Wisdom from the Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
I. The Recipients of God’s Wisdom – v. 6a
1) Wisdom from God vs. Wisdom of the World
- In the previous chapter Paul spoke tongue-in-cheek about the ‘foolishness of God’ (1:18, 25)
- Paul will now speak plainly to Christians about the nature of genuine wisdom from God
2) God’s Wisdom Belongs to the ‘Mature’
- Mature (teleios) = those who are complete
- In this context Paul uses the word ‘mature’ to refer to any person indwelt by the Holy Spirit (ie. the ‘spiritual person’ mentioned in v. 15)
- In one sense every Christian is already ‘mature’ and complete in Christ
- In another sense every Christian is still in the process of becoming what he/she already is
Application:
– Regardless of what the non-believing world says we Christians are not ‘fools’, and the gospel we proclaim is not a ‘foolish’ message – it is divine wisdom from God!
– Do not sell out to the ‘wisdom’ of our culture because you desire to be accepted by those who do not understand or believe the truth. This was a problem in ancient Corinth and it remains a temptation for us today.
II. The Nature of God’s Wisdom – v. 6b-10
1) What God’s Wisdom is not:
- It does not belong to ‘this age’ (v. 6)
- Scripture divides history into two ‘ages’:
- ‘This age’ –the world around us in it’s fallen, sinful and broken condition
- The ‘Age to come’ – the Kingdom of God
- Through Jesus Christ and His Church the ‘age to come’ has already broken into ‘this age’
- Scripture divides history into two ‘ages’:
- It is not embraced by the ‘rulers of this age’ (v.6)
- The rulers/Kingdoms of ‘this age’ are guided by worldly wisdom (cf. James 3:13-18)
- The murder of Jesus by these historical rulers is given as proof (cf. Psalm 2; Acts 7:51-53)
2) What God’s Wisdom is:
- It is a ‘mystery’ that God ‘has hidden’ (v. 7)
- In Paul’s theology a ‘mystery’ is not a puzzle to figure out, but something hidden that is later revealed (cf. Ephesians 3:4-6)
- ‘Hidden’ –perfect tense in Greek indicates that the hiddenness of God’s wisdom is ongoing (cf. Mark 4:10-12; Matthew 11:25-26)
- It is ‘predestined’ (v. 7)
- The cross of Christ was never ‘Plan B’ – it is and always has been ‘Plan A’! (cf. Rev. 13:8)
- It is ‘revealed’ (vv. 9-10)
- Isaiah 64:4 demonstrates man’s inability to see God’s hidden wisdom in Jesus Christ
III. The Revelation of God’s Wisdom – vv. 10-16
1) The Agent of Revelation: The Holy Spirit (vv 10-12)
- Nobody can access divine wisdom apart from revelation of the Holy Spirit (cf. Job 28)
- Only God’s Spirit can discern God’s mind.
2) The Instrument of Revelation: Scripture (v. 13)
- God used the Apostles to impart ‘spiritual truth with spiritual words’ (cf. 2 Peter 1:19-21)
3) The Outcome of Revelation: Discernment of Truth
- Natural Person (psychikos)
- Does not accept God’s truth (Rom 3:9-20)
- Cannot understand God’s truth (Eph 4:18)
- Spiritual Person (pneumatikos)
Has the mind of Christ (v. 16 cf. Isaiah 40:13)
Application:
– The Natural Person cannot ‘reason’ or ‘think’ their way into God’s Kingdom. Christianity is ‘faith seeking to understand’, not ‘understanding seeking faith’.
– God’s Spirit speaks through God’s Word to create saving faith in the hearts of the ‘called’ (cf. 1:22-23, 26-28). Share the Word of God boldly and pray that the Holy Spirit will enable lost people to see and believe!
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