Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Let's open our bibles together to the book of First Corinthians, chapter two.
[00:00:05] First Corinthians, chapter two.
[00:00:09] Tonight, we are going to be comparing and contrasting some important truths and realities that we see in our text today, which got me thinking about some amazing comparisons that actually, I was unaware of. And I think many of you may have been unaware of these as well. From history. I love history. Any other history buffs in here? I love history. I love studying history, reading historical books.
[00:00:40] But let's see if you are aware of these. Charles Darwin died in 1882, but his pet turtle died in 2006.
[00:00:53] Yeah. So she was moved to the Australia zoo in Queensland by the 1980s, where she died in 2006. And while she was at the zoo, she was cared for by Steve Irwin, crocodile Hunter. Yeah. So. And yes, that does actually apply to our text somewhere when we get get to that point. But I'll make you look for that parallel there in that comparison. But, yeah. Charles Darwin died in 1882, but his pet turtle died in 2006. I know some of y'all are going to be fact checking me. That's okay. I fact checked myself before I did that. So next, America's founding fathers never knew about dinosaurs because, scientifically speaking, they didn't exist yet. I love how that's worded.
[00:01:44] So, british paleontologist Richard Owen realized the unique features of many fossils, and he lumped them into one category that he called dinosauria.
[00:01:55] And he inaugurated the term in a report that he published in 1842, establishing it as a new word. So dinosaurs were, from that point forward, the subjects of a new branch of science. So thought that was funny. Also, the last surviving witness to Abraham Lincoln's assassination appeared on television in 1956. Samuel J. Seymour was only five years old when he attended the play our american cousin.
[00:02:31] On April 14, 1865, he was accompanying his father on a trip to Washington, DC, and his chaperones, his nurse and a godmother took him to the theater. And he remembered that as he sat in the balcony box across from Abraham Lincoln, he witnessed, as the president fell over upon being shot. He also saw John Wilkes Booth jump out of the booth and land on the floor below. And he shared this on a tv show called I've got a Secret in 1956. It was a game show where panelists tried to guess the contestants secrets. He was 96 years old, and he told the panel that his secret had historical and political significance. It was unpleasant, and it scared him to death. He said his clearest memory of the event was his concern. Just as a young boy, his concern for Booth, who broke his leg when he jumped down from the booth. I guess you could say as a young boy, he was unaware of everything that was going on around him. But that's the one thing that stood out in his mind, was that he was concerned for Booth. All right, and this is the last one. Boston, Massachusetts was founded while Galileo was still alive and before Isaac Newton was born.
[00:03:57] That's crazy.
[00:03:59] And I mentioned these up front because one of the ways that we learn and grow is through comparisons. Do we have any teachers here? Yeah, I know we have some teachers. Whether you're teaching your children or you've taught in schools, or whether you've taught the Bible or children's church or Sunday school, comparison is a way of constantly assessing ourselves and our situations. It can be done in a negative way. We all know that. But comparison can also be done in a positive way. If we do it in a negative way, it can still our joy.
[00:04:37] If we constantly compare ourselves to those who are, quote unquote, better than us, we can feel less than right. Has anyone else ever done that? Scrolling through social media, it seems like everybody else's life is perfect. And why am I not on vacation? Why don't I have that much money? Why does that person have it so much better than me? So comparison can still our joy, but it can also be done in a way that if we compare ourselves to those who are quote unquote below us, we can feel blessed, which can be good, but it can also keep us from inspiration and from the desire and the drive and motivation to improve ourselves.
[00:05:19] Regardless, we do comparison in negative and positive ways. But comparison is a reality. And we can't keep from comparing and contrasting things in our lives and in the world around us. We're going to see that Paul uses this method in our text tonight. He uses the powerful tools of comparison and contrast. But before we read our text in two corinthians, chapter two, I want to remind you of the context of what we are studying tonight. So let's go back over what we've studied over the past four weeks. Number one, Paul is addressing divisions in the church. That's the reason he's writing this book. There's great divisions in the church. They were dividing over their favorite leaders. They were also dividing over worldly wisdom.
[00:06:16] So Paul says in chapter one, verse 18, for the word of the Cross is folly or foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. So he's essentially telling the church that they are acting like fools. He's saying, if you're divided and arguing over worldly wisdom and over your favorite leader, you're acting like the world. The world is impressed with worldly wisdom. The world is impressed with power, and the world is impressed with noble birth.
[00:06:51] But true disciples are impressed with the gospel Christ crucified.
[00:06:59] So worldly wisdom is foolishness, and God is going to destroy the wisdom of this world.
[00:07:08] But the condescension of Jesus God becoming a man, coming to this earthen is true wisdom and true power for righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. So God chose to use a poor family, a humble stable, a weak baby, an oppressed nationality, a humble carpenter who lived a sinless life. He led a compassionate ministry.
[00:07:41] He was crucified as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind and raised from the dead, supernaturally in order to bring us to life. That is godly wisdom.
[00:07:54] And the reason that's important is because human wisdom could never get us to God.
[00:08:01] But the gospel, godly wisdom brought God down to us. He condescended. He came to where we were because we could never reach where he was at.
[00:08:13] So Paul says, he did not come to them, to this church, with human wisdom. He came with the gospel of the sacrificial and substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ through his death on the cross, where Christ took our place, paid the penalty on the cross in order to satisfy the wrath God, so that we could become children of God. So that catches us up to where we're at in one. Corinthians, chapter two, verse six. So let's read our text together. We've looked at the context.
[00:08:46] Now let's read the text together first. Corinthians, two six. Yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or 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 his rulers, 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, imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed to us through the spirit.
[00:09:36] 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 this world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to these who are spiritual. Verse 14. The natural person does not accept the things, 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. This is God's word for his people. Tonight, let's go to the Lord in prayer.
[00:10:44] Father, I love you, and I thank you for the truth of your word. I thank you for the spirit of God that reveals truth to your children. Lord, we ask tonight that you would speak to us in a supernatural way.
[00:10:59] Lord, we ask that you would open our understanding to hear and understand and believe the gospel in a fresh and a new way tonight, God, give us a deeper love for Jesus and for the good news of Jesus through our time together here tonight. Lord, I thank you and praise your name for those who you've sent to be here with us tonight. And God, I just ask that you would speak to our hearts. May we be humble. May we approach you from a place of humility and willingness to learn. Holy Spirit, be our teacher. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:11:35] So we saw the context, number one.
[00:11:40] But now I want to look at, compare and contrast.
[00:11:44] Paul uses this rhetorical style of teaching to discuss the similarities and the differences of two or more things. And this is something, as I said, that many of us use. We use this to teach our children. We use it in preaching and teaching. We use it to teach theology. We use it just to teach life lessons. And they use this rhetorical style in the classroom every single day. And we need to remember that Paul speaks against human wisdom that can never teach us the things of God. But that doesn't mean that Paul is afraid to use logic or reason or arguments that are intended to pierce the heart and understanding of human beings. So he uses this method to compare and contrast some things. And I want to walk you through some of the things that he compares and contrasts. Number one, from our text, you'll see that he compares mature and immature, and this is something that the church needs to be aware of. There are mature and immature followers of Jesus Christ, mature and immature christians, much like there are mature and immature people in our families. Nobody look at anybody. Nobody point at anybody. But we have mature and immature friends and coworkers. We all know who they are.
[00:13:08] But let's look at these two categories. The category mature. This is talking about truly converted people who are growing in knowledge and obedience. They can be taught meat rather than just the milk of the word. They walk in step with the spirit of God. Not only do they hear the right teaching, but they obey. And they're obedient in their hearers of the word, and they're doers of the word. So by mature, Paul does not mean some elite group of christians who have attained something that the rest of us hasn't attained. That is not what he's talking about. Some people have argued throughout that, throughout church history, and there are cults that argue that today it's called christian gnosticism. We want some deeper knowledge that gives us this deeper insight of God that other people can't know. It makes us feel real good about ourselves, which is a tip off that it's pride and not humble learning from the Holy Spirit. But we love to have this greater knowledge, greater truth. But that's not what Paul is talking about. All believers have access to the same truth and the same wisdom in the cross.
[00:14:23] So all those who are saved, all who are believers, all who are called, all who are spiritual, are in view here.
[00:14:33] And a lack of maturity exists when believers fail to live according accordingly to the wisdom that is granted to all believers. So all believers have access to God's wisdom, but the mature grow in knowledge and walk in obedience. The immature are converts. They're saved, but they're stuck on the milk.
[00:14:58] They're believing worldly wisdom while they have been saved and transformed by godly wisdom.
[00:15:07] And this is the new man and the old man struggle that Paul talks about in the Book of Romans.
[00:15:14] I don't know if you've realized this yet. If you've been saved more than an hour, you probably have. But our flesh does not die when we get saved.
[00:15:23] The old man, our flesh is not redeemed yet.
[00:15:28] Does God save your flesh in this life? No. The flesh is constantly fighting against the spirit, and the spirit is fighting against the flesh. By the way, we're all in one of these categories. Every Christian is either mature or immature, and very few of us would stand up and put our hand up and say, I'm a mature Christian.
[00:15:50] But we also don't want to put ourselves in the immature category, because hopefully we're not there. But we're in one of these categories, or somewhere in between these two.
[00:16:02] He also talks about another comparison, in contrast, the wisdom of God and the wisdom of this age.
[00:16:09] In verse six, he says, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age. So what is the wisdom of God? The wisdom of God that he's referring to in this passage is revelation, wisdom that comes from God, that he reveals in the holy scriptures through his prophets and his apostles. Again, this is not some higher doctrine, but the simple gospel that has the power. It is the power of God, and it changes our lives.
[00:16:44] And it's distinguished from human wisdom. True wisdom is, he tells us in these verses, it's God's wisdom.
[00:16:52] True wisdom is God's wisdom. True wisdom is a mystery. True wisdom is hidden from those who are not saved. And he also uses this word, that wisdom is predestined, that it was God's plan to reveal wisdom to mankind. This is a part of his eternal plan that he's had all along. He knew he was going to reveal his wisdom. The church is a mystery. Jesus Christ was a mystery. The eternal wisdom of God is a mystery. And mankind didn't understand it, but God revealed it at just the right time in history, in the fullness of time. Hodge says that God's wisdom is the. And I love this. God's wisdom is the revelation of the councils of eternity in connection with human redemption.
[00:17:43] The revelation of the counsels of eternity in connection with human redemption. That's what Paul's talking about specifically here, the wisdom of goddess. He says in verse nine, but as it is written, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man. Imagine what God has prepared for those who loved him. These things God has revealed to us through the spirit.
[00:18:12] Now, I had the privilege of studying this verse this week, these verses, and something jumped out at me that I hope jumped out at you when I just read that.
[00:18:27] Adam Clark in his commentary put it this way, the words of first corinthians two nine, and he's talking about no eye is seen, no ears heard, nor is entered in the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him.
[00:18:43] He says, first corinthians two nine have been applied to the state of glory in a future world. How many of you have quoted this verse that way?
[00:18:53] I've preached that verse this way, and I think it does apply.
[00:18:58] It does have an application, not from this text, not from the context here, but you can find it in other places that there are things in store for us in the future and in heaven that we don't have any clue about. And it's going to be better than we can ever imagine. But this verse has been quoted many times applying to future world or future glory, he says, but certainly these verses belong to the present state and express merely the wondrous light, life, and liberty which the gospel communicates to us as believers. And I want to challenge each one of us as christians to examine the context of scripture when we're reading scripture, especially when we memorize scripture. This is a verse I've memorized, and I didn't understand that. It's not talking about some future state. It's talking about our life right now. The wisdom of God has been revealed to us right now. And think about it in that way. No eye has seen and no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man or the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him right now in this life, the wisdom of God takes us into a whole new realm where we experience life like we've never expected it.
[00:20:21] A life greater than we ever imagined could exist.
[00:20:26] And this isn't temporary prosperity. This is not a prosperity gospel.
[00:20:32] This is talking about all the promises of God that apply to us even in suffering. And I love what Vance Havner said. He said, the promises of God are not mere mottos to hang on a wall, but checks to be cashed. The promises of God are checks to be cashed. We can enjoy them right now in this life. And that's what Paul is talking about in the wisdom of God. It's also important to notice that Paul is quoting an Old Testament verse, Isaiah 64, verse four, which says, from of old, no one has heard or perceived by the ear. No eye has seen a God besides you who acts for those who wait for him. So the context in the Old Testament and the New Testament has to do with our life walking in obedience to God. In the Old Testament, this was a quote in the context of judgment and mercy.
[00:21:27] God's people were in exile. They were being judged, but they're repenting and calling on him for mercy. And they were judged because of their disobedience. And Paul is quoting this verse in context, not just to remind us that one day we're gonna die and go to heaven and experience all these great things that God has for us, but he intends for his wisdom to affect us in our life right now.
[00:21:51] So that's the wisdom of God. But then he contrasts that and compares it with the wisdom of this age.
[00:21:58] And I want to read you this quote from Pastor Jack Arnold. He says, God's wisdom is completely different from that wisdom which this world knows. The wisdom of this age is merely human reasoning. The world has one basic philosophy, with man at the center. This secular philosophy may take many forms, eastern mysticism, humanism, transcendental meditation, new age self improvement, but it is always man centered.
[00:22:30] Even the great religions of the world, Mohammedanism, Confucianism, Hinduism, are all man centered because they teach man must do something to be saved. Every plan of salvation that is devised by man is a plan based on works.
[00:22:53] In contrast, Christianity is based on grace. God forgives, or God gives forgiveness to men on the basis of what Christ has done for them. Christianity is the only religion, the only plan of salvation, whereby man's forgiveness and acceptance before God is not based on human works, acts, or motivation, but on the pure grace of a sovereign God.
[00:23:20] So the wisdom of this age is contrasted with the wisdom of God. The wisdom of this age is passing away.
[00:23:30] It will be forgotten.
[00:23:33] Think about Charles Darwin.
[00:23:36] The man was literally outlived by his turtle.
[00:23:42] Turns out the turtle was more wise than he was, and the turtle never spoke a word.
[00:23:50] His theories, his beliefs, his teachings have led so many people away from truth, yet he's been celebrated. There are statues to him.
[00:24:05] People idolize this man who rejected God, and later on in his life acknowledged the weakness of his beliefs and where his beliefs actually led people. It's an interesting study. The next comparison, in contrast, we see are the rulers of this age and the apostles. This is an interesting comparison. In contrast, verse six, it says, or the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away.
[00:24:35] Verse seven. 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. So he's clearly comparing and contrasting the rulers of this age with himself and the other apostles.
[00:24:59] Let's look at the rulers of this age. These are leaders of thought, the shapers of public opinion, philosophers, sociologists, politicians. These brilliant minds know nothing of God's wisdom. They do not understand the body of God's truth. That is why all their proposals, schemes and plans will never solve anything in this life.
[00:25:25] In the long run, without God at the center of man's thinking, the universe and life are a riddle, a maze, and this life makes absolutely no sense at all. Read the book of ecclesiastes. There's a term in the book of ecclesiastes that unlocks the entire book, and it's the phrase under heaven.
[00:25:50] So separated from God, not taking God into account, just what we know. Under heaven.
[00:25:58] Life is empty. Life is vain. Life is pointless. Life is meaningless. But with God, there is purpose. There is meaning, there is a reason to live.
[00:26:14] Divine wisdom cannot be learned in the secular university.
[00:26:20] Apart from God, we are victims of a cosmic joke. No philosopher speaking outside the christian framework ever unfolds this truth. No psychologist or psychiatrist who is not instructed from the scriptures knows anything about this divine wisdom.
[00:26:40] We're told at other places in scripture that Satan and demons are influencing our world.
[00:26:50] And this world's wisdom comes directly from the enemies of God.
[00:26:55] So we see that's the rulers of this age, and that applied to Paul's age and it applies to our age.
[00:27:03] But he contrasts that with the apostles, who derive truth in a different way, from a different source and for a different purpose.
[00:27:15] The apostles got truth from revelation, divine inspiration. It was supernatural, and this was a part of God's plan.
[00:27:25] Scripture is the only way to salvation, and it's the only way to christian maturity.
[00:27:34] As I was studying this, I was thinking about what Paul said in first corinthians chapter one, verse 26 and 27. And we read this a few weeks ago and studied through this.
[00:27:47] But you remember where he said that not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. How many of us can relate to that?
[00:27:59] This world is not impressed with us. It's not impressed with our pedigree. It's not impressed with our wisdom and our knowledge and our long list of accomplishment or short list of accomplishments. And that can make many of us feel inadequate, especially in the light of great people who have lived throughout history. You remember what it was like to be a teenager, and you thought you had everything figured out.
[00:28:26] I do. Like, I remember that's not a knock at teenagers. We were all teenagers at one point.
[00:28:32] But I remember thinking I had everything figured out and I had this world built around myself where I was going to be extremely important. And I would give so much weight to the most insignificant things. I'm the guy who was literally driving my bike down the road in this small hick town community, thinking of how one day there would be a sign up talking about the fact that I was from that community. Is anybody else that arrogant in here? Like, I wanted my life to count for something. I wanted to be remembered for something. And at that point in my life, as just a young boy, I thought I was going to be a professional baseball player. And I literally had fantasies about coming back to my little Podunk hometown and people celebrating the fact that I made it.
[00:29:18] I know no one else thinks like that, but when I, the first time I ever went to Washington DC. I don't know what you've experienced at places like that, but the first time I was in Washington DC, surrounded by statues of great men, surrounded by museums dedicated to great accomplishments, streets named after great people, large statues, memorials. I mean, there's a statue to Abraham Lincoln that's like just huge standing in front of it. You feel so small. And it was that whole first day. At the end of that day, I was just sitting and thinking about all the unbelievably amazing things I had seen.
[00:30:05] And I remember thinking, I really am totally insignificant in this life. And if I died tomorrow, there would not be a statue to me for the best.
[00:30:19] And my hometown wouldn't even probably mention it, probably wouldn't even know it. Not many people even know me there anymore, except for my family.
[00:30:29] And it's times like that that we can feel like our life doesn't matter. But it's important to remember that based on what he's saying in this verse, based on human wisdom and godly wisdom, and the rulers of this age and the apostles, this verse should give us confidence and faith in the present, because our value and our worth to God is not based on our accomplishments.
[00:30:59] God has revealed his truth to us, and we have access to truth that the brilliant and the wealthy and the aristocrats can't even fathom. We have access to the wisdom of God, something that is priceless, which they do not possess and cannot purchase.
[00:31:21] That encourages me realizing that there's something greater than worldly accomplishment, worldly wisdom, worldly fame, worldly wealth.
[00:31:31] The wisdom of God is greater than anything that the men and the rulers of this age are living for. John tells us in one John 217, that this world is passing away and its lust.
[00:31:46] But the one who does the will of God lives forever.
[00:31:51] In sports, you hear about playing the long game, not the short game, not just living for right now, but playing the long game.
[00:32:01] We're called to do that in life, not live for the things of this world, because they don't last. The next comparison, in contrast, is the spirit of God and the spirit who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in except the spirit of God.
[00:32:24] Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. So by the spirit of God, he's talking about the fact that all believers have the spirit of God living in them. This happens at salvation.
[00:32:45] The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force. The Bible describes him as God. He possesses the attributes of God. He's present everywhere. He knows all things. He has infinite power.
[00:32:58] He does the things that only God can do. He creates, he gives life, and he's equal in every way with the other persons of the Trinity, the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is a person who engages in personal ways with us. He grieves when we sin. He teaches us. He prays for us, he guides us. He gives us spiritual gifts, and he assures us of salvation. The Holy Spirit indwells us from the point of salvation, and he desires to transform us so that we become more and more like Jesus.
[00:33:37] That's the spirit of God. What is the spirit of this world?
[00:33:42] The spirit of this world is not merely the mind or the sentiments of unregenerate mankind, but the spirit of this world, the spirit which is now working in the sons of disobedience, which we see in Ephesians two. Two.
[00:33:59] This world is the world system that is opposed to God. It's not this planet.
[00:34:06] It's not the dirt.
[00:34:09] It's not our solar system. It's the world system that is opposed to God and his people.
[00:34:17] So he contrasts the spirit of God and the spirit of this world. Then he contrasts and compares the spiritual person and the natural person.
[00:34:25] The natural person is an unsaved person. His spirit, his eyes, his mind, his understanding has not been awakened. He does not have a spirit of God. He only has physical life, but he's spiritually dead.
[00:34:43] And Paul says in this passage, the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. That's the natural person. What about the spiritual person?
[00:35:01] This is the person who has been born again, regenerated, reconciled to God.
[00:35:07] And he says, the spiritual person judges all things, understands and discerns all things. Why?
[00:35:16] Because we have the mind of Christ.
[00:35:19] This is how we understand spiritual things, because we have the mind of Christ. God's spirit indwells us.
[00:35:27] So we look at these comparisons and contrast.
[00:35:31] Why does Paul use these?
[00:35:34] Because let's talk about the context. That's why I opened with that. It supports the point that he's making in this book about divisions in the church. All of these things have to do with what he's talking about, divisions in the church, a lack of unity and what he's saying is what you believe affects your behavior or your conduct. So let's look at number three, our conduct.
[00:36:02] The whole reason Paul is comparing and contrasting this is to make a point that the church should not be divided. Everything he's saying in this book up to this point is aimed at the fact that there's divisions in the church and the church should be unified.
[00:36:19] The church is called to behave in a way that glorifies God. And division in the church does not glorify God.
[00:36:28] There is a conduct that does not glorify God and doesn't unify the church.
[00:36:35] So we need to continue reading. If you were paying attention to the first slide, you would have picked up on this. But we need to look at chapter three to pick up on this continuing idea that Paul is expressing and honestly, after studying this this week, and I've noticed this before, I think Paul may be upset at some of the chapter and verse divisions in his books.
[00:37:00] You know that these were originally not written with verse divisions and chapter divisions. And sometimes they're helpful, especially for memorizing the Bible or finding a place in the Bible. Extremely helpful. But sometimes it's not helpful because many times we read a chapter and then we just move on. We come back and read another chapter, and we don't see the point that Paul is trying to make. That's why I love teaching through the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. So he's continuing, and we see that the first word in one corinthians chapter three is what?
[00:37:34] But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as the people of flesh. As infants in Christ, I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, I follow Paul and another, I follow apollos, are you not being merely human?
[00:38:09] So we see that Paul is continuing the thought. He's making the point that our conduct has something to do with our belief system, and he's telling us in these verses that true christians should be spiritual.
[00:38:26] But what does he say? We are?
[00:38:29] Some of them are fleshly. He uses this phrase, we're thinking only in a human way or behaving only in a human way.
[00:38:39] And he ends this with the phrase, are you not being merely human?
[00:38:47] We're not called to be merely human. We're called to be spiritual, to walk in the way of the spirit of goddess. So christians are called to be spiritual, but many are living according to the flesh. He says that we're called to be mature rather than infants. Yet many in the church are spiritual babies, infants in the word, infants in obedience. Then he says that christians should be unified rather than expressing jealousy and strive.
[00:39:21] And these are some of the most direct words that you'll ever see the apostle Paul using to the church.
[00:39:32] And as the pastor of this church, I want to say that some of these things can be applied to us as well. Many of us in this room need to mature. Many of us in this room need to grow in obedience. Our conduct needs to match what we say we believe.
[00:39:46] The gospel is not just what saves us, it's what sanctifies us.
[00:39:54] And number four, we're going to see that there is a connection between multiple things. First of all, there's a connection between our identity and our conduct.
[00:40:09] Those who are in Christ have a new identity. We've been filled with the spirit of God. When God indwells us, we change.
[00:40:19] And he's reminding this church that something's wrong with their conduct because they don't have the right identity.
[00:40:29] They're not finding their identity in Christ. They're finding their identity in idols and the things in this world. Even though they've been saved, they're finding their identity, something other than the gospel. He also says there's a connection between belief and conduct.
[00:40:46] Our behavior always follows our belief. We can say what we believe with our mouth, but if you want to know what someone truly believes, watch how they act, watch how they behave.
[00:41:00] It betrays our true beliefs.
[00:41:04] Our behavior always betrays our belief.
[00:41:08] And then he says there's a connection between diet and conduct.
[00:41:13] No, I'm not talking about our physical diets, although I could. We could talk about that. I need to hear someone talk about that.
[00:41:20] But what he's talking about is what we call garbage in, garbage out.
[00:41:26] You've all heard that.
[00:41:28] Garbage in, garbage out. He's talking about milk and solid food versus the wisdom of this age and the wisdom of God. He's talking about what we consume. And the reason this church was having so many problems, so many divisions, so much strife, and so much jealousy is because they were living based on the wisdom of this world, where this world is competing to climb the ladder and push everybody else down. Living for earthly fame, living for earthly wealth, living for things that one day the moths are going to eat and rust is going to destroy, or someone is going to steal from us. Or we're going to lose when the economy crashes again.
[00:42:12] We're living for those things that have no eternal worth. He says that's based on what you're consuming. The media, the beliefs, the false teachings that we're getting from this culture, our diet and our conduct. There's a connection between the two.
[00:42:29] What we consume, the media we consume, matters, the things we let into our ears and our eyes and our mind and our heart.
[00:42:39] It affects the way we live our lives. And we're not legalistic. At this church, we believe in common grace. We believe that there are things in culture that we can enjoy, that we can learn from.
[00:42:53] But it's a dangerous balance of discernment. And he talks about discernment in this passage because it's a fine line that we walk where we can enjoy God's common grace given to us by people that are not believers, and where we start to consume garbage at a rate that we begin to act based on what our mind and our hearts are believing that don't reflect the truths of God.
[00:43:23] I honestly believe that christians need to be very aware of what's going on in the culture around us. We need to be aware of it, but we need to watch it and listen to it in a way that glorifies God, in a way that we can use to reach people.
[00:43:44] Number five, conclusion.
[00:43:49] This is going to be our application tonight.
[00:43:53] What is the point of all that Paul is saying in this chapter or these chapters and these verses? First, I believe he's saying, remember who you are and whose you are.
[00:44:08] Remember if you've got an identity problem, if your conduct is wrong because you're forgetting who you are in Christ, you need to remember who you are and whose you are.
[00:44:23] This is something that we need to hear very often as believers. We need to remember Christ died for us. His spirit indwells us. This world is temporary. We need to lay up treasures in heaven. The truth of God's word needs to define our lives. We need to remember who we are and whose we are next. We need to return to the gospel.
[00:44:48] We need to return to the gospel.
[00:44:51] Christ was crucified so that we could be saved and sanctified.
[00:44:59] And if we get away from the gospel, not the fact that we're not saved, but the fact that we're behaving in a way that is believing another message, the wisdom of this age or this world, rather than the wisdom of God, we need to return to the gospel, not just mentally, but in practice. Christ was crucified so we could be saved and sanctified. The gospel plays a part in our sanctification. It is truth that transforms us. Jesus in his prayer said, Lord, sanctify them by your truth. So we need to remember who we are and whose we are. We need to return to the gospel, and we need to finally reject worldly wisdom.
[00:45:42] We need to reject worldly wisdom.
[00:45:45] And the best way to do that is by receiving godly wisdom, receiving divine wisdom, filling ourselves up so much with the word of God, with the music of goddess, with the truths of God, being around the family of God, being influenced by men and women of God, friends, that push us in the right direction, so that when we hear the garbage of this world, it's just, it's jolting.
[00:46:13] It shocks us. There are things that I've seen this week in the media that I'm not even going to address. I'm not even going to give it the dignity of mitching it, mentioning it here. And many of you know what I'm talking about. Things going on around our world that mock God, that mock the gospel, that mock the very thing that saves us and sanctifies us.
[00:46:39] We need to reject that garbage.
[00:46:42] But we can't ever reject the garbage of this world if we're not full of the truth and the beauty of God's word.
[00:46:50] That's why we gather together every week.
[00:46:53] We proclaim these truths, we believe these truths. We pray for God to transform us through these truths. Then I ask you to stand. We're going to close in a song, but I want to pray before we do because I want to ask you to respond to whatever it is God's calling you to do. There are people in this room, including myself, that need to be serious about rejecting worldly wisdom, receiving godly wisdom, remembering who we are, and returning to the gospel. Father, we thank you for your word.
[00:47:29] Lord, we ask that your holy spirit would do what only you can do.
[00:47:35] Your word is truth. Your holy spirit is actively working in the hearts of believers who have the mind of God, who have the spirit of God calling us to repentance, calling us to obedience.
[00:47:48] Father, you said if we confess our sins, you're faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, if there's anyone here tonight that does not know you as their personal lord and savior, I pray that they would believe the gospel, that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, our creator, who came to this earth as a mandehead, lived a perfect, sinless life, died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, who was buried and who rose from the grave, supernaturally declaring that all who believe in him can be saved. Lord, I pray that you would use us to share that good news to this community. And if anyone is here tonight that doesn't know you as their Lord and savior, please call them to yourself tonight.
[00:48:36] Give them the wisdom, the supernatural enlightenment, to believe the gospel and say yes to you. Jesus Father, may we all lay down our idols and walk in obedience to you. Not to earn your favor, but because we have your favor. Through Jesus Christ and through his sacrifice, help us to walk in obedience. Help us to live our lives in a way that glory glorifies you. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen.
