1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 - Part C

Talking about the wisdom of God in sending Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind.

That's the wisdom of God.

That's the power of God and God's prepared salvation. Maybe that does include that God has revealed himself in his vital truths to us. We didn't discover the mama today on connect with Skip Heitzig Scriptures about more of those truths including how God's wisdom illuminate your life. Did you know that Scriptures important updates and biblical encouragement on social media. Just follow him on Facebook, twitter and Instagram to get the latest from him in this ministry that's at Skip Heitzig at Skip HPI cheesy IG connect with it. I think incredible stories about how God is around the world and the stories are only possible because of the when you get to this ministry connect listeners all over the world to the good news of Jesus and keep these messages you have on hand, consider getting help more people connect with God and grow in their faith to get just visit connectwithskip.com/donate.connectwithskip.com/donate or you can call 892 1892 thank you were in first Corinthians chapter 1 as we dive into today's teaching with Skip Heitzig.

One of the reasons to be unified because people are perishing. Another reason I because all of us, including the earthly leaders, foolish things are frail sinners who are redeemed, so follow Christ. Instead of those individuals.

Chapter 2 verse one and I brother when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God talking to Corinth after he was in the city of Athens, parking the car and came with a very basic simple message came with the gospel. Typically, when people go to cities like Corinth or Athens any of the Greek enclaves a speakers would come in and and and typically and in Greek thinking they were called sophists. Sophists were were wisdom tellers and the Sophist would come with a carefully spun story or very clever and articulate ways of talking to attract a crowd to gain a following all said when I came to you I did not I deliberately did not do them. I came in a very straightforward simple gospel message. Just refresh your memory and ask 18 when it comes to Corinth because the synagogue and he shares the gospel in the synagogue. He convinces some of the Jews in many of the non-Jews to believe it creates a stir so it goes into a house next to the synagogue, as he is kicked out of the synagogue and he begins teaching there. It was pretty straightforward gospel stuff. Not that Paul couldn't speak in high terms member I said that there's not many mighty, not many wise that many noble Paul was an exception.

He was pretty wise and Paul could do philosophy with the best of keep in mind Paul was in Athens in acts chapter 17 and he stood on the Areopagus Mars Hill and there were the Athenian philosophers who were gathered around him and it says that the men of Athens and the visitors came either to hear or to tell of some new thing and so Paul stood up and he said you know I go around the city and another sure religious group. You even have a statue to the unknown God and so we start using some in their culture of philosophy of their culture.

A religious icon begins to point to the one true God that they don't know.

But then he starts quoting secular philosophers in his message for in him we live and move and have our being.

That's a direct quote from a payment needs, who is a Cretan philosopher and then he says for we also are his offspring. Another quote from a different philosopher, emeritus of solely so he pulls from the CERT philosophical world, so he was very able to do that but for the most part, usually and in Corinth, especially he didn't come with excellence of speech income. Quoting the philosophers he just declared as it says blunt simple testimony of God for verse two. I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, the un-cluttered message of the cross know not everyone is ready to believe the simple message of the cross. I understand that I understand the world in which we live. I work for a long time in the secular world and I dealt with people with science backgrounds doctor's advanced scientific minds of people who had philosophical inclinations and I understand that there are often roadblocks to just believing in God or believing especially in Christ, and that those roadblocks have to be removed. First, we would call that pre-evangelism to ready the mind and especially the heart DD the core of that person to receive the gospel and so we use apologetic scientific apologetics philosophical apologetics. I love that. On the other hand, not everybody is there some people are ready. I remember talking to this one person at at the Huntington Beach peer and I went into all these explanations and the whole while they were just ready to pray and receive Christ. They do need philosophical explanation is need someone praying with and so finally I got around to it was like man I just went around the block to get next door so some people you know begin with the simple gospel and then if there's objections to it. Like the veracity of Scripture or science versus faith, or a number of other roadblocks then deal with the roadblocks and engage that way but I determined to not know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified that this is interesting. Verse three I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling. Quite an admission, and most of us don't picture Paul this way the trim is fierce able articulate, always ready brave.

But he says I was with human weakness and fear, and much trembling. Keep something in mind before he got to Corinth when he was at Lysistrata. They stoned him drug his body out for dead. He got up, went back in and preach, though I'm sure he would win back with a limp. By the time he made it over to the Greco Macedonian part of the world. He went to Philippi got arrested got beaten, put in jail.

Then he left there and he went to Thessalonica and they created a riot in a stir. They had to sneak him out at night. Then he went down to Berea and shared there in the people followed him from Thessalonica and started another riot. Then he comes to Athens. He stands on the Areopagus breaches. They laughed him to scorn so by the time he gets to Corinth. He's a little beat up so without a tobacco. We would understand for him to say I was with you in weakness and fear him, and much trembling, but it's not like he's afraid to share the gospel as much as it's in nervous energy, not knowing what the response is going to be, and an athlete gets this before they get on the on the track or they performed their athleticism and after feels that before the actor hits the stage that kind of nervous energy and so Paul admits it and he says, verse four and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human self. He a wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature yet not the wisdom of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing we can we can speak about deeper subjects, and we do speak on deeper items and issues and subjects to those who are believers in Christ and are more mature and can handle it, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age work or coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God. Now watch this word in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory. Can we we hear the word ministry and we think. Sort of like a murder mystery. We think it's like who you know it's it's it's mysterious and nobody knows the answer to that got us discover what the answer is that's what it means to our ears. That's not what it meant to the heirs of the ones you wrote to when he says a mystery.

He's using a Corinthian buzzword.

A mystery moose stare on is the Greek and a miscarry on the Greeks believed in mystery religions so they believe that if you are initiated by certain ceremonies into these religions. Only those who are initiated and given special wisdom could understand the mystery of the ceremony they were going through and the religious thing they were getting involved they call that there mystery and they prided themselves that when Paul uses the term though it is a Corinthian term, he'll use the term in other places and other letters and what Paul means is something that used to be hidden in it wasn't fully revealed in the Old Testament, but now there's no mystery. Now what was hidden is now disclosing everybody can understand. So for example the idea of the church in comprised of Jew and Gentile God's chosen people, not just Jews but Jew and Gentile in one body.

Paul will say in the book of Ephesians was a mystery Hidden in the Old Testament now it's revealed. I suppose the idea of Jesus being both the crucified Messiah and conquering Messiah was also one of those mysteries. We understand that now we have the whole revelation you won't understand that through human reasoning and human wisdom. So verse eight which none of the rulers of this age new for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, the rulers of this world, the political rulers and the religious rulers. Those are the ones I believe Paul is referring to both those in the political realm and the religious realm. They were ignorant as to who Jesus was. They were ignorant that they didn't know for certain. He was the Messiah they could've known but they did. Jesus asked his disciples in Matthew 16 who do men say that I am answer. Some say John the Baptist simply or Jeremiah 1 of the prophets, etc. they had different ideas as to who this was. They were ignorant of his first second thing they were ignorant of his how bad of a sin they were committing and rejecting him and those crucified now.

Their ignorance doesn't equal to innocence.

Just because you are ignorant of the law doesn't mean you're innocent when you break the law you could prove that I hope you don't, but it if you do 75 miles an hour in an area that's posted 35 miles an hour, and the officer pulls you over and said you were doing 75 in 35 and he said oh I didn't know he said oh well okay then God bless you and have a great day.

He's going to write you up and say now you know and you will forever remember by this $250 ticket you have to pay so ignorance doesn't mean innocence when it says none of the rulers knew they didn't know who Jesus was, they could have, but they didn't and they knew what they were doing was wrong, but they didn't know how big a sin they were committing and rejecting, and crucifying at the known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I is not seen, nor his ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him. How many times have you heard that quoted by Christians when they talk about heaven and they use this first. You know I is not seen, nor his ear, nor is it in the heart of myth, we just don't know how awesome it's going to be right. They should read the next verse where it says but God has revealed them to us through the spirit. First of all, he's not talking about heaven. He's talking about the wisdom of God in sending Jesus Christ for the sin of mankind.

That's the wisdom of God. That's the power of God and God's prepared salvation.

Maybe that does include future glory. But that's not the context of that is quoting attacks out of Isaiah 64 and 65 but he says but God has revealed them to us so here's the point people by natural in investigation will never find God on their own.

A person will not discover God. The only way to discover God is by outside revelation, not personal investigation. If you personally investigate things, it will point you in that direction, but you need a more complete knowledge base, and that only comes through revelation God has revealed them through his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Now look at the analogy uses verse 11.

For one thing knows for what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him. Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, look at the person sitting next to you. You don't really know that person. Yes I do. I merited a person.

I daresay there are some things about about that person you don't know, there may be some thoughts you don't know really nobody knows another person, and the only one who really does know the person is the person himself so the only one that knows the mind of God. The heart of God is the spirit of God as father son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit searches the deep things of God and reveals them so we would never know about God or God's way of salvation what God wants, unless God reveals it to us through his Spirit member in Psalm 19. David says the heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament shows his handiwork. Day and a day they enter their speech night and tonight they reveal knowledge, but you keep going after he talks about the natural order of things. What we see around us in the natural world says this, the law of the Lord is perfect, revealing the heart so he says you can look around at the universe, and you can learn certain things about God's power is order so we have the big book of the universe, but you need more.

It's not a complete revelation. You don't need just the big book of the universe. The big book of creation. You need the little book of the Bible, the revelation of God, which discloses the love of God. The plan of God.

The way to God.

Salvation, you know that only through revelation so man by human wisdom can never reach God but God through Christ reaches us in the spirit of God reaches out reveals himself to us so we can know nature is incomplete. So every now and then I made some ago to go to church met Anna do church embedded organized religion what they mean is there and to disorganize religion and they go on to describe what that is.

Yeah, you know, I just got a nature manage like look at the stars in the clouds and the rocks so my my churches I go camping. I'm sorry. You can only get a little bit doing it's majestic. It's awesome. You get the power of God, you need to a whole picture that comes from the revelation of God. That's why we teach it all the time. That's what we do. Verse by verse in chapter by chapter book by book so we get the revelation never's 12 let's finish out the chapter and then we have four minutes were almost there now leave now that's emphatic in the Greek language now. We emphasize we have the spirit we have received not the spirit of this world, the Spirit who is from God, not that is but who Holy Spirit is a person Spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Go back to verse 13 for just a moment. Siewert says we speak these things, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Talk about words here. I just want to say this, don't be afraid of spiritual words don't think that you need to dumb down the Christian faith by not learning spiritual words, salvation, justification, Pro appreciation, those are good doctrinal biblical words this in every profession has its language here in the medical profession. You learn certain medical words here in the legal profession you you learn the parlance of the legal profession.

If you're in anything you either.

There's a language basic goes with it when it comes to spiritual life. There are certain spiritual concepts that only spiritual words will convey. Don't be afraid of them be conversant in them, learn them because it's a part of who we are part of our identity so it's finish out the chapter, but the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God for their foolishness unto him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ, who is known the mind of the Lord, that we should instruct him well.

God is given us the mind of Christ. But I don't fully understand the mind of the Lord and that's why you and I should never instruct him.

It says that we should instruct them.

Have you noticed how often Christians try to instruct God.

God, I prayed about that you had you had a chance to move left) why did you do it, then what what why did you waited, how can you allow and you know here we are giving God our advice who is known the mind of the Lord, that we should instruct or counsel or advise him.

And yet I found myself doing that in my life or you had a good opportunity as if he doesn't know what he's doing or as if he doesn't have it all and control to snow tonight.

It's under control.

God rules the universe with his feet up. It's okay. It's okay.

He's got he's got it covered was known the mind. Lord we should instruct amount Paul divides humanity. Usually I would say into two groups into three groups three groups and therefore very important groups, but wait till next time to get what those groups are in the understanding and where we fit in that Skip the message from the series expound first to share about a resource that will help you engage even deeper in your Bible study time is your personal Bible study time, frustrating direction. You can study the Bible with the plan and see progress.

Listen to this from Skip I think all of us. We have trouble with certain parts of the Bible. Sometimes it's tough, but exposure to the five a consistent exposure to the Bible. I would add on a daily basis with the consistent desire to obey it will do more for you than any other thing that I can think of? Take the mystery studying Scripture by pastors vital $25 and Bible teaching ministry. I don't have to be afraid. Enjoy it. I think securely/copied hundred 92 tomorrow Skip Heitzigs of shares important insight about spiritual growth. So welcome to the gathering of sinners who are in different stages of sanctification… The way we are takes is the way we are now… Too much to leave us the way we are the Holiness process. We, as we are in the