Sermon Tone Analysis

! NEW SERIES:  THE TROUBLED TRIUMPHANT CHURCH

!

Sermon 7 – “The Wisdom We Embrace”

! 1 Cor.

2:6-13

*READ TEXT** - PRAY*

*Introduction*

As we’ve studied the church at Corinth so far……and we’ve only made through 1.5 chapters…..we’ve seen that they have several problems – not the least of which is divisions in the church.

They have looked to human wisdom and human teachers and preachers as the source of their wisdom and growth!

Another problem is their belief that, through “eloquent wisdom” (1.17) they have arrived at spiritual maturity.

That they consider themselves to have already obtained great wisdom…they have it all figured out!  *We find the heart of God’s opinion of such wisdom in 1 Cor.

1.26-29: (READ IT) *…..*The root of man’s delight in the wisdom of the world is Pride!*

So it is with great effort that I have preached the last several weeks on the antithesis of pride….the

exact opposite in every way!

What is that?

It is the cross of Christ and our crucified Savior!

Last week we looked at the 1 Cor.

2:1-5, and we saw the centrality of the Cross in Paul’s life…..in his preaching and teaching.

Specifically, we saw that we must never *move beyond the power and humility of the cross…..in fact, in the words of our Lord….to

follow Him means that we MUST deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow after Him!*

*The Wisdom We Speak*

And so, it is with great interest that we take notice of the way *v.6 *begins our passage this morning….. “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom…..”  So, it is not wisdom that is evil….and

if we think about it, we know that already….from

Proverbs and the Psalms.

Prov.

2:1-6 says:

*2 *My son, if you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you,

     *2*     */making your ear attentive to wisdom /*

*/and inclining your heart to understanding;/*

     *3*     yes, if you call out for insight

and raise your voice for understanding,

     *4*     */if you seek it like silver /*

*/and search for it as for hidden treasures, /*

     *5*     then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

     *6*     */For the Lord gives wisdom/*;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

 

In other words, God has not surrendered wisdom to Satan!  Seeking understanding and knowledge is a good thing….it is a to be treasured – but we need to see that the key here is vv.

5-6:  “…find the knowledge of God….For the LORD gives wisdom.”

This is the same distinction given to us by the Holy Spirit through Paul!

It is God’s wisdom that we speak…..the wisdom of the world we reject!

As I studied this passage, I came to 4 questions that Paul is answering here about “the wisdom we speak,” and so I want us to look at them in the same order Paul addresses them:

1.    Who cannot receive or know this wisdom?

2.    Who can receive and know it?

3.    How is it received?

AND….

4.    What is this Wisdom?

*1.)

Who Cannot Receive or Know this Wisdom*

Twice, Paul rules out the “rulers of this age” in knowing or receiving the “wisdom we speak.”

So, who are these rulers?

Some over the centuries have argued that here, Paul speaks of the *principalities* and *demonic forces*.

Others have leveled the charge at the *Roman world government* and the *Jewish elite* who put Christ to death on the cross.

Truthfully, the answer is not either ~/ or…..it is both!

And in looking at 2 reasons they cannot know this wisdom, we’ll see why.

Ø    *First*, we know that the Corinthian church is being misled by false teachers that were coming with eloquent words and grandiose sermons that caused the people to choose sides….to

get caught-up in not only seeking wisdom…but in seeking power!

We’ve all heard that “knowledge is power”…..and that’s what the Corinthians have bought into….that

they have, as Paul says ironically in 4:8 “Already you have all you want!

Already you have become rich….you

are kings!”

Paul knows HE’S not a ruler….he’s

not arrived….and

certainly they haven’t…and in thinking they have….they

forfeit the truth of real wisdom…God’s wisdom!

Ø      *But second, *Paul focuses on the rulers who put Jesus to death because it is the most vivid example of failing the primary test of one’s true understanding of wisdom in v.8:

1 Co 2:8

*8* None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

A person who is dominated by the world’s wisdom will see Jesus as: a great man….or a great prophet….or

a master teacher – BUT they do not see the crucified Christ as the Lord of glory!

This is the answer to our first question – *Who cannot receive the Wisdom of God?  *Our answer comes from vv. 6 & 8 – All those who are so enamored with self-love (pride) and seeking power that they do not recognize Jesus as the Lord of glory…the One Son of God!  Our pride stands in the way of the cross!

*2.)

Who can Receive the Wisdom of God?*

The key to understanding who CAN receive this wisdom of God comes in both v.6 and v.13 – taken together, these verses explain each other.

So, what does Paul mean in v.6 by “the mature” or KJV – “perfect”?

*First*, what *he is NOT saying *is that there is a group of Believers that are “better” or “smarter” or at a higher spiritual level than other Believers!

We find the clarification in v.13 – “We also speak these things, not in words  taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, /explaining spiritual things to spiritual people/.”

(HCB) 

The Gk here at the end of v.13 is complicated and so the verse must be interpreted by context (a couple of the words can mean more than one thing)…..but taking v.6 and v.13 together (along with 3:1-2) coming in a couple of weeks)…..the spiritual people of v.13 are the same as those who are /mature/ in v.6 – then these are those who have the Holy Spirit…these are true Believers…all of whom are indwelt by the Spirit of God (3:16; Eph.

1:13).

But also, it is the spiritural people who exhibit the way of the cross ….self-denying love.

The same word found in v.13 for /spiritual people/ is found in Gal.

6:1: * *Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression*/, you who are spiritual/* should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Paul is addressing the command for all Believers to “Walk in the Spirit….to

be led by the Holy Spirit in their */praxis (Remember that word) – the practical walking out of their faith!/*

*So, the answer to our question is that those who can receive God’s wisdom have the Holy Spirit at work in them overcoming their selfish, prideful flesh and transforming them into /spiritual people/ – who exhibit the humility of the cross and bear the fruit of that same Holy Spirit in their lives!

*(Gal.

5&6)* *

*3.)

How is the Wisdom of God Given?~/ How is it Received?*

How can a person….any

person…*make such a bold statement as to claim to know the very mind of God?*  We find the answer in vv.7;

*7* But we impart a */secret and hidden wisdom of God/*, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.

9-10:

*9* But, as it is written,

          “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

          what God has prepared for those who love him”—

*10* these things God has revealed *to us* through the Spirit.

For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

What no eye can see and no ear can hear is what is a mystery…..a secret hidden from the understanding of mankind.

So, how

The answer comes in one word….Revelation!

*Def.:

*Revelation is the act of God whereby what once was concealed from men is now made known to them.

In vv.10-13, Paul explains this process of Revelation…..and he uses an analogy:  among humans, a person’s thoughts and concerns are only known to the spirit of that person….no