom.
Paul says the wisdom he shared was not of the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age? Who are the rulers? He is going to speak of them again. Let’s wait until we get there for more context.
No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
Paul is declaring, or speaking of the wisdom of God. But he calls it a mystery that has been hidden. What does mystery mean?
Mystery - we use this word to speak of something that needs to be figured out. We think that if we get enough clues, or hints, we can reason it out.
God’s mysteries cannot be figured out by human wisdom. They need to be revealed, like an unveiling.
God designed his mysteries not to keep us in the dark, but for our glory! God wants to use the mystery for us. And, he planned it this way before time began. He planned this before creation.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Here we have the rulers of this age again. Who are the rulers?
In commentaries you will find that equally spiritual men have thought they were the rulers, like Herod, or Caesar. Others have said they were the spiritual rulers of this world, as Paul mentions in Ephesians, and Colossians.
Let’s consider the context. The point is that had they known the wisdom of God, the mystery of God that was for man’s glory, they would not have crucified Christ. What does that mean?
Well, the mystery of God is that God is saving sinners, restoring us to Himself. Why would someone knowing what God was going to accomplish through the death of Christ, choose not to put Christ to death? well, the one not wanting men to be restored to the Lord would the the prince of the power of the air, the one that we all follow when we are unsaved. Had Satan and his demons known what God was going to accomplish through the death of Christ, they would not have wanted Christ to die and rise again. Therefore, the rulers of this age who would not have crucified Christ must be pointint to the spiritual rulers of this age, and then to the human rulers that they control.
The point is, they did not know the mystery of God. It was hidden. It was not yet fully revealed. Thus as Paul goes on to say,
However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
Here Paul is not directly quoting a single passage from the scriptures they had at this point. He was roughly quoting Isaiah 64:4, and some others.
The point is, what no one had seen or heard, what no one had thought of, God has prepared wonderful things for those who love him! Things we couldn’t even imagine!
How do we know of them now, since they are a mystery?
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The Spirit. Jesus told us that the Spirit would lead us into all truth, and teach us things. This is what he does. He teaches us the things that God has for us.
How is He able to do this? Because he knows all things. The Spirit is God, just as the Father and the Son are God. Therefore the Spirit knows all things about God, and all things that God has prepared for us.
For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Paul is trying to illustrate this point of the Spirit knowing all that God has for us.
It is a great illustration. We can know other people, as far as facts go. We can read an autobiography, or hear stories about them and get to know them. However, knowing facts about a person is a far cry from truly knowing the person, and all that they are, isn’t it. Intimate knowledge only comes from the person themself, as they reveal their thoughts and emotions, their way of thinking and how they feel about things. Intimacy is different than facts.
God wants us to know him intimately, and this is possible, because he has given us the Spirit, who reveals Him intimately.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
God wants us to know Him, and all that he has freely given us. Key word here is freely. God has given us salvation and so much more. How does he give it? By grace through faith! God does not expect us to earn it. God does not work on some kind of merit system. God gives to us freely!
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
Paul says that the wisdom he shares with the mature, with believers, are these spiritual realities. These spiritual realitites are taught by the Spirit, and use words that the Spirit has revealed. We do not rely on human wisdom to figure it out. We receive what the Spirit teaches us.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
The reason Paul speaks of this wisdom with the mature is that the unsaved cannot understand them. In order for a person to understand them, they need to have the Spirit in them, revealing it to them. The unsaved just think this is foolish. That is why so many think that religion is a crutch for the weak. The unsaved think that the saved are foolish. They cannot understand the mysteries and wonder of what God has for those who are saved.
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,
The word here for making judgments has the meaning of being able to examine the facts closely and render a decision. The unsaved cannot examine these spiritual realities closely. However, the saved are able to do so. Why? Because the saved are so much smarter, or capable of figuring things out? No!
Remember, we are given these things by grace, through the Spirit who reveals them to us. The Spirit is the one who enables us to examine these things closely and come to a conclusion.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV)
for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Who has known th emind of the Lord?
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
No man can know the depths of the wisdom of God,
However, we have been given the Spirit who reveals these things, and who gives us the mind of Christ.
Hope and Joy for today!
Hope and Joy for today!
This is a tremendous passage, and one that should fill us with hope and joy.
We have been given the Spirit who reveals to us the wisdom of God. We do not need to be the wisest person, nor the greatest philosopher, nor the best intellectual to know the wisdom of God. No, we simply need to receive what the Spirit reveals to us.
To the Corinthians, and to us today, success in life is too often tied to ones IQ, or ability to perform well in school.
Wisdom Revealed!
Wisdom Revealed!
God says that His wisdom is not tied to our abilities to figure things out. His wisdom, the things he has for us, are freely given through the revelation of the Spirit! This means that all of us can be the wisest people in God’s family. We all have the same access to the Lord, and his wisdom, for we all have the Spirit!
What are these things that are revealed? What is the mystery that the Spirit teaches us, not by human wisdom, but by words taught by the Spirit?
Let’s look at some of them:
Destined for our glory before time began
Destined for our glory before time began
Do you realize that you have been a part of God’s plan since before Creation? You are not an accident, or just somebody who happened to get saved. You are a part of God’s plan!
Consider again, Romans 8:28-30 and 1 Peter 1:2.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Called, Foreknown, Predestined, Elect/Chosen
Called, Foreknown, Predestined, Elect/Chosen
You are a part of God’s planning from eternity past. Just as God described Jesus as being chosen as the redeemer before the creation of the world, and as God spoke of him being crucified according to God’s predestination and foreknowledge, so too, you are called, chosen, predestined and foreknown. You are a part of God’s plan! He will use you and glorify you as he uses you for His glory and purpose. No matter what is going on in your life, know that God planned for you! He is going to use you!
Redeemed
Redeemed
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Reconciled
Reconciled
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Propitiated
Propitiated
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Forgiven
Forgiven
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
Raised to New Life
Raised to New Life
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Free from the Law
Free from the Law
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Not trying to earn merit. Rather, we do them because of our relationship with God!
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Child of God
Child of God
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
2 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)
And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
New Creation
New Creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Righteous
Righteous
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Sanctified
Sanctified
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Qualified
Qualified
and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
Brought Near
Brought Near
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Delivered from Power of Darkness
Delivered from Power of Darkness
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
We have the mind of Christ
for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Mystery Revealed by the Spirit: All that is Freely Given to us, and The Mind of Christ
Mystery Revealed by the Spirit: All that is Freely Given to us, and The Mind of Christ