Revealed to Us Through the Spirit

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“’What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-16 ESV)

Now, when the apostle Paul was first sharing the message of the gospel of Christ with the people, it was new to the people. For the Jews of the Old Covenant had only known the Old Covenant, and the Gentiles had (generally speaking) not previously been included in the family of God. Yet, the gospel message can be seen and was prophesied about in the Old Testament. Jesus, the Christ, had been prophesied about in the Old Testament writings. The book of Isaiah is probably half prophecies of the Messiah.

Yet, Paul stated that the rulers of his time didn’t understand the message. They didn't understand the prophecies of the Christ and of his gospel and of the Messianic age, and that those prophecies had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For if they had comprehended it all, they would not have crucified Christ on that cross. And why didn’t they see this? Why did they not comprehend it? Because it was revealed through the Holy Spirit, and they were not in tune to the Spirit’s voice. For they were not spiritual, i.e. they were not of God, but of the flesh.

So, let’s look at how this is happening in our world today. I live in the USA, so I will speak mainly of what I have observed and experienced and read about and witnessed myself of what is going on here in America. So many of our pastors and church leaders today have gone the way of the world and of marketing schemes and tricks and goals for how to grow their “churches,” and for how to “draw in large crowds of people” from the world. And so many of them have deserted the true faith and the truth of the gospel in order to attract the world to their gatherings so that they can add numbers.

So, rather than teaching the truth of the gospel of our salvation as Jesus taught it, and as his NT apostles taught it, in context, they are largely teaching a wisdom of this age which has been skillfully blended in with the gospel of Christ while they “cherry-pick” the passages of Scripture which they then make to agree with the “wisdom of this age”, because they largely teach them out of context to make the Scriptures say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. But they mask it as though it is truth.

They may claim that what they are teaching is truth, and that it is biblical, and that it is of God or of the Spirit of God, but while they alter and dilute the true gospel message to make it more appealing to the ungodly of this world. And so it ends up being more of a social gospel with “feel-good” messages intended to tickle itching ears and to make people feel good about themselves. For so many of them now are not teaching God’s requirements for genuine repentance (dying to sin) and for walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, but they promise people heaven when they die.

And many may call it “sharing the gospel” when what they are really doing is sharing more of a social gospel that is contrary to what Jesus and his NT apostles taught. Being “missional” is not usually about sharing the truth of the gospel but it is more about blending in with the culture of the world and being “nice” to people and being “good deed doers,” but not usually about teaching that to come after Christ we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience. For if we do not, we don’t have life in him.

Anyway, what many of them are teaching sounds good to the flesh, but it doesn’t put the flesh to death. And that is because what they are teaching is not from the Holy Spirit but from the spirit of the world. And it comes from human wisdom, and not the wisdom of God (not in the whole), for it is, again, a careful blend of human wisdom and biblical wisdom, but which cuts out the wisdom of God which human wisdom does not agree with. For the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.

So many professers of faith in Jesus Christ have their minds so saturated with the world and with the thinking of the world, often disguised as of God, that they don’t even realize that what they are believing as truth is not of the Spirit of God at all, but it comes from the philosophies of human flesh. For if we are going to comprehend the things of the Spirit, they must be spiritually discerned by those who truly are of the Spirit of God and who are listening to him and who are following him in obedience to God’s commands.

So, the bottom line in all of this is that we need to be students of the Scriptures who read them in their full context, who are listening to the Lord and to what the Scriptures teach us who profess to be followers of Christ. And then we need to deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, as empowered by God. For if we continue living in sin, and we do not walk in obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life in him, but we will face the wrath of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

A Believer’s Prayer 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray 

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

https://vimeo.com/114796263