CHAPTER 2

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

When Paul first came to Corinth, he did not use flowery speech.
He made a conscious and determined decision to preach the Gospel of Christ.
He focused upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the atonement of sins.
One cannot teach theological reasoning to a person who does not yet have the Spirit of Christ.

It is the simplicity of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ that:
CONVICTS people of sin, and CONVINCES them of Jesus as the ONLY Savior! (See 1Corinthians 1:23-25)

Paul first preached the Gospel (See verse 2 above).
Then, AFTER they were saved, he began to teach the manner of living in and for Christ.

This should explain the difficulty of the Pastor.
Every Sunday he must preach from THREE themes:
*First, he must preach the Gospel so that God's Holy Spirit can use it to bring the lost to Christ;
*Second, he must teach the manner of living in and for Christ so God's Holy Spirit can use it to
educate the saved;
*Third, he must teach the second with enough unction that God's Holy Spirit can use it to convict and
return the backslidden to service for the Lord.

3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Paul was actually "with" them for over 18 months.
During that time, he faced much opposition. (See Acts 18:6-17)

Paul was a very eloquent speaker.
One can tell that from his writing.
But, he chose to speak "not with enticing words of man's wisdom."
Instead, he spoke simply and to the point about the Gospel of Jesus.
Therefore, his preaching was in "demonstration" of the power of God's Holy Spirit!

When they surrendered to Christ, it was not by eloquent persuasive language.
It was by the power of God moving upon His Word!

"Faith" is the GIFT of God that helps us CLING to Christ!
That faith is given by grace to those who surrender to Christ as Lord of their lives.
(See Ephesians 2:8-9, and John 20:31)

And, when faith is given by God it NEVER LEAVES!!
It STANDS!! (See Romans 11:29)

6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Paul does not speak or preach foolishness.
Rather, the preaching of the Gospel is "wisdom" to those who hear and believe.
For they are "the spirits of just men made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23)

These are not sinless, but are made "perfect" in the sight of God by the blood of Jesus covering their sins.
Having surrendered to Christ, they are delivered up to God's eternal judgment in His blood and judged acquitted!
Now, those who are "made perfect" are not sinless.
But they, by the power of His Holy Spirit and faith, should certainly sin LESS!

God's ultimate plan of salvation was to come HIMSELF to offer HIS righteousness for our unrighteousness;
to offer HIS perfection for our imperfection; to offer HIS perfect, sinless blood for our atonement.
That plan was the "hidden wisdom" which God purposed BEFORE He created the world.
Yet, all through the Old Testament, God prophesies in a veiled manner of this plan.

See the following in progression:
Exodus 15:2,
Psalm 118:14,
Isaiah 12:2,
Isaiah 43:11,
Hosea 1:7
Hosea 13:4.

But when Jesus came, the plan was fully fulfilled and perfected in Him!
He has "become" our salvation.
He is God in flesh, come to pay for our sinfulness with His holiness. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Col 2:9)

God's majestic plan was "hidden" or veiled;
nevertherless it was THERE.
Abraham knew it.
For he TALKED with Him on the "plains of Mambre." (See Hosea 18:1)

Job believed it. (See Job 19:26)

Isaiah prophesied of it. (See Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 45:21-22)
So did Hosea (see Hosea 13:4 above).

But after Israel's captivity, some invented the story of God coming on a white horse, saving Israel from their enemies, and giving them rule over all nations.
Many people wanted to believe that, rather than study the Scriptures and see God's plan!

We have the same problem today!
Most folk would rather HEAR someone talk about God than to STUDY the Scripture and see what God SAYS!

Though it was THERE, they did not PERCEIVE it!
Or, else they "would not have crucified the Lord of Glory!"

This is what Jesus referred to when they crucified Him.
He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

Now, Paul is about to explain in detail WHY they did not perceive that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

The above is a quote from Isaiah 64:4.

There IS a beautiful place called heaven!
It is PREPARED by Jesus for "them that love Him."

That place is so beautiful and glorious, man cannot perceive it in the flesh!
It is beyond our scope even of imagination!

Yet, Jesus said, He is preparing a room, or "mansion" for YOU if you love Him!! (See John 14:3)

Even though we cannot perceive it, it is REVEALED in some manner through the Scriptures.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

When we are saved, we are "sealed" in the Spirit of God. (See Ephesians 1:13)
And, as we read the Scriptures, He begins to reveal the "deep things of God."

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

You cannot KNOW me, nor can I KNOW you, unless we reveal ourselves to each other.
And, we cannot KNOW the things of God unless He reveals them to us by His Spirit IN us.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

For those who have been saved, and have received the Spirit of God into themselves,
we have the ABILITY to "know the things that are freely given to us of God."

That does not mean we'll automatically know them.
It means we have the ABILITY to know them through His revelation to us as we study the Scripture!
(See John 14:26)

And, it does not mean we'll know ALL.
But, that we'll know all that God has "freely GIVEN".

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

This is what Paul is teaching.
He is teaching those things revealed to Him by the Spirit of God as he has studied.

It is not a wisdom man teaches.
It is a wisdom GOD teaches!

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The "natural man," or man who has not surrendered to Christ and received His Holy Spirit,
cannot "discern" these things.
They seem to be foolishness to him.

But the man who has surrendered to Christ has received God's Holy Spirit.
And he CAN discern what God teaches in the Scriptures!

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

The word here from which "judgeth" is translated is the Greek anakrino anakrino (an-ak-ree'-no).
It means to examine, search and discern.

Therefore, the man who has surrendered to Christ and received God's Holy Spirit,
CAN discern the things of God.
But that person cannot BE discerned by others who have not received Christ, because --
they cannot comprehend the aspirations, divine inspiration, and realizations of the born again Christian.

Now, here is the key to studying Scripture under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit
AFTER having surrendered to Christ as Lord.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Isaiah 40:13 says, "Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

This is basically the same as Paul's first statement in verse 16 above.

NO man (unregenerated) has EVER known the full "mind" of God!!
And, NO man, even regenerated (on this earth) will EVER know the full "mind" of God!!

Yet, "we HAVE the mind of Christ!"
We have the SCRIPTURES!
THIS is what God has "freely given" us!

The Scriptures contain the character, principles, feelings and aspirations of God AS He has revealed them!
They do not contain ALL that God knows.
Yet they contain all God WANTS us to know at this time!

SURRENDER to Christ!
Then, STUDY your Bible!
It IS "the mind of Christ!"

IN the Scripture, God will reveal to you:
His character and the character He wants YOU to have,
His principles and how He wants you to live by them,
His feelings and how He wants you to feel,
His aspirations and which desires He wants you to have.

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.
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