I have been so blessed by all the responses and know there are many more setting up gmail accounts so they can comment as well. On to chapter 2
"...Natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him." 2 Cor 2:14
That word receive means "to welcome" this verb is not about discovering the meaning but applying the meaning in my life. A life in the spirit is very much different than living life in the natural world. Many times I have been considered a fool for Christ. I remember my co-workers and friends telling me I was gay because I hadn't kissed my girlfriend (now wife) after dating for two years. The comments and looks people made when I walked away from my career to join the ministry gave a black and white understanding of having the mindset of Christ. The natural just doesn't understand the spiritual and once you've tasted a life in the spirit that natural world will forever be tainted. The problem is my mind has been trained and programmed in the natural world. Every day my prayer is that the spirit will transform my mind so that I may know Gods good, pleasing and perfect will for my life. (Heb 12:2)
Last night we had three pit bulls in our backyard and my natural man came out. My mind told me to kill the dogs or maybe that was my spiritual man. I don't know but I do know that when the Animal Control guy came and told me that he couldn't seize the dogs we had a heated conversation. All I can think about is my kids being malled by the dogs. Later we had the Neighbors outside all fighting to get the dogs out of the community. Let me tell you if Joe Hogan from 15 years earlier would have handled the situation I probably would have been the one they would be taking away.
Paul today is addressing the way we think and my prayer for us is that we would welcome the spirit to change our thinking so we can have the mind of Christ. How about you where is their an error in your thinking or how about testimony of you being made a fool for Christ.
A Fool For Christ,
Joe
v. 16 But we have the mind of Christ.
9 comments:
Stand on your head. What do you see? The view you get in this position is very different than when you're standing on your feet. That's simple enough. Before we have the mind of Christ our viewpoint is that of one standing on their head. It's not the view God intended for us to have, it's not "NORMAL" even though in our society it's the "norm". So when we are born again God turns our world rightside up, not upside down. NOW things come into focus and make better sense. Until this happens to a person they will continue to view things updisde down and some will have the audacity to tell you that you're wrong, confused, foolish, etc. Don't let that get you down for we are not subject to the opinions of unbelievers.(v.15) As a believer, KNOW that you have the right viewpoint and pray they will one day be fliped right side up! The SPIRIT is powerful!
Be blessed!
Hearing all this scriptural insight and feedback is incredible and beneficially habit-forming! My initial take from Chapter 2 is that no amount of wit, charm, etc. will win people to Christ; it’s only by the Holy Spirit dwelling within me.
My… "…faith should not rest with the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" [v. 5]
One realizes a point is being made when a word is repeated 5 times between 3 verses...in this case, that word being WISDOM. The wisdom that's inferred is the wisdom that should be sought after, which is the hidden[v.7] kind that's only revealed through the Holy Spirit; Paul kindly pointed out that if the leaders of that day HAD that kind of wisdom, Jesus wouldn't have been crucified[v.8]...(though was ultimately necessary...WOW. In just thinking about that paradox, how can you NOT fall deeper in love with the mystery that is God?)
Moving on....OK. Here is how I simplified the rest of the chapter:
As a man of God, I don't have the psychic ability to know the thoughts of people around me. Only the Spirit knows the individuals thoughts, and since that same Spirit dwells within me, I actually have access to the intimate thoughts of my Creator! He gave us His spirit so that we may know the things that were freely given to us by Him.
The scriptures are full of the greatness of God, coupled with adjectives like “deep”, “vast” and “omniscient”. But what Paul captures in this chapter is the essence of Gods love for each one of us at an incredibly intimate AND individual level. That assurance is all we need in life, something that puts into perspective absolutely everything else we do.
[v. 16] “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
Cheers,
numba 1
Good job Pastor Joe on this idea. It's great way to connect with one another and to really develop the one mind and speech that Paul talked about in Chapter 1. It's also a great way for us to connect and maybe shed some light on portions of scripture that at one time had either been confused with or looked at from a different view. This is sweet. So on to the devotion...
The first thing that stands out is that Paul is stating that it is not by excellence of speech or wisdom that he declares the testimony of God. It's interesting that this is coming from him considering he was at one time a man of the law, well versed in scripture and of speech. So the two things that he is denying himself in are the two things that he would of had strength in had he looked at it from the world's perspective. Interesting....
I also look at this and get the sense that its kind of refuting the idea that one can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior solely on intellect. No matter how much we "know" of or about God it still will not get us saved. But rather if all we knew was that Christ was crucified for us and we accepted that not only would we be saved but we would in my opinion be wiser than any non-believer on this earth because we know the hidden things of God, we know His mystery which can only be revealed by Him. What a trip huh?
I guess for me this chapter sets up the Holy Spirit and the importance it has in a believers life. It speaks to us, it gives us knowledge and wisdom that cannot be taught by books or other worldly things. i'm not dissing books at all. Just saying that when we listen to the Spirit of God we will have knowledge and wisdom beyond what we could ever read or be taught in.
That's my piece
Love you all!
Thank you Pastor Joe, for your prayers and your insight. I really liked reading this chapter. Its is nice to see the spiritual side of people. Have a Blessed day.
"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Col 2:2
I love this because before Paul got to Corinth, he makes a choice to forget everything he knows and let the story of a man named Jesus and His crucifixion. Paul being a very well educated man, and obviously "seen" as wise from what the bible has to say about his rankings with the Pharisees, makes the decision to forsake his wisdom and speak only basic facts which in itself is an amazing truth. He makes it clear that there is no need to dress up God's gift and Jesus' sacrifice with clever language. And what's interesting is that the problem Corinth isn't that their lives weren't changed by the gospel, it's that they got overzealous and lost sight of what was important. In many ways their hearts were in the right place. Sometimes we try so hard to bring something special to the table and offer up the best we can but we lose sight of the most obvious axiom. We can never be better than our creator. It's so simple but I think what God has been teaching me lately is the importance of His word standing alone. While I spend my time in it, I'm seeing more and more that if every statement that left my lips were birthed from scripture, my life and lives around me would change. I'm not saying that I'm going to tell my children one day, "thou shall not covet thy sister’s toys", but there is such a need for our generation to think about what we say, and to choose our words. What better way to do that than to pick from God’s words. It’s so hard but I think that is an area that I need to make a more concentrated effort in.
CHAPTER 2
SO,Paul preaches Christ and him crucified. He says he didn't use elegant words to persuade them. What he preached just had the foundation of gods word. His preaching were in demonstration of spirit and of power that their faith should be in the power of God. his meant that their faith did not rest on a mans worldly wisdom which is good for us because we can base our faith on god's word alone which is true and faithful.
I love verses 10-12: "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. FOR THE SPIRIT SEARCHES ALL THINGS, YES, EVEN THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD." Now we can know the things of God which he freely gives us. Which means we can know the deep thoughts of God. i mean how else but by God's spirit can we understand his word today. i think it is super that we don't have to rest assured in the worlds wisdom.
Faith in God is ALWAYS BETTER than faith in man.
Paul shows his true colors and motives with this one.
He lays out his mission and why he is doing all of this stuff.
"That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (vs. 5)." And how was he going to stir this faith in them? Look at vs. 4. "My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power..."
How often do I worry about my words when I am sharing Christ with others? The thing is, it's not by my power or anything i'm doing that they are enlightened anyway. It is only by the power of the Spirit in me. That's totally freeing when it comes to evangelism!
I am so thankful for the Spirit of God revealing His truth to me. I am so thankful that He searches all things inside of me so that I don't have to worry about "secret stuff" that might be in me. He knows already.
Dieu est bon.
nathan
Ahh... chapter 2! Here I go!
One of my favorite verses of the day - #3 - "I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling". WOOHOO even Paul gets scared too! We're not supposed to have it all together. We're not supposed to have the right degree and the perfect script, we just go as we are and that is how God works. Obviosuly Paul understood this. As long as we know Christ and Him crucified (verse 2), we can be used! The rest will come later.
Verse 6.... the wisdom of this age... I immediately think of the ways we try to simplfy our lives: feng sui, yoga, being a good person etc. All of these are our attempts (and sorry ones at that) to be wise and to gain knowledge, but it all comes to nothing.
True wisdom is to understand the mystery of salvation, and salvation for all people! God has prepared (vs 9) an abundant life of purpose for each of us and this is the mystery! I've been a Christian most of my life and therefore haven't really dealt with this myself but I have seen others be so blind to the mysteries fo Christ, even when he's staring them in the face. Our own thoughts, wisdom, etc clouds and pollutes our mind and keeps us from receiving Christ and his abundant life.
However, as we can see from the church in Corinth, that just because you're saved doesn't mean you're immune, but instead those thoughts/human wisdom can cause us to forget the mystery we once knew. This is why the Bible talks about how important it is to guard your heart and to check it regularly for any unseen stow-aways.
So once we know about the mysteries of Christ, we make ourselves captive to constant transformation that we may understand the things of God. We gain the new clothes, the new mind of Christ and the Spirit at the moment of salvation, but we must always renew it through teaching, listening and doing if we're seeking to be in His will.
Ok i think that's all. :)
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