Before going on to verse 6, I'd like to make an additional comment on the end of last week’s text:
1COR 2:1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Paul’s comments here should encourage anyone who feels they don’t know how to present the gospel to unbelievers. The good news to the unsaved is a very simple message, so simple that it’s a turnoff to people who are seeking “superior speech and wisdom.”
Paul came to these Corinthians in weakness, fear, and trembling and had no eloquence about him. He simply said what he knew to be true and allowed the Holy Spirit to take care of the rest. Note that Paul didn’t say God gave him great words to use in spite of himself. He said God took the unimpressive words that came out of his mouth and infused them with the Spirit’s power to affect the hearers.
It certainly worked! In
6:9-11 Paul will point out that some of the Christians in this church had been “sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, and swindlers.” Six of those describe me before Christ. But now those same people were “washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
So feel encouraged. Go ahead and stumble through your discussion of the gospel with unbelievers. It doesn’t matter, because it’s not about you. You share your faith, and God will take care of the rest.
1COR 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
But among mature Christians Paul did have words of profound (or “deep,” see
v. 10) wisdom. But that wisdom looked much different than the wisdom of the age or that of its rulers.
The teachers and teachings of the world will come to nothing. They can stimulate the mind, ease anxiety, overcome addictions, heal fatal diseases, produce ecstatic sensations through drugs and entertainment, build technology that seems almost magical, and even now clone life. But in the end, what will all of that have mattered? They, like everyone else, will face the scrutiny and judgment of God. And what will they – dead in their bodies and subjected in their souls to His final decree – have as an offering for His mercy and grace? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Everything else will be as nothing.
Certainly in the world around us we see clear signs of people wanting answers to life’s questions and solutions to its dilemmas. And we have the wisdom that they need. It is not in ourselves but in Christ, and it is effectively communicated through our plain, human, unimpressive words when God connects them to another’s willing mind and heart.
The least eloquent Christian can stand up to the greatest philosopher if he or she will let God speak through his or her words.
Here’s a question for discussion:
What are some examples of modern wisdom that run contrary to the wisdom of God?
Notice things Paul said about God’s wisdom in
vv.7-1- It is secret (literally “mysterious”) (v.7)
- It is hidden (v.7)
- It will glorify us (v.7)
- It was right in front of the people who crucified Christ, but they didn’t understand it (v.8)
- It has been undiscovered even the by greatest thinkers of the world (v.8-9)
- It is available to mankind through God’s Spirit (v.10)
This is the kind of wisdom you and I have for sharing with the world!
1COR 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The truly deep wisdom that men seek is inaccessible without access to the spirit of God, because it is buried in God Himself.
Paul believed this so strongly that in
v.13 he could say that the very words we are reading in this letter were not his own words but the Spirit’s words.
The choice of words in
v.14 has often led to misinterpretation: “
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
The last phrase in that verse is the problematic one: ”
They are spiritually discerned.” What does “they” refer to?
Well, “discerned” means evaluated/ judged/examined. So clearly “they”cannot refer to the natural man. For one thing, that would be poor grammar – using a plural (THEY) to refer to a singular (natural MAN). For another thing, it makes no sense to say that a natural man is spiritually understood.
The point of this verse is that a natural man doesn’t accept the things of the Spirit because only the Spirit of God could enable someone to discern (examine/judge/examine) spiritual things. The Spirit is necessary in order to understand the things of the Spirit.
Natural men will reject the Spirit’s truths. We cannot be swayed when the bulk of humanity that we come in contact with disagrees, and even considers to be ridiculous, the things our Bible teaches us. Without succumbing to the Holy Spirit they can think in no other way.
In practice, this means that when we face problems in life and need answers, we should go straight either to the Bible or to counselors who have the Spirit of God in them and who live by that Spirit. We shouldn’t turn to anything – whether written, recorded, or human – that provides guidance based upon human logic and reason. The latter certainly often sounds good and reasonable, but in the end it cannot address the systemic issues, which are spiritual.
I’m convinced that every human problem is a spiritual problem, and that every real solution will deal with relationship to God.
What an incredible statement at the end – we have the mind of Christ! He could say that the very words we are reading in this letter were not his own words but the Spirit’s words.
The choice of words in v.14 has often. “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
The last phrase in that verse is the problematic one” They are spiritually discerned.” What does “they” refer to?
Well, “discerned” means evaluated/ judged/examined. So “they” clearly cannot refer to the natural man. For one thing, that would be poor grammar – using a plural (THEY) to refer to a singular (natural MAN). For another thing, it makes no sense to say that a natural man is spiritually understood.
The point of this verse is that a natural man doesn’t accept the things of the Spirit because only examined the Spirit of God would enable someone to discern (examine/judge/examine) them. The Spirit is required in order to understand the things of the Spirit.
Natural men will reject the Spirit’s truths. We cannot be swayed when the bulk of humanity that we come in contact with disagrees, and even considers to be ridiculous, the things our Bible teaches us. Without succumbing to the Holy Spirit they can think in no other way.
In practice, this means that when we face problems in life and need answers, we should go straight either to the Bible or to counselors who have the Spirit of God in them and who live by that Spirit. We shouldn’t turn to anything – whether written, recorded, or human – that provides guidance based upon human logic and reason. The latter certainly often sounds good and reasonable, but in the end it cannot address the systemic issues, which are spiritual.
I’m convinced that every human problem is a spiritual problem, and that every real solution will deal with relationship to God.
What an incredible statement at the end – we have the mind of Christ!
