Thank you, Jim. If you would
turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians, the second chapter. The title of this message is
Things Freely Given. And what we'll be talking about
is things that God, spiritual and eternal blessings that God
has given his people. They're gifts, not deserved,
not earned, gifts. And they're given freely, without
any cause, without any condition in those who receive them. So
that's going to be the subject matter here. And if you're in
1 Corinthians chapter 2, I'll look at this, verse 12 is where
I took this title from. Let's read this verse first.
1 Corinthians 12 and verse 2. Now, we, now he's talking about
here, we. This is regenerate sinners he's
talking to. He's talking about those that
are born of God. We have received not the spirit
of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. So there's
the title, things freely given. Now we're going to consider three
statements today concerning things freely given from 1 Corinthians
2. Things freely given are, first of all, things that are held,
they're locked up in a mystery. Something that we don't see by
nature, something we don't know by nature, something that has
to be revealed. Secondly, they're things that
are spiritually discerned. The natural man can understand
these things, but he cannot value these things and see them savingly.
And then thirdly, these things that are freely given are things
which a natural man will not receive. Our study is going to
be from verses 6 through 16, but let's go back to verse 1
in this context. 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 1 to
get the gist of what Paul's writing about here. He said, And I, brethren,
when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or
of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined
not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul is saying that he didn't
come with great oratory. He didn't come with a great debate
of men's philosophy and human wisdom. He didn't come to them
that way. He came rather declaring the
simple truth of the gospel, how God saves a sinner through Christ
and Christ alone. Read on in verse three. And Paul
says, and I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. Demonstration of the Spirit and
in power, that's a man embracing the Gospel. See, Paul preached
the Gospel. He said he preached Christ and
Him crucified. He preached the Gospel. And a
demonstration of the power of the Spirit and in power is a
man embracing that Gospel. It's a man finding his hope.
in Christ and Christ alone. It's a man repenting of thinking
that anything but that righteousness Christ worked out could recommend
him to God. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians
in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 5, he said, for our gospel
came not to you in word only. It came in word, of course, but
not in word only. not just with an understanding
in the mind, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in
much assurance as you know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake. Our emphasis today is going to
be on two things. First of all, the things that
God has given to those sinners that he's loved from all eternity. And second, how those things
are given, freely given. We'll see that every sinner chosen
in Christ has already been blessed in Christ with all spiritual
blessings. How are these blessings given?
They're given freely. They're given unconditionally.
They're given without a cause in those who receive them. So
this first point, things freely given are things which are held
in a mystery. Look at 1 Corinthians 2 and verse
6. How be it we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect or mature, yet not the wisdom of this world
nor of the princes of this world that come to naught or nothing,
but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. The
things that God has given to his elect people are a mystery. Now, you know from other studies,
a mystery is not something that can't be understood. That's not
what a mystery in the scripture is. Rather, it's something that
has to be revealed. Consider reading a book, a murder
mystery, for instance. The book is designed to hold
the reader in suspense, to just keep you there, reading along,
keep you guessing about the plot and the outcome. In the end of
the book, the writer is going to reveal who the murderer was,
but that mystery is going to be solved. And it's only a mystery
until it is. The wisdom of God that's held
in a mystery, the wisdom of God that must be revealed, is the
mystery of God's salvation. You see, we're born in this world
thinking, well, I did something to get in this mess, and I need
to do something to get out of this mess. But that's not the
way the salvation of God's word is. This mystery includes the
things that God has provided, as well as how those things are
freely given to the objects of his everlasting love. Let's look
at some things that God has provided for those that he's loved from
all eternity. These things are summarized in
Ephesians 1. If you want to turn over there,
hold your place in 2 Corinthians, because I'll be back. But look
at these blessings that Paul outlines here in Ephesians chapter
1. And we read these. I read them a lot all the time,
because I like to read them. He said in Ephesians 1 verse
3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. Now, the things that God has
freely given are summarized here as all spiritual blessings, and
they are numerous. There are many. Look on in verse
4. according as he hath chosen us
in him," there's the blessing, he chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him. That's the standing of justification
based on Christ's imputed righteousness, holy and without blame before
God. Verse five, having predestinated
us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. Another blessing, adoption of
children. A multitude of sinners was chosen
in Christ before the world began and given an unchangeable standing
of justification, holy and unblameable in God's sight. They're adopted
into the household and family of God. And in time, according
to Galatians 4, we receive that adoption. That adoption took
place long before we receive it, but we receive it in time.
Look on in Ephesians chapter 5, chapter 1, verse 5. to the
praise of the glory of God's grace wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved." If you stand before God accepted,
if I stand, it's because of the work of Christ accounted to us.
He is righteous as imputed in that alone. in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. Those chosen are now and forever
will be accepted into beloved, not based on anything we do,
but based entirely upon what he's done for us. They have redemption. They have forgiveness. Every
sinner in Christ has already been given these things now in
Christ. They're already reconciled. They're already at peace with
God through the obedience and death of Christ, their substitute
and savior. All the blessings and benefits
of salvation belong to these sinners, and these benefits are
theirs without any cost to them. They're theirs without a cause
in them. These sinners didn't do anything to receive these
benefits. These benefits are given and
they're given freely. Look at another context. Well,
I'll just read it to you. Another context of Scripture
that shows how these things God has provided are freely given.
Listen to Romans chapter 8 and verse 31. What shall we then
say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? The things freely given are not
things that are free. They're not things that are without
a cost. They came at a cost. They came
at the cost of the obedience and suffering and death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. They came because God spared
not his own son. They came because God delivered
Christ up to the cross to put away sin and bring in everlasting
righteousness. Christ earned the things that
are given. They're bought and paid for by Him. That's the reason
that God can give them to sinners freely without us meeting any
condition or without any cause in us. Now we're talking about
the wisdom of God that's held in the mystery. None of us considered
these things freely given by God to a multitude of sinners
until God brought us right here, set us down under his gospel
wherein these things were made known. We're talking about salvation
by grace, true grace, free grace. We're talking about salvation
conditioned entirely upon Christ without any contribution from
the sinner. These are things our minds didn't consider, folks,
before we came to the gospel. It's the mystery of Christ crucified. These things had to be revealed.
That's what the apostle already stated. He said, when I came
to you, I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. The mystery that must be revealed
is the mystery of what Christ has done to save his people from
their sins. He said, call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. It's the mystery
of what Christ has done to accomplish the full salvation of every sinner
he was given. It's the mystery of the satisfaction,
the law and justice that Christ rendered by his obedience unto
death. And it's the mystery of the righteousness that Christ
wrought out, that righteousness imputed to the sinner that makes
it right for God to show mercy to that sinner. Look back at
1 Corinthians 2 and verse 6. Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are mature, perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor of the princes of this world that come to nothing, but we
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world and to our glory." You notice
here that the wisdom of God, that wisdom about his salvation,
It's held in a mystery, and it stands in contrast to the wisdom
of the world and the princes of this world, which wisdom comes
to nothing. The princes here are people of
influence. They're pastors and teachers.
In Christ's day, it was the scribes and Pharisees, those that interpreted
the law and preached and all that, people of influence. Those
of Christ's day did not know who he was, and they did not
know what he came to accomplish for his people. Guess what? The
people of our day don't either. We didn't until God set us down
under the gospel and revealed this mystery to us. This mystery
is hidden until it's revealed. Everybody has not shown God's
wisdom in salvation. And this mystery is not revealed
to all. To many, in fact, to most professing
Christians, the wisdom of God's salvation remains a mystery. It's never uncovered to them.
They may hear it. They may even agree with it,
but they never embrace it. It's never a vital issue to them.
Look on in 1 Corinthians 2 in verse 8. It says, which none of the princes
of this world knew. He's talking about the wisdom
of God and salvation. None of the princes of this world
knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I have
not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
God's salvation is not the salvation that any of us knows by nature.
What we all know by nature is a salvation of works. It's a
salvation conditioned on what Christ did plus what the sinner
does. The best thing natural man has
figured out in the matter of salvation is that Christ died
for everyone. and that you, the sinner, if
you'll just do your part, you'll be saved. If you don't do your
part, you'll perish. Christ's death itself didn't
save anyone. You'll only be saved if you close
the deal by Reformation, walking in an aisle, accepting Christ,
whatever, fill in the blank with whatever your form of religion
taught you there. But although that's a widely
accepted belief among professing Christians in every generation,
it stands in stark contrast to God's salvation. God's salvation
was earned by Christ and freely given to the objects of God's
love. The first thing we learn about
things freely given, they're things concerning God's salvation
and they're things that are held in a mystery. It has to be revealed.
Second thing we learn about things freely given, things freely given
are things which are spiritually discerned. They're all a mystery
to us by nature, but they're revealed to the objects of God's
everlasting love. Look at 1 Corinthians 2 and verse
10. It says, the princes of this
world didn't know them, but... God hath revealed them unto us
by his spirit, for the spirit searches all things, yea, the
deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things
of a man save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so the
things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Only the
innermost being, the spirit of a man, knows the things of man.
I've said this to people who know me a lot of times. I've
got things in my mind about myself that I'll take to the grave and
nobody will ever know them. You do too. That innermost being
that we have in us, that spirit that's in us, that's the only
thing that'll ever know our deep things. And we're talking here
about the deep things of God and only the spirit of God knows
the things of God. Only the spirit knows those things
hidden in the mind of God from all eternity. Only the spirit
of God knows those things that God holds in a mystery. Listen
to Luke chapter 10 and verse 22. Christ said, all things are
delivered to me of my father and no man knoweth who the son
is, but the father. and who the father is but the
son, and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him." The father
only knows the son. He's the only one that does.
And there's no way for us to find out about the son unless
the father sits us down under the gospel wherein that son is
declared and preached and talked about and shown in the scriptures
who he is, God-man, and what he's done to save his people.
God alone knows what Christ has accomplished for the objects
of his everlasting love. He reveals these things to the
object of his love through the spirit under the preaching of
the gospel in every generation. The spirit, according to John
17, receives the things of Christ and shows them unto regenerate
sinners. He makes us willing in the day
of his power to come to Christ, to submit to him, to bow to his
righteousness, that alone which recommends sinners to God. Look
on in our context, 1 Corinthians 2, chapter 12, I mean, chapter
2 and verse 12. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God,
which things also we speak, not in the words which man wisdom
teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. The sinner not embracing the
gospel, the one who hears the gospel but doesn't embrace it,
he's still following the spirit of the world. See, back up there,
we've not received the spirit of the world. Although the natural
man can understand the things of the gospel intellectually.
Yet only the spiritual man, that regenerate sinner, the one born
of God, can value these things. Only the spiritual man can see
these things as vital in salvation. Who is the spiritual man? Well,
he's the man who tries the spirits and discerns them. I'm that spirit
today. I'm preaching a message to you,
and I'm urging you to believe it. Test it against the word
of God and see whether I'm telling you the truth or not. Don't just
take my word for it, because if you do, you just take the
word of a man. And if I convince you of something, somebody later
on in your life who has more influence over you than I do
will come along and unconvince you. They'll convince you their
way. But if God ever convinces you, So we have to test the spirits.
He says in verse John 4, John writes in 1 John 4 and verse
1, he said, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the
spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets
are going out into the world. Hereby I know you the Spirit
of God. Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit
that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is not of God, and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof
you have heard that it should come, and even now already is
it in the world. Confession is agreeing with God. It's agreeing with the testimony
of God. It's agreeing with the gospel
of God. The spiritual man agrees with God about Christ's coming,
who he is, the God-man, and also about what he accomplished for
those he came and died for, their full salvation, the putting away
of their sin, the establishing of that righteousness by which
God can declare them righteous in his sight. First John chapter
four and verse four, as we go on in that context, he says,
you are of God, little children, and have overcome them because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
He's talking about those who embrace the gospel, those who
test the spirits, and those who discern that the man preaching
unto them, Christ crucified. You're of God, he said. They
are of the world, therefore speak they of the world and the world
hears them. We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby we know the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error. You've heard Bill say and others
say from up here a lot of times, the gospel is a simple message.
It's how God can be doing right to justify a sinner based on
the imputed righteousness of Christ alone. Now the Bible is
an intricate book and it's really tough to figure out, but the
gospel is a simple, plain, everyday message that anybody can understand
who's privileged to hear it. Also, the spiritual man is one
led by the Spirit of God. Romans 4, 18 says, for as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Who's
led by the Spirit of God? Those that come to Christ, those
that rest their whole salvation in Christ and Christ alone, those
that know that there's no hope of standing before God and being
counted just based on anything but Christ's imputed righteousness.
Without the Spirit's revelation of God's salvation in the heart,
That salvation remains a mystery that the natural man cannot figure
out and cannot value. The second thing about things
freely given, they are things spiritually discerned. We didn't
figure this out in our natural mind. We didn't see it. We didn't
embrace it until God gave us the spirit of God. enable us to do that. That brings
us to the last point. Things freely given are things
that the natural man will not receive. Look at 1 Corinthians
2 and verse 14. It said, but the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually
discerned. Now, the natural man here is
every sinner as we are born into this world. As we're born into
this world, naturally speaking, that's the natural man. It's
every sinner before the Spirit visits them in regeneration. This man will not receive the
things of the Spirit of God. He will not embrace the things
that are freely given to God by sinners. In other words, the
natural man will not embrace the salvation that's provided
by God in the doing and dying of Christ alone. He will not
have a salvation that he has nothing to do with gaining and
nothing to do with maintaining. The natural man just won't have
that. He hates the salvation that's freely given. You're not
going to tell the natural man that he doesn't have to do anything
before God will save him, but that's what this word says. That's
what God's testimony is. We're saved by the doing and
dying of Christ alone. You're never going to convince
the natural man that his acceptance with God has nothing to do with
his obedience, nothing to do with his work. And so when it
comes to repenting of all that we've done up to the time God
brings us and sits us down under the gospel, that's what gets
a lot of sinners right there. We just can't turn loose of all
that we thought we had accomplished before God showed us His free
and full salvation in Christ and Christ alone. This is the one thing in all
the things to be considered that's a natural man will never bow
to. He'll never admit to. He'll never
embrace. He might understand it. He might
even give mental agreement to it. But it doesn't change his
thinking. It doesn't turn his world upside
down like it does everyone who embraces the gospel. That spiritual
world that we had before we came to the gospel, That thing was
just turned over because none of that's of any value to us
whatsoever now. The natural man thinks that a
salvation which is freely given is foolishness according to this
word. If you want to just look back a page at 1 Corinthians
1 and verse 18, Paul writes, for the preaching of the cross,
that's Christ crucified, is to them that perish foolishness.
But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. The preaching
of the cross, as I said, is the preaching of Christ crucified.
It's the preaching of a salvation earned by Christ, earned by his
doing and dying alone. And it's the preaching of a salvation
given free to those Christ died for. Salvation earned entirely
by Christ and freely given. That's what Satan blinds sinners'
minds to. That's what he keeps men blinded,
that salvation that's free and freely given. 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 3, but
if our gospel If this revelation of Christ, if this declaration
of salvation, if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are
lost, in whom the God of this world, that's Satan, has blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. Satan is blinding the minds of
sinners who reject the gospel. That's how he keeps them in bondage.
That's how he keeps them looking within for their salvation. That's
how he keeps them trying to work out their own acceptance with
God. Well, how do you know? How do you know who the natural
man is and who the spiritual man is? How do you know who's
walking in the light? and who's still walking in darkness?
How do you know who's following the spirit of the world or the
spirit of God? How do you know who's perishing
and who's being saved? Because we're in one category
or the other here. Look at our last two verses,
1 Corinthians 2 and verse 15. But he that is spiritual judges
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who has
known the mind of the Lord that we may instruct him? But we Regenerate
sinners have the mind of Christ. Now we've already seen that the
spiritual man believes he embraces the gospel. He tests the spirits. He embraces that which honors
God as a just God and a savior. The spiritual man judges. The
spiritual man discerns. The spiritual man examines the
truth in order to come to the right conclusion. The spiritual
man is like a judge who examines all the evidence. in order to
reach the right verdict, come to the right conclusion. We have
to take the conclusion of this matter from the word of God and
not from preconceived notions, not from the preachers of this
world who are walking after the spirit of this world and don't
know the things freely given of God. The spiritual man has
the mind of Christ. What was Christ's first consideration
in everything he did? What was his first consideration?
The glory of his father, the redemptive glory of God. That's
why the spiritual man examines everything in salvation in the
light of how God is just to justify an ungodly sinner based on the
imputed righteousness of Christ alone. How can I know where I
stand on this matter? Well, I'll tell you how you can
know. What is your response to the gospel? Have you embraced
it? Have you heard it? Just given agreement to it? Or
has it turned your spiritual world upside down? You can know
by your need for the salvation that Christ has accomplished
by his obedience unto death for every sinner he was given. You
can know by your value for those things that God has freely given
to the objects of his everlasting love. 1 Corinthians 4 and verse
7, Paul exhorts brethren, he says that no one of you be puffed
up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ
from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it?" Whether
we're talking about temporal or eternal blessings, whatever
we have, James wrote, every good and perfect gift comes down from
the Father of Lights. He gives everything. Temporal,
you had a good life? Do you have a good job? Do you
have a good family? Do you live in a great country?
Well, that's a gift of God. It's a temporal blessing, all
that. So whether it's temporal or spiritual, if we have it,
it's given from God. If any sinner has anything in
the way of eternal blessing from God, it's because God determined
before the world to show us mercy for Christ's sake alone. Any
blessing we have is ours because Christ earned it in full. He
earned it. We didn't earn it. We don't deserve
it. We've done nothing to get it,
and we're not doing anything to keep it. Whatever any of us
has in the way of God's eternal blessing, we have because of
God's mercy and grace in Christ. We have it for one reason, and
one reason only, we have it because it's a part of those things that
God has freely given to the heirs of grace. Thank you.