WILL THE REAL MAN PLEASE STAND UP!
1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
INTRODUCTION: the apostle Paul has spent the beginning of his letter laying down his foundational thinking regarding the necessity and priority of the message of the cross. He has declared that divisions in the church were a result of forgetting the message of the cross. He has declared that real wisdom is discovered by embracing, not rejecting the message of the cross. And, he has declared that God’s message and wisdom concerning the cross are not attained by human means, but by divine revelation and personal interaction between God and man.
Paul now moves on to answer what must have been a nagging question in the minds of the Corinthians, “What does it take to understand what God wants to teach us?” Paul answers this reservation by describing three types of men, and their relationship to spiritual truth, and walk with God.
I THE MAN WITHOUT THE SPIRIT (The Natural Man)
A The kind of man he is
1 Literally – “A man who is living”
a A man who has breath
b A man who has consciousness
c A man who has never progressed in his spirit
2 An “earthbound” man
a A man who is ruled by what binds him to earth
3 A natural man
a A man who is morally corrupt
1) Not a man who cannot do good things
2) A man who good things are tainted on a more basic level
3) Human nature apart from God
B What kind of things he does
1 He is a man who rejects what God offers
2 He is a man who rejects God’s wisdom, while seeking his own
a “I did it my way”
3 He along with Adam fell from perfection
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
C How he stands before God
1 He cannot produce good
Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
2 He cannot please God
Romans 8:8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
3 He does not accept the things of God
a Does not recognize them for what they are
b Rejects them for what they are
1) Literally – they are not welcome
THE NATURAL MAN IS A MAN WITHOUT THE CAPACITY TO ACCEPT AND UNDERSTAND SPIRITUAL THINGS. HE IS A MAN WITHOUT CHRIST, AND DESTINED FOR HELL.
THIS IS THE MAN/PERSON THE CHURCH MUST REACH OUT TO IF HE IS TO HAVE ANY CHANCE AT ETERNITY.
II THE MAN WITH THE SPIRIT (The Spiritual Man)
A In order to know God, he has established a relationship with God
Romans 11:34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
B The kind of man he is
1 He is a man who is born again
2 He is a man who is living under the influence of the Holy Spirit
3 Not ruled by what binds us to earth
C The kind of things he does
1 He is able to judge situations biblically
2 He is able to discern biblically
3 He allows the Holy Spirit to reveals God’s wisdom to him.
4 He is obedient to God’s revelation
Philip. 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
D How he stands before God
Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
THE SPIRITUAL MAN IS A MAN WHO, THROUGH THE WORK OF CHRIST IN HIS LIFE, IS ABLE TO VIEW THE WORLD AROUND HIM FROM A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE, ABLE TO MAKE BIBLICAL JUDGMENTS AND DISCERN BIBLICAL PATTERNS FOR HIS LIFE.
III THE MAN BELLIGERENT AGAINST THE SPIRIT (The Carnal Man)
A The kind of man he is
1 He looks like a believer, but is unable to grown as a believer
a Notice Paul addresses him as a brother
b Paul addresses his problem – are not spiritual
c Paul addresses his state – infants in Christ (not mature)
Interesting to note: Paul is bringing an issue to light that we sometimes forget….
ü The cross work of Christ is concerned with our justification – our standing before God
ü The cross work of Christ is also concerned with our sanctification – our daily walk with God
2 He looks normal, but suffers from a spiritual disease
a Today we would call this failure to thrive.
b Receives nutrients, but does not grow
c Slow growth is a concern to Paul – should be a concern to us.
“ I understand that we all grow at our own pace, but we all need to have a pace at which we grow.” Sherry noticed one day, that through no cause of our own, our house plants were growing better than they ever had before. Now understand that sherry had them on a schedule. They were sat on a windowsill, and received sun and water regularly. They looked ok, even healthy. We assumed that this was the way they were supposed to look and that they were the size they were suppose to be! Well, for some reason unknown to me, Sherry moved them downstairs to our bedroom. Now everything else is the same. Window faces in the same direction, watered the same was. The only difference was that this room is a cooler room. Guess what? We have (actually Sherry has) had to repot some of these plants because they are growing too big for their pots. Now imagine that. All that was keeping them from growing was a little cool air!
Now, can I suggest, that perhaps the reason we are not growing is because we need to make some small adjustment in our lifestyle? Hmmmmmmmmmm!
B The kind of things he does
1 Quarrels like children – what’s mine is mine, what’s your is mine too!
2 Controlled by own desires – acting worldly
Notice:
ü Jealousy – Carnal feelings
ü Quarreling – Carnal activities
ü Result in divisions
IF YOU WALK AROUND FLAPPING YOUR HANDS AND CLUCKING, SOMEBODY IS GOING TO BELIEVE YOU’RE A CHICKEN – MAYBE YOU!
Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Galatians 5:25-26 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
C How he stands before God
1 He maintains his worldly side
2 He mimics the natural man
3 He looks like the natural man
AND HERE IS THE REASON. EVEN AS A BELIEVER HE STILL HAS HIS EYE ON GOD’S SERVANTS RATHER THAN HAVING HIS EYE ON GOD HIMSELF!
Romans 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:4-7 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
Above all else, if we are to be the church God wants us to be, we will have to make an effort to keep our eyes off each other, and put our eyes on Jesus.
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