I believe that all Christians want to read and understand the Bible, but too often we are intimidated by the literary style, the language, and the size of the Bible. I want to remind you of some of the basic things we must remember when we approach the Bible.
Five tips to reading the Bible for understanding:
1. Ask the right question
Too often we approach the Bible with the question, "What is this passage saying to me?" The better question would be, "What does this passage mean?" God inspired the original author to write the text with a specific meaning in mind. Our objective is to discover that meaning and then we can seek to make practical application to our lives.
2. Pray before you study
You cannot understand the point of the Bible without the Spirit's help (1 Corinthians 2:9-14). So we should approach God's Word in prayer asking Him to open our minds and hearts so that we can understand His Word. Remember with our finite minds it is impossible for us to completely understand it all.
3. Read the passage in context
One of the major errors in reading and understanding the Bible is taking a select passage out of its context and then making application. Always keep in mind that every verse is connected to a chapter, a book,
and the entire Bible. So when you are trying to understand a particular passage, be sure and read the verses around it so that you can make an accurate interpretation and application.
4. Interpret Scripture by Scripture
Each passage must be understood not only in light of its immediate context, but also in light of the whole of Scripture. The Bible is a complete unit, where every part is connected with the rest. Especially when interpreting a difficult text, you must look at how it fits in with the rest of God's Word.
5. Be a student of the Word
Make the Bible a key part of your regular diet. Read it daily and allow God to speak to you through it. Don't be afraid to ask questions -- the more you're in the Bible the more it will come alive and impact your life.
I also want to encourage you to find someone who is a little farther along in their faith journey to challenge and disciple you in the faith.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
THE WISDOM OF GOD
The church in Corinth was a church divided by its devotion to human philosophies and human leaders. It is for this reason that the apostle Paul reminded them in the first five verses of chapter 2 that he didn’t come to them using big words and persuasive arguments. Instead he chose to focus on the Gospel and allow the Spirit of God to work in great power in their lives.
The Gospel, which Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead, was Paul’s message and it is to be our message.
· In His death, Jesus bore the penalty of our sins;
· And in His resurrection from the dead; He secured for us eternal life (Roman 6:5-11).
In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, the apostle Paul emphasized two points:
1. God’s wisdom is NOT discovered through human effort
The Corinthians placed so much emphasis on their wisdom and ability to discover the meaning of life through their ability to reason. But the reality is this, the more value that man puts on his wisdom, the more foolish he becomes. The Bible tells us in Romans 11:34, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” The point is that God is so exalted above man that we must acknowledge our dependence upon Him.
The apostle Paul explains it this way in . . .
1 Corinthians 2:6–9 (ESV) – “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. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 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.’”
In the first part of verse 6, Paul says, “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom.” There are some who take what Paul says here to imply that there is a wisdom that is reserved for those who are super spiritual. But the context points to the mature as being those who have put their trust in Christ for salvation. It is to the followers of Christ that Paul imparts wisdom.
The wisdom that is from God is “is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.”
The Corinthians were proud of their intellect, but Paul says here that God’s wisdom is . . .
· “Is not a wisdom of this age . . .”
This wisdom is of the world.
James 3:15 (ESV) – “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”
· “Is not a wisdom . . . of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.”
These rulers are the people that the Corinthians had put so much trust and confidence in. Paul says that these rulers are “coming to nothing.”
Matthew 11:25 (ESV) – “You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.”
In verses 7-8, Paul says, “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The message of wisdom that is delivered to the saints is “a secret and hidden wisdom of God.” This wisdom is not a riddle that man can solve, but it remains hidden until God chooses to disclose it.
In 7b, Paul goes on to say that this wisdom “God decreed before the ages for our glory.” Before time began, God had purposed to bring His people to glory through the wisdom of Christ crucified.
In verse 8, Paul goes on to say that God’s wisdom is unknown to the wise of the world. The crucifixion is proof that they did not have God’s wisdom. In their ignorance they executed God’s Son.
In verse 9, Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4. He says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
The point that Paul is making is that the natural eyes, ears, and hearts of man cannot know or comprehend God’s wisdom. But to those who love God, He has revealed His wisdom.
Man cannot come to God on his own; but God has come to him. Paul tells us that God has sent His Spirit to reveal His wisdom.
2. God’s wisdom is revealed through His Spirit
The Holy Spirit has revealed God’s wisdom through revelation, inspiration and illumination.
· By revelation
The first step of the Holy Spirit’s transmission of God’s wisdom is revelation.
1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV) – “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 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.”
In the first part of verse 10, Paul tells us that the only way for us to know and understand God’s wisdom is through the Spirit.
In the last part of verse 10 and in verse 11, Paul explains how the Holy Spirit is able to reveal to us God’s wisdom.
(1) “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
The Corinthians considered Paul’s teaching to be “milk.” But Paul says that the “Spirit searches everything,” and the message of redemption through the cross comes from the “depths of God.”
(2) “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.”
Here Paul uses the analogy that just as the only person who can truly know what goes on inside a person is that person; so only God knows the things of God.
It is for these reasons that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to us the wisdom of God!
· By Inspiration
1 Corinthians 2:12–13 (ESV) – “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. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
Inspiration is the process by which God’s Spirit reveals God’s wisdom to us. In verse 12, we are told that the Spirit that we have received is not from the world, but from God. God has actively worked through His Spirit so that we are enabled to “understand the things freely given us by God.”
In verse 13, Paul says that the truths of God are not taught by “human wisdom,” but they are “taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
· By Illumination
1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV) – “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. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
It is possible to read and study the Bible and yet not be able to understand it. The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were highly trained in the Old Testament, and yet they completely missed its central message.
In verse 14, Paul says that the natural person . . .
· Is unable to grasp the things of the Spirit, because they are foolishness to him;
· Is unable to comprehend spiritual truths because they do not have the Spirit to illuminate it for them.
In verse 15, we find a contrast between the natural person and the spiritual person.
· The natural person is unable to accept the things of the Spirit, but the spiritual person is able to evaluate God’s wisdom, because the Spirit of God guides them;
· The natural person is unable to comprehend spiritual truth; but the spiritual person is only concerned with God’s assessment of his life.
In verse 16, Paul reminds us that the spiritual person is able to understand the mind of the Lord, because he has the “mind of Christ.”
The Gospel, which Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead, was Paul’s message and it is to be our message.
· In His death, Jesus bore the penalty of our sins;
· And in His resurrection from the dead; He secured for us eternal life (Roman 6:5-11).
In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, the apostle Paul emphasized two points:
1. God’s wisdom is NOT discovered through human effort
The Corinthians placed so much emphasis on their wisdom and ability to discover the meaning of life through their ability to reason. But the reality is this, the more value that man puts on his wisdom, the more foolish he becomes. The Bible tells us in Romans 11:34, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” The point is that God is so exalted above man that we must acknowledge our dependence upon Him.
The apostle Paul explains it this way in . . .
1 Corinthians 2:6–9 (ESV) – “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. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 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.’”
In the first part of verse 6, Paul says, “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom.” There are some who take what Paul says here to imply that there is a wisdom that is reserved for those who are super spiritual. But the context points to the mature as being those who have put their trust in Christ for salvation. It is to the followers of Christ that Paul imparts wisdom.
The wisdom that is from God is “is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.”
The Corinthians were proud of their intellect, but Paul says here that God’s wisdom is . . .
· “Is not a wisdom of this age . . .”
This wisdom is of the world.
James 3:15 (ESV) – “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”
· “Is not a wisdom . . . of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.”
These rulers are the people that the Corinthians had put so much trust and confidence in. Paul says that these rulers are “coming to nothing.”
Matthew 11:25 (ESV) – “You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.”
In verses 7-8, Paul says, “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The message of wisdom that is delivered to the saints is “a secret and hidden wisdom of God.” This wisdom is not a riddle that man can solve, but it remains hidden until God chooses to disclose it.
In 7b, Paul goes on to say that this wisdom “God decreed before the ages for our glory.” Before time began, God had purposed to bring His people to glory through the wisdom of Christ crucified.
In verse 8, Paul goes on to say that God’s wisdom is unknown to the wise of the world. The crucifixion is proof that they did not have God’s wisdom. In their ignorance they executed God’s Son.
In verse 9, Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4. He says, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
The point that Paul is making is that the natural eyes, ears, and hearts of man cannot know or comprehend God’s wisdom. But to those who love God, He has revealed His wisdom.
Man cannot come to God on his own; but God has come to him. Paul tells us that God has sent His Spirit to reveal His wisdom.
2. God’s wisdom is revealed through His Spirit
The Holy Spirit has revealed God’s wisdom through revelation, inspiration and illumination.
· By revelation
The first step of the Holy Spirit’s transmission of God’s wisdom is revelation.
1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV) – “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 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.”
In the first part of verse 10, Paul tells us that the only way for us to know and understand God’s wisdom is through the Spirit.
In the last part of verse 10 and in verse 11, Paul explains how the Holy Spirit is able to reveal to us God’s wisdom.
(1) “For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
The Corinthians considered Paul’s teaching to be “milk.” But Paul says that the “Spirit searches everything,” and the message of redemption through the cross comes from the “depths of God.”
(2) “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.”
Here Paul uses the analogy that just as the only person who can truly know what goes on inside a person is that person; so only God knows the things of God.
It is for these reasons that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to us the wisdom of God!
· By Inspiration
1 Corinthians 2:12–13 (ESV) – “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. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
Inspiration is the process by which God’s Spirit reveals God’s wisdom to us. In verse 12, we are told that the Spirit that we have received is not from the world, but from God. God has actively worked through His Spirit so that we are enabled to “understand the things freely given us by God.”
In verse 13, Paul says that the truths of God are not taught by “human wisdom,” but they are “taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
· By Illumination
1 Corinthians 2:14–16 (ESV) – “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. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
It is possible to read and study the Bible and yet not be able to understand it. The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day were highly trained in the Old Testament, and yet they completely missed its central message.
In verse 14, Paul says that the natural person . . .
· Is unable to grasp the things of the Spirit, because they are foolishness to him;
· Is unable to comprehend spiritual truths because they do not have the Spirit to illuminate it for them.
In verse 15, we find a contrast between the natural person and the spiritual person.
· The natural person is unable to accept the things of the Spirit, but the spiritual person is able to evaluate God’s wisdom, because the Spirit of God guides them;
· The natural person is unable to comprehend spiritual truth; but the spiritual person is only concerned with God’s assessment of his life.
In verse 16, Paul reminds us that the spiritual person is able to understand the mind of the Lord, because he has the “mind of Christ.”
Monday, April 14, 2014
The Folly of the Cross
As we read through the Gospels we find many truths that are key to living, and yet it is the cross that is the central message that we have been called to deliver to mankind. If you take out the message of the cross, then the Christian church has no message. It is the message of the cross that reconciles us to God, transforms our lives, and calls us to sacrificial living!
As we look at 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, I want us to see three lessons that are learned through the message of the cross.
1. Man is defined by his response to the Cross
1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) – “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
We tend to describe people based upon their ethnic group, their physical make up, their personality type, their economic status, etc.… But the Bible describes us by one of two defining characteristics:
(1) Those who are perishing, and
(2) Those who are being saved
This characteristic is determined by their response to the gospel.
· Those who see the cross as nonsense, they are on their way to ultimate ruin.
· But to those who respond to the cross with repentance and faith, the cross is the power of God that is effective in bringing about salvation in their lives.
Not only is man defined by the way he responds to the cross, but also it is . . .
2. Man’s wisdom keeps him from God
1 Corinthians 1:19–21 (ESV) – “For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom . . .”
In verse 19, the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14, to show God’s sentence against human wisdom. God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.” The word “wisdom” here describes the ability to acquire and discern truth without God. Then He says, “The discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” This speaks of man’s ability to understand the meaning and importance of something.
Man is inclined to try and solve their own problems and fight their own battles in their own ingenuity and in their own power. But when it comes to our sin problem, our efforts keep us from God and the salvation that He offers.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
In verse 20, the apostle asks four rhetorical questions that remind us how puny we are in God’s presence.
· “Where is the one who is wise?” This refers to the Greek philosopher.
· “Where is the scribe?” This refers to the Jewish teachers of the Law.
· “Where is the debater of this age?” The men of Corinth loved to sit around and debate the various philosophies of the day.
· “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Paul is asking them where has all the clever arguments and impressive speeches got them.
We could ask the same question today. Where have our philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, economists, scientists, and statesmen – brought us?
Paul continues in verse 21, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom.”
Left to ourselves, we are not able to find God. Our self-sufficiency and wisdom stands in the way of us coming to know God.
We can be the smartest person in the room and yet our wisdom still will not lead us to God!
3. God has provided a way of salvation
1 Corinthians 1:21–25 (ESV) – “ . . . it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
In the first part of verse 21, the apostle Paul says that man’s wisdom keeps Him from God. But in the last part of the verse, he says that it is through the foolishness of the message of the cross that those who believe are saved.
In verses 22-23, we are given the reason that the people struggled with the message of the cross.
· For the Jews, Paul says that they “demand signs” and that the cross is a “stumbling block.” Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Jews were constantly demanding that He would show them a sign to validate Him and His message. Jesus told them in Matthew 12:39–40, “No sign will be given . . . except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He also says that for the Jews the message of the cross was a “stumbling block.” To the Jews a crucified Messiah was the ultimate scandal. They understood that a man hanging on a tree was a sign of being cursed by God (Deut. 21:23).
· Paul goes on to say that the Greeks seek after “wisdom” and the cross to them is “folly.” For the Greeks nothing was more important that the pursuit of wisdom. The message of a crucified Christ was nothing but superstition.
To those who are seeking signs the cross is a stumbling block, and to those who seek after wisdom the cross is foolishness!
In verse 24, Paul says that for those who believe in God’s Son, the crucified Christ is both “the power of God” and “the wisdom of God.”
In verse 25, Paul brings his argument to a close by grounding it in this reality: God is both wiser and more powerful than mere humans.
CONCLUSION
In this world there are only two types of people.
1) Those who are perishing
2) Those who are being saved
Which are you?
As we look at 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, I want us to see three lessons that are learned through the message of the cross.
1. Man is defined by his response to the Cross
1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) – “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
We tend to describe people based upon their ethnic group, their physical make up, their personality type, their economic status, etc.… But the Bible describes us by one of two defining characteristics:
(1) Those who are perishing, and
(2) Those who are being saved
This characteristic is determined by their response to the gospel.
· Those who see the cross as nonsense, they are on their way to ultimate ruin.
· But to those who respond to the cross with repentance and faith, the cross is the power of God that is effective in bringing about salvation in their lives.
Not only is man defined by the way he responds to the cross, but also it is . . .
2. Man’s wisdom keeps him from God
1 Corinthians 1:19–21 (ESV) – “For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom . . .”
In verse 19, the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14, to show God’s sentence against human wisdom. God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.” The word “wisdom” here describes the ability to acquire and discern truth without God. Then He says, “The discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” This speaks of man’s ability to understand the meaning and importance of something.
Man is inclined to try and solve their own problems and fight their own battles in their own ingenuity and in their own power. But when it comes to our sin problem, our efforts keep us from God and the salvation that He offers.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
In verse 20, the apostle asks four rhetorical questions that remind us how puny we are in God’s presence.
· “Where is the one who is wise?” This refers to the Greek philosopher.
· “Where is the scribe?” This refers to the Jewish teachers of the Law.
· “Where is the debater of this age?” The men of Corinth loved to sit around and debate the various philosophies of the day.
· “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Paul is asking them where has all the clever arguments and impressive speeches got them.
We could ask the same question today. Where have our philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, economists, scientists, and statesmen – brought us?
Paul continues in verse 21, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom.”
Left to ourselves, we are not able to find God. Our self-sufficiency and wisdom stands in the way of us coming to know God.
We can be the smartest person in the room and yet our wisdom still will not lead us to God!
3. God has provided a way of salvation
1 Corinthians 1:21–25 (ESV) – “ . . . it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
In the first part of verse 21, the apostle Paul says that man’s wisdom keeps Him from God. But in the last part of the verse, he says that it is through the foolishness of the message of the cross that those who believe are saved.
In verses 22-23, we are given the reason that the people struggled with the message of the cross.
· For the Jews, Paul says that they “demand signs” and that the cross is a “stumbling block.” Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Jews were constantly demanding that He would show them a sign to validate Him and His message. Jesus told them in Matthew 12:39–40, “No sign will be given . . . except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He also says that for the Jews the message of the cross was a “stumbling block.” To the Jews a crucified Messiah was the ultimate scandal. They understood that a man hanging on a tree was a sign of being cursed by God (Deut. 21:23).
· Paul goes on to say that the Greeks seek after “wisdom” and the cross to them is “folly.” For the Greeks nothing was more important that the pursuit of wisdom. The message of a crucified Christ was nothing but superstition.
To those who are seeking signs the cross is a stumbling block, and to those who seek after wisdom the cross is foolishness!
In verse 24, Paul says that for those who believe in God’s Son, the crucified Christ is both “the power of God” and “the wisdom of God.”
In verse 25, Paul brings his argument to a close by grounding it in this reality: God is both wiser and more powerful than mere humans.
CONCLUSION
In this world there are only two types of people.
1) Those who are perishing
2) Those who are being saved
Which are you?
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