Sermon Tone Analysis
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I. Reading of Scripture
This is God’s Word, Amen.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 “We Have the Mind of Christ”
II.
Introduction
The title of this sermon is that revealing statement: “We have the Mind of Christ.”
This is one more gift from God that belongs to us who are in Christ.
It is a reality for the Church, whether we act like it or not; whether we understand it or not.
“We have the mind of Christ.”
Sometimes, we have to be told what we have.
This week, (I can’t remember the details), but I remember my daughter panicking because she could not find something that she knew she had a minute ago.
A whirlwind ensued, as she frantically retraced her steps, looking everywhere in the house for it.
“Where is it?
Where is it?
Opening drawers, running to different rooms.”
As she passed by me, I noticed something in her hand.
And I finally got her to stand still for a minute, and pointed out that what she was looking for was in her hand.
She had it all along!
She stopped and said with a bit of embarrassment: “Oh.”
(Has that ever happened to anyone else? We’ve all experienced that before.)
Sometimes, we have to be told what we have.
The church in Corinth was like that.
Running around looking for something in the world, in culture, even in their assembly — and Paul says stop! Be still!
You have what you are looking for!
This passage does not give us specific commands to obey, or concrete application to practice during the week.
But this passage does tell us what we have.
And we, the Church, need to know what we have!
We need to know what God has given us, and how God has enriched us, and what God wants for us.
Every one of us who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the youngest to the eldest, has this mind of Christ.
And what we have will inform what we do.
"We have the mind of Christ.”
This mind of Christ, as the text will unfold, is the source of true, godly wisdom.
A wisdom that is not wordly, a wisdom that is not of men, a wisdom that does not divide but a wisdom that demonstrates the power of God.
A wisdom that equips us as we wait for the Lord’s return.
A wisdom in which we all “say the same thing,” where we agree, being united in the same mind and in the same judgment — having Christ’s mind and Christ’s judgment.
A. Introduction to Theme
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that he did not come to them, proclaiming the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom (2:1).
He spoke about what and how he preached, what he proclaimed aloud!
But in verse 6, he pulls his audience aside to tell them something.
I imagine he beckons them with a wave and a whisper.”
It is not that the testimony of God is void of wisdom.
It is not that we do not have wisdom.
In another place, Paul would write:
You need wisdom, and God wants you to live wisely!
Christ is the wisdom of God (1:24).
Christ became to us wisdom from God (1:30).
It’s not that we do not impart wisdom.
The Church needs wisdom!
But the wisdom you have is different from the wisdom you are looking for.
What do you think about when you hear the word “wisdom?”
Do you think about age?
A wise person is an aged person?
That is certainly desirable.
But we don’t have to look too far in our day to find aged people who live foolishly.
Do you think about degrees?
A wise person is an educated person?
That is certainly desirable.
But an education is only as good as what you do with it.
I have known people with advanced degrees that aren’t worth to them the paper it is printed on.
Do you think about experience?
A wise person is an experienced person?
That certainly makes sense.
But experience can make a person lazy, complacent, and ineffective.
It is only as good as how it is used.
One way wisdom is defined is the “capacity to understand and function accordingly” (BDAG).
So wisdom is not limited to simply knowledge.
Wisdom is a knowledge that acts!
Church in Corinth — you think you are wise because you have lived a time on this earth, and have had certain spiritual experiences?
Because you know certain things?
Because you follow certain people?
None of that is wisdom in God’s eyes.
Wisdom is something that God gives by His Spirit — and it is for a group of people called “the mature.”
B. Introduction to Text
This text divides broadly into two sections.
There is a wisdom that is from God (2:6-9).
It is a wisdom that is revealed through the Spirit of God (2:10-16).
III.
Exposition
A. There is a wisdom that is from God (2:6-9)
2:6
Notice that wisdom is first described as something that is “imparted.”
Literally, it is something that is spoken.
“We do speak…wisdom.”
It is not that we ignore this topic altogether because the world seeks after it.
The Church has wisdom, but look at what it is not:
It is NOT a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age.
That is, just because a person is in a position of leadership does not mean that they’ve got wisdom right.
The prevailing opinions of our time do not define wisdom (see Bruce).
Because someone is on TV, or is influential in a particular field, or has a large following for a point of view does not represent wisdom.
This is a verse that the Church can speak straight into our culture.
“We do impart wisdom…although it is not a wisdom of this age.”
And it is not a wisdom for everyone.
Who is this wisdom, this godly wisdom, spoken to?
Verse 6 says “among the mature.”
Who are the “mature”?
One way to answer that question is to ask what it means to be “immature.”
Immature people are not capable of thinking for themselves, or understanding what they are given - much less acting upon it.
They are like babies.
They are babies in Christ.
It is possible for someone to be in Christ, and also be immature.
This is a very natural thing when someone first comes to Christ.
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