WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 The title of my sermon today is The Wisdom of 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:07.599 God and the Holy Spirit's Work in Revelation, 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:14.380 Inspiration, and Illumination. 1 Corinthians 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:22.480 chapter 2 verses 6 through 16. It's what we will 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.750 be reading. Now in this, I used a number of big 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:29.449 words, revelation, inspiration, and illumination. 00:00:30.129 --> 00:00:33.130 But I hope that I'm able to break down these 00:00:33.130 --> 00:00:36.570 words of God that are given to us, these great 00:00:36.570 --> 00:00:41.189 concepts, so that we can all understand what 00:00:41.189 --> 00:00:45.090 the Spirit is saying to us. Hear the word of 00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:48.649 the Lord, beginning in verse 6. However, we speak 00:00:48.649 --> 00:00:52.000 wisdom among those who are mature. yet not the 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.799 wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.479 age who are coming to nothing. But we speak the 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.340 wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom 00:01:02.340 --> 00:01:06.439 which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:11.200 which none of the rulers of this age knew. For 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.900 had they known, they would not have crucified 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:18.939 the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I has 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:23.090 not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into 00:01:23.090 --> 00:01:26.250 the heart of man the things which God has prepared 00:01:26.250 --> 00:01:31.290 for those who love him. But God has revealed 00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:35.349 them to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit 00:01:35.349 --> 00:01:39.650 searches all things, yes, the deep things of 00:01:39.650 --> 00:01:43.549 God. For what man knows the things of a man except 00:01:43.549 --> 00:01:46.969 the Spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, 00:01:46.969 --> 00:01:49.780 no one knows the things of God except God. the 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:54.480 Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:58.019 of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:00.620 that we might know the things that have been 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:04.859 freely given to us by God. These things we also 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:09.159 speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:13.000 but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.879 spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:19.759 man does not receive the things of the Spirit 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:23.879 of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.120 can he know them, because they are spiritually 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.340 discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:34.819 things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:38.240 one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:43.080 that he may instruct him? But we have the mind 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.979 of Christ. Let's pray. Father, we come to you 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:51.539 with this great passage of scripture in which 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:54.819 you speak of mysteries and the work of the Holy 00:02:54.819 --> 00:02:59.099 Ghost versus the natural man and the wisdom that 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:02.960 is of man versus the wisdom that you give. We 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.719 pray Lord today that you would fill our hearts 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:09.340 and minds with the wisdom that you give. Grant 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:12.020 us understanding of this passage, oh Lord, that 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.879 we might understand it. and that we could apply 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.719 it and live it out as you would have us do. We 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.639 pray for your blessing and illumination on this 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:25.460 word as it is preached today. We pray in Jesus' 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:31.639 name. Amen. I begin the sermon today with the 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:35.060 contrast between the spiritual man and the natural 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:38.259 man. These are terms that are found in this passage, 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.550 as well as wisdom that comes from God. through 00:03:42.550 --> 00:03:46.590 the Holy Spirit, versus the wisdom of the world. 00:03:47.930 --> 00:03:52.050 As we saw last week, when we looked at the first 00:03:52.050 --> 00:03:56.449 portion of this chapter, Paul emphasized the 00:03:56.449 --> 00:04:00.370 method that he used to preach the word of God. 00:04:00.509 --> 00:04:04.669 It was a simple message, the message of the cross. 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:08.439 For he determined, as he said, not to know anything 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:11.580 among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.460 He pivots from the emphasis on the method now 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:18.720 which he used for preaching, where he avoided 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:21.639 the esoteric and learned wisdom of the Greeks 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:24.740 and preached Jesus Christ and him crucified, 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:29.389 not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but 00:04:29.389 --> 00:04:31.829 in weakness, fear and trembling and demonstration 00:04:31.829 --> 00:04:35.410 of the Holy Spirit and power. And he moves now 00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:40.389 to the message, the message of heavenly wisdom. 00:04:41.209 --> 00:04:44.389 And when I speak of the spiritual man, I want 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:47.389 to make sure that you understand what Paul is 00:04:47.389 --> 00:04:51.089 saying here and what I am preaching about. I 00:04:51.089 --> 00:04:55.600 am not talking. about spiritual in the way that 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:01.720 it is used of Wiccan or Native American or Eastern 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:06.740 mystical religions and witchcraft. Nor am I using 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:11.490 it as is often applied and interpreted by some 00:05:11.490 --> 00:05:14.430 in the charismatic community, especially the 00:05:14.430 --> 00:05:18.370 Bethel movement, and as well the pietistic movement, 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:21.589 which is often viewed as a spiritual man is one 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:24.550 who's on a superior plane of Christian living 00:05:24.550 --> 00:05:30.149 that some Christians have and others don't. Spiritual 00:05:30.149 --> 00:05:34.689 simply means this, of the Holy Spirit, of the 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:39.860 Spirit, proceeding from the Spirit to us. God's 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:43.959 people. It is speaking of the work of the Holy 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:46.839 Spirit, the third person of the Godhead or Trinity. 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:50.019 For as Jesus says in John chapter 6 and verse 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:54.600 63, it is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.620 profits nothing. He says, the words that I speak 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:03.699 to you are Spirit and they are life. God's Word. 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:08.180 They are Spirit and they are life. Now the Holy 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:11.199 Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.680 was sent upon believers in a much greater measure 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:19.000 after Christ ascended to the Father. Jesus testified 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:21.819 and prophesied of this. For example, in John 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:26.439 chapter 14, verse 25 and 26, Jesus told his disciples, 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:29.899 These things I have spoken to you while being 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:35.000 present with you, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, 00:06:35.550 --> 00:06:39.389 whom the Father will send in my name, he will 00:06:39.389 --> 00:06:44.189 teach you all things and bring to your remembrance 00:06:44.189 --> 00:06:48.930 all things that I said to you. The Holy Spirit 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:54.230 is our helper. He is sent to aid us, to inspire 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:59.129 us, to comfort us. And as our passage today shows 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:04.920 us, To illuminate God's word to our hearts. Now 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.720 what do I mean when I use the word illuminate? 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:10.459 It means to make light, to shed light on, to 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:14.680 make it bright and thus understandable. It is 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:18.019 the work of the Holy Spirit to take the words 00:07:18.019 --> 00:07:22.000 of God and to shed light on in our hearts. Sometimes 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.339 we have difficulty understanding what is being 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:29.069 said. And we need the power of the Holy Spirit 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:33.149 to shine upon our hearts and give us understanding 00:07:33.149 --> 00:07:39.629 of the Word of God. That is what I mean by illumination. 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:43.589 All this is very necessary because the natural 00:07:43.589 --> 00:07:46.850 man without the Spirit of God does not receive 00:07:46.850 --> 00:07:49.430 the Spirit, the things of the Spirit of God. 00:07:49.569 --> 00:07:52.790 In fact, as our passage today says, he cannot 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:57.910 know them because... They are spiritually discerned. 00:07:58.250 --> 00:08:02.069 The natural man is incapable. Just as a dead 00:08:02.069 --> 00:08:05.370 man cannot raise himself, he cannot make himself 00:08:05.370 --> 00:08:10.019 alive and able to live again. Those who are still 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:14.139 in their sins, they cannot help but to sin. And 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:16.879 while some may accomplish some types of self 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:20.480 -improvement, they cannot live in a manner pleasing 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:24.379 to God, nor can they discern and obtain true 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:28.680 wisdom from God, apart from the work of the Holy 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.620 Spirit. Therefore, all the wise men of the day, 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.980 the Essenes, the Jewish leaders of the Pharisees 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:42.080 and the Sadducees, the Roman rulers and the nobles, 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:46.659 the Greek Platonists and the Stoics and the Epicureans 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:50.100 and the Heraclitians, they were not able to have 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:55.100 true and right wisdom. Paul, in preaching the 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:58.120 pure and simple gospel, begins the passage today 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:04.490 with, however, we speak wisdom. This is the wisdom 00:09:04.490 --> 00:09:07.950 that is heavenly, that comes from God, and it 00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:11.370 is the wisdom that he and others speak, as we 00:09:11.370 --> 00:09:15.309 see in verse 6. The passage speaks of true wisdom 00:09:15.309 --> 00:09:19.590 as the revelation of God. It speaks of the inspiration 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:24.769 of his word and the illumination of our minds 00:09:24.769 --> 00:09:29.410 by the Holy Spirit. Let me explain this. Revelation 00:09:29.410 --> 00:09:33.149 is God's act of communicating divine knowledge 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:37.070 to the human mind. Sometimes this was audible, 00:09:37.330 --> 00:09:41.169 sometimes this was in various ways, but it's 00:09:41.169 --> 00:09:45.690 where God gifted certain men and women to receive 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:50.629 knowledge directly from God. God revealed it 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:53.230 to them in some way. This is called revelation. 00:09:54.370 --> 00:09:58.039 Then we have the work of inspiration. This is 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:01.220 the work of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:04.440 prophets, that is the biblical authors, so that 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:07.659 they would infallibly record God's revealed truth. 00:10:07.820 --> 00:10:10.860 So God revealed his word to them and that he 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:14.139 divinely inspired so that they wrote down the 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:20.299 word of God. And yet, while they were divinely 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:26.799 inspired by God, yet we still see, the differences 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:29.700 in phraseology that they use. You know, you read 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:33.139 the Apostle Peter versus the Apostle Paul, or 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:37.059 you read Isaiah versus Jeremiah or Ezekiel. They 00:10:37.059 --> 00:10:39.559 each had their own ways of expressing things, 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:41.960 the type of grammar that they used, the thoughts 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:44.840 and the way that they do it. And so it's not 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.500 like they were just completely automatons where 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:51.259 God just moved their fingers. No, God revealed 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:55.240 to them and then divinely inspired them to write 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:59.539 them. the very words of God, and yet it is also 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:03.659 with their own ways of expressing and the grammar 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:08.000 that they use. This we call inspiration, divine 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.480 inspiration of the work of the Holy Spirit. And 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:14.519 then finally we have illumination. This is the 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:17.679 work of the Holy Spirit in enabling all Christian 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:20.960 believers to rightly understand and to discern 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.879 and to apply the truths in the Holy Scripture. 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:27.539 The first two, revelation and inspiration, were 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:31.799 given to a select few. Illumination, however, 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:37.159 it comes to every believer. Everyone who believes 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:39.919 in the Lord Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.080 at work in them and the Holy Spirit illuminates 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:47.480 the word of God to them. This is the wisdom of 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.360 God of which Paul writes and speaks and it stands 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:53.580 in sharp contrast against the wisdom of the world. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:57.379 Now the Corinthian church, the folks there, they 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.220 are Christians. We know that. We've read chapter 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:03.679 1. They're part of and they are destined for 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.279 a new age. But their view of the future needs 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:10.240 to be adjusted away from the spirit of the age, 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.519 that of natural human wisdom. They need to stop 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.139 the alignment with the party that God opposed 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:21.500 and overthrew for the end of that. is doom. Human 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:25.299 wisdom without God and without revelation, inspiration, 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:29.279 and illumination is destined for complete failure 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:34.080 and an exercise in futility. We see that as we 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:38.159 look around us. As we live in our age. So let's 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:39.940 now turn to the passage. And we're going to see 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:42.919 how Paul breaks it down for us. In order to teach 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:45.559 Christ's church. How to discern between true 00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:48.759 and false wisdom. And as he ends the chapter. 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:51.879 To have the mind of Christ. First of all we'll 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:56.059 look now at the word. We speak wisdom. The wisdom 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:59.809 of God. This is. We're going to be looking at 00:12:59.809 --> 00:13:05.110 the whole time between 6 and 9, but he says specifically 00:13:05.110 --> 00:13:07.549 in the beginning of verse 6 and in the beginning 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:11.710 of verse 7, we speak wisdom. It's the wisdom 00:13:11.710 --> 00:13:15.610 of God. Now, the first question that comes to 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:18.649 mind when we look at this, it says, however we 00:13:18.649 --> 00:13:23.769 speak, and that is, who's who? Who is the we 00:13:23.769 --> 00:13:30.509 that is talking about here? Before this, Paul 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:33.549 wrote in the first person, I. He said, I came 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:35.830 to you. I determined not to know anything among 00:13:35.830 --> 00:13:38.570 you except Jesus and him crucified. He says, 00:13:38.590 --> 00:13:41.529 I was with you in weakness and my speech, my 00:13:41.529 --> 00:13:43.470 preaching were in demonstration of the spirit 00:13:43.470 --> 00:13:45.850 and power. But now he switches and saying, we, 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:50.090 we speak wisdom. Who is the we referring to? 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:53.159 The pillar commentary, pillar of the New Testament 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:56.200 commentary, puts it like this. A more significant 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:58.639 issue for the interpretation of this passage, 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.139 which sometimes receives less attention, is the 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:05.980 precise referent of these and other terms in 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:09.179 the passage. The question of who's how is not 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:13.139 easy to answer. Who are the we and the us in 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:17.799 verses 6 and 7 and 10 and 12 and 13? Who are 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:21.179 the rulers of this age? In verse 6 and 7. Who 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:25.700 are the mature? In verse 6. Now, it is clear 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:28.779 that most of the times in this passage, where 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:31.360 the word we is used, given the first and the 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:34.860 third chapters, that Paul is not referring to 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:37.399 the Corinthian Christians. For indeed, as we 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:40.720 will see next Lord's Day, they are carnal babes 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:44.159 in Christ, Paul calls them. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:46.440 1, he says, And I, brethren, could not speak 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:48.960 to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.379 as to babes in Christ. Nor do I think that the 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:55.240 we that is here is referring to all Christians 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.480 in general. Let's look at a few other passages 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.080 that shed light on this. Paul writes to the Ephesians 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:06.000 that he received revelation from God, and he 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.740 says, How that by revelation he, that is God, 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:14.570 made known to me, The mystery, as I have briefly 00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:16.950 written already, by which when you read, you 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:19.769 may understand my knowledge in the mystery of 00:15:19.769 --> 00:15:23.490 Christ, which in other ages was not made known 00:15:23.490 --> 00:15:28.850 to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed, 00:15:28.990 --> 00:15:32.850 get this, by his spirit to his holy apostles 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:37.309 and prophets. to his holy apostles and prophets, 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:40.389 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the 00:15:40.389 --> 00:15:43.029 same body and partakers of his promise in Christ 00:15:43.029 --> 00:15:46.820 through the gospel. That's in Ephesians 3, verses 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:49.960 3 to 6. Paul clearly speaks of how this mystery 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:52.980 was not revealed by God to all believers initially, 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:57.899 but it was to the apostles and prophets. Now, 00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.879 Peter also writes of this in 2 Peter 3, verse 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.779 1. Beloved, I now write this second epistle, 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:07.720 in both of which I stir up your pure minds by 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:10.659 way of reminder that you may be mindful of the 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:14.730 words which were spoken before. by the holy prophets 00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:20.169 and of the commandment of us, the apostles of 00:16:20.169 --> 00:16:24.970 the Lord our Savior. Therefore, I believe that 00:16:24.970 --> 00:16:29.149 the we in this passage is referring broadly to 00:16:29.149 --> 00:16:32.809 the prophets of old and to the apostles who were 00:16:32.809 --> 00:16:36.649 given special authority by Jesus to communicate 00:16:36.649 --> 00:16:40.649 the revealed truth of God's word in speech and 00:16:40.649 --> 00:16:44.100 writing. More particularly, Paul is referring 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:47.039 to those apostles and prophets who ministered 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.919 to the Corinthian church. Here again, the pillar 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:54.080 commentary puts it very well. We in 1 Corinthians 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:58.539 2 verse 7 is a reference to Paul and the other 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:02.779 apostles and prophets preachers in Corinth who 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:06.619 instruct the congregation and not to all believers. 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:09.880 Hodge and other commentators agree with this. 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:13.380 These speak the revealed word of God. They unveil 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:16.200 the mystery as communicated by God to them, and 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:19.299 then they wrote it down by divine inspiration. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.309 We've spoken of that in just a bit. Peter writes 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:27.410 of this process in the book of 2 Peter 1, verse 00:17:27.410 --> 00:17:31.630 16. Here he carefully outlines how the word of 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:34.369 God came to be, the holy scriptures. He says, 00:17:34.569 --> 00:17:38.869 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables 00:17:38.869 --> 00:17:42.170 when we made known to you the power and coming 00:17:42.170 --> 00:17:45.349 of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses 00:17:45.349 --> 00:17:49.059 of his majesty. For he received... From God the 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:51.759 Father, honor and glory. When such a voice came 00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:54.799 to him from the most excellent glory. This is 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:57.779 my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:00.660 heard this voice which came from heaven when 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:03.140 we were with him on the holy mountain. And so 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:07.099 we have the prophetic word confirmed. That you 00:18:07.099 --> 00:18:09.700 do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:13.440 place. Until the day dawns and the morning star 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.160 rises in your hearts. Knowing this first. that 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.720 no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:26.619 For prophecy never came by the will of man, but 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:32.259 holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the 00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:37.980 Holy Spirit. Church, we have been given a tremendous 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:43.119 gift. wisdom of god communicated by the power 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:48.400 of god to gifted men whom god called to whom 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:51.900 he revealed his word his nature in his character 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:55.700 and then they wrote it down communicating it 00:18:55.700 --> 00:19:01.460 to the church of jesus christ for all time it 00:19:01.460 --> 00:19:05.720 is the holy scriptures the word of god this is 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:08.990 the wisdom of god And now Paul goes on to tell 00:19:08.990 --> 00:19:12.269 us more about this wisdom. He says in verse 6, 00:19:12.430 --> 00:19:16.589 this wisdom is not from the world. However, we 00:19:16.589 --> 00:19:19.390 speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:22.150 not the wisdom of this age, nor the rulers of 00:19:22.150 --> 00:19:25.710 this age who are coming to nothing. This wisdom 00:19:25.710 --> 00:19:28.490 is spoken among those who are mature, those who 00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:30.829 have been discipled and full grown, of full age 00:19:30.829 --> 00:19:33.450 in the faith. Remember that the apostles did 00:19:33.450 --> 00:19:36.430 not start out the way. Some of them were fishermen. 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.160 Some of them, some of them really quite bumbled 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:42.900 away and did not understand well. So they had 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:45.539 to be taught and instructed by Christ in many 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:50.779 ways. But then, excuse me, but then on the day 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:53.859 of Pentecost. the Holy Spirit came upon them 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:56.619 in great measure. And then all of a sudden, everyone 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:58.980 else was wondering, how in the world do these 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:02.420 men of Galilee speak in such incredible and wonderful 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:05.900 words? They received the gift of the Holy Spirit 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:09.740 with revelation and with divine inspiration. 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:16.119 The mature are those who have grown in Christ 00:20:16.119 --> 00:20:18.480 and are of full age. They're able to discern 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:22.539 good and evil, as Hebrews 5, verse 12 and 14 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:26.799 say. But the wisdom that did not originate, this 00:20:26.799 --> 00:20:31.849 wisdom... This human wisdom did not originate 00:20:31.849 --> 00:20:34.670 in this world. Actually, I should say God's wisdom. 00:20:34.730 --> 00:20:37.450 It did not originate in this world. The princes 00:20:37.450 --> 00:20:40.569 of the world did not acknowledge it and bow before 00:20:40.569 --> 00:20:44.089 Christ while it is prophesied that they will 00:20:44.089 --> 00:20:47.789 do so. At the time of this writing, Paul says 00:20:47.789 --> 00:20:51.259 here that the... We speak wisdom from those who 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:53.779 are mature yet not the wisdom of the age nor 00:20:53.779 --> 00:20:57.359 of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:03.200 They were anti -Christ. Next, this is a wisdom 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:06.720 that is hidden and mysterious. It is undiscoverable 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.339 by human reason. but it's wisdom that came from 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:13.119 God himself. We see this in verse seven. Paul 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:16.380 says, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:20.940 It is the hidden wisdom which God ordained before 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:26.420 the ages for our glory. So Paul in here in this 00:21:26.420 --> 00:21:29.279 verse, he speaks of the mystery. It was so designed 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:34.109 and so ordained before the ages. That it's God's 00:21:34.109 --> 00:21:37.730 own plan before the world began to call forth 00:21:37.730 --> 00:21:41.049 a people from all nations and tribes and peoples 00:21:41.049 --> 00:21:43.569 and families and that he would call them out 00:21:43.569 --> 00:21:45.930 of darkness and that he would save them through 00:21:45.930 --> 00:21:49.470 an amazing plan of redemption. And through this 00:21:49.470 --> 00:21:52.849 predestination, he would call and justify and 00:21:52.849 --> 00:21:56.730 glorify his people. Paul speaks of this in Romans 00:21:56.730 --> 00:22:00.190 8, verse 30. Moreover, those, moreover, whom 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:04.029 he predestined, these he also called, whom he 00:22:04.029 --> 00:22:07.509 called, these he also justified, and whom he 00:22:07.509 --> 00:22:11.430 justified, these he also glorified. And this 00:22:11.430 --> 00:22:14.970 was done, as this passage says here, this is 00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:17.890 the hidden wisdom that God had, and he ordained 00:22:17.890 --> 00:22:22.529 it even before the ages, before the world began. 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:27.319 The end for all Christian believers is for our 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.279 glory. That is that we would be glorified. That 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:33.839 we would ascend to heaven and be with Christ. 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:38.059 That we would receive glory because Jesus gives 00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:41.500 it to us. For it pleased the Father to so ordain 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:45.380 and reveal this mystery for our glory in which 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:49.349 we experience with our union with Christ. Furthermore, 00:22:49.470 --> 00:22:52.329 it is a wisdom that is unknown to the princes 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:56.430 of that age. This revelation, this wisdom, heavenly 00:22:56.430 --> 00:22:59.069 wisdom that Paul speaks, it's unknown to the 00:22:59.069 --> 00:23:01.750 princes of that age. It's in verse 8. He says, 00:23:01.869 --> 00:23:05.509 which none of the rulers of this age knew. For 00:23:05.509 --> 00:23:08.049 had they known, they would not have crucified 00:23:08.049 --> 00:23:11.009 the Lord of glory. Now there's some question 00:23:11.009 --> 00:23:13.450 as to who Paul is referring to in this verse. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:17.660 Does this refer to the mighty, the wise according 00:23:17.660 --> 00:23:20.559 to the flesh and the nobles like he spoke of 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.099 back in chapter 1 verse 26? Certainly this could 00:23:24.099 --> 00:23:27.200 be the interpretation that Paul is simply saying 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:30.339 that the wisdom of God was unknown to the Jewish 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:32.660 rulers and to the high priests, to the Roman 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:35.200 governors and to the kings and to the nobles. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:38.279 Had they known, had they received the revelation 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:41.240 and illumination from God, had their hearts been 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:43.980 open to the true worship of God, they would not 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:47.519 have crucified the Lord. But it was not so. They 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.599 didn't understand. They were blinded. because 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:53.279 of their own pride and their hardness of heart, 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:59.720 in which state God chose to leave them in order 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:04.720 to accomplish this great work of the cross. We 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:08.960 see this spoken of a number of times in the mysterious 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:13.599 plan and the foreordination of God. This needed 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:18.720 to happen, and it happened with God using wicked 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:23.880 rulers to accomplish his purposes. Turn over 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:27.579 to Acts chapter 2, verse 23. This is in the preaching 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:30.640 of Peter on the day of Pentecost. And as he preaches 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:34.579 Christ, he says, him, that is Jesus, being delivered. 00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:38.349 By the determined purpose and foreknowledge of 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:42.329 God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified 00:24:42.329 --> 00:24:46.549 and put to death. We see in this the sovereign 00:24:46.549 --> 00:24:51.109 action of God and we see this the willing complicity 00:24:51.109 --> 00:24:54.809 of those in hating Christ and they chose to put 00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:58.369 him to death. But this was all part of the sovereign 00:24:58.369 --> 00:25:01.930 plan and work of God to accomplish salvation. 00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:06.210 The apostles speak of it again in Acts chapter 00:25:06.210 --> 00:25:10.910 4, verse 27 and 28. As they prayed, as they were 00:25:10.910 --> 00:25:13.970 being persecuted, they pray, for truly against 00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:17.750 your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both 00:25:17.750 --> 00:25:21.029 Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and 00:25:21.029 --> 00:25:23.410 the people of Israel, were gathered together 00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:27.289 to do what? To do whatever your hand and your 00:25:27.289 --> 00:25:32.019 purpose determined before to be done. This is 00:25:32.019 --> 00:25:34.819 a great mystery. We do not understand how God 00:25:34.819 --> 00:25:39.019 can do and act and work in all of these ways. 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:42.759 We are simply told that it is so, and we must 00:25:42.759 --> 00:25:46.559 bow before him in reverence. And this great plan 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:50.599 was designed before the world was even created. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:56.779 Now, an alternative view of the rulers here, 00:25:56.859 --> 00:26:00.380 the rulers of this age, is that Paul is referring 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:03.619 not necessarily to the specific men, but that 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:07.420 he's referring to evil leaders in the supernatural 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:11.160 realm, that is, demons and evil spirits and powers 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:15.779 of darkness. However, I take this to mean both, 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:19.700 for undoubtedly behind the wicked rulers and 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:22.819 the princes of this world, there are pernicious 00:26:22.819 --> 00:26:27.380 spiritual forces behind them. It is good for 00:26:27.380 --> 00:26:31.299 us to remember that as we combat evil in our 00:26:31.299 --> 00:26:35.180 own day. That it's not just the person that's 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:37.380 there, the person who's doing the persecuting 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:40.619 or the person that's speaking out against God 00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:44.819 or the person as we are daily seeing who abused 00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:49.259 women and consorted with evil women or evil men 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:53.220 all over the world in order to do great and horrible 00:26:53.220 --> 00:26:57.329 and wicked and immoral deeds. Epstein, of course, 00:26:57.410 --> 00:27:00.869 is whom I'm speaking of. No, behind just the 00:27:00.869 --> 00:27:03.970 wickedness of all of that, there is also a deep 00:27:03.970 --> 00:27:08.109 and dark power at work. It is the powers of darkness 00:27:08.109 --> 00:27:11.950 and of wickedness, of rulers in high places who 00:27:11.950 --> 00:27:15.250 are doing wicked and evil deeds. Paul wrote of 00:27:15.250 --> 00:27:17.930 this in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12 and 00:27:17.930 --> 00:27:22.299 13. For we do not wrestle. He says, against flesh 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:26.680 and blood, but against principalities and powers, 00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:30.700 against rulers of the darkness of this age, against 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:34.359 spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly 00:27:34.359 --> 00:27:38.319 places. And therefore, he says, take up the whole 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:42.279 armor of God. And so as we look at this here, 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:46.599 I think it is speaking of both. And then he says 00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:49.180 they would have crucified the Lord of glory. 00:27:49.950 --> 00:27:52.509 The Lord of glory speaks of none other than Jesus, 00:27:52.609 --> 00:27:55.970 even as it was prophesied in Psalm 24, verse 00:27:55.970 --> 00:27:59.809 9 and 10. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Lift 00:27:59.809 --> 00:28:02.849 up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory 00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:06.470 shall come in. Who is this King of glory? He 00:28:06.470 --> 00:28:10.549 is the Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. 00:28:10.809 --> 00:28:16.190 They put him to death, but in so doing, it unleashed. 00:28:16.490 --> 00:28:19.690 salvation to go throughout the world and the 00:28:19.690 --> 00:28:21.990 power of the Holy Spirit that would come upon 00:28:21.990 --> 00:28:25.309 people and would change their hearts, would give 00:28:25.309 --> 00:28:29.849 them a new heart. Oh, what glory this is and 00:28:29.849 --> 00:28:33.809 what an incredible plan. Far beyond what human 00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:37.309 reason could ever come up with. This is the wisdom 00:28:37.309 --> 00:28:41.619 of God. moving on then in verse 9 this wisdom 00:28:41.619 --> 00:28:45.259 is a glorious wisdom it is far above what man 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:48.839 could devise or plan much less accomplish says 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:52.799 but as it is written i has not seen nor ear heard 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.660 nor have entered into the heart of man the things 00:28:55.660 --> 00:28:59.279 which god has prepared for those who love him 00:29:00.650 --> 00:29:03.150 This is a loose quotation from Isaiah chapter 00:29:03.150 --> 00:29:06.569 64 and verse 4. For since the beginning of the 00:29:06.569 --> 00:29:08.910 world, men have not heard nor perceived by the 00:29:08.910 --> 00:29:12.029 ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides you 00:29:12.029 --> 00:29:16.640 who acts for the one who waits for him. We cannot 00:29:16.640 --> 00:29:20.640 even completely fathom in our own human minds 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:22.920 and understand the great depth and the glory 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:26.380 of God in what he has done and the great mystery 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:28.680 that has been revealed to us at least in part 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:32.579 of this heavenly wisdom. It is so far beyond 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:36.960 us. The mind of God even though we learn and 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:39.619 we understand and the Holy Spirit illumines yet. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.740 Yet we are just simply not able to completely 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:46.420 plumb all the depths of the glory of God. Eye 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:49.759 has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:52.000 into the heart of man the things which God has 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.160 prepared for those who love him. That means, 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:57.420 brothers and sisters, we have a lot to look forward 00:29:57.420 --> 00:29:59.940 to yet. Greater depths of understanding here, 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:02.160 and then we have the glories of eternal life 00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:07.779 before us. The gifts of God are free. There is 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:10.750 no way that we could earn them. There is no work 00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:14.150 that we could do that could open this up further 00:30:14.150 --> 00:30:17.349 for us. They are far beyond what one could imagine 00:30:17.349 --> 00:30:21.289 or think. So incredibly fantastic are the things 00:30:21.289 --> 00:30:24.029 that God has prepared for those who love Him. 00:30:24.170 --> 00:30:26.769 This is part of the glory that we are given. 00:30:27.769 --> 00:30:31.349 Moving on now to the next section. This wisdom 00:30:31.349 --> 00:30:35.369 comes by revelation. It is revealed by God's 00:30:35.369 --> 00:30:37.890 Spirit. And we have this in verses 10 through 00:30:37.890 --> 00:31:09.500 13. He says, Now we have received. not the spirit 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:12.980 of the world but the spirit who is from God that 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:15.700 we might know the things that have been freely 00:31:15.700 --> 00:31:20.140 given to us by God again I quote the pillar commentary 00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:24.140 on this the revelation to which Paul here refers 00:31:24.140 --> 00:31:26.940 is not the illumination given to all believers 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:30.819 but it is the disclosure of God's full purposes 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:34.819 in the cross and of Christ Jesus revealed by 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:39.369 the Holy Spirit To the apostolic preachers. Who 00:31:39.369 --> 00:31:41.769 then in turn passed on to those who loved him. 00:31:41.910 --> 00:31:45.069 With the goal that they might become mature. 00:31:45.630 --> 00:31:49.490 God gave this great gift. Of divine inspiration 00:31:49.490 --> 00:31:52.869 to the apostles. And so that they could write 00:31:52.869 --> 00:31:55.089 down and instruct us. So that we could become 00:31:55.089 --> 00:31:59.190 mature. And this is the example and pattern of 00:31:59.190 --> 00:32:02.210 the early church. For what did they do? Acts 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:05.230 chapter 2 verse 42. They continued steadfastly 00:32:05.230 --> 00:32:09.450 in what? In the apostles doctrine. And fellowship. 00:32:09.690 --> 00:32:14.000 In the breaking of bread. And in prayers. Those 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.980 then who ministered to the Corinthian church 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:19.980 received the Holy Spirit from God, and the Holy 00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:22.079 Spirit is the one who taught the ones who were 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:24.079 speaking, which were, as we know from chapter 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:27.900 1, Paul and Peter and Apollos. There may be more, 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:30.599 but those are the ones revealed here. These were 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:33.940 not men to develop factions about, but they were 00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:36.319 to be recognized that their ministry was derived 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:39.660 and informed by the Spirit, for the glory of 00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:42.970 God and not the glory of men. The emphasis here 00:32:42.970 --> 00:32:45.470 is that of mystery and deep spiritual knowledge 00:32:45.470 --> 00:32:49.289 so that no one knows the things of God except 00:32:49.289 --> 00:32:52.730 the Spirit of God. This was a far deeper and 00:32:52.730 --> 00:32:54.730 more intimate knowledge of God than anything 00:32:54.730 --> 00:32:57.890 that the Greeks or the Jews had to offer or to 00:32:57.890 --> 00:33:01.710 boast about. That God himself would reveal these 00:33:01.710 --> 00:33:04.210 things to human beings through the Holy Spirit. 00:33:04.690 --> 00:33:12.339 That is deep mystery and great knowledge. things 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.720 of god and those who receive that revelation 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:19.220 they imparted it to us in written form so that 00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:21.680 we who are illuminated by that same spirit can 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:24.059 understand and we can partake of the glories 00:33:24.059 --> 00:33:27.180 of this mystery that we might know the things 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:30.259 that are freely given god's gracious gifts to 00:33:30.259 --> 00:33:34.000 them and to his church but this however is a 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:38.119 blow to human pride but it is a great balm and 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:41.210 a delight To the humble who bow before God and 00:33:41.210 --> 00:33:44.369 who worship. We see this expressed in Romans 00:33:44.369 --> 00:33:49.150 chapter 11 verse 33. Oh the depths of the riches 00:33:49.150 --> 00:33:52.289 both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. 00:33:52.789 --> 00:34:00.470 How unsearchable are his judgments. And his ways 00:34:00.470 --> 00:34:04.289 past finding out. For who has known the mind 00:34:04.289 --> 00:34:07.029 of the Lord? Or who has become his counselor? 00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:11.099 or who was first given to him, and it shall be 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:16.739 repaid to him. For of him, and through him, and 00:34:16.739 --> 00:34:22.559 to him are all things, to whom be glory forever 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:27.599 and ever. Amen. This, brothers and sisters, is 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:31.760 designed to bring us to a place, number one, 00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:35.400 of humility. And number two of worship, humility. 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:41.760 Woe is me. I am undone. I cannot get here. I 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:44.360 cannot get this without the work of the spirit 00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:48.980 of God. I am dead. I am nothing. And so it breaks 00:34:48.980 --> 00:34:53.139 us up that we must be humble before God. But 00:34:53.139 --> 00:34:56.960 then that in our humility, we worship God who 00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:00.619 is so much greater than we are. And yet he gives 00:35:00.619 --> 00:35:04.650 us his wisdom. He gives us his wisdom. Verse 00:35:04.650 --> 00:35:10.010 13, it was revealed in words. In words that were 00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:13.889 spoken, written, and read. Paul says, these things 00:35:13.889 --> 00:35:18.409 we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:22.090 teaches, but, and it's implied here, but in words 00:35:22.090 --> 00:35:26.260 which the Holy Spirit teaches. Comparing spiritual 00:35:26.260 --> 00:35:29.639 things with spiritual. It's not in the words 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:33.159 of man wisdom, but God has given to us his word 00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:36.579 through his spirit. And through the apostles 00:35:36.579 --> 00:35:40.400 writing down these words. Therefore to speak 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:42.679 of the wisdom of God is to speak of the word 00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:46.300 of God. For God reveals wisdom in his word. God 00:35:46.300 --> 00:35:49.000 ordained it. He revealed it to the apostles and 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:51.719 prophets. Who then under divine inspiration they 00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:54.159 wrote the word and the wisdom of God down for 00:35:54.159 --> 00:35:57.960 all time. Think about it. God has chosen to reveal 00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:02.250 himself. and all of his gifts to us via Holy 00:36:02.250 --> 00:36:05.969 Spirit -inspired spoken and written words. And 00:36:05.969 --> 00:36:09.550 he gives them to us freely, that we might know 00:36:09.550 --> 00:36:12.150 the things that have been freely given to us 00:36:12.150 --> 00:36:17.349 by God, Paul says. Knowing the mind of God, knowing 00:36:17.349 --> 00:36:20.750 the will of God, knowing the wisdom of God does 00:36:20.750 --> 00:36:24.070 not come through some type of... weird or fantastic 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:27.869 esoteric experiences. It does not come through 00:36:27.869 --> 00:36:31.690 excruciating painful deeds such as lying on a 00:36:31.690 --> 00:36:35.010 bed of nails or pilgrimages to certain places 00:36:35.010 --> 00:36:38.289 or crawling over broken glass as the manner of 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:41.329 some is. The false prophets of Baal, they cut 00:36:41.329 --> 00:36:45.809 themselves with knives. Shiite Muslims practice 00:36:45.809 --> 00:36:48.909 self -flagellation during a month by whipping 00:36:48.909 --> 00:36:54.309 their backs with chains or blades, drawing blood, 00:36:54.409 --> 00:36:58.289 trying to get close to God in some way. And in 00:36:58.289 --> 00:37:01.429 ancient Greek religions, or smoking hallucinogenic 00:37:01.429 --> 00:37:04.289 drugs to get high and somehow get close to God. 00:37:04.329 --> 00:37:08.159 No, none of these. None of these impart the wisdom 00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:11.039 of God. It comes through the word of God illuminated 00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:14.900 by the Holy Spirit. We have access to it and 00:37:14.900 --> 00:37:21.039 every Christian has access to this. What does 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:24.449 the word say? The word is near. The word is near 00:37:24.449 --> 00:37:27.630 you in your mouth and in your heart. Romans 10 00:37:27.630 --> 00:37:32.130 verse 8 through 10. That is the word of faith 00:37:32.130 --> 00:37:34.469 which we preach. That if you confess with your 00:37:34.469 --> 00:37:37.150 mouth the Lord Jesus. And believe in your heart 00:37:37.150 --> 00:37:39.170 that God has raised him from the dead. You will 00:37:39.170 --> 00:37:41.809 be saved. For with the heart one believes unto 00:37:41.809 --> 00:37:43.630 righteousness. And with the mouth confession 00:37:43.630 --> 00:37:48.639 is made unto salvation. The word is near. It 00:37:48.639 --> 00:37:52.780 is not far off. It is not withheld unless you 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:55.360 commit a whole bunch of certain acts in order 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:58.760 to get it, to get the revelation of the divine. 00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:02.219 No, it's right here. And all we need to do is 00:38:02.219 --> 00:38:04.780 ask God for wisdom through the power of the Holy 00:38:04.780 --> 00:38:09.659 Spirit. And he instructs us and gives us the 00:38:09.659 --> 00:38:14.400 wisdom. God then, instead, he sends forth his 00:38:14.400 --> 00:38:18.090 spirit. He makes the dead alive. He makes them 00:38:18.090 --> 00:38:20.909 born from above. He sets them free from their 00:38:20.909 --> 00:38:24.210 bondages. He cleanses their sin. He gives them 00:38:24.210 --> 00:38:26.789 a new heart. He calls them to repent of their 00:38:26.789 --> 00:38:29.489 sins and to believe in Jesus Christ who raises 00:38:29.489 --> 00:38:33.469 the dead to life. And God communicates these 00:38:33.469 --> 00:38:37.130 truths and this wisdom to us by words. Words 00:38:37.130 --> 00:38:41.369 written in the Holy Scripture. Words by men divinely 00:38:41.369 --> 00:38:44.590 inspired by the Holy Spirit to write God's revelation 00:38:44.590 --> 00:38:48.929 to man. Paul goes on then in verse 14, he says, 00:38:49.110 --> 00:38:53.230 in a contrast, the natural man. But the natural 00:38:53.230 --> 00:38:58.110 man does not receive the things of the Spirit. 00:38:58.389 --> 00:39:01.650 To him or to her, it's foolishness. They do not 00:39:01.650 --> 00:39:04.010 have the Spirit to give them discernment. And 00:39:04.010 --> 00:39:07.809 without the gift of the Holy Spirit, all is lost. 00:39:08.269 --> 00:39:10.940 Reception is gone. The mystery is not understood. 00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:14.679 The word is of little effect. The law of God, 00:39:14.699 --> 00:39:17.679 as pure and right and good as it is, as we heard 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:20.039 this morning during our time of confession, it 00:39:20.039 --> 00:39:23.900 cannot make the dead heart come alive. What is 00:39:23.900 --> 00:39:27.179 needed in order for a man or a woman to believe 00:39:27.179 --> 00:39:29.820 the gospel and to understand the wisdom of God, 00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:32.820 they need a new heart. One who experiences the 00:39:32.820 --> 00:39:35.619 love of God, one who is given the gift of faith 00:39:35.619 --> 00:39:38.139 and whose heart is quickened and they are born 00:39:38.139 --> 00:39:40.599 again and made alive through the regenerating 00:39:40.599 --> 00:39:43.940 power of the Holy Spirit. Only then can they 00:39:43.940 --> 00:39:46.539 believe and understand the gospel and the wisdom 00:39:46.539 --> 00:39:49.780 of God. The Holy Spirit's work is to give new 00:39:49.780 --> 00:39:53.500 spiritual life to the dead in sin. As Paul says 00:39:53.500 --> 00:39:57.360 in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4, But God... 00:39:57.550 --> 00:40:01.230 who is rich in mercy because of his great love 00:40:01.230 --> 00:40:04.710 with which he loved us, even when we were dead 00:40:04.710 --> 00:40:10.230 in trespasses, made us alive. He made us alive 00:40:10.230 --> 00:40:14.550 together with Christ. By grace, you have been 00:40:14.550 --> 00:40:18.230 saved and raised us up together and made us sit 00:40:18.230 --> 00:40:22.590 together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:40:22.989 --> 00:40:26.449 It is the spirit of God who quickens and makes 00:40:26.449 --> 00:40:29.449 alive. We don't just all of a sudden decide one 00:40:29.449 --> 00:40:31.110 day, I'm going to be alive again. I'm going to 00:40:31.110 --> 00:40:32.909 be alive now. I'm dead, but I'm going to be alive. 00:40:33.210 --> 00:40:35.489 No, when you're dead, you're dead. And it's the 00:40:35.489 --> 00:40:38.449 Holy Spirit who quickens and makes alive and 00:40:38.449 --> 00:40:41.570 grants faith. And we repent and we believe and 00:40:41.570 --> 00:40:44.449 we trust through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:40:46.090 --> 00:40:48.869 Number four, then we must receive the illumination 00:40:48.869 --> 00:40:51.090 of the spirit in order to discern the word and 00:40:51.090 --> 00:40:54.329 to judge all things. And this is found in verses 00:40:54.329 --> 00:40:57.349 15 to 16, although it's also referred to in other 00:40:57.349 --> 00:41:00.630 places. But he is spiritual judges all things, 00:41:00.690 --> 00:41:03.590 yet he himself is rightly judged by no one for 00:41:03.590 --> 00:41:05.730 who has known the mind of the Lord that he may 00:41:05.730 --> 00:41:10.030 instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ. 00:41:10.639 --> 00:41:13.000 And with this we come to our final point of revelation 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.940 that all Christians need and the Holy Spirit 00:41:15.940 --> 00:41:18.619 provides. That is the illumination of the Holy 00:41:18.619 --> 00:41:21.380 Spirit of the written word of God. God brought 00:41:21.380 --> 00:41:23.920 revelations to the apostles and to the prophets 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:26.599 who then wrote down the word with divine inspiration. 00:41:26.659 --> 00:41:29.139 They communicated the mystery of the faith and 00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:31.860 the word of God meant for all time. But these 00:41:31.860 --> 00:41:34.539 were special gifts that are no longer given for 00:41:34.539 --> 00:41:37.719 now the word of God is complete and no further 00:41:37.719 --> 00:41:40.449 revelation is needed. But the work of the Holy 00:41:40.449 --> 00:41:44.730 Spirit is not over by no means. We have the mind 00:41:44.730 --> 00:41:48.309 of Christ and our thoughts are to be submitted 00:41:48.309 --> 00:41:51.030 to his thought. They're to be taken captive by 00:41:51.030 --> 00:41:54.230 the lordship of Christ. And so thus we seek after 00:41:54.230 --> 00:41:57.909 wisdom by asking the Holy Spirit for the illumination. 00:41:57.929 --> 00:42:00.670 That is the bringing of light of God's word to 00:42:00.670 --> 00:42:03.849 the heart so that they are not dead letter to 00:42:03.849 --> 00:42:07.139 a dead heart but are living words. As is written 00:42:07.139 --> 00:42:10.880 in Hebrews 4, verse 12 and 13, the word of God 00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:14.880 is living and powerful. It is sharper than any 00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:17.679 two -edged sword. It pierces even to the division 00:42:17.679 --> 00:42:20.119 of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow. 00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:23.059 It is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents 00:42:23.059 --> 00:42:26.420 of the heart. For there is no creature hidden 00:42:26.420 --> 00:42:29.139 from his sight, but all things are naked and 00:42:29.139 --> 00:42:32.239 open to the eyes of him to whom we must give 00:42:32.239 --> 00:42:37.570 account. This is the power of the word. illuminated 00:42:37.570 --> 00:42:41.130 by the Holy Spirit. Illumination is the Holy 00:42:41.130 --> 00:42:44.530 Spirit's work in enabling believers to rightly 00:42:44.530 --> 00:42:47.289 understand, to discern, to appreciate, and to 00:42:47.289 --> 00:42:50.730 apply the truths already objectively revealed 00:42:50.730 --> 00:42:53.730 in the scripture. It is the inward supernatural 00:42:53.730 --> 00:42:57.969 teaching that opens spiritual eyes. Illumination 00:42:57.969 --> 00:43:00.989 applies to all regenerated believers, not just 00:43:00.989 --> 00:43:03.969 the apostles. For the natural and the unregenerate 00:43:03.969 --> 00:43:06.510 person cannot grasp spiritual things as we saw 00:43:06.510 --> 00:43:10.309 in verse 14. The object is to enable discernment 00:43:10.309 --> 00:43:12.969 of what is already objectively revealed in the 00:43:12.969 --> 00:43:15.829 Bible. The illumination is not to communicate 00:43:15.829 --> 00:43:18.429 new truths that are not found in the gospel or 00:43:18.429 --> 00:43:21.889 independent of the gospel. It produces spiritual 00:43:21.889 --> 00:43:26.170 discernment. It puts within us holy affections 00:43:26.170 --> 00:43:28.829 and conviction of sin and delight in truth and 00:43:28.829 --> 00:43:33.070 growth in holiness. Illumination is necessary 00:43:33.070 --> 00:43:35.489 for saving knowledge and for sanctification. 00:43:35.590 --> 00:43:38.969 Otherwise, scripture remains foolishness to the 00:43:38.969 --> 00:43:42.269 natural mind. But illumination differs sharply 00:43:42.269 --> 00:43:46.730 from mysticism. Mystics claim direct new revelations 00:43:46.730 --> 00:43:50.030 that bypass scripture. Illumination works through 00:43:50.030 --> 00:43:55.559 and upon the written word of God. We see this 00:43:55.559 --> 00:43:58.659 in John 16, verse 13, how the Spirit guides us 00:43:58.659 --> 00:44:02.820 into truth. And in Ephesians 1, 17 to 18, the 00:44:02.820 --> 00:44:06.699 term is used, the eyes of our heart are enlightened. 00:44:07.099 --> 00:44:11.059 They are enlightened. This is the illumination 00:44:11.059 --> 00:44:15.320 of the Holy Spirit. These doctrines safeguard 00:44:15.320 --> 00:44:18.760 against errors. Revelation and inspiration protect 00:44:18.760 --> 00:44:22.099 the Bible's authority, but illumination guards 00:44:22.099 --> 00:44:26.119 against dead orthodoxy. or mysticism. We need 00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:30.099 the work of the Holy Spirit as we read God's 00:44:30.099 --> 00:44:33.940 word. In the whole context of 1 Corinthians 2, 00:44:34.260 --> 00:44:38.639 verses 6 -16, Paul ties these all together. God's 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:43.139 hidden wisdom is revealed by the Spirit. That 00:44:43.139 --> 00:44:45.460 is revelation and inspiration in the apostles 00:44:45.460 --> 00:44:48.739 and in the prophet's message. But only the spiritual 00:44:48.739 --> 00:44:51.789 person discerns it through the Spirit. which 00:44:51.789 --> 00:44:55.449 is illumination, leading us then to possess the 00:44:55.449 --> 00:45:01.429 mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. How 00:45:01.429 --> 00:45:05.230 do we apply this? Just a few points at the end 00:45:05.230 --> 00:45:10.739 here. Number one, pray for illumination. As you 00:45:10.739 --> 00:45:13.179 read God's word, when you open up your Bible, 00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:15.880 just pray a short prayer. Lord, open my eyes 00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:18.480 to see. Grant me the power of the Holy Spirit 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:21.280 that I might understand what is being spoken 00:45:21.280 --> 00:45:24.360 and written here. I want to understand and open 00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:27.719 up your heart to the truth of the gospel and 00:45:27.719 --> 00:45:30.920 for the Spirit to work in you that it might convict 00:45:30.920 --> 00:45:33.760 you or encourage you or strengthen you or simply 00:45:33.760 --> 00:45:36.920 give you new truth. But pray for illumination. 00:45:37.360 --> 00:45:40.300 Pray that it would happen every time you open 00:45:40.300 --> 00:45:42.539 your Bible to read or when you hear biblical 00:45:42.539 --> 00:45:48.739 teaching. Second, marvel at the great inheritance 00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:53.880 that all we as Christians now possess. We possess 00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:58.639 in our own language and in many languages throughout 00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:02.059 the world the translations of the written word 00:46:02.059 --> 00:46:05.980 of God. It is the mystery unveiled. revealed 00:46:05.980 --> 00:46:08.519 to the apostles and prophets who wrote it under 00:46:08.519 --> 00:46:12.260 divine inspiration marvel brothers and sisters 00:46:12.260 --> 00:46:15.300 at the great inheritance that we now possess 00:46:15.300 --> 00:46:19.079 i walked through the um the bible museum in washington 00:46:19.079 --> 00:46:22.920 dc a few years ago and they have a big room with 00:46:22.920 --> 00:46:26.199 all of the languages in the world that are known 00:46:26.909 --> 00:46:29.809 And each one is represented by a book. And then 00:46:29.809 --> 00:46:32.090 they have them color -coded as to which ones 00:46:32.090 --> 00:46:34.170 have the scripture in their own language and 00:46:34.170 --> 00:46:37.909 which ones do not yet have it done. And I forget 00:46:37.909 --> 00:46:40.949 the amount. It was certainly a great supermajority 00:46:40.949 --> 00:46:43.610 that were already, the word of God is already 00:46:43.610 --> 00:46:46.369 translated. And yet there was quite a few where 00:46:46.369 --> 00:46:51.880 it is still, even in this day, not. Now, of course, 00:46:51.900 --> 00:46:54.440 some of the ones to whom has not been translated, 00:46:54.679 --> 00:46:57.159 some of them are multilingual. And so there's 00:46:57.159 --> 00:47:00.340 scriptures in other languages, but they are determined 00:47:00.340 --> 00:47:03.179 to get the scripture in every one of the home 00:47:03.179 --> 00:47:06.480 languages, the folk languages. The word of God 00:47:06.480 --> 00:47:09.960 is important and we must value it. And we marvel 00:47:09.960 --> 00:47:13.420 at the great inheritance that we possess. Number 00:47:13.420 --> 00:47:20.570 three. Do not look for carnal. or mystical experiences 00:47:20.570 --> 00:47:25.949 outside of the word of God. God's word, illuminated 00:47:25.949 --> 00:47:32.429 by the Holy Spirit, is sufficient. It is sufficient. 00:47:33.070 --> 00:47:35.550 We don't need to go find another book that's 00:47:35.550 --> 00:47:38.869 buried somewhere that has been unknown for generations 00:47:38.869 --> 00:47:42.570 and generations. No, it's all here. We possess 00:47:42.570 --> 00:47:45.969 it. It's in our hands. We simply need the power 00:47:45.969 --> 00:47:48.469 of the Holy Spirit to understand it. And it is 00:47:48.469 --> 00:47:55.150 sufficient for all things. Indeed, as Paul says 00:47:55.150 --> 00:47:59.809 to Timothy, all scripture is given by inspiration 00:47:59.809 --> 00:48:05.869 of God. and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 00:48:05.869 --> 00:48:09.650 for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 00:48:10.150 --> 00:48:14.789 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly 00:48:14.789 --> 00:48:21.130 equipped for every good work. May it be so. May 00:48:21.130 --> 00:48:25.190 you receive and understand the Holy Spirit through 00:48:25.190 --> 00:48:28.429 the word of God. Let's pray. Father, thank you. 00:48:29.050 --> 00:48:31.130 for the richness which you have given to us, 00:48:31.210 --> 00:48:33.789 Lord. We thank you for the wisdom that has been 00:48:33.789 --> 00:48:36.750 revealed to us, Lord. Thank you that you revealed 00:48:36.750 --> 00:48:39.469 it to the apostles and to the prophets who then 00:48:39.469 --> 00:48:41.829 wrote it down, and now we hold it in our hands. 00:48:42.309 --> 00:48:45.710 And so we pray for illumination. We pray for 00:48:45.710 --> 00:48:48.989 your wisdom, Lord, to permeate our lives. And 00:48:48.989 --> 00:48:50.889 we pray furthermore for the power of the Holy 00:48:50.889 --> 00:48:55.150 Spirit to obey it, to know it, to understand 00:48:55.150 --> 00:48:58.880 it, and to obey it. And we ask this in Jesus' 00:48:59.039 --> 00:49:01.179 name. And now open it up for the congregation 00:49:01.179 --> 00:49:01.820 to pray.