Last week we talked a lot about wisdom and foolishness, and the difference between worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom. In chapter 2, Paul digs more deeply into the topic by introducing the critical role of the Holy Spirit in giving us God’s wisdom.
Following Christ in 21st Century Corinth – Week 3
presented 19 September 2018
1 Corinthians 2: 1-16
AUDIO
Lecture Handout
Lesson Notes
Paul’s Preaching of Christ Crucified (1 Corinthians 2: 1-5)
- Verse 1 – Recall that Corinth was a place that highly valued sophisticated speeches and philosophical thinking – a culture not unlike certain elements of our own
- But Paul made a choice about how he would approach people in Corinth
- He came directly from Athens, where he’d made a very clever, philosophically astute speech to the philosophically minded on Mars Hill in Acts 17
- In Corinth, he chose a very simplistic approach – presumably this was based on the guidance of the Holy Spirit
- His message was “the teaching of God” rather than dressing it up with his skills
- He didn’t use “lofty speech or wisdom” – probably the Spirit was anticipating the kinds of problems they would have in Corinth and steered him this way
- It’s not a prescriptive saying we always have to be simple; Paul certainly wasn’t!
- But it does say it’s OK to be simple and unashamed of our message – because the real power of the message comes from the Holy Spirit.
- Verse 2 – I decided to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified
- He chose to let God speak for Himself by just telling the story
- I believe this commitment should be the very heart and soul of our message, preaching, and teaching
- Note – Paul was in Corinth for 18 months
- So he probably taught other doctrinal points to round out their knowledge
- But he returned again and again to the core of the message (1 Corinthians 15: 1-3)
- In truth, the gospel never grows old, because rightly understood there is infinite beauty and limitless facets
- We need to be reminded of the gospel often, because we tend to forget it
- Verses 3-4 – With you in weakness, fear, and trembling
- Not “plausible words of wisdom”
- Rather than feeling confident in his persuasive skills, Paul totally relied on God
- There is tremendous vulnerability and tremendous power when we do this
- Demonstrations of the Spirit and of power -> he let the Spirit give him the words and this probably also describes working miracles
- Verse 5 – There was a purpose in this approach
- To anchor their faith in God’s power, not human wisdom
- Obviously have a problem with latching on to human wisdom and great speakers
- The Spirit knew this and guided Paul’s evangelistic approach
- Our missionary strategy shouldn’t always be simplicity – this isn’t prescriptive – but it must be Spirit-led
- It also isn’t an excuse for failing to prepare before teaching or preaching
- The truth underlying any valid missionary strategy -> it must rely on God’s power and the gospel
Words for Christians (1 Corinthians 2: 6-13)
- Verse 6 – We do change what we say and how it’s perceived when we minister to believers (that’s what Paul means here by “the mature”)
- To believers mature, we do impart wisdom -> this is our teaching ministry
- But we don’t teach human wisdom, i.e. the wisdom of our culture (the age) or of the leaders of our culture
- We must be really careful as a church regarding how we intermix teaching from scholars, historians, archaeologists, experts, scientists, or politicians
- Because many of them are operating from a temporal, finite worldview that will eventually end forever, rather than a biblical worldview
- It doesn’t mean there isn’t value in their research and teaching – but we must be discerning; extract the treasure from a faulty/limited worldview
- “Plundering Egypt” – taking the best that God has gifted non-believers to figure out, leaving the rest behind
- Verse 7 – We impart a secret, hidden wisdom of God -> which God decreed before time began for our glory
- What does Paul mean?
- He means Christ crucified (verses 1-5), the coming of Messiah, the work of the cross, the resurrection of Christ from the dead, salvation by faith alone
- It isn’t a secret anymore – see verse 10
- God’s decree “before the ages” – the gospel was God’s plan from all eternity – it was always Plan A, never Plan B
- It’s for our glory, because this plan leads from our salvation to our sanctification to our glorification in heaven
- This isn’t secret knowledge like the gnostics claim. There is no secret now -> all was revealed in Christ. THERE IS NO SECRET NOW!
- But it had been a secret, aka a “mystery” – Paul often speaks of the mystery that has been revealed, which is the gospel for Jews and Gentiles alike
- Verse 8 – How do I know that this was the secret? Because of verse 8
- If anybody in power had known this, they wouldn’t have crucified Jesus, so He’s clearly the subject of the secret knowledge
- Jesus – the Lord of glory; note that we’re going to see strong affirmation of the Trinity throughout this passage, beginning here with Jesus as the Lord of Glory.
- Glory of course is a term normally reserved for God the Father and Scripture says He doesn’t share His glory. So, this is speaking about Jesus as God.
- Verse 9 – Quoting Isaiah 64: 1-4 (see also Mark 1: 10-11)
- God’s awesome plan of salvation in Christ has been revealed at last
- Verses 10-11 – God reveals these things through the Holy Spirit
- The Spirit inspired Scripture – God’s revelation
- The Spirit brings us to conviction for sin and our need of salvation, and helps us understand God’s Word
- The Spirit IS God -> He searches (comprehends) everything, including God because He is the Spirit of God
- The Spirit is personal – He has a mind, a personality – He isn’t a force
- The doctrine of the Trinity isn’t written down succinctly in a single verse anywhere – rather we gather all the truths about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit from throughout Scripture and put them together (this is the work of systematic theology)
- For example, Deuteronomy 6:4 tells us God is One; we know God the Father is God, verse 8 (and many others) make clear that Jesus is God the Son, and verse 11 makes clear that the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit – hence a 3-in-1 God
- Because the Spirit is God and fully and completely understands the thoughts of God, He is able to reveal those thoughts through Scripture and through heart transformation and through His promptings and leading
- Verse 12 – When we accept Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit
- He isn’t the spirit of the world, i.e. the cultural zeitgeist, values, and norms
- We have the Spirit of God within us to understand the things given us by God
- The Spirit helps us understand what God gave us – Scripture, salvation, and sanctification
- And the Spirit does the sanctifying, the transforming (see Galatians 5)
- The greatest difference between Christians and non-Christians should be the presence of God within us!
- To follow Christ in 21st century Corinth means we need to take seriously the gift we’ve been given – the indwelling of God’s Spirit and live like we’re walking, talking temples of God filled with His Spirit!
- This can make Baptists nervous, because we fear the excesses of the Pentecostal movement, but we should not shy away from this critical part of our life in Christ!
- Much of 1 Corinthians addresses a proper understanding of and relationship with the Holy Spirit, and integrating His gifts into our lives
- Verse 13 – The words we speak and teach should not be human words
- We should speak, teach, and preach Scripture -> what’s taught by the Spirit
- We explain and interpret spiritual truths to spiritual beings (i.e. those in Christ, i.e. every Christian)
Our Key Difference with the Word (1 Corinthians 2: 14-16)
- Verse 14 – the natural person doesn’t accept the things of the Spirit of God
- Because they seem foolish
- Without God’s indwelling Spirit, certain truths of God seem ridiculous
- They can’t even be fully understood, because they are spiritually discerned
- Why we must be careful of Bible studies and commentaries offered by distinguished scholars who aren’t believers
- They can be helpful and insightful
- Our primary interpretive methods are historical, grammatical, and literary – and non-believers can use these tools as well
- But fundamentally there are things they clearly don’t understand (because part of understanding is to believe and obey)
- Scripture is never intended as mere facts and literature, it’s always intended to be obeyed, and analyzing it from an unbelieving perspective means you lose that part of the understanding, guaranteed!
- Verse 15 – We evaluate all things, and can apply God’s perspective to every aspect of life
- But Christians don’t stand under judgment from mere human perspective
- Because who can instruct us fully? Only someone who understands God’s mind
- Verse 15 – We evaluate all things, and can apply God’s perspective to every aspect of life
- But Christians don’t stand under judgment from mere human perspective
- Because who can instruct us fully? Only someone who understands God’s mind
- Verse 16 – We have the mind of Christ! So don’t waste your mind, because it isn’t yours!
- Takes us back to the Trinity: Spirit of God has Mind of God has Mind of Christ
- As Christians, our thinking shouldn’t be primarily based on academic or professional training, but based on God’s Word and Spirit
- The Spirit should radically alter our mind and thinking – Romans 12: 2
- Philippians 2: 1-11
Discussion Questions
- What is the proper way to integrate academic studies and scholarly research to best help us better understand, interpret, and apply Scripture?
- What’s the proper role of the Holy Spirit in our lives? What defines abuse of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit to you? What are you comfortable with and what are you uncomfortable with?
Next Week
1 Corinthians 3