1 Corinthians 2 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00First Corinthians chapter 2
2. 0:02verse 1.
3. 0:04And when I came to you brethren, I did
4. 0:05not come with superiority of speech or
5. 0:08of wisdom.
6. 0:10One of the first thing he tells the
7. 0:11Corinthians when he starts is that they
8. 0:13have all the riches
9. 0:16and they have excellent speech and
10. 0:17knowledge.
11. 0:19They have the gifts, but he says when I
12. 0:21came, I didn't have that.
13. 0:23When I came to you brethren, I did not
14. 0:25come to you with superiority of speech
15. 0:27or of wisdom proclaiming to you the
16. 0:29testimony of God. For I determined to
17. 0:31know nothing among you except Jesus
18. 0:33Christ and him crucified.
19. 0:36And what does that mean?
20. 0:38He tells us in the next verse. I was
21. 0:41with you in weakness and in fear and in
22. 0:43much trembling. And my message and my
23. 0:45preaching were not in persuasive words
24. 0:48of wisdom, but in demonstration of the
25. 0:52spirit and of power so that your faith
26. 0:55would not rest on the wisdom of men, but
27. 0:57on the power of God.
28. 1:00So Paul says he's attaching to
29. 1:02everything he's been telling him in
30. 1:03chapter 1.
31. 1:05Your wisdom doesn't matter.
32. 1:07Your cleverness doesn't matter.
33. 1:09Your speech DOESN'T MATTER. WOW, YOU'RE
34. 1:11GREAT TALKERS. That doesn't matter. All
35. 1:14we want to know
36. 1:16is what is God doing in and through you
37. 1:19by his spirit. Even your gifts, your
38. 1:21gifts of the spirit are not the story.
39. 1:24What is God doing by his spirit in your
40. 1:27midst?
41. 1:29And so Paul says when I came to you, I
42. 1:31didn't come with superior speech.
43. 1:34But I did come with a demonstration of
44. 1:37the spirit and power.
45. 1:39You saw in Paul's preaching the power of
46. 1:42God demonstrated.
47. 1:46Was it wise? Yes.
48. 1:48But not not worldly wisdom.
49. 1:51Amen. He says I determined to know
50. 1:53nothing among you except Jesus Christ
51. 1:55and him crucified. And then the next
52. 1:57line he says, "I was with you in
53. 1:58weakness."
54. 2:01What Paul is saying is that his own
55. 2:03weakness
56. 2:05was a lived expression of Jesus Christ
57. 2:08crucified. He was carrying his cross.
58. 2:11I was with you in weakness, in fear, and
59. 2:13much trembling.
60. 2:15And my message and my preaching were not
61. 2:17in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
62. 2:19demonstration of the Spirit and power,
63. 2:21so that your faith would not rest on the
64. 2:24wisdom of men.
65. 2:26What was the wisdom of men that their
66. 2:29faith could have rested on if Paul had
67. 2:31come with superior speech?
68. 2:34It was his.
69. 2:35He didn't want their faith to be in him.
70. 2:38He wanted their faith to be in God.
71. 2:40Paul has a role to play,
72. 2:43but Paul's not forever. He's going to
73. 2:45die.
74. 2:46And if he built a congregation around
75. 2:48Paul supremacy,
76. 2:50that congregation is going to collapse
77. 2:52when he's out of the picture.
78. 2:53>> It'd be personality cults.
79. 2:55>> It would be a personality cult.
80. 2:57It would be a simple hierarchical
81. 2:59system. Just do whatever Paul wants. And
82. 3:02that's what they want, because the
83. 3:03immature always want a king to fight
84. 3:05their battles for them.
85. 3:07Right? But that's not what Paul wants.
86. 3:09Paul wants them to be dependent on the
87. 3:12Holy Spirit.
88. 3:16He says, "Yet we do speak wisdom among
89. 3:18those who are mature."
90. 3:21You have to have a level of maturity
91. 3:23to recognize the wisdom of God.
92. 3:27The immature
93. 3:29think that foolishness is wisdom.
94. 3:32Yet we do speak wisdom
95. 3:34among those who are mature, a wisdom,
96. 3:36however, not of this age, nor of the
97. 3:39rulers of this age, who are passing
98. 3:41away.
99. 3:43So, the kind of wisdom that we have is
100. 3:45not the way the world does power. It's
101. 3:47not the way the rulers of this age
102. 3:50function. That's not our wisdom.
103. 3:54But we speak God's wisdom
104. 3:56in a mystery.
105. 3:59The hidden wisdom which God predestined
106. 4:01before the ages
107. 4:03to our glory.
108. 4:06God had a package of wisdom from before
109. 4:09the world and he said this one is for
110. 4:11the church. He predestined it
111. 4:15before the world for our glory.
112. 4:18The wisdom of God brings us glory.
113. 4:22It brings the presence of God on human
114. 4:25flesh, which is what glorification is.
115. 4:29It's for our glory.
116. 4:30The wisdom which none of the rulers of
117. 4:32this age had understood.
118. 4:34For if they had understood it, they
119. 4:36would not have crucified the Lord of
120. 4:39glory.
121. 4:41Now, what was the wisdom of God? It was
122. 4:44that
123. 4:45Jesus would humble himself. That the
124. 4:48almighty would submit to death on a
125. 4:51cross. That he would
126. 4:54release power through total weakness.
127. 4:58That was the wisdom of God. So, the
128. 5:00wisdom that Paul brings is the same
129. 5:02thing.
130. 5:03It looks like defeat. It looks like
131. 5:06humility. It looks like weakness. It
132. 5:09looks like nakedness. It looks like
133. 5:11getting taken advantage of by others.
134. 5:14But somehow in that surrender
135. 5:17a resurrection is on its way.
136. 5:20And that resurrection is the power of
137. 5:21God. So, the cross
138. 5:24was not what God did because he was
139. 5:26wise. The cross was the wisdom of God.
140. 5:30The wisdom of God is doing powerful
141. 5:33things in forms and ways that look
142. 5:36dreadfully naked and weak.
143. 5:39That's the wisdom of God.
144. 5:41But as it is written, things which eye
145. 5:43has not seen and ear has not heard and
146. 5:47which have not entered into the heart of
147. 5:49man, all that God has prepared for those
148. 5:52who love him.
149. 5:54For to us
150. 5:56God has revealed them
151. 5:59through the Spirit.
152. 6:01For the Spirit searches all things, even
153. 6:04the depths of God.
154. 6:08Amen.
155. 6:10How did Pilate feel after the
156. 6:11crucifixion? Done.
157. 6:14It worked.
158. 6:15Jews are happy, problem solved.
159. 6:19How did the chief priest feel after the
160. 6:22crucifixion? Done.
161. 6:24Sealed. Over.
162. 6:26Well, we got it done, guys. That's how
163. 6:28they felt.
164. 6:29And they were wrong, weren't they?
165. 6:32They had no idea what they were
166. 6:34unleashing.
167. 6:36They had no idea that by putting it in a
168. 6:38grave, the grave was about to become a
169. 6:40whole lot less powerful.
170. 6:42It was going to be made a public
171. 6:44spectacle of
172. 6:45through the resurrection.
173. 6:48Amen.
174. 6:49So, God is doing things. God is showing
175. 6:53things.
176. 6:54God is working things.
177. 6:57And I can't see it.
178. 7:00Your natural eye cannot see the kingdom
179. 7:02of God. That's what Jesus told
180. 7:04Nicodemus. Your natural ear cannot hear
181. 7:07the will of God in the kingdom of God.
182. 7:10And your natural fallen heart
183. 7:12cannot receive it.
184. 7:14But God will reveal it through the
185. 7:16Spirit.
186. 7:18It's got to be a spiritual revelation.
187. 7:23Jesus has got to say to us what he said
188. 7:25to Peter, blessed are you because flesh
189. 7:27and blood didn't reveal this to you, but
190. 7:29my father who is in heaven.
191. 7:31And when this can happen, a church can
192. 7:33happen. Upon this rock I'll build my
193. 7:35church.
194. 7:37For who among men knows the thoughts of
195. 7:39a man
196. 7:40except the spirit of the man which is in
197. 7:42him.
198. 7:43Even so, the thoughts of God no one
199. 7:45knows except the spirit of God.
200. 7:48So, God has thoughts. He has a bouleuma.
201. 7:51He has a plan. He has a strategy.
202. 7:55But, God's spirit is what's going to
203. 7:57reveal that to the church. We don't come
204. 7:59up with that through discussion, through
205. 8:01debate, through talk, through
206. 8:03cleverness. We come up with it
207. 8:06We don't even come up with it. The Holy
208. 8:07Spirit reveals it to us as an epiphany,
209. 8:11as an aha moment.
210. 8:13I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and
211. 8:15earth, that you have revealed these
212. 8:17things to babes, but have concealed them
213. 8:19from the wise and the prudent, Jesus
214. 8:23said,
215. 8:24when Satan was falling from heaven like
216. 8:26lightning.
217. 8:29Do you guys get that? He says, "No one
218. 8:31knows the thoughts of a man except the
219. 8:33spirit of a man." That's a hard thing to
220. 8:35think about. But, it is actually an
221. 8:38insight.
222. 8:40Your spirit knows your thoughts.
223. 8:44Well, that's how Paul thought of it.
224. 8:47But,
225. 8:48it's kind of helpful because
226. 8:50he's making
227. 8:53us the metaphor for how the different
228. 8:57aspects of God's nature work.
229. 9:00He doesn't say, "No one knows the
230. 9:02thoughts of a man except his best friend
231. 9:04or his son or his daughter." Says, "No
232. 9:06one knows the thoughts of man except the
233. 9:08spirit of the man."
234. 9:09So, it's one man, your spirit knowing
235. 9:12your thoughts. And in the same way, no
236. 9:14one knows the thoughts of God except the
237. 9:15spirit of God. So, the spirit of God is
238. 9:17not a second person. It's not a
239. 9:19daughter. It's not a son. It's not a
240. 9:21friend. It's God. It's just an aspect of
241. 9:24God knowing another aspect of God. Just
242. 9:26like you, your spirit is an aspect of
243. 9:29you knowing another aspect of you, your
244. 9:31plans, your your thoughts.
245. 9:34So, it's actually an insight into how
246. 9:36the triune
247. 9:38aspects in God work and interact.
248. 9:43They're not different persons, they're
249. 9:45different aspects of one being.
250. 9:49Now, we have received not the spirit of
251. 9:51the world, but the spirit who is from
252. 9:53God, so that we may know the things
253. 9:57freely given to us by God.
254. 10:00When you get a package in the mail,
255. 10:03do you know that you've gotten a
256. 10:04package?
257. 10:05Well, yeah, it's sitting on the table.
258. 10:07It's in a brown box. But, do you know
259. 10:08what's in it?
260. 10:10You don't know what you've been given
261. 10:13until you open it up.
262. 10:15And Paul is saying to the Corinthians,
263. 10:17"God has put gifts in your midst. God
264. 10:20has given you packages,
265. 10:22but you can't open them except by the
266. 10:25spirit."
267. 10:27The spirit is going to help us know
268. 10:30what's been given.
269. 10:31There are things in your possession
270. 10:35that you don't know what they are yet.
271. 10:38You haven't taken possession of things
272. 10:40that are in your closet,
273. 10:43because only the Holy Spirit can come
274. 10:45upon you and show you what you've
275. 10:47already been given.
276. 10:50We have received the spirit not of this
277. 10:52world, but the spirit who is from God,
278. 10:54so that we may know
279. 10:58the things freely given to us by God.
280. 11:03Do you feel
281. 11:06like you're not getting what you need?
282. 11:08Do you feel like the gifts from God
283. 11:11aren't showing up in your life?
284. 11:13Do you feel like it's not happening?
285. 11:16You can't open those packages except by
286. 11:19the spirit.
287. 11:21Get back into the spirit, and suddenly
288. 11:24you're like, "Oh, wow. This is
289. 11:25incredible."
290. 11:27Now, we have received not the spirit of
291. 11:29this world, but the spirit who is from
292. 11:31God, so that we may know the things
293. 11:33freely given to us by God, which things
294. 11:35we also speak not in words taught by
295. 11:38human wisdom,
296. 11:39but in those taught by the spirit,
297. 11:41combining spiritual thoughts with
298. 11:43spiritual words. So, he's saying
299. 11:46that these secrets that God is giving
300. 11:49us, these packages that we don't know
301. 11:51what's in them,
302. 11:53they're not just showing up at our
303. 11:55doorstep. They're coming through people.
304. 11:57We are giving them, not just receiving
305. 11:59them.
306. 12:01But a natural man does not accept
307. 12:05the things of the spirit of God,
308. 12:07for they are foolishness to him.
309. 12:11And this is referring back to the
310. 12:12disunity. He's still indicting what the
311. 12:15problem is in their disunity. He's
312. 12:18saying, "You are natural, so you don't
313. 12:20even understand what we're saying. You
314. 12:22don't even follow what we're saying,
315. 12:25because you can't follow it until your
316. 12:26heart changes and the spirit can show it
317. 12:28to you."
318. 12:30The natural man does not accept the
319. 12:32things of the spirit of God, for they
320. 12:33are foolishness to him, and he cannot
321. 12:35understand them because they are
322. 12:36spiritually appraised.
323. 12:40But he who is spiritual appraises all
324. 12:42things, yet he himself is appraised by
325. 12:44no one.
326. 12:45For who has known the mind of the Lord
327. 12:47that he will instruct him?
328. 12:49But we
329. 12:50have the mind of Christ.
330. 12:52And there's that composite concept
331. 12:54again, that whatever God's wanting to
332. 12:55teach us, we have it. Paul doesn't say,
333. 12:58"I have the mind of Christ."
334. 13:00He doesn't say Apollos has it. He says,
335. 13:02"We have it."
336. 13:04And whatever God is teaching, it's going
337. 13:06to have to come
338. 13:08as a
339. 13:10as an us gift. It's a combination lock
340. 13:14that has to that requires the alignment
341. 13:17of the members of the body in order for
342. 13:19the gift to open and the grace to come
343. 13:21out.
344. 13:22And that's what the disunity is
345. 13:24threatening. Paul didn't put chapters in
346. 13:27here.
347. 13:28So, he's never lost his train of
348. 13:30thought. He's still focused on how
349. 13:33they're dividing the church, and we'll
350. 13:35get into that more in chapter three.