5/10/26 “Taught By The Spirit”
“Taught by the Spirit”
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Can anyone tell me what kind of bird this is?
(Show pictures of Starlings)
Although Starlings are not very common here in North America, they’re found all over Europe, Africa, and Asia...
All 128 species of Starlings are known for their dark, iridescent feathers, and they have some of the most complex vocalizations within the entire avian kingdom.
....But - perhaps – Starlings are most well-known for is something called a Murmuration....
Anyone familiar with this term?
Murmurations are when flocks of starlings fly together in coordinated, swooping, and rapidly changing formations....
....often creating mesmerizing shapes in the sky...
Here’s a few examples:
(Show Murmuration pics)
Murmurations often occur at dusk when many predatory birds have also taken to the sky looking for food...
....and these shape-shifting murmurating movements tend to confuse these predators....making it difficult for them to capture any single starling.
...So - its really a corporate, instinctual defense mechanism that naturally works to benefit the entire flock....
The term murmuration itself comes from the low, rushing sound that thousands of beating wings create as they twist & turn in perfect unison....
Our computer display system here doesn’t support video, otherwise I’d show you some clips of these murmurations....they are absolutely amazing.
Has anyone ever seen one in person?
The question that always comes to my mind is....how do all of these birds....sometimes upwards of 10’s of thousands of them in a flock...
....how do they all just “know” where to fly so they don’t run into each other...
There seems to be an inborn, instinctual knowledge within these birds as to how they perform such amazing atmospheric acrobatics...
I’ve always been fascinated by animal instincts.
For example, elephants and dogs often begin moving to higher ground hours before a tsunami or hurricane makes landfall....
The Texas Horned Lizard protects itself by breaking its own sinus membranes to shoot blood from its eyes.... startling predators such as wolves and coyotes.
Monarch butterflies know how to navigate from Canada to Mexico without ever having been there....a journey spanning multiple generations...
...Owls know how to locate rodents under a foot and a half of snow
...Bears hibernate in a state of suspended animation....
...Lisa -even when she’s 2 rooms away - instinctively knows the exact moment I sit down to rest on the couch....
....and she’s nice enough to let me know about what household chore needs to be done next....it's an amazing gift!
Well...the list goes on and on with examples of animals displaying impressive instinctual abilities....
But – essentially – instincts are behaviors that are not taught....they’re simply “known” without the need for any educational communication or preparation.
Our passage of scripture for today from 1 Corinthians chapter 2 also speaks of a type of knowledge that cannot be learned in the same way that we learn – say - mathematics, or science, or language arts...
It's a spiritual wisdom that is more instinctual than academic...
....and this spiritual instinct is active and present in those who have the Holy Spirit living inside of them...
....those individuals who have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives...
Paul begins chapter 2 with a few verses that harken back to the theme of chapter 1...how the wisdom of God is immeasurably greater than the wisdom of man...
Paul reminds the Corithian church that he intentionally served them in such a way as to not draw attention to himself...
...He didn’t use an intellectually impressive vocabulary when teaching them about the gospel message....he didn’t try to wow them with his deep understanding of theological concepts....
...he simply preached about Jesus.
In verse 2 (1 Corinthians 2:2) Paul says, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
In other words....it’s all about Jesus.....and not about us.
It’s all about what He accomplished for us....therefore, all of our attention should be aimed vertically at him....not horizontally at ourselves.
Have you ever been to a church service where the preacher – or the worship leader - was bouncing all around the stage...jumping up and down....throwing things across the room...yelling at the top of their lungs....
...talk about bringing attention to yourself!
...Don’t get me wrong..., we need to be passionate about conveying the message of Jesus Christ....
....but there’s a definite point in which overdramatized passion simply becomes an attention-grabbing, theatrical performance.
In the worldly music industry, the rule of thumb for singers is to “Command the Stage”....
In other words...do whatever it takes to get people’s eyes on you...dance, gyrate, jump into the crowd...drop to your knees...
Conventional wisdom will tell you that doing these things will sell more records because it will keep more people interested in your product....which is you....not necessarily your music...but YOU....your Brand, so to speak.
Currently, there’s a finalist on the TV show American Idol named Hannah Harper...
...she’s from Missouri with a voice that’s sort of a cross between Dolly Parton and Allison Krause....
The judges have continually criticized her for not having enough attention-grabbing “Stage Presence”...
Hannah simply comes up to the microphone....and sings....beautifully.
No dancing...no drama...no gyrations...
She allows the content of her music to be the focal point of her performances....
Paul is reminding the people in Corinth that he was allowing the content of His message - that being Jesus Christ Crucified – to be the focal point of his ministry there...and everywhere he went.
...The message of Christ ought to be a vertical adoration...not a horizontal demonstration!
In verse 6, Paul returns to the theme of godly wisdom vs the wisdom of the world....
...he begins by talking about the wisdom of the mature.
The Greek word for ‘mature’ here carries with it the notion of ‘full membership in a group’ ....or , one who is ‘fully initiated’
When looking through a biblical lens, what Paul is saying is that those who are genuine members of the body of Christ....those people who have accepted Jesus as their Lord & Savior....
They will be blessed with a godly understanding – a spiritual wisdom - that unbelievers will not – and cannot – comprehend.
Verse 7 (1 Corinthians 2:7) speaks of a ‘secret wisdom’....a ‘hidden’ understanding....
It’s referring to the truth of the gospel that remains undisclosed to the unsaved world....but has been revealed to God’s Elect by way of the Holy Spirit...
...and when someone gives their life to Christ....the truth of God’s Word becomes understandable...relatable....practical.
Much like murmurating starlings instinctively fill the sky with beautiful designs that serve a purpose....
....Those in Christ instinctively fill their lives with beautiful words of the designer...words that serve a purpose....
...words that are drawn from a spiritual well of supernatural wisdom and understanding....words that point others to Jesus.
Let that sink in for a moment....if you know Jesus....you know more about this world than people with fancy letters behind their names who don’t know the savior...a LOT more.
The world longs for this kind of knowledge....people crave information that is new and intruiging....wisdom that will provide insight into the unknown.
The latest thing to come down the cultural pipeline has to do with government disclosures regarding UFO’s that has the internet all abuzz right now....have you heard about this?
Mulder from the X-Files would be loving it !
People are desperately craving new bombshell information about flying saucers....and interdimensional beings....they want proof that we are not alone in the universe...
....Well, they are right about one thing....we are most definitely NOT alone...
Theologians have been saying that for centuries......millennia!
Scripture tells us all about a spiritual dimension filled with angels and demons....and Satan himself.
Remember what Ephesians 2:2 says about the Devil?....that he is the “....Ruler of the kingdom of the air.”
So....If people really are seeing saucers and orbs popping in and out of the sky....the “air”
....remember that the physical dimension in which we live is – according to scripture - not the only dimension of reality....
There is a spiritual dimension as well.
....and while the world waits for harmless little ET to fall out of the sky....
Godly wisdom would tell us that such a creature would most likely not be a Jesus follower....
For all of you familiar with Genesis chapter 6.....you know what I’m talking about.....I’ll just leave it at that.
Now you’re all gonna read Genesis chapter 6 when you get home...Good...I hope you do!
....Then - when you’re done - go over to Ezekial chapter 1....and you’ll see that the saucers and orbs being reported today don’t hold a candle to the strange phenomena described in scripture....
Like a very wise man once declared....”There’s nothing new under the sun”....and he was right.
The world craves spiritual insight...but no matter how carnally intelligent we are....no matter how powerful our AI systems become....
Spiritual knowledge will always elude those who are not associated with the one and only transmitting vessel of that knowledge --- The Holy Spirit.
...And it is to the Holy Spirit that Paul turns in the reminder of Chapter 2.
Verse 9 (1 Corinthians 2:9) is a paraphrased quotation from Isaiah 64:4 and 65:17.
It reads, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Verse 10 (1 Corinthians 2:10) continues, “But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.”
Many believe that verse 9 refers specifically to Heaven....you may even hear this verse at a funeral or memorial service...
And – although – you could include heaven as being associated with the overarching idea of this verse....
Really – what's being talked about here – is the wisdom that God has prepared for believers.
His point is that the natural eyes, ears, and hearts of men cannot know or comprehend His wisdom.
In the remaining verses of chapter 2, Paul talks at length about the Holy Spirit’s role in transmitting God’s wisdom to the Jesus follower...
For those of us who had the privilege of hearing Frank’s testimony at men’s breakfast yesterday....he conveyed to us how – after giving his life to Christ –
...The Holy Spirit immediately gave him the ability to comprehend scriptural passages that...before giving his life to Jesus....would have been impossible for him to understand.
This is what the Holy Spirit does for every believer....
And it’s up to each and every one of us...as to how closely we listen to – and implement – this supernatural wisdom.
In verse 11 (1 Corinthians 2:11) Paul compares the Spirit’s knowledge of God’s mind to a human being’s knowledge of his own mind.
If you think about it...we will never know other people as well as we know ourselves, right?
....Some of us even carry on conversations with ourselves, right?
....It just gets a bit awkward when we have those conversations out loud around other people! 😊
But even if you’ve been married to someone for decades...and you finish each other’s......(sentences).....you still know yourself better than you know your spouse...that’s just a reality.
So...Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit intimately knows the thoughts of the Father....and He also intimately knows those whom He indwells...
Therefore....the Holy Spirit becomes a “supernatural interpreter”, so to speak, between the mind of God....and the mind of the believer...
When Lisa worked in the Emergence Department at the hospital in Baraboo, if a Spanish speaking patient came in and there were no Spanish-speaking staff members to work with them...
....the staff would contact an online interpreter who spoke both English and Spanish....
...this individual would translate vital information between the doctor and the patient...
Between the healer....and the one needing to be healed.
Between the one possessing important information....and the one needing to acquire that information in order to remain healthy in a world of sickness and decay...
Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the supernatural interpreter between the perfect mind of wisdom (God)....and the imperfect mind of the believer....
Even though our finite minds are extremely limited in comparison to God’s infinite mind....
...we are still able to understand basic, essential spiritual truths that allow us to discern the things of this world through a proper biblical lens....
One of the most important jobs of the Holy Spirit is to illuminate the Holy scriptures....to make them make sense for us.
John 14:26 says, “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 16:14 says, “He (the Holy Spirit) will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
Without the continual translation of God’s Word by the Holy Spirit, we would lack the ability to understand and apply what God is conveying to us....
We are given the ability to actually understand the spiritual dimension of life....
While the naturalistic world simply cannot comprehend things beyond the scope of one’s five senses....
This is why – as we saw last week in 1 Corinthians 1:18 – the message of the cross seems foolish – or absurd....or irrational....to those who are perishing...
One of the reasons that the unredeemed mind cannot make sense of the spiritual is that many people hold to a misconception of man’s nature itself.
To the pure naturalist, man simply has 2 components: The physical body...and the soul.
We are all very familiar with the physical body.....
....many of us are at an age where our body constantly reminds us that it’s there, right?....especially while getting out of bed in the morning.
Then there’s the soul.
The soul can be defined as the part of man involved with emotion, personality, intellect, and desires.
When we react emotionally – or intellectually - to stimuli from the world around us....one might say that it is our soul that is on display.
This is where most people in society believe that humanity ends...
That – like animals – we simply have a body....and that we also have a certain personality, intellect, and emotional capacity.
This is one reason why many people see no difference between mankind...and the animal kingdom....
It’s because they are ignoring the third...and most important....part of mankind.
His Spirit.
Man is not only body and soul....but we are Spirit as well.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 provides the framework for man’s 3-part constitution when it says “....May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our spirit is the part of us that contains the ability to connect with God.
It is the part of us that will live beyond our earthly existence....
It’s the part of us that learns from the Holy Spirit....
It is the deepest part of our identity....and something that only mankind possesses.....
....animals do not have a spiritual, eternal component to their existence....
They are not able to be drawn to the Lord and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ....
We don’t preach the gospel to dogs...or cows...or horses....or cats
Well...we don’t preach the gospel to cats because they are....according to declassified Government documents.... interdimensional demonic manifestations of fur, claws, and sharp teeth....
We don’t need the government to tell us that demonic entities have been with us all along, right?.....Just kidding, I like cats, remember?
The world ignores the spiritual component of humanity.
If that describes you this morning....Please don’t make the same mistake.
It is only through the spiritual component of our existence that we are able to be drawn to God through the Holy Spirit....
.....and to then accept the gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ....
.....and to eventually leave these bodies of flesh and bone....
....to be with our savior for eternity.
Don’t overlook this vital component of who you are.
As the gospel song says, “Don’t overlook salvation, while living here in sin. Someday it may be too late to pray. Someday when you need Him, He may not let you in. How awful if He should turn you away.”
Give your life to Christ.
Follow Him.
Experience what real life truly is.....real life for eternity.
Let’s Pray.
