Good morning friends, it’s Monday June 10. What better way to begin a Monday than in God’s Word together, right?
So…Let’s read 1 Corinthians chapter 2 today. It’s only 16 verses long, and there’s essentially one fundamental truth Paul wants us to grasp here . . . the work of the Holy Spirit, in helping us understand the one, true God & His spiritual truth, and the wisdom for life found there-in.
Remember Paul is described as one of the most intelligent, educated, men on the planet, in the first century. He was trained by some of the best Rabbi’s and scholars. He applied himself to advanced study of God’s Word, and both Jewish history and the writings of wise, Jewish leaders in Israel’s past (Phil. 3:4-7; Gal. 1:11-24).
Paul was able to go toe to toe with the scholars and philosophers of the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22). That place was considered the Supreme Court of wisdom in the first century.
Yet, do you see how Paul begins chapter 2? “I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom…for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified… my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on man’s wisdom but on God’s power.” My friends, you and I live at time in history that allows us to listen to the finest Bible teachers and preachers, at any time, from anywhere in the world, thanks to the internet. In fact, we can even read or hear the writings of wise men long dead. But Paul, here, is challenging you and me to consider this question: upon what are we building our Christian faith?
History suggests the best foundation for life is God’s truth and power, not man’s wisdom. In the past month graduations across our nation have sent out hundreds of thousands of young men and women, from some of the finest Universities in the world. But most of those Universities reject God, God’s Word the Bible, and anyone who claims God’s truth is real. So what wisdom do you predict these new University grads, with all kinds of degrees and knowledge, will bring into our culture?
In this chapter Paul’s challenge, is that we learn to let the Holy Spirit of God be our primary teacher. Ponder that a moment.
It’s what Jesus said to His disciples: “…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit , whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) So honestly now, how much do you rely on your pastor or favorite TV preacher or internet podcast; or CNN or Fox News or CSPAN to build your wisdom today? Or what about digging into God’s Word with God’s Holy Spirit as your teacher?
So I invite us to look at ourselves, as we read 1 Corinthians 2. What is your primary foundation for the wisdom needed to live life each day? How do we acquire the Christian beliefs and faith each of us holds to? Where did we learn them? Where do you go to deepen your understanding of God and His truth? How strong is your Christian faith?
Notice what Paul wrote in vs. 7 “we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom 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.” What does he mean?
Paul often used the phrase ‘secret wisdom’ or ‘mystery’ when speaking of Jesus and His true identity, God incarnate, and His purpose… to become our Atonement and earn our Redemption, and all the other ‘mysterious’ aspects of our salvation…like Adoption, Reconciliation with God, Regeneration, Justification, Propitiation, Sanctification, Eternal Life, Holy Spirit indwelt etc.
Truth is friends, we can’t understand what those words really mean, in practical application to living life every day here on earth, without the Holy Spirit teaching us. That’s why vs. 10-16 of this chapter are hugely significant. “God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God…no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
Friends., no religion of the world, no faith system, no spirituality offers to you and me, normal people, what God offers us by His Holy Spirit, as we place our full trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit living in us, teaching us, guiding our thinking, is beyond what any of us will ever fully comprehend.
Look closely at vs. 14 “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to them – and they cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” So this explains why your unsaved family member or friend just doesn’t seem to get it, when it comes to Jesus and spiritual truth.
Finally, look at the very last line in chapter 2. . .“But we have the mind of Christ.” Can you grasp the significance of that friends? God says you and I, normal people, can think like Jesus, if we have the Holy Spirit of God alive and vibrantly active within us, teaching us and guiding our minds.
So how do we do this? Ask God to fill every part of your life with a burning passion, an insatiable hunger, to be a Spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ. It starts right there… a holy passion.
Then take action…Immerse your mind in God’s Word! Fill your mind with it, let your mind soak in it. And be very careful about what else you soak your mind in. . .TV, movies, novels, the sports channels, daytime soap operas, even the talk channels on radio and TV. What are you filling your mind with friends?
Our world today, in every place, desperately needs wise people. They are people who think like Jesus, whose minds are filled with God’s Word, and by the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit, they can bring God’s Wisdom to the every day needs of our world. That, my friends, should be us. . .so I invite us to talk with Jesus about this, right now, and make the changes necessary to live 1 Corinthians 2.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)