I Corinthians 2
COMMENTARY:
: 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. (3981 “enticing” [peithos] means persuasive, convincing, skillful, or winning.)
DEVOTION: When a sermon is given in church it should be in the language of those who are in attendance. Most newspapers are written so that a sixth grader can read them. Many in our society cannot read or chose to read little. So when they are listening to a sermon they need to be able to listen and learn.
Paul didn’t come with fancy theological terms. If he used them he defined them for the people. He wanted everyone in the congregation to understand what he was teaching. He didn’t speak over their heads. He also didn’t just teach small truths regarding the Godhead. He taught the people the deep things of God in a language that they could understand.
He wanted them to know all they could about Jesus especially. They needed to know that the cross covered all their sins. They needed to know that once they repented of their sins they were forgiven. They needed to know that the Holy Spirit came into their life with the power to help them live their life in a way that was pleasing to God.
If you are a follower of Jesus because you have asked him to forgive your sins and come into your heart you will have enough power to live the Christian life with the help of the Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: Are we demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit in our daily life?
: 9 But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love HIM. (2090 “prepared” [hetoimazo] means make ready, to prepare the minds of men to give the Messiah a fit reception and secure HIS blessings, equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some us, or provide.)
DEVOTION: God is in the business of instructing HIS people in what HE expects of them. HE does this through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As an individual, moves from “baby stage” to “maturity” HE instructs them with what they are able to handle. One of the requirements for these instructions according to this verse is that they are given only to those who “love” the LORD. Love is something that many people don’t understand. Love is an emotion that can cause many problems in a believer’s life.
Believers are commanded to love the LORD their God with all their mind, body and spirit. They are to love HIM first and foremost. This love has to be more than emotion. It has to be a commitment that beats any other commitment in our life.
Too often those who say they are committed to love the LORD do it only half-heartedly. They are committed on Sunday but the rest of the week they are more committed to others things.
Sometimes people think they can compartmentalize their life. They can put God in a box that they only take out at certain times. They have a work box. They have a home box. They have a relationship box. God is just put into one of those boxes at a time.
CHALLENGE: God’s desire is to reach into every part of our life and have complete control. That is HIS definition of “love.”
: 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. (5483 “freely given” [charizomai] means to grant a favor, grant, deliver, forgive, hand over into custody or to give graciously.)
DEVOTION: Is there really any difference between those who are followers of Christ and those who are not? When a Christian, walks down the street can people tell they are different? When a Christian speaks can they if there is a difference? When a true believer attends a church service can people tell that they are genuine?
Chafer in his theology says that twenty- two things happen the moment we follow Christ. These are gifts from God to us. These gifts help us mature in our faith. They are given graciously. We don’t deserve any of the gifts the LORD gives us. HIS main teaching gift is the Holy Spirit that indwells all those who believe. HE gives us understanding into the truths of Scripture. HE gives us understanding into the signs of the times. HE gives us understanding into the mysteries of God that were established before the world was created.
One of the gifts is the mind of Christ. This is the gift that keeps on giving. With the mind of Christ, we can be spiritually discerning. As we mature in the knowledge of God, our life looks more like Christ. The natural man or the unsaved man doesn’t have the mind of Christ.
The natural man thinks everything about the Christian life is crazy. He does not understand the Bible. He cannot understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not working in his life.
The Holy Spirit is only working in the lives of those who are or will be followers of Christ. Once we have accepted Christ as our Savior, HE granted us HIS SPIRIT to live by each day. The Holy Spirit grants us guidance to face each challenge that comes our way.
The unsaved world has the spirit of this world or Satan as its guide and we all know which direction he is headed. He is not presently in hell. He is presently the prince of the power of the air. The world looks at followers of Christ with disdain.
We have a message to share and we need to be sharing it with those around us as they are dead men walking. Let’s help our friends and relatives see the light.
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct us in the ways of the LORD? Are we daily looking into the Word of God with a prayerful attitude?
CHALLENGE: Do we realize the privilege we have to have the mind of Christ? Did we thank HIM today for this gift?
: 14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (350 “discerned” [anakrino] means examine, judge, search, investigate, study thoroughly, evaluate, seek to learn the truth by the process of careful study, or determine.)
DEVOTION: There are two types of men in the world. The two types are those who are followers of Christ and those who are not. All of us are born into this world as individuals who need to make a decision regarding our relationship with Christ. As was stated in the Gospel of John those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus stay in the family of the devil. They are headed for eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
The other group is those who make a decision to become a follower of Christ. God knows who is in this group before the foundation of the world. Their names are written in the book of life.
Those who are outside of the family of God are called the “natural man” in this verse because they don’t understand spiritual things. In fact, spiritual things are considered foolishness to those who want nothing to do with Jesus. They think anyone who is a Christian is deceived. They think that those who become a Christian need to have their head examined. They think they are the only ones who really understand this world. Most of them think that after death there is no life. We all just turn into dust.
Now the other group wants to know more about Jesus Christ. They want the Holy Spirit to influence their life. They want to know more about what is really going on in our world.
All those who repent of their sin are included in the family of God. The Holy Spirit gives them the ability to seek the truth of the Word of God through careful study. Those in this group want to understand thoroughly what God expects of them and how to have the strength to fulfill their responsibility.
CHALLENGE: The Bible makes sense to those who are genuine believers. They have a burning desire to learn more about Jesus. The Holy Spirit fulfills their desire
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