Well, our text this morning will be in 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. 1 Corinthians. I think we've all experienced those times in our lives when we wish we had an additional word from God. when we received something extra. And of course, usually we maybe feel that way in the course of a particularly difficult season of life, maybe some really critical, what we feel are life-altering decisions that stand before us, and we wish that there was some additional information. When I was in high school, one of my good friends was making decisions about college. And he and his father came to differing opinions on where he should go to school. And so his father suggested that they flip a coin. And they did. To make this decision. They ended up going to the school that the coin didn't indicate. So I'm not sure how that all worked or how that plays out or what the moral of the story is. But in some sense, they wanted something extra, right? Some extra indication. Sometimes we take comfort, I think, in circumstances, right? I went to the restaurant, and the menu was green, and all the lights were green, and we're choosing houses, and the one house is green, and so maybe it's an indication that we should choose the green house. Or we have this sense of peace that we feel sort of comes over us, and that gives us some measure of comfort moving forward. We love to have or to think that there's something extra that is there giving us guidance and direction. Paul spoke into this kind of a context in 1 Corinthians 2. He starts off by saying that he didn't bring some sort of a whiz-bang message that would appeal to the intellect, but he came preaching the message of the cross. But I believe Paul was, and I think the text here bears it out, Paul's writing to a group of people that were looking for something extra. And he talks to them in this section in 1 Corinthians 2 about the Holy Spirit's work in bringing direction and wisdom into the life of the believer. And so that's what we want to consider today. The good news here is that the Holy Spirit is involved in conveying wisdom to the believer. Now, we need to understand what that means, but that's good news. And that's Paul's pronouncement here to the church. The Spirit there in John 14 is identified as the Spirit of Truth. So in the midst of all the other activities of the Spirit, one of the activities of the Spirit is in this arena of truth or wisdom. Now wisdom is the skill of living. It's one of the key words in this text. So it's good that we understand it. It's the skill of living. It's more than just knowledge. It is good judgment. in the challenging circumstances of life. The ability to discern the best course when faced with many different options. That's wisdom. Some have said it's knowledge for living or knowledge for how I carry out my life. Practical knowledge. Wisdom. And the text here indicates that wisdom is available to us And so we want to ask ourselves the question, how do we avail ourselves of God's wisdom? How do we connect with the things that God is wanting to teach us and impart to us? Let's begin here in verse 6. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 6, yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom. I'm saying we are conveying wisdom to you as the people of God. So the first thing that I believe we have to do in order to avail ourselves of this wisdom is to grow up. What is the qualifier here? Yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom. The teaching of the Word of God. God's wisdom benefits those who are knowledgeable and discerning and experienced in the Christian life. He's using a number of categories here for different groups of people. Here he talks about the mature. He's going to talk about believers in general in this passage. He's also going to talk about unbelievers. So you have all these different groups of people, but those who are able to receive God's wisdom are those who are mature. Proverbs certainly has a lot to say about this when it comes to wisdom, that a wise person receives counsel right it's a fool who rejects rebuke or admonition or instruction in other words a person has to have a certain posture in order to effectively receive and benefit from truth or wisdom. And I think that's at least in part what Paul is saying here. That there is wisdom available for those who are in a place to receive it. Many had remained spiritual infants. And that was actually part of the overarching point of what Paul is getting at here. As we look into chapter 3, Paul kind of comes out and says this. He says, unfortunately, I'm having to address many of you as infants. You ought to be mature by now. You ought to have a rich understanding of the gospel, and it ought to be something that has been grafted into your life, that your lives bear the pattern of the cross of Jesus Christ. But unfortunately, I'm having to address you as spiritual infants, as babies. Of course, we can think about what that looks like, what immaturity looks like. It's generally oriented around selfishness, right? I want what I want. It often is marked by a desire for immediate gratification. I want what I want, and I want it right now. And the message of the cross doesn't resonate well with that kind of a mindset. So are you a mature believer? Are you one who has laid aside your own selfish agendas and your own temper tantrums and your own demands for your way? Are you in a position to receive God's wisdom? Because certainly the same is true today, perhaps more so than even in Paul's day. Certainly when we look at the broad spectrum of evangelicalism in our country, it's been said that it's a mile wide and an inch deep. We're a culture that is given to ease, to pleasure, to having our own way. We're used to getting things quickly. We're used to getting what we want. And we often view the church as a dispenser of goods and services. It is there to please me. It is there to fulfill my needs. That, my friends, is a childish, self-centered way of thinking. The cross is not simply about a series of perks and privileges that I receive. It's about a calling to pick up my cross and to follow Christ in the way of the cross. And that's not often a message that comes naturally to us. As a matter of fact, it doesn't come naturally to us. So if you're going to receive God's wisdom and really understand His guidance for living, then you're going to have to grow up. And I think a great place to start, a great question to ask ourselves, where am I in terms of my ability and orientation to receive the wisdom that God wants to provide for me. Been gone for too long, I forgot I gotta click slides. Alright, so grow up. Number two, let's look here in verses, the end of verse six here. Although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away, but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age Understood this for if they had they would not have crucified the lord of glory But as it is written what no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man imagined What god has prepared for those? Who love him? So number two distinguish between the wisdom of this age and the wisdom of god So paul says there is a wisdom available for the mature for those who are in a place to receive it and However, it's not the wisdom that you might normally think about. He says, I'm not talking about the wisdom of this age or the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away. The wisdom sourced in people here is fleeting. In other words, it says there's a wisdom that's circulating and it's wisdom that is adopted by the influential people in our society, by the chief scientists and by the most prominent politicians and by the latest musicians. There are messages being conveyed. There's all sorts of wisdom that is available out there from our culture but it will quickly come to nothing. It is a mirage. It is cotton candy. It will vanish in your mouth, right? It's nothing. The wisdom that Paul is talking about, the wisdom that we ought to strive for, is the wisdom that comes from God. Wisdom revealed by God is eternal wisdom. And so he's creating that contrast. He wants them to make sure they're clear on what we're talking about here. It goes on to say how the rulers of this age, a little question as to what that means, whether it's the influential people of this world, kind of the main spokespersons of our godless culture, right? They don't embrace God's wisdom. And the case study in all of that is the cross. He draws attention to that. Otherwise, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. They didn't clearly understand God's plan. They had a different idea, a different notion of how things should go. And the cross was at odds with that. And so the cross becomes the great symbol here distinguishing the wisdom of the world and God's wisdom. The cross is foolishness to those who are wise in this world. It's a symbol of death. It's a symbol of brokenness. What could possibly come of this? In what sense is this a beautiful thing or a powerful thing? It's a symbol of weakness. But this is the wisdom of God that runs counter to human wisdom. Jesus said this in Matthew 11. At that time, Jesus declared, "'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.'" So there's this sense in which God has hidden Himself from the wise. He's covered their eyes and He's revealed Himself to little children, to the simple. But it's about this idea of something being revealed. The wisdom that Paul's talking about is not wisdom that comes from within us, our own ingenuity and our own unique thoughts and insights, but it's a wisdom that we never would have stumbled on, we never would have understood ourselves. It's a wisdom that has been revealed to us. we ought to resist the temptation to pursue the world's wisdom. There's so many messages that we're receiving in our culture, so many different philosophies that are being put forward, certainly in music and in entertainment, in the academic world. And we need to make sure that we are pursuing not simply the wisdom that comes from the heart of people, but that we are pursuing God's revealed wisdom. We also ought to be careful that we don't confuse our own intuition and thoughts with God's wisdom. Bible tells us Jeremiah, Prophet Jeremiah says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. A thought that originates from us ought to be viewed with tremendous suspicion. There's a sense in our culture to say, just be true to yourself. You don't want to be true to yourself. That's bad advice. Because our natural indications and inclinations are away from God. And so something that seems good in my mind may or may not be a wise course of action. I need to look to the wisdom that has been revealed to me, even if it doesn't jive with my own sensibilities. God's wisdom is true, enduring wisdom. So we need to grow up. We need to be in a place to receive God's wisdom that He is making available to us. We need to make sure we're distinguishing between the wisdom of this age sourced in people and God's wisdom which is revealed to us. Let's look on here in v. 10. 1 Corinthians 2.10. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the Spirit of that person which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God." And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit. Interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. So number three, rely on the Holy Spirit to help you understand God's revealed wisdom. The study we're in is considering the work of the Holy Spirit, and here we come to it in this particular portion of the text. God is making wisdom available to the mature. Let's be careful and be sure we understand what type of wisdom we're talking about, right? And it's the Spirit who accomplishes this, right? These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. So we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to help you understand God's revealed wisdom. Now trace Paul's thoughts here. Only the Spirit knows the depths of God. There's a great phrase, the depths of God. Paul cites this in the doxology in Romans 11 as well. Who has known the mind of the Lord? It talks there about the depths of the wisdom and riches of God. Who can understand God? I mean, I can't understand any of you. I have an inkling every once in a while. But I can't crawl inside your mind and your spirit and really understand what's driving your decisions and why you act the way you do and why you are afraid of certain things or why these things frustrate you. Those are things that you might let me know if you trust me and we have one of those conversations, but I don't know that. I can't understand that. We certainly could not probe the depths of God Who do we think we are to somehow understand the mind of God? To think that we could develop a sense of God's truth and the things that are important to God, and how God has designed His universe to work, and moral decisions, and what is in tune with the heart of God. We can't discern these things. Only the Spirit knows the depths of God. Only your spirit knows the depths of your heart. And only the Spirit of God knows the depths of God. And then he goes on to give this great declaration. We have received the Spirit. We've not received the Spirit of this age, but we have received the Spirit who is from God. Verse 12. So only the Spirit can understand the depths of God, and we have received that Spirit. This is shaping up. This is very exciting here. And then he says the Spirit helps us understand God's revealed truth. Now, this is one of the things I want us to really get a hold of here this morning. Don't miss this. Look at some of the words here. V. 12, the Spirit who is from God. We've received the Spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given us by God. I believe that's a reference to the Gospel, to the Word of God. It's been freely given. But it's the Spirit who gives understanding, who helps us understand God's Word. Notice v. 13. And we... I think that's a reference to Paul and maybe the apostles as a group. And we impart this in words. So, Paul's talking about the message of the Gospel. The Word of God that has been conveyed to them. We impart this in words. Not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit is the one who is teaching us and instructing us. But there's an objective content. There is the Word of God that is in view here. It talks there about the work of the Spirit in interpreting spiritual truths. So you have the message and the Spirit is helping us to understand it, helping to interpret it, to bring it to bear on our hearts. What I'm suggesting to you is that the Spirit's primary work is not to convey new mystical revelation, but to help us understand God's revealed truth. often called the doctrine of illumination. Consider what's going on just in the broader context here. If we look back up to the beginning of chapter 2, Paul has been teaching them. He's actually going back a little bit in history. He had helped to establish this church. So he goes back and talks about the message that he brought to them, the message of the gospel. Notice chapter 2, verse 1. When I came to you, Brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That was his message. Verse 3, "'And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' So I came to you with a message. The message of the cross. The message of the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ. And I didn't come with some cleverly designed argument or some emotional manipulation. I came to you with this message in the Spirit and in power. In the power of the Spirit. The Spirit was active to bring this message home to your hearts. It was the Spirit who was going to convince you and convict you, not my words or my charisma. I think very clearly here we see the work of the Holy Spirit tied to the revealed Word of God. I don't believe this text is describing some mystical experience. There are times in Scripture when the Spirit does work in very unique and overt ways. And we could trace some of those, particularly in the early church. We could look at the Spirit directing Philip. to go out and to connect with the Ethiopian official, right? The Spirit was sort of transporting Philip, directing him in very overt ways. I think if you look at Acts chapter 10, you'd see Peter, this Jewish this Jewish disciple, Peter, who is being directed by the Spirit to go and talk to a Gentile centurion named Cornelius, to take the gospel for the first time to the Gentiles. And Peter was struggling with this, and the Holy Spirit made it quite clear that this is what he was to do. We could look at Paul in his missionary journeys. He comes to a point where he decides he's going to go down into Ephesus, down south into Asia Minor, to the capital city, and we're told that the Holy Spirit prevented him. And then he was thinking, okay, let's see, strategically I could go up into the north country, up into Bithynia. and the Holy Spirit prevented him. So we can look at some instances, particularly in the life of the early church, where the Holy Spirit had very overt extra revelation, as it were. So that certainly is within the arena of the Spirit's work. But I'm suggesting to you that the primary and normative work of the Spirit is not to convey new information, but to open our eyes to what God has already revealed to us in His Word. So notice a passage like this in Acts 10.44, while Peter was still saying these things. This is the encounter with Cornelius. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word. The connection between the Spirit and the Word. I'm struck by this in Revelation 2 and 3. You have the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. And these letters were communicated by Jesus Himself. He wrote to these churches, talked about their strengths, talked about their weaknesses, encouraged them, confronted them. The words of Jesus, the very words of God, And yet at the close of each of those letters it says this, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Ephesians 6.17, And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Word of God is the Spirit's weapon of choice. So that is God's normative and primary means of conveying His wisdom is through His revealed Word. And the Holy Spirit illuminates and gives us understanding of that Word. So grow up. If you want to receive God's wisdom, put yourself in a place to receive it. Give up your own selfish agendas. your own childish thoughts and ways, and be willing to receive God's wisdom. Learn to distinguish between the wisdom of this age and the wisdom that has come to us from God. Two very different things. Rely on the Holy Spirit to give you understanding into God's revealed Word, God's revealed wisdom. Number four, let's look in the final two verses here. Verse 14, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." Do not allow God's wisdom to be subverted by mere human wisdom. Once again, Paul sets up a contrast here. This time, not so much between the world's wisdom and God's wisdom, but between the natural person and the spiritual person. The natural person being an unregenerate person, an unbeliever, a person in their natural state. The spiritual person is a reference to a believer, specifically to one who has been indwelt by the Spirit of God. Everyone who comes to genuine faith in Christ is made alive by the Spirit. They are now a spiritual person. They have spiritual life. So he's contrasting how unbelievers and how believers view and process God's wisdom. Unbelievers reject it. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. And he goes on to say, not only don't they accept it, they're not able to accept it because the Spirit hasn't opened their eyes. So again, it's foolishness, it's folly to them. The cross, again, the cross is foolishness. to an unbeliever. To us, the cross is the power of God. It's the source of our redemption and our salvation. It's the way that our sin has been atoned for. It's a beautiful and wonderful, it's the most powerful thing. God has defeated death in the cross, but an unbeliever sees none of that. It's foolishness. Why would they embrace the cross? But again, verse 15, this spiritual person judges all things. The spiritual person has a greater understanding now because of the Spirit. And that's, I think, the key exhortation there. The spiritual person judges all things, but it's himself to be judged by no one. So we must not allow God's wisdom to be subverted by human wisdom. There's always going to be a tendency and a challenge for us to want to take God's truth and to accommodate it. To want to make it fit this latest scientist's theories. To somehow bring it under the latest models of political correctness. and to subvert God's wisdom under human wisdom. And that's what v. 15 is talking about. The spiritual person judges all things. Don't give up the high ground. We've received God's eternal, enduring wisdom. Don't settle. Don't allow that wisdom to now come under a weaker human wisdom. He closes with that great question, which is really coming out of Isaiah 40, verse 16, for who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him? The answer is no one, right? No one understands the mind of the Lord. That's the point of the Isaiah passage. But then saying, but we have the mind of Christ. Because of the work of the Spirit, we are able to understand, have our eyes opened to God's truth and His wisdom. We have the high ground. Don't give up the high ground in this area of wisdom. So God has made His wisdom available. It is accessible to the mature. It must be distinguished from the many counterfeits that this world offers. It is found in His revealed Word, and it should not be surrendered in any way to the world's wisdom. I want to close this morning in perhaps a little different way. I want to highlight a song. But I'll have to be honest with you, it's a song that I don't know very well. I'm just trying to get a handle on the tune. And sometimes when we're trying to learn a new song, the tune can become a bit distracting. We're trying to figure out the tune, and we're not paying attention to the words. So I actually want to show you and just read through three verses of an 18th century hymn. It was written by William Cooper. We've talked about Cooper before, a great hymn writer. Suffered with depression and so a lot of his a lot of his songs seem to Be his way of drawing comfort in the solid Nature of the gospel and this this particular song Touches on our theme here this morning the spirit breathes upon the word. That's the name of the hymn The spirit breathes upon the word and brings the truth to sight. Precepts and promises afford a sanctifying light. The hand that gave it still supplies the gracious light and heat. His truths upon the nations rise, they rise but never set. The hand that gave it, that's the hand that gave it. The hand that gave the scriptures still supplies the gracious light and heat. Right? Allowing us to see it and to hear it and to feel it. The hand that gave it still supplies the gracious light and heat. His truths upon the nations rise. They rise but never set. Let everlasting thanks be thine for such a bright display as makes the world of darkness shine with beams of heavenly day. God's goodness has been shown to us in the giving of His Spirit to help give us direction in His truth. The reality is God has given us something extra. We long for it. We long for clarity in decisions. The reality is that God has given us His Spirit to give us unique insight and understanding into His Word that we can live and make decisions and choose with the mind of Christ. Amazing, amazing truth. Will you stand with me as I read the benediction this morning? Colossians 3. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs or songs of the Spirit, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. God's people said, Amen. Go in peace.