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GOD’S TEACHERA group of 6-7 year olds were asked by their Sunday School teacher if they could answer certain bible questions. One was asked to name the for gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John she answered. Another was asked what do we call the two parts of the bible? The old and New testaments someone answered. Finally one boy was asked to name the three persons of the trinity. He stood up tall and said with confidence. “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spigot.” Well, he may have not been able to pronounce but in his error that young boy said something amazing about the Holy Spirit. Like a Spigot, like a faucet, the Holy Spirit pours out his gifts to the church. If we went around the room today and asked about your individual understanding of the Holy Spirit we might all have different thoughts or experiences about who He is. Sure we would all answer the third person of the trinity, but beyond that we may differ greatly in how we view the Holy Spirit. Well in our continuing studies of 1 Corinthians we have seen the Apostle Paul pouring out his heart to this first century church that had a few problems. Last week we saw him get them on track, he pointed them back to the most important thing. 1 Cor 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. The central theme of all the scriptures, Jesus and what he has done. Not what we do for God, now how we dress, but what God has done for us. He sent his son who willing went to the cross, he readily laid down his life, he gladly bore our sins – so that those who trust in him, might have eternal life. Paul takes the church in Corinth and points them to the heart of the Gospel. Jesus Christ and him crucified. When I get off a bit, when I find that my life’s focus is not on track, Jesus Christ Crucified puts everything back into perspective. How much God loved me – how much he bore for me, when I focus on that, I find myself loving others more. When Christ crucified is on my heart I find sin is less dominate in my life, and my agenda, be that religious or sinful, is laid down just like Jesus laid down his life for me. Today as we consider the final part of chapter two, we will see Paul pointing us toward the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Keeping us focused, helping us to pay attention to the work of God. READ THE TEXT 1 CORINTHIANS 2:7-16 GOD’S TEACHERPaul did not want people’s faith to rest on his power of persuasion, rather on the God’s power. When a man or a woman believes the word of God, there is the power of God to change their life. He comes into their heart and begins a process of change. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ , he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! They become new in the Lord, that Jesus changes their status in the Spirit from sinful to forgiven- they become new as God plants within their heart a new life, changing the behaviors that are not pleasing to the Lord. Lets consider three things the Spirit desires to do in our lives.
John 16:13 (Jesus said) But when he, the Spirit of truth , comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. Paul’s message to the Corinthians was a message by the Spirit, not relying on his own power of persuasion, not resting on mans wisdom but Speaking God’s secret wisdom that had been hidden from ages past. That my friends is a wonderful truth about the Holy Spirit. That he reveals. He reveals the truth about God, who he is and what he has done. He reveals the things that are to come. Speaking to men and women in visions, dreams and by his power. Giving discernment about events or even people. Opening the scriptures to our hearts. Do you have trouble reading the word of God? Do you have difficulty understanding your bible? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the mysteries of God that have been opened to us thought the scriptures. What joy there is in the pages of the Bible and letting the Spirit reveal God's truth to you. But far too many Christians are too busy to read the word, TV takes more time, recreation consumes our lives, yet God has opened his will and his purpose thought the word of God, and how many people as starving spiritually because they do not meditate upon it. Ps 1:1-3 (Blessed is the person who’s) … delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. The blessed man, the happy woman is the one who considers the word of God and allows it to penetrate their heart. Paul goes on to say in our text that if those who crucified Jesus had this revelation they would not have done it. Who is he referring to? The religious leaders, those with hard hearts and dead religion, but also the rulers of this world, the devil and his angels. Think if it, when Jesus was put on the cross, the demons rejoiced, three days later they were amazed as he conquered death, hell, and the grave. Col 2:15 (That he )…disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Of course we know that was the only way to pay for our sins, but Paul’s point is simply that the Spirit reveals God, and if he has been revealed in a man’s life they will never go back to the world. Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. When we continually rely on the Holy Spirit, we will not go back to dead religion. We can not go back to religious rules the keeping of scarifies because we know that would deny perfect work of the cross. That Jesus once for all bore our sins that we might live. The Spirit reveals and he shows us what great things God has done for us. Then Paul quotes from Isaiah, and reminds us that the things God has prepared for us has not entered the heart and mind of the natural man, it is only by the Spirit. Now we all have used this scripture to show how we can not understand the great things of heaven. And to some degree that is true. But the context is simply that we can not understand God’s plan, his wisdom for salvation with out the Holy Spirit. The bible tells us. 1 Cor 12:3… No one can say, "Jesus is Lord ," except by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals Jesus is Lord -- maybe your hear today and you have shied away from the Holy Spirit, maybe you have been exposed to some weird things in church. I remember getting saved at the old age of 23 in a Pentecostal church and seeing some pretty strange stuff. People wailing, falling over, letting their emotions get carried away in all kinds of strange ways. But I also saw the power of God fall on people as they came to the alter of God, and honestly cried before him, repenting of their sins and walking away forgiven, and excited about God. The Holy Spirit reveals to the hearts of believers the wonderful things that God has done, and the wonderful things God desires to do in our lives. Because as our text says the Spirit searches the deep things of God.
Just like you are the only one who knows your thoughts - so the Holy Spirit gives understanding to the thoughts of God. He works through men and women, and he works through the word of God to brings understanding to the minds of people. Look at.
1 Cor 2:12 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.
Do you understand what God has freely given us? 1 Cor 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Wisdom that gives us understanding of three things. a. 1st RIGHTEOUSNESS. Righteousness, that Christ’s perfection dwells in us, we are justified not because of what we have done, but because of who he is and what he has done. b. 2nd HOLINESS. Sanctified, set apart for the work of God. c. REDEMPTION. We were lost, but Jesus found us. We needed to be redeemed, purchased back from sin and its bondage, and that is what Jesus did. Purchased us by with something more costly then silver or gold, his own blood. Listen to the words of a newer song by Matt Redman. Your blood speaks a better word, Than all the empty claims I've heard, Upon this earth - Speaks righteousness for me, And stands in my defense, Jesus it's Your blood. Your cross testifies in grace, Tells of the Father's heart, To make a way for us, Now boldly we approach, Not earthly confidence, It's only by Your blood.
1 Cor 2:12 RSV Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. By the Holy Spirit we can understand things or “Gifts” God has bestowed on us. One of the problems there in the church of Corinth was the misuse of God’s gifts, they were are Pentecostal church out of control. They misused what God had gifted them with. We will consider the gifts of God in detail when we get to the latter chapters of 1 Corinthians but for now look at. 1 Cor 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. It matters not how many spiritual gifts you have, if they are not tempered by love you are just making noise, you are nothing, you gain nothing. For the fruit of the Spirit of God working in a believer is not gifts, or miracles, it’s not weirdness, the fruit or result of the Holy Spirit is love. Jesus said. John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." We have seen how the Spirit reveals to us, and brings understanding to us. Finally we see.
Paul says there in V16- “we have the mind of Christ.” The bible says. Heb 3:1 …Fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Our minds are to be lined up with the thoughts of Jesus, the mind of Christ, to think differently, to reason things out by the Holy Spirit. That is what the Holy Spirit wants to do for you and for me. When we are far from God, the Holy Spirit is the one that brings us to God. As someone shares the word, and wittiness, Jesus says that is the first time the Holy Spirit begins to work. John 16:8-11 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. When we do not believe the Spirit gives us the mind of Christ, he convicts us of our sin, he brings remorse because we are not righteous. He brings shame in our lives in regard to judgment because the enemy is judged as well as all who oppose God. The Holy Spirit brings the mind of Christ when we are still far from him. Then as we surrender to God, as we live out this Christian faith God brings us the mind of Christ, as the Spirit guides us into all truth. John 16:14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. The Holy Spirit will give you the mind of the Lord. Making known to you the things of God. There is a great truth that I want you to understand, that the man the woman without the Spirit can not understand the things of God, they are foolishness to them, because they are spiritually discerned. As you share your faith, ask the Holy Spirit to move in conviction upon that person, then as conviction works in their life, they may by faith receive Jesus Christ. Then the Holy Spirit will open to them the mind of Christ. The Spirit will reveal, the Spirit will bring understanding, the Spirit will give the mind of Christ. TURN TO PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11Your attitude, your mind should be the attitude, the mind of Jesus. The mind of meekness, the mind of servanthood, the mind of humility, the mind of being willing to obey God’s plan. That is God’s secret wisdom, which is revealed to all who trust in him, and do not rely the flesh that is having the mind of Christ. To "have the mind of Christ" means to look at life from the Savior's point of view, having his values and his purposes in our mind. It means to think God's thoughts and not think as the world thinks. The Corinthian Christians were so wrapped up in the miraculous gifts of the Spirit that they were neglecting the basic ministries of the Spirit. And in their emphasis on the Spirit, they were also neglecting the Father and the Son. Warren Wiersbe said. “Blessed are the balanced! And blessed are they who understand and share "all the counsel of God" Paul has been emphasizing the message of the Gospel and the warning that we must not mix it with human wisdom or human philosophy. In the next two chapters, he deals with the ministry of the Gospel and shows that we must take our eyes off of people - and keep them on Christ alone. Really that is following God’s teacher, the Holy Spirit -- Jesus said. John 16:14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. The church in Corinth had problems, next week we will consider some of them and we will see that it is possible to have the Spirit of God -- but not always to obey him. There are what we call "carnal Christian," one who has the Spirit but does not walk by the Spirit. In one sense, this is what Paul is speaking of here. To all who are open to the Spirit, who obey the Spirit, who are led by the Spirit, these are the ones who have the wisdom of God that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. That is following God’s teacher, that is having the mind of Christ. Gal 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit , let us keep in step with the Spirit. When we talk about the Holy Spirit, no matter what your background is, Pentecostal or Baptist, the first thing we should think of is right here, that the Spirit is the one who reveals, who brings understanding, who gives us the mind of Christ. |
(C) High Sierra Fellowship 2008 |
