[0:00] wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed it to us by his spirit. The spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
[1:09] The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
[1:21] The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
[1:51] Thank you.
[2:21] Thank you.
[2:51] Thank you.
[3:21] Thank you. Thanks, Thelma.
[3:36] We're going to pray. Let's do that now. we have not received the spirit of the world but we have received the spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us Father we need your help we need that transforming changing work of the Holy Spirit to take these words that are written on this page so that we do not just understand with our heads but that we are motivated afresh in our hearts to love you, follow you and serve you so please Father be at work among us and we ask this for the building up of your church so that we become the holy church that you call us to be and it's in your name we ask these things
[4:55] Amen Well I've been doing some thinking What we need in this church is a pastor who's a little bit more educated and qualified someone who's able to debate with the best I think we could do with getting in some big name speakers who are slick in their delivery successful in their ministry in fact if we want to see people come to faith if we're a church that's going to plant another church then we need to make our message more appealing we need changes we need programs that are energetic and dynamic we need to get ourselves a youth worker and a worship leader we need to move out of this old barn that we're in and get ourselves something more tasteful something that's going to draw in the crowds what do you think the church needs well some of these things may help but they do not by themselves make people Christians and they do not cause churches to be planted in fact Paul has reminded us of how the church in Corinth did start and how they first became Christians have a look at chapter 2 verse 4 remember what he said chapter 2 verse 4 he says when I came to you my message and my preaching were not with wise and with persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power you see we didn't become Christians through clever arguments and wise words this church didn't start because of somebody's skill or technique it's not about presentation and style it's all about in verse 4 you see I think like this church in Corinth we can fall into this trap of relying on what we call the wisdom of the world rather than trusting in the power of God and we can look at our church and we can go oh that's great or this has happened this person has come to faith wasn't it great what I did and we can feel a little bit elitist and a little bit superior than other people and that's what was happening in the church they were looking at the things they did and the things that had happened and it was well it was all down to me and what I could do but Paul wants to bring a bit of humility back to the church and we need to remember that our salvation and the works that we do never come about through our own efforts and our own abilities but look at chapter 2 verse 10
[8:19] God has revealed it to us by his spirit Christian faith and church growth does not happen through presentation and style it's not about programs and status it happens through a revelation of the Holy Spirit so let's see how that is true first the message of Christ is revealed by the power of the Holy Spirit Paul makes this extraordinary claim doesn't he in verse 6 he says we do he says yes we've been preaching we've been speaking but we do however speak a message of wisdom among the mature among those who are believing he claims to have this special word and he even tells us where he got this message from verse 6 we speak a message of wisdom among the mature but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing my message doesn't come from listening to professors and psychologists
[9:36] I didn't learn it from scholars or from scientists no look at verse 7 we speak of God's secret wisdom Paul is making an extraordinary claim that he's heard a message from God and he is now speaking that same message to other people he didn't discover it through his own reading or research he claims to have got this word this message directly from God look at verse 7 again we speak of God's secret wisdom a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began this message that he was speaking the message that he's received from God is the message that's about Jesus Christ let's remind ourselves of what that is in chapter 1 verse 23 this is what he keeps coming back to chapter 1 verse 23 he says we preach Christ crucified it's a stumbling block to Jews because they're looking for the power and the miraculous it's foolishness to the Gentiles because they're looking for something new something they can discover for themselves but to those whom God has called to those who God has saved whether you're Jewish or Greek or whatever nationality
[11:07] Christ is the power of God and Christ is the wisdom of God you see the message of Christ and his cross is God's wisdom and power to save people and this is the message he's received and this is the message he teaches now I don't know about you whether you've met anybody who's ever claimed to have heard God speak to them well that is exactly what Paul is saying here he claims that God has spoken to him three simple things first the spirit reveals the wisdom of God let's read verse 7 again he says we speak of God's secret wisdom the message of Christ it's a wisdom that's been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began the message of Jesus the message of the cross was once hidden no one had discovered it nobody really knew what it was all about it existed we are told look at the end of verse 7 before time began so it was in God's plan he knew it but it remained a hidden secret but verse 10
[12:33] God has revealed it to us by his spirit the Holy Spirit has revealed the wisdom of God that message of Christ Christ to us because secondly the spirit knows the mind of God look at verse 10 again God has revealed it to us by his spirit the spirit searches all things even the deep things of God let me ask you a question does anybody know what I'm thinking right now it's a dangerous place to go into my thoughts I tell you hmm well I don't even know what you're thinking look at verse 11 for who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him only only I know what I'm thinking and only you know what you're thinking my wife thinks she knows what I'm thinking but it's actually not true only I know what I'm thinking let me ask you another question what's God thinking what's he thinking right now well look at the rest of verse 11 in the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God you see it's only the Holy Spirit who knows the mind of God not me not you and nobody else can ever say this is what God is thinking the spirit knows the mind of God therefore the spirit teaches us the truth about God look at verse 13 this is what we speak not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the spirit expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words
[14:39] Paul's making it clear listen guys that the message we have here isn't made up what we speak didn't come from anybody else God taught us his message by the Holy Spirit he taught us and now we are able to teach you as he says at the end of verse 13 expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words now let's just stop there a minute and get this right look closely at verse 13 he says this is what we speak not in words taught us now the we and the us there is not everybody Paul is referring to himself and to the other apostles so what was hidden and what was secret the Holy Spirit has revealed to these chosen people to the apostles and what was revealed to them by the spirit they wrote down which is what we now have the Bible let's just have a look at this a little bit closer you can turn to 2
[15:57] Peter chapter 1 2 Peter chapter 1 so keep your finger in 1st Corinthians and just go on a little bit to 2nd Peter I haven't got a page number I'm sorry 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20 have you got a page there 1222 so Peter was an apostle and this is what he says he's saying the same kind of thing as Paul so 1 Peter chapter 1 or 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20 above all he says you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
[16:59] Spirit and that's what Paul is saying he's saying it was revealed to us by the Spirit and we're now passing this on to you we've written it down and this is what we have and that process is now completed it's not ongoing and it isn't repeated either the Spirit does not speak anything new to us today about Jesus there's not a new message out there that is undiscovered that God somehow forgot to tell us and now he's speaking it through somebody else no we have all of God's truth all of God's perfect wisdom that has been revealed to us has been written down and we now have it in God's word the Bible so you see we don't need a new message to attract in the crowds we don't need to be trying to change things we just need the simple message of Christ our job is not to come up with something more appealing or something more acceptable our job like Paul and the other apostles is to preach to teach to explain to talk to to share about
[18:17] Christ and his cross and God's power and wisdom to save people and of course the problem is that we do want to change it because well look back at chapter 1 verse 18 here's the temptation we want to change it because chapter 1 verse 18 for the message of the cross is foolishness to those to those who are perishing verse 22 Jews demand miraculous signs Greeks look for wisdom but we preach Christ crucified the only way people will become Christians the only way churches are going to be planted the only way our hearts are going to be changed and transformed is through the simple message of Christ and his cross which has been revealed by the Holy Spirit and has now been written down and recorded for us in the words of the Bible if we are to become a holy church we need this message to be at the centre of all of our programs every teaching we do our Sunday school the rock polo home groups
[19:32] Sunday mornings this is what we need that's what's going to change lives so we need the message of Christ which is revealed by the power of the Holy Spirit second we see that the message of Christ is understood by the power of the Spirit look back at verse 8 so back to Corinthians chapter 2 verse 8 so remember the background we have these elitist superior people thinking that they have it all they know it all and it's through their reasoning that they have understanding but look what he says verse 8 none of the rulers of this age have understood it for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory however as it is written no eye has seen no ear has heard no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him no one on this whole earth and in the history of time is able to comprehend or discern the message of Christ by themselves no eye can see it it doesn't matter where you look no eye can hear or no ear can hear it no matter who you listen to no mind can conceive the wonders of all that
[21:04] God has done no matter what you do we can have all the learning and all the education in the world but by itself we will never ever see what God has prepared for you in Christ so where do we get this understanding how on earth do we see Jesus for who he is today well he tells us the spirit is the one who enables us to understand have a look at verse 12 if we are Christians verse 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 you see the spirit of the world all of our own thinking in our own minds and the thinking of others it can't enable us to understand what God's word means we can read it as we're reading it now somebody can explain it as I'm doing now but we will never ever see our need of Christ without the spirit we can have all the understanding intellectually but we will never hear how it applies to us day to day without the spirit our heads can have all the knowledge but our hearts will remain unchanged we could pass an exam and get a hundred percent we could explain every single doctrine but never actually experience its truth you see the spirit of God is the only one who enables us to hear and see and experience the saving and transforming message of Christ so the spirit enables us in our minds and our hearts to understand he also moves us or enables us to accept
[23:14] Christ and all that he has done have a look at verse 14 the person without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God why for they are foolishness to him he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned that explains so much doesn't it without the spirit the message of Christ and his cross will be foolish to you that's why some people believe and some people do not believe that is why some people will hear it and go that is stupid that Jesus nothing but a fraud an invention of mankind but with the spirit's enabling it changes everything verse 15 the spiritual man makes judgments about all things those who have the spirit of
[24:27] God are able to make true and right judgments because their eyes have been opened their ears have been unblocked their minds have been informed so that they can make right judgments and see that this Jesus is true and real and we can believe him and accept him and of course those without the spirit will think that you're foolish and deluded for believing it but look at the rest of verse 15 but he himself that is the person with the spirit of God is not subject to any man's judgment in other words we're not judged by the opinion of the world it doesn't matter what people think when you go to school or college tomorrow and you're a believer and perhaps they're not it doesn't matter what they think of you what matters is that we have accepted Christ what counts is that the spirit of God has invaded our lives to help us see and to accept and cry out and say
[25:34] I need Jesus verse 16 for who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him what a what a daft thing for us to think that we could tell God what to do or that we could say we don't need him if there's anything to know about God I can figure it all out by myself who are we to think like that but we have the mind of Christ with our own minds we'll never grasp we'll never accept the Holy Spirit is essential in understanding Christ and accepting Christ so you see we don't need a new method to draw in the crowds we don't need to kind of boost up our programs what we need is the power of the
[26:38] Holy Spirit at work in people's lives as they hear the message of Christ and his cross let me try and give you a picture here so you can grasp what we need the spirit to do if you picture a stained glass window with all the bright colours and the images that there are you see that stained glass window at night and it's well it's all dark what you need is for a light from the outside to shine through that stained glass window and then you see all the colours and that's what we need we need the Holy Spirit to shine his light through onto the message of Christ so that we see Jesus in all his beauty in all his power and when we see him on the cross we don't see foolishness we see power we see wisdom we see God's saving king you see without the spirit these words on the page in this bible it's just ink on a page it's just a book about a man apparently who lived 2000 years ago just an interesting story it's kind of nice for you but not for me and it will never change us never transform us never be the people of God that we're meant to be but ask
[28:04] God ask him for the power of his Holy Spirit and he will speak to you that doesn't mean to say we're going to hear an audible voice like you can hear me right now instead the Spirit takes the message of Christ that he has revealed to his apostles that they have written down and he takes that message and he inspires our minds and he informs our hearts so that we love him and that we trust him what's it going to be for this church is it the wisdom of the world that we need or is it the power of God you see the problem is we can so quickly rely on the wisdom of the world rather than trust in the power of God we can look at ourselves our gifts and our abilities and think
[29:08] I did that or my church did that and we can maybe feel a little bit better and a little bit superior but if we understand the Spirit's work it should bring nothing but humility it's not about presentation and style it's not about the people at the front or the status that they have it doesn't matter how good our programs are how great our pastor is it doesn't matter whether we are able to get a brand new building and have all the latest technology all of those things yes they can be good they can be helpful but by themselves they will not make one person a Christian and they will not plant one single church and it will not change one heart what we need is the power of the Holy Spirit to be at work through helpless weak foolish people like you and me who come before God with our open hands and we say yes
[30:11] I do need help I desperately need help I need you father God to work in my life and change me I need you to work in my children's life I need you to work in my colleagues life I need you to work in my friends life and in their families because I cannot do it I can share the message of Christ and his cross and we can pray for the Spirit of God to come in power and change people's lives the wisdom of the world or the power of God hefold so we let's pray let's pray Thank you.