Alright, let's turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. We'll be looking at verses 6
through 16. What's being taught here, and
what I hope to show you this morning, is what Paul calls hidden
wisdom. Wisdom not seen by everybody. Wisdom hidden from this world. and hidden from even what he
calls the princes of this world. Now what is it? Let's just begin
here. What is it that Paul's referring
to as wisdom? What's he talking about? Wisdom. Is he talking about a definition
of things or is he talking about a doctrine, a certain doctrine?
What is it he's talking about when he's talking about Wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 says,
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom. Wisdom. What this man is, Jesus
Christ, as He appears in this world, This is God come into
the flesh. This is the invisible God, the
eternal God, who was made flesh and dwelt among us. And when
He come into this world, He had several names. There were reasons
for Him coming into this world. And one of those reasons was
wisdom. He manifested the wisdom of God. And until we come to know something
of the appointed, crucified, risen Redeemer, We're just left
to the ignorance of natural man and superstitious religion. That's
all it is. We get their language and then
get their words and then we dress like they dress and we talk like
they talk. And we're just left to walk in
the vanity of our mind, whatever it is. Paul writes here in Ephesians
chapter 4 verse 18. And he's talking about natural
man here. And he said, our understanding
is darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that's in us because of the blindness of our hearts. The faith of God's elect is about
knowing. It's about knowing. It's about
hearing. It's about understanding and
knowing. in the beginning of our Lord's
high priestly prayer over in John chapter 17. In the beginning of this prayer,
He said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy
Son also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee. the only true God and Jesus Christ
whom thou hast sent." There is no knowing the Father apart from
the Son. The Son manifests the Father. And so if we would understand
the wisdom of the Father in His purposes and in all the things
that He does in His character and all of these things, that
wisdom is manifested in His Son. That's what Paul's talking about
when he's talking about wisdom. Unregenerate men and women don't
know God. They know and believe in a God.
I've used the word God since I've been old enough to talk
just about. My parents were religious. They talked of God. You've got
little children. They talk about God. But I didn't
know God. I just knew the term. And as
I grew up, I began to get an idea of my God. And I got this bits and pieces
from my grandmother and from my mother and from my sisters
and from my friends. And then as I got older in school,
I'd get bits and pieces more. And so this image of God began
to change. I began to form some kind of
an image of God. Everybody knows their God. What I'm saying is natural man
doesn't know the living God. Turn with me to 1 John chapter
5. Anybody can learn how to be religious. Anybody can. I did. Some of you did. Anybody can
learn how to be religious. Anybody can learn duties and
ceremonies and rituals. You join a certain church and
they have rituals. They have things that they do.
And if you're going to stay there and become a part of that church,
you have to adapt those things. You have to do those things.
You have to be baptized. You have to do this. You have
to do that. And anybody can be reformed in outward deeds and
dress. Anybody can. I've known a lot
of men who were full-blown alcoholics. I mean, they were alcoholics.
There's no other word for it. And suddenly, they stopped. And
they quit going to bars. And they quit doing all the things
that they do. He quit his nightlife. And all
of a sudden, now he's a preacher. And he's doing this. And he's
doing that. But he still don't know God. Anybody can be reformed
in outward deeds and dress, and anybody can make a profession
of faith, walk down an aisle, or go into a baptismal pool. But you can't know the true and
living God apart from the truth as it's manifested in the Son
of God. That's our subject this morning,
hidden Now listen to this, 1 John 5, verse 19. John said, And we
know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. What in the world is he talking
about? Is he talking about these heathen idolaters over in Africa? Is he talking about them people
over there in the Middle East who worship false gods? Who is
he talking about when he says the whole world lies in wickedness? He's talking about them and he's
talking about this religious world. The whole world. He said, we know that. We know
that we are of God. We know God. You read this chapter
and see if that ain't his subject. God has given testimony. concerning
himself and his son and the salvation that he's purposed to give. And
now down here, John said, and we know that we are of God and
a whole world life in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God
has come and has given us an understanding that we might know
him that is true. We are in him that is true, even
in his Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. Christ crucified is the believer's
wisdom. Every event of his life reveals
him as the promised Redeemer. Would you know the true Redeemer? You can't be saved apart from
it. Looks like many wouldn't be interested in knowing who
He is. The Jews looked for a Redeemer,
but they didn't know the Redeemer when they seen Him, when they
spoke to Him, when they talked to Him, when they saw Him and
watched Him. He said himself, the works that
I do in my father's name over in John 10, 25, they bear witness
of me. What do we see? We see God come
into the flesh. Would I know who God is? I need
to know him. See him. See what he manifests.
See what he's like. What's his character like? We
see God come into the flesh when we see Christ. We see perfect,
unblemished righteousness. We see substitutionary satisfaction. We see man resurrected from the
dead and raised up and seated at God's right hand. We see God's
faithfulness and God's righteousness and God's justice. And even more,
we see His unchangeable love and mercy and grace. We see these
things in Christ. We learn these things in Christ.
That's why He's our wisdom. Christ is our wisdom. All right? 1 Corinthians 2, verse 6. Paul said, howbeit we speak wisdom
among them that are perfect. Now, that word perfect here means
of full age. Full age, he's talking about
mature men and women, able to reason, able to think. Yet not
the wisdom of this world nor the princes of this world that
come to naught. Now the world in general has
a wisdom. They have a wisdom which they
promote as to who God is and how He can be approached and
how He operates and what He expects from men. And this world has
champions of that wisdom. And these champions, they promote,
and who by name are well-known, famous men. That's what sells
the wisdom. They're called princes here in
the Scriptures. Princes. Famous politicians and
famous writers and famous preachers and movie stars. Paul didn't
preach the wisdom of this world, nor the wisdom of the princes
of this world. Verse 7, 1 Corinthians 2, 7. But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before
the world under our glory. Now, I want you to see something
here. The gospel of Christ has no consideration for the wisdom
of men. How many times has he told us
that now in chapter 2 and chapter 1? It has no consideration for
the wisdom of men. Somebody said, well, boy, I wish
he'd come and hear you. He's such a smart man. He's an
educated man. He has four or five years of
college. He's a successful businessman.
I wish I could get him coming here. I don't give him a leg
up on anything. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has
no consideration for the wisdom of this world. None. None. Well, I believe Him, but He hasn't
been to seminary. It has no consideration for the
wisdom of this world. None whatsoever. Man's fallen
and depraved. There's none that understandeth. If God does not manifest this
wisdom of Christ to them, they are going to continue on in their
ignorance. There is none that understands
it, and there is none that seeketh after God. That is Romans 3.11. Worldly wisdom is called in the
Scriptures, vain jangling. That is what it is called. Listen to this.
Desiring to, this is in 1 Timothy, that was 1 Timothy 1.6, I just
quoted to you, and here's verse 7. Desiring to be teachers of
the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they
affirm. When a man says that you can
be justified by your keeping of the law, he doesn't understand
what he's saying. Doesn't understand it. And that
man out there who's saying, amen, amen, he don't understand it
either. Their spirituality is defined
as seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Their ministry is
described as speaking lies and hypocrisy, 2 Timothy 4.2. And their preaching is called
the perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds who are destitute
of truth, 2 Timothy 6.5. The gospel of Christ has no consideration
for the wisdom of men. And beloved, I'm going to tell
you this, wisdom is a revelation. That's how it comes. That's how
it comes. We speak the wisdom of God. Look
here, 1 Corinthians 2, verse 7. We speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world under our glory which none of
the princes, not the high priest, not the Pharisees, not Gamaliel,
none of them, which none of the princes of this world knew, for
had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
Glory." And you can add Pilate and Herod to that list, princes
of this world. The most recognized religious
scholars in the day of Christ crucified the Lord of Glory.
Now you think about that. This wasn't a bunch of heathen
drunks. This wasn't a bunch of people bound down to frogs and
snakes. These were men who claimed to
know God, and they were learned in the Word of God. You could
quote a scripture, and they could tell you right now, at the snap
of the finger, they could tell you, you misquoted that scripture.
They knew the Word of God front to back, and they were the most
recognized religious scholars of the day. And they crucified
the Lord of glory. They rejected him in the light
of scripture. They rejected him right before
the evidence of his work and the message that he preached.
And they rejected him in spite of the witness of God's prophets,
God's forerunner, God's word, and the Holy Spirit. Stephen
said in Acts 7.51, you stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers do,
so do you. Which of the prophets, he said,
have not your fathers persecuted? And they've slain them which
showed before the coming of the just one of whom you've now been
the betrayers and murderers. I Corinthians 2.9. But as it
is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them
that love him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. I want to stop here for
just a minute or two and point something out to you. I'm often told the experiences
of men and women who profess faith but never heard a gospel
preacher. Never heard the gospel. Not at
all. Never heard it. And this is the
verse they go to as a proof text that God the Holy Spirit works
apart from gospel preaching. That's just not so. Paul's been
talking about preaching since way back in the middle of chapter
1, and he hadn't changed his subject. He's still talking about
the preaching of the gospel. He's talking about preaching.
He hadn't changed his subject. He's talking about how he preaches,
what he preaches, and why he preaches. And now he begins to
show us this hidden wisdom and how this gospel is made known
to men. He's showing us why some men
and women embrace this gospel and why some get offended and
angry and go home mad. He's telling us this. Here's
the reason. It has to be revealed. That's why. And if God doesn't
reveal it in the hearts of men, they're going to be angry. I
fully understand your anger. I fully understand. I was angry
the first time I heard it. Why? Because it was contrary
to everything I'd ever heard. It's contrary to every religious
man I'd ever met, no matter what the denomination was. Totally
contrary. It was contrary to everybody
I asked about it. That's why I got angry. But when
the Lord revealed to me, when He revealed to me the truth,
the truth, about who I was and who he was, then everything changed. Everything changed. The gospel
message is a revelation. It's not something you always
knew but didn't accept. It's not something you always
understood but never decided to obey. It's a revelation. It comes as the result of regeneration. God the Holy Spirit makes us
meet to be partakers of enlightened saints. And you will never be
a partaker until God the Holy Spirit regenerates you. It is
not going to happen. God hath revealed them unto us
by His Spirit. I Corinthians 2.11. For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? I can bet you a guess about You know what I think about
somebody, but you've got no way of knowing his designs, his intentions,
his purposes, unless he tells you. You just don't know. And even so, the things of God
knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. The mission of the Holy
Spirit, according to John 16, is to take the things of Christ
and show them unto us. I Corinthians 2. 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. What things? What is he talking
about? Well, he is talking about Christ the Mediator. There is just one Mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus. How did He get to be your Mediator?
Huh? By God's appointment. Things
freely given to us of God. Isn't that what Paul's talking
about here? He said the Holy Spirit's going to make these
things known to you. A representative. Adam's not. He's the head of
humanity, but he's not the second head. There's a head of God's
elect, and that head is Christ. He's the head of the church.
He's the head of the body, the church. Christ is our representative
and federal head and substitute. He's our high priest, our advocate,
our intercessor, our sin offering. He's our propitiation. He's our
king. He's our wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Now, what's this? It's 1 Corinthians 2, verse 13. which things also we speak. We speak these things. We don't
hide these things. One old fellow, he didn't want
to make me angry. I was a young boy, and he didn't
want to make me angry, and he felt like I was going down the
wrong road, and he said, the secret things belong to God.
And I said, yeah, but God doesn't write His secret things in this
book. Does he? What he writes in here,
he writes for your knowledge. He writes for your understanding.
He don't take the hidden things and put them into print and say,
now don't read that. That's ignorant. That's this
world. That's the wisdom of this world. Which things also we speak,
not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost
teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. We do what I am laboring to do
this morning. We go through the Scriptures
and we preach to men and women the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
the Holy Ghost reveals it into the hearts and minds of God's
elect. Verse 14, now listen to this.
But the natural man, that man left to himself, that man in
whom the Holy Spirit does not work, That man who will not submit
to God's ways and means, the natural man, receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him. Now, are you listening? Neither can he know them. I heard the gospel, I was nine
years old, I was in a closet, and I didn't hear any gospel,
and I didn't hear any gospel preacher. Neither can he know. Ain't that what that said? That man who will receive not
the things of the Holy Spirit of God will never, never, never
know the things of the Spirit of God. Never. because they are spiritually
discerned. That is how they are understood,
by the work of the Holy Spirit of God. And this verse specifically
states that unregenerate men will not submit themselves to
the things of the Spirit of God, not to the Word of God, which
is the foundation of faith. That is what it says in Ephesians
2 verse 20. Not to the preaching of the Word,
which God has ordained to call out His elect. It pleased God
through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Not
to the Gospel of Christ, which is the seed of regeneration.
Not to the revelation of the Spirit, which is how the Gospels
understood. And because He judges these things
as foolishness, He can never know the truth. Neither can He know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. Alright, now let's look at verse
15. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 15. But he that is spiritual, he
that is born of the Spirit of God, he in whom the Spirit of
God abides, whom the Spirit of God has wooed and calls to willingly
bow, to submit, who has the abiding presence
of the Holy Ghost, he that is spiritual judgeth, that is, he
understandeth all things. Yet he himself is understood
of no man. Why does that man preach the
way he does? He understandeth no man. He's not understood by
anybody. He's not understood by anybody.
Why does he only preach these certain things? He just thinks
he's the only one who knows anything. He ought to counsel us. He ought
to let us have a part in the service. We ought to have sharing
sessions. He ought to do this, that, and
the other. We're understood of no man, yet we understand. We understand. We're understood
of no man, yet we understand completely. Verse 16. For who
hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?" Are
you listening? But we have the mind of Christ.
And what is the mind of Christ? Wisdom. Huh? And so what did
Paul say when he came to these people, these troubled people,
these people who are going this way and that way? They've got
every problem known to man going on inside that church. The first
thing Paul does is bring them back to the basics. The basics
begin with the preaching of the Gospel, the ordained means of
God. And then secondly, he goes through
and he shows us through the preaching of the Gospel that this hidden
wisdom, which is Christ, is revealed. And Christ is all in all. We have the mind of Christ. He tells us in Philippians chapter
2, he said, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus our Lord. That's the mind of Christ. May God the Holy Spirit give
us each and everyone that's here this morning the mind of Christ. Father, we thank you for this
time to open up this precious book and look into these divine
promises And to see these doctrines, these wonderful doctrines of
Christ, use the message as it pleases you this morning, for
Christ's sake.