UNDERSTANDING THE THINGS OF GOD

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: I CORINTHIANS 2:9-16



INTRODUCTION:


  1. One of the frustrations of being a pastor is that things never really move as fast as you would like them to.
  2. One of the reasons things do not move as fast as you would like them to is people do not move as fast as you would like them to!
  3. Pastors plead with people to read their Bibles, yet many do not; to come to Sunday School, and come back on Sunday night, and to prayer meeting on Wednesday night – but alas – most do not!
  4. I think part of the problem is that many people – even some who may be genuinely born again, do not understand the things of God.
  5. This is not a new problem. Moses had to deal with this (cf. Acts 7:25).
  6. Today my message is: "Understanding the Things of God."
  1. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALONE KNOWS THE THINGS OF GOD.
    1. At the outset, let me begin by stating that the things of God cannot be learned the same way one learns science or history or mathematics.
    2. The things of God are revealed in Scripture to be utterly unknowable by mere human study, industry or research.
    3. In addition to such normal processes as education, application, and mental ability, there must be the teaching of the Holy Spirit (I Cor.2:10-14).
    4. If a man is to know the mind of God, then his mind has to be illuminated by the Spirit of God (2:10,16).
    5. And he cannot be illuminated by the Spirit of God until he is first born again (cf. John 3:6-8; I Cor.1:23; 2:2).
    6. And when a person is born again, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9).
    7. Let me add one more essential requirement: for a person to understand the things of God, he must be regenerated by the Spirit of God (born again), he must be indwelt by the Spirit of God (which takes place when a person is genuinely converted), and he must be yielded to the will of God – this is where many Christians miss the boat!
    8. Remember that elsewhere Paul says to "grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" (Eph.4:30).
    9. To be taught by the Holy Spirit, a Christian must be in such a state of obedience to truth already revealed by the Bible, and walking with the Lord in such a way that the Holy Spirit might not be hindered in teaching him and directing him.
    10. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

      11. What a glory He sheds on our way!

      While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

      And with all who will trust and obey.

    11. "The spirit of man" (I Cor.2:11) refers to man’s God-given ability to study and reason and analyze and research, etc.
    12. The spirit of man allows a man to learn "the things of man" (2:11), i.e. the arts, sciences, and any knowledge on a purely human and natural plane.
    13. But beloved, it is only by the Spirit of God that anyone may understand what the Bible calls "the things of God" (2:10,11).
    14. That is why there are men with Ph.D’s and other advanced degrees who cannot understand the things of God. What is needed is not a Ph.D. but a "BA" (Born Again)! Worldly scholars cannot approach the Bible as they would other books – "because they are spiritually discerned" (2:14).
    15. The unregenerate man is unqualified and unable to understand the things of God, no matter how well-educated he may be.
    16. Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, was a devout Christian. He was speaking on the things of God one day at a meeting in London. William Wilberforce, the famous politician who led the abolitionist movement in England, was also a Christian and at this meeting, Wilberforce sat next to his good friend William Pitt the Younger, who was not a saved man. Afterwards, Wilberforce asked Pitt, "What is your opinion of the message?" William Pitt replied, "to tell the truth, I gave that man my most careful attention, but I was wholly unable to understand what he was talking about!" (2:14).
    17. So my first point is the Holy Spirit alone knows the things of God. My second is that the Holy Spirit alone can teach the things of God.
  1. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALONE CAN TEACH THE THINGS OF GOD (2:13).
    1. Our Lord said in John 16 that the Holy Spirit will guide us "into all truth" (John 16:13). But this promise is only for those who know the Lord as their Saviour. For the unconverted our Lord said that the Holy Spirit would "reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8-10).
    2. Back to I Cor.2, I like the way the Scofield Bible explains this passage of Scripture:
      1. "The unseen things of God are undiscovereable by the natural (unsaved) man (vs. 9)."
      2. "These unseen things God has revealed to chosen (saved) men (vss. 10-12)" – note particularly 2:12.
      3. "The revealed things are communicated in Spirit-taught words (vs. 13). This implies neither mechanical dictation nor the effacement of the writer’s personality, but only that the Spirit infallibly guides in the choice of words from the writer’s own vocabulary (vs. 13)."
      4. "These Spirit-taught words, in which the revelation has been expressed, are discerned, as to their true spiritual content, only by the spiritual among believers (I Cor.2:15,16)."
    1. Notice that the Bible makes a distinction between the unsaved man ("the natural man" – I Cor.2:14), the saved man who is spiritual (2:15,16), and the saved man who is not spiritual – who is "carnal" (I Cor.3:1-4).
    2. Those that are carnal can only drink milk – they are "babes in Christ" (3:1). How sad that some of these babies have been around a long time! It is about time they moved out of the nursery!
    3. Those that are mature – that are spiritual – can eat "meat" (3:2). This means they can clearly understand the things of God. They do not squirm during the preaching and keep looking at their watch. They do not get up and go to the bathroom during the preaching, or start daydreaming, etc.
    4. The Holy Spirit alone can teach the things of God, and the Holy Spirit does not teach in words of human wisdom (2:13). Paul is speaking now of inspiration. Revelation is presented in verse 10, illumination in verse 12, and inspiration in verse 13.
    5. There is a dangerous trend today to replace the words of Scripture with psychological and philosophical terms. But Paul says – "not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth…" (2:13).
    6. I will tell you one of the reasons why I am opposed to all of these new Bible translations. There is a dangerous trend today to replace the words of Scripture with what the translators consider to be the basic thoughts or concepts. In other words, these new translations are not accurate word for word translations like our Authorized King James Bible, but are basically paraphrases (like the NIV).
    7. The Bible is verbally inspired. In other words, the very words of the Bible are inspired, not just the concepts or the general ideas!
    8. In his second epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes, "Hold fast the form of sound words…" (II Tim.1:13). Many of these sound words, like atonement and justification and redemption, are being removed from the modern Bible translations. If you are using one of these inaccurate Bibles, you’d be wise to get rid of it and get a good old King James Bible!
  1. THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN ONLY TEACH THE THINGS OF GOD TO THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUAL.
    1. Even in our fundamental churches there are some who are worldly-minded. Paul says they have "the spirit of the world" (I Cor.2:12).
    2. Beloved, the Holy Spirit can only teach those that are holy. It is very simple but many people miss it. If you are enamored with this world you will never understand the things of God.
    3. I love that old song: I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delight; Things that are higher, things that are nobler – These have allured my sight.
    4. Are you still being charmed by the world’s delight? (cf. Col.3:1,2).
    5. When Paul uses the word "spiritual" (2:15), he means being led by the Holy Spirit and being taught by the Holy Spirit and being controlled by the Holy Spirit.
    6. The spiritual man "is judged of no man" (2:15), meaning no natural man can judge him. How can he? He cannot understand the spiritual man for the same reason he cannot understand the Bible – "they are spiritually discerned" (2:14b).
    7. And if the natural man cannot understand the spiritual man – if the spiritual man is an enigma to him – how can he can judge him (or discern him – see Scofield margin)?
    8. The spiritual man has "the mind of Christ" (2:16). Do you have the mind of Christ?
    9. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to point men to Christ and to magnify Christ. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour?
    10. You cannot understand the things of God until you are saved by believing in the Son of God!

CONCLUSION:

  1. The famous German composer Felix Mendelssohn once visited a cathedral containing one of the most priceless organs in Europe. He listened to the elderly organist for awhile and then asked permission to play.
  2. "I don’t know you," the organist said. "We do not allow strangers to just walk in here and play this organ."
  3. After awhile, Mendelssohn was able to persuade the man to let him play for a few minutes. As the great composer played, the cathedral was filled with the most beautiful music. The organist had never heard anything like it in his long life.
  4. With tears in his eyes he said: "Sir, who are you. I have never heard anyone play like this before?" Mendelssohn replied, "I am Felix Mendelssohn."
  5. The organist was dumbfounded and said: "To think that an old fool like me nearly forbade Mendelssohn to play upon my organ!"
  6. God wants to make beautiful music in your life and in my life but we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us not be like that that old organist. Let’s not say "No" to God. He can draw beautiful melodies out of your life if you will let Him.

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