Holy Spirit- Who is God I Cor.2

Who is God? The Spirit’s Revelation                  I Corinthians 2:10-16    February 22, 2009

At the leadership retreat we were talking about what we know about the people in the congregation, and people noted some strange things: One man was a break dancing champion (of India); a mom who plays the saxophone; an elder who loves choo-choo trains. You think you know someone, then they tell you something surprising about themselves. 

How well do we know God? Could there be things about God that would surprise you? I’d like to focus on verses 10-12 to answer that question.  

I.                   Let’s begin with a Quiz.

       A.            Verse 2 – Why did Paul preach “Christ and Him crucified?” He didn’t just preach “Christ” but “Christ crucified”? If you know you probably understand the gospel.

           1.            We all have offended a good and righteous God. Almost no one who takes an honest look at himself can doubt this.

a.     Almost: last week (at faculty dinner) some people were discussing who Jesus is, one man said, “His teaching really boils down to we must love one another.” A Christian man (Prof. Bruce Arnold) responded, “Yes, but I can’t, I have an evil nature, a sick soul in need of a physician.” A woman (Prof.) was horrified, “Tell me more about that…it’s very disturbing to hear you say that about yourself!”

b.    But think about it: rules which we ourselves want others to obey, we break: love everyone – but do I?

           2.            God could have just punished us. If someone smashes your cell phone someone has to pay: the one who broke it may have to buy you a new one, or you could forgive the debt and absorb the loss yourself. But someone has to bear the loss, someone has to pay. Who pays when we break God’s laws? Do we?

           3.            Instead God did the unthinkable – He bore the loss. This is unexpected. Christ Jesus was God incarnate bearing the cost of our sins. That’s the gospel that Paul brought to the Corinthians: Christ and Him crucified.

       B.            And this was unimaginable! Verse 9 summarizes texts from Isaiah.( 64:4, 65:17, 52:15)

           1.            Isaiah mocked (Isa. 46) people had to work for their idols. How can a god that needs to be served by us, meet our needs?

           2.            But the true God sets Himself apart from all the false gods in an amazing way.  Isaiah 64:4 – No one has seen of heard of such a God who “works for those who wait for Him” (RSV). That is, God serves those who trust Him! No one has imagined such things!

       C.            Who could have imagined God was like this?

           1.            The truth is, most people still don’t understand it and are busy trying to impress God with what they can do for Him, People still quote, “God works for those who work for themselves” – not only is it not in the Bible, but it says, “God works for those who wait for Him!”

           2.            People don’t really know God. It “never entered into the heart of man.” (9). That’s why the hymn writers say, “Amazing Love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me?”

II.                How do we get to know what God is like?

       A.            The way God reveals Himself personally – heart to heart – is through His Holy Spirit in us. Verses 10-12.

           1.            Verse 11 – Who knows you better than you do? You understand the confusing, conflicting feelings you have when you are trying to decide; you know what you think is funny, and what makes you cry. You might never admit to someone else that you enjoy watching SpongBob Square Pants! In the same way no one knows God but His own Spirit – the Holy Spirit!

           2.            Verse 12 – And God has given us His Spirit.

a.     It means that God has taken the intimate, deep, private knowledge about Himself and placed it in our heart.

b.    This is what the Holy Spirit does – it is His ministry. The text may point to the fact that the Spirit used the apostles in a unique way (Vss. 12, 13 “we” refers only to the apostles, a la Piper – but most others reject this: Bruce, Grosheide, Morris.).

c.     But this is a truth about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does for all believers since all believers have the Spirit, and therefore experience this work of the Spirit. (verse 12 applies to all; Rom. 8:9, etc.).

           3.            So here is the important truth about the Holy Spirit: Verse 10 – We know God intimately through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, beginning especially with His unimaginable desire and plan to rescue us through Christ.

       B.            We’ve been studying the Holy Spirit for a few weeks, and here is one of His ministries in our hearts.

           1.            The Spirit knows the very depths of God’s heart (Rom. 11:33, 34) – the “unfathomable” depths – a word used to describe the ocean deeps, bringing to mind the dark, unexplored depths of the ocean full of mystery.

           2.            There are secrets about God no one can guess by a walk in the woods and looking at nature, the secrets you can’t get by just studying Jesus as a historical figure, but the Spirit reveals to us who God really is.

III.             Have you experienced the Holy Spirit’s ministry?

       A.            When it comes to the Holy Spirit, sometimes we argue about the “theology of the Holy Spirit.” Other times it’s all negative – what is NOT of the Spirit, what He does NOT do; sometimes we get scared of the Holy Spirit. My goal is simple: What does the Word say the Spirit will do in the life of the believer, and have I noticed it in my life?

           1.            My theory: we are not conscious of His work for the simple reason that the Holy Spirit works with our spirit; He is intertwined with our thoughts, emotions, desires, will and the operation of our conscience (Rom. 8). So we can overlook His quiet ministry: mistaking His teachings for our own insights, not recognizing that the reason our very desires have changed is because of His work, and be completely unaware of how He lifts our hearts up to pray.

           2.            In the last weeks:

a.     The Holy Spirit makes us long for the blessings of Christ in prayer. Our prayers rise above memorized words, or dry recitations of lists, but they have passion and desire - we show a desperation for what Christ alone can bless us with.

b.    The Holy Spirit shows us who we are before God, “Go ahead, go closer. That great, majestic being is your own Father!” He consoles us when we have sinned and feel unworthy to even be His slaves, and reminds us we are sons and daughters still.

c.     And today, our text shows us that the Holy Spirit reveals to us who God really is – personal secrets that would be shared only with a friend or family, unimaginable truths about the passions and intentions of God.

       B.            Here’s my prayer: That we would welcome the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives; rely on His work; treasure it and make sure nothing in our lives hinders Him from doing His work. Have you noticed Him at work in you?

           1.            When did you really see Jesus, when did He become more than a figure in history for you? Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said it wasn’t because Peter was clever, but because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Him. And it’s the same for you – it was the Holy Spirit that allowed you to understand and accept the unimaginable plan of God to rescue you and bless you in Christ.

           2.            When did the Bible open up to you? If you are reading the bible and struck by an insight – a bolt of lightening that strikes right at your heart – that’s the Holy Spirit. Stop and rejoice that the Spirit of God is revealing the heart of God to you.

a.     The woman who justified her anger came upon James 1:19, 20 – you mean God doesn’t accomplish His work through my anger? It was a life changing moment of understanding God, courtesy of the Holy Spirit.

b.    I was reading I John 4:19 – God has to love first, yes! It transformed how I pray for those I love whose spiritual condition I’m worried about: Yes, You take the first step, that’s who you are. So love them so they’ll love you!

           3.            Be ready to be surprised by God. We think we have God figured out, and then the Spriit of God surprises us.

a.     Moses was standing before the burning bush, overcome with what God was asking Him to do – rescue Israel from slavery. And He said, “But how can I tell them who sent me. I don’t even know who you are?” And God said, “I am Who I am!” (Ex. 3:13ff) God revealed Himself in the moment of crises.

b.    It may be in times of crises for you – in  sorrow and trouble, “How could you do this Lord?” And instead of answering, the Holy Spirit takes us further into the depths of God and we realize how small and shallow our understanding of God was.

       C.            Romans 11:33, “Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Yes, no one can know these things, but the Holy Spirit is in you revealing the depths of God – in order to comfort you, give you insight and wisdom, and lift your heart to praise and worship the great God who rules over heaven and earth and has chosen to love you.