1 CORINTHIANS
Chapter 2, Verses 1-5
“The Power Of The Gospel!”
[3-1-22]
Review: “Lord, Help Me Not Be A Wise Guy!”
1 Corinthians 1:27-31) [NAS] but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28) and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are,
29) that no man should boast before God.
QUESTION: What is this passage telling us?
ANSWER: God didn’t save you because you’re so smart; He saved you because He “has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.”
30) But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31) that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
QUESTION: How do we sum this up?
ANSWER: I’d rather be someone this world considers to be a fool than someone that God considers to be a fool.
QUESTION: What does it all mean?
ANSWER: I may not be wise according to the standards of this world, but God counts me as wise because I believe the Gospel message, and I have placed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Week’s Lesson: “The Power Of The Gospel!”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5) [NAS] And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3) And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
4) And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5) that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18) [NAS] For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.
18) For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
NOTE: 1:17) not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.
2:1) I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2:4) And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom,
QUESTION: What did Paul not use when preaching the Gospel to the Corinthian believers?
ANSWER: He did not use “cleverness of speech,” “superiority of speech or of wisdom,” or “persuasive words of wisdom.
NOTE: We shouldn’t try to win others to Christ by being clever or witty with our presentation, by using a presentation that we think demonstrates that we’re brilliant and ought to be listened to, or by a simple tactic of trying to talk the listener into something.
NOTE: We should present the Gospel in a clear, concise way and trust the Holy Spirit to do His thing.
1:23) but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,
2:2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
1:17) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel,
18) For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
NOTE: The Gospel is the message of the cross; it is the message of “Christ crucified.”
QUESTION: What is our Mission Statement at Walk of Grace Chapel?
ANSWER: “To carry the Gospel of His grace to the world; to the lost, that they might be saved; to the saved, that they might grow strong.”
1:17) but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void.
2:4) And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
2:5) that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
QUESTION: Why didn’t Paul use clever, superior, persuasive words to present the Gospel?
ANSWER: He didn’t want “the cross of Christ” to “be made void;” and he didn’t want the faith of those who heard him to “rest on the wisdom of men.”
QUESTION: How did he present the Gospel?
ANSWER: He presented the Gospel with the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
QUESTION: Why?
ANSWER: He wanted their faith to “rest” “on the power of God.”
2:4) and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, [MSG].
2:4) and my teaching and message were not delivered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God’s Spirit. [GNB].
2:4) And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them that the message was from God. [TLB].
QUESTION: What was the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” that Paul spoke of?
ANSWER: Note:
2 Corinthians 12:12) The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.
QUESTION: Again, what was the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” that Paul spoke of?
ANSWER: He could have been referring to the “signs of a true apostle,” as noted above, or he could have been referring to the Holy Spirit saving his listeners in spite of his lack of oratorical ability.
QUESTION: What is the Gospel, this preaching of the cross?
ANSWER: Note:
Romans 1:4) who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
QUESTION: Again, what is the Gospel, this preaching of the cross?
**ANSWER: It is the preaching of that portion of the New Testament that deals with what God has accomplished for mankind through the incarnation of His Son, Jesus, His sinless life which allowed Him to become the sacrificial Lamb, His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension back to Heaven.
NOTE: The Gospel shows the unbeliever how he can be forgiven for his/her sins and become right with a Holy God. The Gospel shows the believer how he can walk out his/her salvation through the power of the Spirit at work in him/her. The Gospel teaches us that we are perfected in our Christian walk the same way we got saved, by believing what God said about it [Galatians 3:2-3].
A CLOSING NOTE: This is what Easter morning is all about. We didn’t get saved; i.e., begin this Spiritual journey by gritting our teeth and trying harder to keep the Law; and we don’t grow into Spiritual maturity that way either. Rather, we were born again by believing the Gospel message and Spiritual growth will only come the same way, by believing that the cross has forever changed who we are, and walking out that change by believing His “precious and magnificent promises” that were given us so that we could partake of the Divine nature and escape the corruption of the flesh [2 Peter 1:4]. Remember, this is a righteousness “that is by faith from first to last” [Romans 1:17] (NIV).
1 CORINTHIANS
Chapter 2, Verses 6-16
“Spiritual Truth Only Comes From The Holy Spirit!”
[3-6-22]
Review: “Lord, Help Me Not Be A Wise Guy!”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5) [NAS] And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
3) And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
4) And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5) that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
Romans 1:4) who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
QUESTION: What is this Gospel, this preaching of the cross?
ANSWER: It is the preaching of that portion of the New Testament that deals with what God has accomplished for mankind through the incarnation of His Son, Jesus, His sinless life which allowed Him to become the sacrificial Lamb, His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension back to Heaven.
NOTE: The Gospel shows the unbeliever how he can be forgiven for his/her sins and become right with a Holy God. The Gospel shows the believer how he can walk out his/her salvation through the power of the Spirit at work in him/her. The Gospel teaches us that we are perfected in our Christian walk the same way we got saved, by believing what God said about it [Galatians 3:2-3].
This Week’s Lesson: “Spiritual Truth Only Comes From The Holy Spirit!”
1 Corinthians 2:6-16) [NAS] Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
7) but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8) the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
QUESTION: What is different about the “wisdom” Paul spoke?
ANSWER: None of the rulers of his day understood this wisdom.
QUESTION: What does “to our glory” refer to?
ANSWER: Note:
2 Corinthians 3:18) [NAS] But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
(GW) —- we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
QUESTION: Again, what does “to our glory” refer to?
ANSWER: This “wisdom” Paul spoke about was a wisdom that taught us how to become glorified [Romans 8:29-30], which glorification begins at salvation and culminates when “we shall see Him just as He is” [1 John 3:2] [NAS].
QUESTION: What is this “wisdom”?
ANSWER: God, in the person of Jesus, dressed Himself as man, kept the Law, died for our sins, and resurrected three day later so that “whosoever” would put their trust in Him would be saved.
NOTE: In other words, this “wisdom” is the story of the Gospel; i.e., the message of the cross.
9) but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10) For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
QUESTION: What are those “things” that Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4 to mention?
***ANSWER: They are “things” that eyes, ears, and hearts had never seen, heard, or understood before, but are now revealed to us “through the Spirit” revealing them to the Apostles, and they to us.
QUESTION: Is this talking about our glorification in Heaven?
1 John 3:2) [NAS] Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is [One of my favorite verses; it should be one of yours].
QUESTION: Again, are verses 9-10 in our study talking about our glorification in Heaven?
ANSWER: No! We don’t understand all that we shall be when we get to Heaven; so, those are things that haven’t yet been revealed to us.
QUESTION: Then what are verses 9-10 talking about that had been hidden previously but is now revealed to believers?
ANSWER: Those “things” that have been revealed to us are the mysteries of the Gospel. The Gospel explains to us how a just God could save fallen man without becoming unjust. The miracle of salvation, i.e., the Gospel story, is discussed thoroughly by Paul in the Books of Romans and Galatians.
11) For 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 Spirit of God.
12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God,
QUESTION: What is Paul saying here?
ANSWER: You think things that no other human knows you’re thinking; some of those things are good, some are bad. You know what your thoughts are, or as Paul puts it, your spirit, i.e., the real you, knows what you’re thinking. In the same way, the Holy Spirit knows every thought of God.
QUESTION: How have we come to know/understand these mysteries?
ANSWER: We know them because the Holy Spirit now lives in us and reveals these “things” to us.
13) which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
QUESTION: What is the idea here?
ANSWER: The reason Paul’s preaching sounds foolish to the unredeemed is because he’s expressing “spiritual thoughts” with ‘spiritual words.”
14) But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
QUESTION: Why can’t a “natural men” accept these truths that are so simple to us?
ANSWER: These truths can’t be understood the way that some come to understand mathematics and grammar. They can only be understood through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION: What is my point here?
***ANSWER: If you understand some Spiritual truths it’s not because you’re brilliant; it’s because the Holy Spirit has revealed them to you by grace.
NOTE: If you know some Spiritual truths and you think you’re all that because you do, then you don’t know anything yet.
1 Corinthians 8:2) [KJV] And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
(CEV) In fact, people who think they know so much don’t know anything at all.
15) But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.
16) For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
QUESTION: What is Paul’s point here?
ANSWER: We who are saved, and therefore Spiritual, can understand these things. However, the unsaved will be unable to understand us, and they will render judgments about us that we should not be discouraged by.
QUESTION: Why do we understand Spiritual truths?
ANSWER: The Holy Spirit has revealed them to us, and we now have the mind of Christ.