1 Corinthians 2:10-16 The Spirit Is From God!

1 Corinthians 2:10-16  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?  In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”  But we have the mind of Christ.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  Of course, the cross, the resurrection, and the concomitant works of salvation are considered by the natural man as foolishness.  Why would men and women need a savior?  Why would a God, if there is such a being, demand us to be different from what we are?  Why are we, his creation, unacceptable to him, the Creator?  He created us; we did not make ourselves.  All of these thoughts of a sinful mankind and the need for salvation through Christ are foolishness to the natural mind.  Some in religious circles, even in the Christian community, consider the supernatural events of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins as a story concocted by men that never actually happened.  They believe such ideas are an anathema to sensible thought.  But Paul says, talking about the resurrection, a supernatural event, If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.  But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.  (1 Corinthians 15:13-19)  Without the cross, without the resurrection, Jesus is just a good man, who had good thoughts, but definitely not the Son of God, and definitely not someone who deserves our complete adoration and service.  Some would even consider him a mad man, delusional at best.  But because He conquered death and rose again, we know him as the perfect Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord.

We who are alive IN CHRIST depend on the Spirit of God in us to know what life is all about.  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.  Without God's Spirit in us, we will always be hinged to the perspective of the world that exists around us.  But IN CHRIST, we begin to understand a spiritual world, one that exists beyond our human senses, beyond our physical reality.  The book of Acts gives us a detailed account of the Spirit coming to abide with God's people.  The Spirit of God fell on Jesus' followers in different locations, on the Jewish brethren as well as the Gentiles.  The Spirit fell on those who had been baptized and on those who had yet to be baptized.  Acts reveals the Spirit of God coming to Earth to abide within men and women, those who had their temples cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  Of course, all of this happened by faith in Jesus and his works.  This reality is spiritually discerned.  It is foolishness to the natural man.  But we have the mind of Christ, for we are IN CHRIST: HE IN US AND WE IN HIM.  When Jesus was going back to heaven, He told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the gift the Father had promised, For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 1:5)  Then on the Day of Pentecost, the sound of a mighty wind filled the place where they waited, and God kept his promises: All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  (Acts 2:4)  Those who walk with the Lord today have that same Spirit within them to teach, to guide, to comfort, and to open their minds to the perfect will of God.  Jesus told his disciples that He had to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to them, yet He comforted them by saying, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  (John 14:26)  The Holy Spirit continues to teach and to help us today as we read the Word, when we gather in Christ's name, whenever we lack wisdom, and when we share the Good News with others.

While the natural mind often rejects spiritual realities and does not want to accept the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of believers, we know the Spirit is alive and real because He dwells within us.  As we read in our text for today: no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  As people of faith, filled with the Holy Spirit, we believe God's Word:  For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God.  Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.  I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.  He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.  (1 Corinthians 14:2-5)  Paul speaks of two supernatural acts of the Spirit given to us by God: tongues and prophecy.  Both require the Spirit of God to use our body's mechanism: the larynx is used in both situations.  One, tongues, is not understood by the speaker, but he or she is speaking to God by the Spirit, understood only by God.  The other, prophecy, is not only understood by the speaker, but also understood by those who hear him.  The unction the speaker receives from the Spirit is the same in both situations, but one message bypasses the natural thinking processes of the speaker; the other uses understandable language to reveal the message to all men. The origin of both messages is the Spirit.  They were not merely a product of the speaker's good intentions, ability, or insight.  Tongues is for the edification of the individual with no need for the Spirit to interpret unless the tongues are spoken in a body of believers; then there should be an interpretation.  Prophecy is a message that the Spirit desires the body to hear.  He places the thoughts into language so that all can understand.  Both are Spirit driven.  Both come out of the mind of Christ within the person, for God's purposes.  We know the Spirit is real in us, for these events truly happen within the body of Christ.  They encourage, build up, and edify believers while glorifying God.  Bless you all as the Spirit works in your lives.