Sometimes the words we speak just don't connect with the person to whom we are speaking. During the first week of basic training, an army drill sergeant was explaining what was in store for his squad during the next two months. One young private raised his hand and asked, "Sergeant, when do we get our guns?" The drill sergeant quickly corrected him. "Private, we don't have 'guns' in the army. We use the M-16, A-1 Military Assault Rifle. If I catch any one of you calling the M-16 a 'gun' I'll have you drop and give me 50 pushups. Now then, Private, repeat your question." The young man nodded and then said, "Yes Sir, Sergeant. When do we get our guns?" Friends, I don't know about you, but Nancy and I have had similar experiences with our boys. We tell them something, we think they hear and understand, but their actions soon show they really did not get it. Some of you women would claim that happens on occasion with your husbands as well.
I also believe that those of us who seek to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ will sometimes have this type of experience as we try to encourage people around us to put their faith in Jesus Christ. We may work very hard at explaining the Christian gospel to someone, making sure we use words which are very clear. That person may seem to agree with everything we say, but then all of a sudden he or she says something which makes us realize that what we have said has not connected at all. Has that ever happened to you? I remember talking to someone about how one becomes a Christian. I shared that all of us are sinners who deserve God's wrath, but that the Lord offers us salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I said a person becomes a Christian not by trying to do things for God, but by receiving what God has done for us. I even shared my illustration of how Jesus has taken the test for us, and we need to ask God to record His perfect score in place of our failing score. I thought he was right with me. I then asked, "Would you like to become a Christian?" His reply was, "I don't think I'm good enough to be a Christian." Nothing I said had connected. The person spoke English, he was intelligent, he knew what the words I was using meant, but he did not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why not? Why can't some people "get it" when it comes to the Christian gospel?
Well, I think we find an answer to that question in our text today. As we continue our journey through 1 Corinthians we come to Chapter 2:6-16. In this passage the apostle Paul explains why the Christian message just doesn't connect with some folks. Now, I'm going to give a little warning. Some of you maybe won't like Paul's answer to our question, but I want you to pay close attention to what he says, because it has some very important implications for us as Christians today. Let's pause and pray that God would speak to us through His Word.
The New International Version heading of this passage is "Wisdom From the Spirit." Here Paul is making three basic points. #1) God has a plan, a wonderful plan that people often don't understand. Last week we talked about how the way God has chosen to save His people is seen as foolish by some. But in reality, it is a demonstration of His great wisdom. 2:6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. In other words, Paul's message makes sense to those who are spiritually mature, but to other folks, including people in high positions, it seems like foolishness. 2:7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. This secret wisdom that Paul speaks of is no doubt the same as the mystery which he refers to in his letter to the Ephesians. This is the truth that was once secret, but now has been revealed. Yet, 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. This is really the ultimate irony. The secret wisdom is that God would send His own Son, Jesus, as the Messiah and that Jesus would bring salvation through His death on the cross. If the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers would have understood who Jesus was, they would have never crucified Him. Yet, by killing Him, they carried out God's plan. But it is no surprise that folks don't recognize Jesus as the Messiah; no surprise that they scoff at the cross as the means of salvation, because people have often been blind to what God's purposes are. Paul quotes from a couple of verses in Isaiah 64 and 65. 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him --" God has a wonderful plan of saving all who put their trust in Jesus Christ and bringing them to an eternal home in heaven. That is the gospel, the great news. Yet, people are ambivalent to it. They don't seem to care. They don't seem to understand this marvelous message of grace.
However, #2) through the Holy Spirit we can understand what God is doing. 2:10a ...but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The secret wisdom, the mystery of the ages, has been revealed to Christians through the Spirit of God. Paul then explains how this works. 2:10b,11 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. His analogy is very simple. I can't really know what is going on inside your head. I don't possess that type of telepathy. I can't look at Roger and say that I know he is thinking about what he is going to have for lunch. Roger is the only one who knows what he is really thinking. In the same way, God is the only One who fully knows what God is thinking. Since the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, is part of the Trinity, He knows the mind of God. OK, then 2:12 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. As Christians, we have been given life by the Spirit and He dwells in us, changing our perspective, giving us understanding into God's purposes and plans, helping us to see that the cross of Jesus Christ is not foolishness, but the most magnificent wisdom one could ever imagine. That has happened to each one of us who is a believer in Christ, and it was certainly true of Paul. Thus, 2:13 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. Paul's message, the gospel of Jesus Christ, grows out of his experience with the Holy Spirit, and is thus in a real sense a "spiritual message." That may seem to have a kind of "New Age" ring to it, but it is not. Paul means spiritual with a capital "S." The gospel is the Holy Spirit's message, it is a message from God. This leads to Paul's very solemn conclusion.
#3) Without the Holy Spirit, people don't understand what God is doing. 2:14 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. That is a strong statement. The non-Christian, the man without the Spirit, doesn't accept God's message. He considers it foolish, and he can't understand it because of its spiritual nature. In contrast, 2:15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:.. Because as he says at the end of Verse 16, "..we have the mind of Christ." The Holy Spirit enables us to understand spiritual truth, enables us to get it. A person who doesn't have the Holy Spirit, a person who is not a Christian, lacks that ability.
To summarize briefly, God's plan of salvation through Jesus, the gospel, can only be understood by those who have been given the Holy Spirit. The person without the Spirit, the natural man, the non-Christian, the unregenerate person, will not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. It will not connect, they won't get it. Now, I need to acknowledge that a few folks interpret this passage very differently. They maintain God's secret wisdom is not the gospel, but some deep spiritual truths which are ignored by many Christians, but which truly spiritual Christians are able to grasp. As you might guess, folks who see the passage this way have often thought they were these elite Christians with this special spiritual understanding. And as you also might guess, these folks often end up in bitter conflicts with those in the church who don't see things their way. I'm not going to take time to go through the numerous reasons why I think this interpretation is off the wall. I will just say that I am confident this is not what Paul means, and if you think I am misunderstanding this text, then I would love to talk to you about it.
So back to our original question. Why don't people understand the gospel? Why don't some folks "get it" when it comes to Christianity? Why are not people excited to embrace the great news of salvation in Jesus Christ? The answer: People don't understand the gospel because they don't have the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, the message seems foolish to them and they can't really grasp it. Or to look at it from another angle, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,... Only when God's Spirit works in our life, only when the Spirit opens our blind eyes, only when He softens our hard heart, only when the Holy Spirit revives us from a spiritual coma, are we able to embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This seems to be Paul's clear answer to our question. My guess is that he may have raised some other questions in our minds, so let's address three of those.
#1) Is it really true that a person without the Holy Spirit can't understand the gospel? (Verse 14) Don't many folks understand what the gospel means, but then choose to reject it because they don't like what it means? Don't some people refuse to receive Christ because they want to continue to live in sin and run their own lives? Paul would say, "Yes, indeed, but they don't really understand the gospel. Oh, they may understand it in their head, but they don't understand it where it really counts, in their heart." Friends, if I preached a sermon in Finnish, Swedish, or Italian without an interpreter, most of you could not understand what I said. But the Christian message is not in a foreign language we have not learned. The gospel is proclaimed in a language where everyone can understand what the words mean. Many folks who are not believers can give an excellent summary of the message, but they really don't understand it. They often see the trees, but miss the forest. Anyone who thinks they are better off doing things their own way; anyone who would choose to trust in themselves rather than in Jesus Christ, really doesn't understand the gospel, even if they have a perfect grasp of it in their minds.
#2) Don't we get the Holy Spirit after we believe in Jesus? How can you say we need the Holy Spirit to believe the gospel? In some ways this is a "Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?" question, but let me try to answer it. Some Christians think that a person is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, is born again, and then after that happens, receives Jesus as Savior. Others say, "No, people receive Jesus as Savior and then they are given the Spirit and become born again." We don't have to get bogged down today figuring out who is right. Even those in the second group, those who think a person believes and is then born again, acknowledge, or at least should acknowledge that the Holy Spirit did some type of work in that individual before he or she responded by believing in Jesus. My friend Millard Erickson puts it in this order: First, God through the Holy Spirit calls an individual to Himself, then that person responds by believing in Christ, and then God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit and he or she is born again. I want to focus on the first part. The Bible makes it very clear that no one believes in Jesus Christ unless God's Spirit first works in them. As Jesus says in John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,..." John Calvin said no one can understand or embrace the gospel without the Holy Spirit giving him spectacles of faith. The gospel looks very fuzzy and unattractive until we put on these spiritual spectacles or glasses. Once they are put on, however, we then see how beautiful the gospel is and we embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Whether we label receiving those glasses as being called by the Spirit, being regenerated by the Spirit, being enlightened by the Spirit, or being convicted by the Holy Spirit, doesn't matter. What is important is that we understand that without this work of God's Spirit in our lives, none of us would ever become a Christian.
#3) Doesn't God give everyone an equal chance to receive Jesus as their Savior? Some Christians, Arminians, claim that God works in every person's life and at some point He seeks to draw each and every one to Christ, giving them the ability to understand and believe the gospel. Other Christians, Calvinists, say no, that is not the case. Many of you know where I stand on this issue, but it is not one that I am going to dive into this morning. The point I do want to make is this: Our text makes it clear that not everyone has the capability of receiving Jesus Christ at this moment. When Paul refers to the man without the Spirit in Verse 14, he is not talking about an imaginary figure. There are real people, maybe one of your friends or family members, who at this time can't understand the gospel message. No matter how hard we try to explain it to them, they will not get it. Will God give them the ability to do so in the future? I don't know. But as of right now, they are incapable of becoming a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ, because the Holy Spirit is not giving them the ability to understand the gospel in their hearts.
OK, this maybe seems like some pretty heavy stuff. Let's talk about the practical implications of what Paul has said. #1) We need to pray for people we know who are not believers in Jesus Christ. Most of us in this room have some friends or family members who don't seem to have any interest in Christianity. Maybe we have been puzzled as to why they are not attracted to something we believe is so important. The reason they are not interested, as we have seen today, is because the Holy Spirit is not currently opening their eyes to the truth and beauty of the gospel. What can we do to help change that? A one word answer: Pray. Pray that God would open their eyes. Pray that God's Spirit would work in their hearts giving them a desire for the truth. Pray the Holy Spirit would give them an ability to really understand who Jesus is and what His death and resurrection mean for our lives. There may be other things we should be doing as well, but none any more important than praying for the people around us who are not believers in Christ.
Friends, next Sunday, both here and at the retreat, you will hear about something called the "Lighthouse Movement." The focus of this multi-denominational effort is to get people praying for their neighbors who are not Christians. I think it is a great idea. Paul has reminded us that when we pray for those folks, we need to be praying that God would draw them to Himself. Who are the people you know that you should be praying for? Friends? Family members? Someone at school? Someone at work? Some neighbors? Maybe it is someone you really don't like. In Matthew 5 Jesus tells us we are to pray for our enemies. Praying that God would open the eyes of someone to the truth of the gospel -- someone we don't really like -- is a great thing to do. Oh, not all of us are called to be evangelists, not all of us are called to be pastors or Sunday School teachers, but I believe all of us have been called to pray for people in our lives who are not believers in Christ. I encourage you to make sure you are doing that.
#2) We must share the gospel with everyone, even if we don't think they have the ability to understand. What we have talked about doesn't mean we can be lazy in telling others about Jesus Christ. We can never know for sure who the people are who can't understand the gospel. Yes, talking to some people may be like talking to a brick wall, but we can't tell just by looking at someone that they are spiritually blind. Those whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit don't have a halo over their heads, nor do they exude any special aroma. We don't know who God is preparing to hear and embrace the gospel, so we need to share this great news whenever we have an opportunity to do so. In fact, I would argue that if God is providing us an opportunity to talk to someone about their relationship with the Lord, it is a pretty good sign that the Holy Spirit may indeed be working in his or her life, drawing that person to Jesus Christ. Yes, we need to be sensitive and not try to push that person farther than God intends. Sometimes, rather than insisting someone should receive Christ, we should simply help them get one step closer to Jesus. Instead of always trying to hit a home run, we sometimes should try for a single. But, we should never assume that it is futile to talk to someone because we don't think God is working in their life. Even if they have been very closed to the gospel in the past, the Holy Spirit may now be working in their life.
#3) If you are not a Christian, you need to pray that God will open your eyes. Someone once said to me, "Dan, I would love to believe all this stuff you are telling me about Jesus and Christianity, but I can't. I want to, but I can't. It just doesn't make sense to me." My advice to that person was to pray. Pray and ask God to help you make sense of Christianity. If you have been listening today and you realize that some of the things I have said about trusting in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as Lord and Savior doesn't really make sense to you, I urge you to pray. Just ask God to "open your eyes," to give you those spiritual glasses which will help you see clearly who Jesus is and what His death and resurrection mean to your life. I also encourage you to talk to me or someone who would be willing to pray for you. I'd also be glad to try to answer any of the questions you might have. Believe me, understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ, really understanding it, is about the most important thing you can ever do.
#4) If you are a Christian, praise God for what He has done in your life. J. Vernon McGee used to tell a story about a boy who wanted to join the church. One of the deacons asked him, "How did you get saved?" His answer was, "God did His part and I did my part." The deacons thought he might not understand salvation correctly so they questioned him further. "What was God's part and what was your part?" He said, "God's part was the saving, and my part was the sinning. I done run from Him as fast as my sinful heart and rebellious legs could take me. He done took out after me till He run me down." He was so right. In fact, that is how all of us who are Christians have been saved. Not only has Jesus died on the cross in our place to save us, but the Lord is also the One who enables us to receive the wonderful gift He has provided. Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- Let me illustrate this way. Let's say this dollar bill represents the salvation that God offers us through Jesus Christ. Now, I realize that salvation is absolutely priceless, but we will just pretend it is represented by this dollar. The Lord gives the invitation and says, "Everyone who would like to receive this salvation, please come up front and take it." But we just sit there. Maybe we are not paying attention; maybe the words don't make sense to us; maybe we assume He is talking to someone else, but for whatever reason we just don't get it. At that point, because of His grace, God goes to work through His Spirit. The Spirit doesn't wait for us to come to Him, He comes to us. He takes us by the hand, whispers in our ear so we understand what is going on, and enables us to receive the gift of salvation that He offers. That is amazing grace. A grace that accomplished our salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection, and a grace that applied that salvation to our lives as the Holy Spirit enables us to embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Praise God for what He has done in your life! And as we live each day dependent on God's amazing, saving grace, remember, all the glory belongs to Jesus.
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