The Wisdom of the World and the Wisdom of God

Have me thank you so much to God for today, Father.

Thank you for all these blessed Saints before me, Father.

Their desire is is my desire. Lord.

We want to to worship you Father.

We want to put you on display. You're the most important thing

to us in our lives, Father, and it it's good to get together on

a Wednesday and together together as a as your body,

Father, and we know that you're honored whenever we get together

and and still your word Father. We pray that you would be with

us Father, and help us to open our hearts up so that we might

understand that the great truths of your word, Father, and help

us to leave us building. Father, thankful for who you are

and what you did for us on the cross.

We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.

So if you would open your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 2,

it's a a study that we did in our man's Bible stay together.

And I apologize for your man that was here for that earlier

study. I'll try to change a few things

around maybe to make it more interesting to you.

But we want to share with you the the wisdom of the world and

of God as as your notes. They hope you have your notes.

And we'll be talking about the wisdom of the world and compare

it to the to the wisdom of God. God's wisdom in comparison to

the wisdom of man. And certainly God has perfect

wisdom. He tells us through his word how

people should think and how people should believe.

But the world does the same thing.

They also have are trying to persuade us how we as Christians

should think and and should should believe.

But godly wisdom would certainly include the eternal plan of

salvation and eternal plan of, of his sovereignty and God's

plan for for his church. And we'll look tonight up about

how God wants us to to to run his church and how what we

should do as we humble our hearts as, as we serve it in the

church. But the world does make itself

wise. And one of the biggest

discussions right now on on the wisdom of the world today is the

discussion on the the new rule of artificial intelligence AI in

the world. This is the area that that

should we should focus upon as believers in Christ and the

world certainly is that they try to figure out how wise AI is and

they try to figure out whether it's good or evil.

Will it destroy us that will it make our lives better?

I think certainly we all agree that AI has some definite

benefits within the within the culture.

We have done some amazing and marvelous things, but we also

need to be aware that also, although it's called artificial

intelligence, there's only one who's ultimate intelligent.

He's the real intelligence, right?

He's a God of real intelligence, not some artificial

intelligence. He is all knowing and he's

omniscient, omniscient. He's all powerful.

But the unbeliever thinks that they are pretty, pretty

intelligent. They they think that they've

figured out and solve most of the problems within their own

lives. Unbelievers walk around even

right now thinking that they've figured it all out.

They have the answers to this life and the problem.

This would have been solved. Yet despite the arrogance, the

world is still trying to be extra smart, using AI, extra

intelligence to help give them perhaps a better ability to

solve problems and in a faster and and correct way.

What men should do though, however, is to look to God and

look to his word to help them to, to solve the problems.

And the concern that I have sometimes for the, the church,

for the believers in Christ is that they will look in the wrong

direction. And so let's say a look toward

God's word. They will look toward the

worldly wisdom of artificial intelligence, super

intelligence, which although it does do some amazing things for

us, certainly within the medical field, it's just a machine and

it's controlled by, by people's worldly thinking.

So we need to ask Christians out to be aware of what's coming,

our direction and, and to get in front of it, so to speak.

So we're not overcome by and we don't just do things because the

rest of the world goes to AI. Therefore, we should also, so we

need to make sure we think about this and consider the hearts of

two people that might be within the same room. 1 being a an

unbeliever who believes in humanly wisdom and the other a

Christian in the same room who believes in godly wisdom.

And the first man thinks of a question to ask AI and clicks on

the the dive deeper button. Who's ever seen the dive deeper?

That's what then, you know, Google search, dive a little bit

deeper into the AI. They click on that button and

Gemini 3 to try to get the answers to their problems, to

perhaps dive deeper into the entire knowledge of human

history. Every books that are written can

be searched by AI within a millisecond.

They have the whole world library at their hands.

How could you not succeed in finding great wisdom here?

And they click on that button and they wait half a second, but

the answer to come back amazed and marbled by this great

technology that can tell the answer to their problem.

And they answer according to the way it thinks.

And the person I believe in, the first person in the room,

believes it to to be true. He wants to search and he wants

a summarization of of human knowledge to help him solve a

problem or even to understand what is right and what is wrong.

The second man believes in God's wisdom instead of clicking on

the button, he opens up his Bible right.

He searches God's word and in God's infinite wisdom, which is

revealed within his word and God tells him clearly how he created

the universe. He he solves his problems to

reading God's word and obeying God's word.

He he bends his heart to obey what God says, what is right and

what is wrong. And while the AI machine tries

to to search the entire breath of human wisdom to to give an

answer on ChatGPT, God knows every question.

God knows every answer. He knows exactly what's going to

happen even before we even think of the question, even before we

verbally think about it or write it down to a computer.

God knows all things and we need to make sure that we we think

about this. I asked AI the in Gemini 3 this

question in a deeper dive mode. Here's a question.

Who knows more, God or AI? All right, and here's the answer

I came up with. It says some philosophers and

tech enthusiasts argue that as approaches super intelligence,

it may eventually mirror some traits we associate with the

divine, such as omnipresence through the digital realm or a

form of omniscience to access to all human data.

It says somehow super intelligence may somehow mirror

God in some way, right? You have all of the history of

mankind at your fingertips and we need to make sure that we

make sure we we go according to Psalms 139, which says you have

searched and known me. You know when I sit down and

when I get up, you understand my thought from far away.

You scrutinize my path and my lying down and acquainted with

all my ways even before there was a word on my tongue.

Behold Lord, you know it all verse John 320 but whenever our

heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and he

knows everything. We need to think about the topic

of AI and and our topic today is humanly wisdom versus godly

wisdom. We need to make sure we use our

Bibles as as a filter to block out the things from the world

which can possibly get to our heart.

We need to hold up our Bible to the TV and to music and to

movies that might try to get to our hearts, and our kids need to

do the same thing. If it can't get through God's

Word into it, through what it says, and we shouldn't believe

it. It's a filter that we use to

block out the ways of the world. We trust upon our Lord in His,

in his ways. But the AI within the church is

something to think about within our church.

But last Sunday we had a nice, very good meeting with Tim and

with AJ and elders discussing the topic of AI usage within the

church. And pastors, you know, could

possibly misuse it and say, give me a message, you know, write or

write your whole message that pastors can.

I'm sure some, some people do use that.

Some people just might use that in our world today.

Because believing in Christ, we need to to consider these issues

and let us not marvel over a machine, but over our God

instead, Let us not seek the answer to our pause by clicking

a button on the device within our pocket and to make sure we

keep our focus within God's word.

And our topic today, as you can see, is First Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. And Paul has the same issue in

his time as we do within ours. Let's go ahead and pray before

we read. We read first Corinthians 21 to

16. Have me.

Thank you so much for God, for thy Father be with us in our

time. Father, help us to look through

your word. Father, see how we should

actually bend our hearts. Lord, Paul says.

And when I came to your brothers, I did not come with

the period of wisdom, order or wisdom.

Proclaim to you the witness of God, but determined to know

nothing among you except Jesus Christ, him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and it was

trembling. And my Word and my preacher were

not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of

spirit and power, so that your faith would not be in the wisdom

of men been the power of God. Yet we not speak wisdom among

those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of

the rulers of this age who are being abolished.

But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has

been hidden, which God predestined before the ages to

our to our glory, which none of the rules of this age has

understood. For if they had understood it,

they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, just as

written things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and

which have not into the heart of man all that God's prepared for

those who love Him. But to us God will build them

through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all

things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the

depths of a man except the spirit of the man which is in

him? Even so the depths of God no one

knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the

Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God's, that

we may know the depths graciously given to us by God,

of which depths we also speak, not in words taught by human

wisdom, but in those top of the Spirit, combining spiritual

depths with spiritual words. But a natural man does not

accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness

to him, and he cannot understand them because they are

spiritually examined. But he who is spiritual examines

all things, yet he himself is examined by no one but who has

known the mind of the Lord, that he will direct him.

But we have the mind of Christ. Paul is speaking to those within

the Church of Corinth, of Corinth, and he's trying to tell

them, explain to them how they need to direct their church and

to direct their hearts. And as you look at your notes,

you'll see Paul reminds them that they need to preach Christ

crucified. He reminds them that the

unbeliever cannot understand the wisdom of God not humanly

discovered. Point #3 explains to them how

God has used the Holy Spirit to show himself to us.

And last, your Lord tells us clearly in point #4 we have the

mind of Christ. And Paul is is reminded church

in Corinth that that before he left them, he was a pastor with

them for 18 months. He spent time come alongside

them and teaching them and, and showing them God's word.

And they, they were raised together in the church.

And he many people got saved within the Church of Corinth

before he left them. But while he preached them, he

did not do so, he says, with impressive words or with humanly

wisdom. He didn't do that.

He preached God's word. He says, you know, come to

Corinth as as other Greek philosophers did.

There was 50 Greek philosophers the time that would go into the

church into the area in the city of of Corinth.

And they would the Corinthians were very interested in

philosophy and the interesting the different Greek philosophers

that came that way. And while in the city of Corinth

would also, their thoughts would also spill into the Church of

Corinth, which was next to it. And so the church was starting

to be infiltrated with, with philosophical ideas.

They started to to to like the idea of Greek philosophy and

Paul says right here, I didn't come with with this superiority

of speech, he says, or of wisdom.

These humanly philosophical beliefs, they didn't come that

way. But now as it comes back after

18 months, these philosophies have crept to the church and

Paul feels a need to to address them.

He said he did not he he came proclaiming to you the testimony

of God, Paul says, I came proclaiming Christ.

I saw Christ. He testified what he he

witnessed. He's a witty test for what he

saw with Christ and what he heard and what he experienced.

He said that he is he witnessed that that how Christ changed his

heart. And one could imagine that that

Paul could have taken the opportunity with the Corinthians

during those 18 months as a pastor.

And he certainly could use the time to lift himself up and to

the congregation 18 months to do that.

And more people probably would have attended church in in

Corinth if he had done so, if Paul had spoken with, he says to

put his speech of wisdom, More people would have flocked to the

church if he had spoken that way with persuasive words or wisdom.

But Paul didn't do that. He made a willful choice.

And how he would preach to proclaim God's word, He would

proclaim. We had seen what he'd heard

experienced with Jesus Christ, but this text goes to show us

how we are to preach God's word and the focus of the mess that

we should have from from the pulpit how we are to to preach

the gospel and Paul states here not with superiority of speech.

Let's not be persuasive. The past should not be

persuasive of elegant people want to just hear him because of

his eloquence. We're not interested and

preaching about men's ideas or humanly wisdom, not in

persuasive words or wisdom. First Corinthians tells us in 13

one Paul says if I speak with tongues of men and if angels but

not have love, I become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

We always speak about God's word and share God's with out of a

heart of love. It goes to the motivation of the

pastor. We had to speak as Paul states,

that a word should be about Christ.

Let us, let us not be offensive on top of God's Word, which

already offends the heart of the unbeliever.

But he says quite clearly in verse #4 but he does so.

He says what? But in demonstration of the

Spirit and the power. That's what Paul did.

He spoke that way. He desired to be obedient to our

Lord, and he knew there was a Spirit of God that gave him the

power to do so, that God was the one that would change men's

hearts, as it did for those 18 months.

And he saw the amazing responsibility that that was

before him and that God had called him into Corinth, and

that now he was sending him on to another church afterwards and

was asking for the pastor stepping after him to also

preach God's Word. He saw God's larger plan than

than himself, and he was obedient to that plan.

He had no desire to preach with pride and a desire to to lift,

lift themselves up. He saw that that his heart was

changed by Christ on the road to Damascus, and that with a

converted heart he would preach Christ.

And he says, For I determine, know nothing among you except

Jesus Christ and him crucified. That was Paul's desire as it

should be our desire. 1st Corinthians 123 But we preach

Christ crucified to Jews, a stunning block into Gentiles

foolishness. And today we have people that

don't do that. You wonder what, what, what

would you do if you're the pastor for 18 months of a

church, right? What would you preach on, right?

I trust it wouldn't be humanly wisdom but we know there's many

pastors out there that don't use the time given to them, 18

months or whatever time might be to glorify God.

Many pasts today are influenced by the wisdom of the world and

their churches are based on humanly thinking based on what

they want to do to please the the culture around them that are

man centered gospel preaching churches and the world focused

their thoughts instead upon being self-centered rather than

upon being being God centered. But the wizard in the world will

creep into the church and it will try to influence the pastor

and pastors will sometimes try to compromise God's word and to

tickle the people's ears and to try to entertain the people and

try to please the people as they say within the within the

pulpit. Paul would have nothing of that

if I determined he thought wealthy about this.

I will preach nothing else, nothing else among you except

Jesus Christ and him crucified. He could have preached many

things about 18 months by heaven, something about man's

relationship to each other, but he said no, what the heart of

the gospel is Christ crucified. That's our salvation.

He didn't want to stray from the heart of the gospel and godly

wisdom is to preach Christ crucified.

Paul was determined to keep us in mind and it's hard focused on

Christ and so near. God wants our minds and our

priorities to be on the heart of the gospel and not about

anything else. Yeah, all all what we do and

testify is about Christ. We just speak about Christ only.

We have to be focused upon the cross and the sacrifice that

Jesus Christ made upon us. We have to reflect upon our

salvation and how Christ changed our hearts in the way they used

to be. Think about the eternal plan for

our life. Think about the plan for us in

our homes. Focus upon a larger perspective

than than ourselves and why It's great to to study many things

from predestination to ecclesiology.

The cross is the heart of the gospel that we need to speak

about to our loved ones. We love Christ, we cling to

Christ, He's everything to us. He died for us.

He's the heart of our lives. We must preach Christ crucified.

Without him we are nothing. And Paul says I determined to

know nothing else. Verse #5 he tells us why he

preached Christ crucified. Look at verse #5 so that your

faith would not rest on the wisdom of men from the power of

God, right? Your faith would rest on Christ

by his power He was determined to preach Christ crucified.

He doesn't warrant Timothy that in latter times some will fall

away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits

and doctrines of demons by means of the pockets of liars seared

in their own conscious as with the branded iron.

First Timothy 412 and Second Timothy 43.

Paul said the Timothy for the time will come when they were

not enduring Psalm doctrine but want to have the ears tickle.

They were killing for themselves, teachers, and

accordance to their own desire. But our faith in Christ does not

rest upon the wisdom of men. Not based on the false beliefs

that one can earn our salvation. Not based on the false belief

that that God is only loving and that He is not a judge, that He

is not as holy as He proclaims out to be.

Men want to make God less holy and themselves not as sinful as

they are. We need to pick Christ as holy,

holy, holy, and even more so than He is.

God's the holiest thing imaginable and know that your

flesh doesn't see Him as holy as He truly is, not on this side of

eternity. Someday you won't have this

flesh that wants to lift yourself up and to lower Him.

It'll proclaim and worship Him for the way He rightly is.

He's a holy, holy God. And Paul focused our hearts on

how we are saved. It's by the power of God, not by

any humanly wisdom and point #2 we see verse #6 to 9.

Paul says it's godly wisdom is not humanly discovered.

He says you will not speak wisdom among those who are

mature a wisdom. However, not this age.

You know the rule is age who are passing away.

But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which

God predest for the ages of a of our glory to our glory, the

wisdom which none of that will this age has understood both of

which they understood it. They would not have crucified

Lord of Jesus the glory verse 9 But just as written things which

I has not seen, ear has not heard, and which have not

entered the heart of man all the gods I prepare for those who

love him true wisdom godly wisdom.

It is not discoverable by humanly wisdom.

God's wisdom, and it is only revealed through his through his

word and through reveals to us. It's his eternal plan of

salvation. God's wisdom is Jesus Christ

crucified. God's wisdom is living our lives

by by God's desire and by God's will.

And he makes it quite clear that man cannot stand that without

the Holy Spirit to show them this to be true.

I like what JMX says in his commentary on this topic.

Far as a man not be able to understand J Mac, John MacArthur

says is impossible for a lesser creature to understand a more

advanced one. How can anything understand

something more complex and advanced than himself than

itself? For a flea to understand a dog

it would have to be at least at advance of the dog, but a dog to

understand a man it would have to be at least advance of the

man. How much greater distance is

there between creature and creature?

Men can't imagine what God might be like, and people have plenty

of ideas about him. Almost everyone has an opinion

as to what God is or is not like, or as to whether he even

exists. But man's opinions are

irrelevant because they can never be more than speculations

by his own resources. A creature cannot possibly

comprehend his his Creator. You can't.

You can't possibly do so within your natural flesh, but God's

Word is a means by which the Christian cannot stand his

Creator and cannot stand who he is.

God's Word in his wisdom, the text says, are not this age nor

of the rules this age who are passing away.

Paul's making the point that mature believers in the church

can understand God's Word, but the unbeliever cannot.

The gospel, he says, will be foolishness to them.

God's wisdom is a mystery to them.

He says to the unbeliever, and 1st Corinthians 118 He said for

the word, the crosses flourish those who are perishing, but to

us who are being saved is the power of God.

God's wisdom is hidden wisdom to them because God chooses not to

reveal all of his nature to them.

He chooses in His judgment to keep some things hidden from

them out of His mercy. Otherwise He might have to have

more just upon their hearts. Says in verse #9 For if they

understood it, they would have could not crucify the Lord Jesus

Christ, the leaders of the Jews. Jesus was a stumbling block to

the Gentiles. The gospel was foolishness to

them. We certainly are blessed by

God's mercy to to understand the gospel which is given to us.

And then Paul calls from Isaiah 64.

Four, you see there things which eyes have not seen, the ears are

not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man.

All that God appeared for those who who love him.

God's word it eternal wise plans prepare for those who who love

him. He states that while men may not

send the gospel in their own flesh and abilities, they cannot

send the gospel that has been given to them.

As he preached the gospel to to the unbeliever.

It's a Holy Spirit and the word of God.

He's switching his thoughts now, the work affecting the heart of

of the unbeliever. And we're going to examine a

little closer now the Holy Spirit's role in helping us have

godly wisdom, the Holy Spirit's vote and conferring the heart of

the unbeliever. Because man cannot and will not

come to God on on their own free will.

Man is free to act and to choose within the boundaries only of

his own sinful nature. He will not come to Christ nor

desire to be with God, but God by his mercy has come to mankind

and to the power of the Holy Spirit.

He prompts man's heart to change and to and to believe.

Point #3 godly wisdom leads to man's salvation, certainly, but

the Holy Spirit is the one that shows us Himself.

And He does throw through, first of all, revelation.

The Holy Spirit helps have godly wisdom and to see who Christ is,

converting the heart of the unbeliever.

And God does that through His revelation, because God must

reveal Himself to mankind, because man has no desire to see

anything else but Himself. If God has not opened His heart

to help him to see Him God, man will stay within the same place

He always has been, condemned to go to hell forever.

But consider God's neither communication or revelation to

mankind. And our God has soon decided

that in this unique way, His Word, He will save mankind and

convert His heart through revelation.

And He does do through the Holy Spirit.

Verse #10 the text says for to us God reveal them to the Spirit

for the Spirit switches all things, even the depths of God.

Who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of

the man which is in him. Even so the thoughts of God no

one knows except the the Spirit of God.

Paul focuses the cringes of minds upon the amazing rule of

the Holy Spirit plays in in their salvation.

He wants them to lean on the Holy Spirit and not on being

divisive. First four chapters about

cringes about them being divisive and how some would say,

well, I am Apollo, I'm a Paul, I'm Apollos, I am a Peter.

I am. They are making divisive

factions in Group within the Church of Corinth and dividing

themselves that way, thinking that the person they're

following is the person that should lead them, Paul through

the hearts. No, it's the Holy Spirit that

has changed your heart to begin with.

We are not to be divisive within within the church.

We are focused upon Christ, upon Christ crucified.

So Paul spoken to hearts upon the Holy Spirit is the means by

which we should lead within the church.

That means by which we should serve within the church.

He said the Spirit is all things in deaths of God.

The Holy Spirit knows our thoughts better than than we do.

And while we certainly know it ourselves very well, God knows

us more. He knows every bit about us.

Men are taught in and learn that learn through the Holy Spirit

and God's word must be read and understood for men to be to be

saved. More specifically, God used Holy

Spirit reveal himself through through his word.

Do you know what it means? People are not saved through

watching a Christian movie. People not saved through

listening to a Christian song on the radio.

They're not saved by having a dream.

These things might inspire people to read God's Word.

They're not even saved by a person coming through their door

and knocking on their door. But people don't say people.

It's only when a person reads God's Word and believes God's

Word, not the person who's preaching but rebelieves God's

Word, Not the preacher, not the person who's talking before

them. While they might have

credibility in their eyes, they must believe God's Word to be

true. To be saved.

You must push God's word forward to them.

Have them read God's word for themselves that the Holy Spirit

might might convert their hearts, might convert their

souls. Romans 10/17 says so faith comes

from hearing and hearing by the the word of Christ that that's

our focus when we share with with our loved ones, we focus

with friends. They need to read God's Word,

and your job and my job is to put God's Word before them.

Certainly they see our testimony example as a Christian that has

an influence upon their hearts and adds reliability to what

we're saying. But so much better for them to

read God's Word on their own than for us to preach to them.

God wants them to read God's way certainly, wants us to preach to

them, certainly, but God's words and means by which our hearts

are are converted. It's God's revelation that

reveals salvation to to mankind, and the Holy Spirit is a means

by which that is revealed to them.

First Thessalonians 213 For this reason, we also constantly thank

God that when you receive the Word of God which you heard from

us, you accepted it not as it would have been, but for what it

really is, the Word of God which also performs its work in you

who believe God's words without which performs the work not not

upon us, but the pastor is a tool to bring people to Christ.

The pastor is a tool that bring God's word to the heart of the

unbeliever, to the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that's that. That's what Paul is focused upon

to the Corinthians. Let's not be divisive.

Think about the Holy Spirit and the rule which it converted you

think about Christ crucified. It's the word of God which also

performs work in you who who believe Peter said in first

Peter 123 For you have not for you have been born again, not of

C which is perishable, but imperishable.

That is through the living and enduring word of God is is it is

God's word that changes the hearts of people.

He was 412 for the Word of God, living, active and sharp than

any 2 edged sword. It's Word and piercing as far as

a division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, able

to do the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

It's it's God's revelation, and we need to see our role as we

think about God's revelation to bring God's Word to people.

They are not. They are not to believe upon

anything else, but upon the independent Word of God and the

Holy Spirit's the means by which men's souls are or converted.

But how does the Holy Spirit convert the wicked heart of men?

He does so also not through, not only through revelation, but

also due to inspiration. God changed the heart and

believer to revelation to become a child of God, but also through

inspiration. That's verse #12 but we have

received not the spirit of the world for the Spirit who is from

God, so we may know the things really given to us by God.

Paul says we have received this. It's inspired by US.

Men cannot discover God's truth within their own.

His truth must be given to men, and the Holy Spirit inspires or

transmits His truth to men. That's what I said.

That's what inspiration means do God's word God transmits his

truths to he inspires men inspired by God.

We know Second Timothy 316 all scripture is inspired by God and

popular for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for

training righteousness. So the man of God may be

adequate equipped for every good work.

The inspiration is from God. God's Word inspires men to

believe and He does do to the Holy Spirit.

Men must receive His Word, which has been offered up to them by

God. God offers it to the unbeliever

and He either accepts it or denies the Word.

I remember when I was in church with Linda, when I, before I got

saved, I would go into church and I would hear the passage to

an altar call and I would put my hands on the Pew in front of me

and count to 20, hoping he was done with this call.

And then I count the 20 backwards to 1 and just not

wanting to give, to give my heart to Christ.

I, I was battling the pastor and battling God and battling his

word in, in my life. But God calls us and talks to us

and reveals to us who he is, inspires us to give us his great

truths. And men have the responsibility

to, to bend their hearts to, to, to lean their hearts toward

Christ. And Paul's taught in the

Corinthians, God is the one who has inspired you to believe upon

him. You must receive his words,

which has been offered up to you by his grace and offered up to

you by his mercy. God's word is grace and mercy

given to the unbeliever. It was given to us by his grace

and and mercy. Paul tell the Corinthians, now

we have received this. He tell him in order for God to

to be received by men, he must first offer himself up to man as

he has. He wants him to see that it is

God who is, who is reaching out to man, not man reaching out to

God. We have received the Holy Spirit

so that he says we may know the things freely given to us.

Verse #12 that which is freely given to us, His grace, His

mercy, His kindness. God reveals us to us so we might

see it and also we might be saved.

We must have the Holy Spirit transmit His great truth to us

as we read it, His word. We see His grace, we see His

mercy, we see His sovereignty within our lives.

We see how He's personal place He has and the people He has

used in our lives to bring us to salvation.

And I trust you could name numerous people that we're

instrumental in in your life and brought you to Christ in one way

or another. We see that, we understand.

God reveals Himself to us. He transmits or inspires His

great truth to us. Then He also illuminates our

minds. He opens our minds.

He changed the heart of the unbeliever to become a child of

God through the process of illumination.

That's verse #14 Paul says. But a natural man does not

accept things of the Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, for their

force to him you can't stand. They come there they because

they are spiritual praise. But he who is spiritual

appraised all things. He himself is appraised by no

one, for who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will

instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ.

The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.

And some people will read God's Word which has been offered up

to them, and they choose not to receive God's Word into the

hearts. And we look at them now like,

what were you thinking? Why don't you see the grace of

God? We see that today, the beauty of

the majesty of Christ. It's in our hearts.

We see that, and our loved ones don't see that.

Their minds can't comprehend that.

They can hear God's Word and choose not to receive it into

the hearts. We think of the parable of the

soils and how God's word, when the soul goes out to sow the

fields, the seed he drops, which is God's word, falls upon the

hearts of men. And the seed he drops falls

either on hard soil or rocky soil or a thorny soul soil.

And they choose not to to receive His word.

They love their sin. They love the life that they're

living. They're no better or worse than

than you and I who had the same motivation, same thoughts in our

hearts. They choose not to receive God's

Word well. The parable also tells us that

some sea will fall upon good ground, good soil, and some

people will receive God's Word well.

These people that receive it well are not better than anybody

else. They chose by God's grace and

mercy, to open the hearts to illumination of God into into

the hearts. God is the one that illuminates

the unbelievable mind to see God understand that Jesus is their

only savior, the only way of salvation.

This is the gospel of illumination, great spiritual

truths to be able to understood to the Holy Spirit, to the

unbeliever's heart. He understands.

He opens his eyes just a little bit to see understand and a

little bit more as God illuminates his mind.

Tech says because they are spiritually appraised, the

process of man's salvation and regeneration can be seen in this

process of of illumination. Open their minds and men

certainly must repent to be saved, but God more must open

their eyes before they they can repent and they can't believe.

Luke 2445 Then you open their minds so that they could

understand the scriptures. Second Corinthians 4/6 for God

who said let light shine our darkness made his light shine in

our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in

the face of Christ. He illuminates our minds.

The worldly wisdom. On the other hand, the way the

unbeliever thinks is he doesn't want his mind illuminated.

The unbeliever thinks he's pretty good, doesn't need his

eyes opened up to understand right.

I was offended when I had my name on a prayer list.

I'm a church. How dare you pray for me.

I don't want. I don't have a problem, I don't

need anything. Open my mind, it's already

opened already. I have great knowledge already.

They don't even have AI right? Worldly wisdom.

If anything, the unbeliever today needs to be more woke,

more woken up to ideas of liberalism and being progressive

and accepting of that which is sinful in the hearts and their

minds. God chooses out of His glorious

mercy to illuminate our hearts, and He does so also by

convicting men of their sins. John 16-8 And he, when He comes,

Holy Spirit, will convict the world concerning sin and

righteousness and judgment concerning sin, because they do

not believe in Him. Paul's pushing the point.

You have the Holy Spirit that He build us himself to us and stop

being divisive with within the church.

But the Holy Spirit while it does convict men's of their

sins, the unbelievers soon does not want or see the need for the

heart to be convicted of their sins.

John tells us in John three, they love their sin, they love

the darkness, they love the way they are.

It's a miracle that anybody has any change within the hearts

because they're so devoted, loving their sins, so passionate

about who they are, thinking so much that they are right and

they're thinking how can anybody's heart possibly be

changed by a pastor, evangelist sharing the gospel with them?

It truly is a miracle that someone's heart, it is

converted. John 319.

This is a judgment that light has comes to the world.

People loved the darkness rather than light.

For the deeds were evil doesn't say they like they love the

darkness they're deeply in dwell within their sinful nature.

They're like pigs walling within the mud and enjoying the

simpleness of the hearts. That's where we once were.

And God, by His grace and mercy, opened her eyes so we might see

that we were like the pigs wallowing in the mud.

He helped to see who called wonderful and all holy, and how

gracious and how mercy and how kind He is.

And He changed our hearts. The Holy Spirit convicts men of

their sin. He also changes the heart of man

at Jeremiah 24/7. I will give them a heart to know

me, for I am the Lord, and they will be my people, and I will be

their God, for they return to me with their whole hearts and

without a new heart. We would think and believe the

same way as we used to. God, by His grace and mercy,

changed our hearts so that we think differently now.

Our heart's desire is to follow Him.

Our heart's desire is to obey Him.

Our heart's desire is to go to church and to read His word and

to pray and to worship Him. We did not desire these things

before. God changed us.

He changed our hearts. He gave us a new hearts, He

helps to think differently. We love him now, we love him

back. Well first He loved us and

before we hated him. Whether we send those words or

not, now we love him back, we love him back then.

He caused our hearts for men to believe and to have faith.

Here is ways when men has a responsibility in this salvation

process to believe and have faith.

Here was men exercised their free will to to either receive

God's word in good soil or poor soil.

Men do have responsibility and the free will to to listen to

the preacher and to read God's word and to accept into the

heart that they are accountable to God for the the choice that

that that they make. The men may still choose to

reject reject his Christ. The hearts may still have be not

be moved to a place of accept of God's great truths.

But as God has grand the ability to believe in the 1st place, to

have faith upon him. It is a gift given to us by God.

We believe and we repent and we confess because God is given the

ability to do so. But man still has a, a, a

decision to make in that process, to confess and to

repent. Man's process, God's process.

John 110 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar

and his word is not in us. That is the heart of some

unbelievers. God's a liar.

I'm not a lying. God's a problem here.

I'm not the problem here. John says if we have not say

you're not sin, you're saying he's a liar and God's wish, it

is not in you. But God calls men to confess

their sins before him and to repent of their sins, to

repentance. Out of mercy comes the ability

for men to see their sins, to see that they're wrong, to see

if they need to change, to confess their sins, to get right

with God, to believe that He is their judge, and to believe that

there is a hell awaiting them if they don't confess their sins

and get right before our Lord. Luke 923 is such a great verse

on repentance. Our Lord says and he was saying

to them, if any wish come after me, he must deny himself and

take up his cross daily and follow me.

God allows men the ability to repent.

What's an amazing concept Think about that God allows men the

ability to repent. Does he have to No you can give

him what they deserve. He allows men the ability to

repent in the 1st place to change their hearts.

It's a great thought to have to think about the significance of

that, that God allows man the ability to repent in the 1st

place. And lastly, he he makes us a new

creation. Saint Francis 517 Therefore, if

anyone cries, he is a new creature.

The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.

Paul wants him to focus our hearts on how to serve in the

church. Stop being divisive, stop

focusing upon yourselves. See how Christ changed your

heart. See what the Holy Spirit's done

within you. See how he's going to use you.

You're a new creation as we have become a new creation, our

hearts desire and now changes. We now desire to try to to live

for Christ. I love Galatians 220.

Look at that verse if you would. Such a great verse in scripture.

It's it's a life verse. It's a, a verse to live your

life by now that you have a a new heart, Paul says in

Galatians 220. I am in crucifer with Christ

that no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me the life

which I now live on the flesh. I live by faith and the Son of

God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

God's the one who has changed our hearts.

We see that we've been crucified with Christ.

We are now. We are part of who he is now.

It's no longer we who live a Christ that somehow lives within

us. That's our motivation as we

serve within the church. Christ lives within us as we

serve. And now I live in the and the

light which I now live in the flesh.

I live by faith now. And the Son of God, seeing that

he is the one who loved me and gave himself up for me, that's

how we serve as we answer the doors on Sunday, we think God

love me. He gave himself up for me.

I have been crucified with Christ.

Let me go to my ministry. Let me walk this way or that

way. Let me sit within the pews and

hear our pastor preach the word knowing that I've been crucified

with Christ. No longer I live, but Christ who

lives in me. I'm a new creature.

I'm a new creation. God's changed my heart.

And God does change the heart of unbeliever to become a a child

of his. He does this to his through

godly wisdom and not by man's worldly wisdom.

Lastly, Paul hits the last point that the hammer on the nail in

verse 1516. We have the mind of Christ, the

heart of the Scripture, but he who is spiritual praise all

things, get himself the praise by no one.

For who has known the mind of the glory that he once struck

him? But we have the mind of Christ,

the natural. The natural mind does not know

the mind of Christ. He can't think God's thoughts.

And the unbelievance? They would make make fun of the

gospel. They would make fun of us as

believers in Christ. When they argue with you, they

try to, they say things which are opposed to God's Word

because that's the way the hearts are.

They are not arguing with us, but ultimately they argue with

God and are not wanting to have the hearts changed.

They think so differently than we do.

Paul says we have the mind of Christ, an amazing statement

that he gives to us. We are believers in Christ,

think the same way that Christ does.

We feel the same way Christ does.

That which God desires, we desire that was God wants, we

want. We want his will on heaven as it

is the earth. We desire everything that he he

desires for us. It's one of the the greatest

sentences ever written, the Bible.

We have the mind of Christ. We now have, we all knew his

creation. We think like Christ.

We now desire what he desires and God allows us amazingly in

some manner to partake in his thinking.

Why would God do that? Why would allow us to partake in

his thinking? To have the mind of Christ

speaks of His desire to have relationship with us, to want to

be part of of His divine prerogative.

He shares part of His chemical aspects with us.

He wants to have a dear relationship with us.

He wants us to see who He is and understand why why He does what

He does. Desires for us to see Him and to

love Him out of out of free will and free choice.

God desires that we come to Him desires that we be with Him for

all eternity and Paul wants a Corinthians and us within this

church to stop being divisive, not that we are device which we

we are not, but not stop looking towards the wisdom of men as can

potentially happen within the church, even our church as we

surf the Internet as we look for the things which marvelous as

you click on AI and wait for the answer to come.

What can the answer be? Here's my my answer.

Yes, there's the answer. I get to follow the answer now.

No, Paul wants our minds that focus upon him.

God wants the Corinthians and us see the beauty of His salvation

plan. He wants us to see how we are to

serve within the church in Corinth and also church within

Christ Community Church. God has changed our hearts in

the same manner. By His grace and His mercy, the

Holy Spirit has changed their hearts so we might serve within

this church. By His sovereignty.

He brought us to this church by his instruction.

We are we have the ability to obey His word and we will serve

within his church, always leaning on God's power to help

lead us. Let's go in and pray heaven.

Thank you, Lord God, for the time you gave it to us.

But time to think about Corinth and Paul and his desire, Lord,

to correct your church Father. So in our hearts desire, Lord,

that we might also Father be corrected when you see a need to

correct us, Father. Our hearts desire is to see you

Father and to love you, Father, and to see how you brought us to

this place for a purpose and a reason, Father, and help to see

how we are to serve within your amazing church.

Father. Help us to to love each other

within the church. Father, help us to to see how

you brought our such a wonderful pastor, Father with desire to

preach a word to us, Father, and to help us to to grow closer to

your words, Father. His desire, Lord, is that we

might grow in Christ grace and mercy.

Father, that's where our hearts lay.

Father, we're thankful for your salvation.

We're thankful for the church and for the many blessing you've

given to our lives. Father, for truly you've been a

great and wonderful God. Our desire is to praise you and

worship you for all eternity. Lord, we pray these things in

Jesus name, Amen.