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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, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in 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.
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world that come tonight.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world.
Unto our glory.
Which none of the Princess of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
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 searches all things, yeah, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.
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's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
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.
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, that he himself is judged of no man.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
Paul established in the few verses we had at the end of of chapter one that the old man is dead, has been put to death by Christ, death on the cross, we died with him. Truth of Jordan, of course, but he had to do that for these Corinthians because they were living in the old man much of the time.
They were doing things that not scriptural and Paul had spent a long time with them and so he had to bring it all back again. So when he did away with flesh and the old nature in a sense so nothing but glory in the presence of God except God and Christ himself, he brought out 30th verse which we enjoyed what we have as our standing in Christ.
It never changes. It's what the Spirit of God has done and God had planned and we had that in our hymn. It's beautiful. We were included in those glorious plans and purposes. And now with that basis, he can get into two, which is what he had on his heart. Chapter 2. You know, he says when I first visited you, I didn't come.
As an ex Pharisee, the Pharisee of the Pharisees, the great Paul or Saul then who was bringing fear to the Christians and now was bringing Christ to the Christians, He said, I didn't come as I used to, with Excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, but I came only to know Jesus Christ, that's all.
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You know, that's a beautiful thought. And him crucified, so it's beautiful the way.
That he set aside everything of man, and now can preach Christ.
To them.
The testimony of God doesn't depend upon education of man, doesn't depend upon the oratory of man. Peter and John and many were just ignorant fishermen. But the epistles just move us, do they not, to read those epistles? And God shows He'll use who we will in order to get His thoughts to us.
And it's so beautiful. Paul's trying to bring that to these Corinthians now.
I wonder if we could.
Add to that remark just in case there's any misunderstanding, and that is that the Word of God does not put any special premium on ignorance in natural things. And so the thought is not so much that the apostles were, as the Scripture in our King James translation reads, unlearned and ignorant men. It should mean unlearned and uneducated or unlettered men. And so.
The apostle Paul had a good education, and when he spoke to the Athenians on Mars Hill, he could quote from one of their own poets and bring that into the gospel message. When he wrote the epistle to Titus, he could refer to what their own prophet said about the Cretans, and he could quote from them in order to incorporate it into his epistle. And so I believe it's right to say that in natural things there's nothing wrong with using the talents and abilities that God has given us, but first of all, according to the mind of God.
And secondly, under the power of the Spirit of God. And that's where the difficulty arises, doesn't it? And that's why Paul takes up the question here, because they were using man's wisdom to add to that which God had given in the moral and spiritual sphere where we are totally dependent on divine revelation. And so I don't want any young people here to suddenly think that it's wrong to get an education.
On the one hand, sometimes God would direct some in that path, others he would not.
And it's a matter of what the mind of the Lord is, and we can glorify God in whatever sphere.
He chooses to use us. I know many of us are thankful for our brethren of back in the 1800s who were educated in Greek and Hebrew and things like that. And we are greatly indebted to them for their translation work in the Word of God and for their breadth of knowledge in many spheres. That enabled them to bring out the truth because they had, you might say, an ability to do so. Not that that was perhaps absolutely necessary, but God used the abilities that they had.
But the great problem that arises which is addressed here is the use of man's wisdom in the things of God rather than the mind being under the control of the Spirit of God, and thus using the revelation from God in the moral and spiritual sphere rather than man's wisdom.
And saying.
That he didn't come in the Excellency of speech.
Now I suspect that the apostle Paul could certainly have spoken that way if the.
Occasion needed the problem was immoral. One of the Corinthians they were impressed by that and equated spirituality with that kind of ability. And so it was necessary to their moral condition, that very worldly condition that he speak very, very simply and plainly as you brought out brother Bill when he was preaching to the opinions who were the, you might say, the epitome of philosophy of philosophers.
He went down to the very lowest level, the very simplest level, but.
We want to, I would like to add to that and say that that not to take away anything from what has been presented, but we don't want to in any way denigrate study of the Word of God or ability that God has given in Acts. You read about Apollos, who was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures. Why does the Spirit of God say he was eloquent man if eloquence isn't ever to be something that can be used for the blessing of the people of God?
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The problem is how we look at it. The problem is what we start valuing. And so there were.
Aquila and Priscilla who and I don't know that it says anyway they were eloquent, but we know that they certainly served the tremendous purpose and in love for the Lord Jesus served as Saints. They took this mighty, excuse me, this eloquent man who was mighty in Scriptures but had some things to learn.
And they took him aside and they showed him the way of God more perfectly. They didn't. At least I want to be careful. I don't want to assume things. But the spirit of a God doesn't say that they rebuked him for being eloquent or they rebuked him for being mighty in Scripture. They just that the Spirit of God just says that they added to what he had and it was used for the blessing of Saints. And so that's really vital for all of us to understand, beloved brethren, that whatever God has given us.
It's to be used for the glory of the Lord Jesus, not to promote ourselves, be used for the glory of the Lord and for the blessing of his people. And if he's given someone the ability to speak well, speak well with Christ. If he's given someone the ability to teach, teach in simplicity the deep truths of God so we can all learn them. We need it. Whatever he's given, do it well. And I'm, I'm amazed that you go through Scripture.
From the Old Testament right on through.
Daniel was an incredibly intelligent young man, and the Spirit of God points out that his faithfulness and purpose of heart to the Lord in not eating the King's meat, that he and his three friends were 10 times better in their learning and their wisdom after that test than they had been before, and how mightily he was used. But Daniel wasn't aspiring to be something.
Purpose in his heart not to displease the Lord and the Lord used what he was and what he had for blessing. You even see that in Joseph's brother and I told this to young people sometimes when they're, and I know this is going off so I won't go far with this, but sometimes young people are wondering about jobs and careers and things and rightfully so and what they should do and and and it's true we have to be careful of our motives for whatever we do if the Lord leads us to school.
If the Lord leads us into some sort of job, we have to be careful what our motives are. But Joseph's brethren, Pharaoh told him, if you have among your brothers any men of activity, put them over my cattle. So the Lord is not telling us to disparage and despise these things, but that Christ is the supreme object and the reason and the you might say the reference point for all that we do and say in our lives.
And brethren, I went to this is going back a little bit. I just want to encourage us. We ought to be very diligent. Our brother spoke about this earlier in the address. We ought to be very diligent in the Word of God and studying the Word of God and seeking to learn the Word of God. And whatever the Lord has given each one of us, each of us, how often have we heard this minister? We should have a different talent. The Lord has given each of us something different to do.
Should we be doing it in a sloppy way? Absolutely not. We should be doing it the very best of our ability for the glory of the Lord. And so when this is taken up here, Paul didn't speak to them in in excellent speech and eloquent speech, not because he would, I think, never use that, but because that wasn't what they were morally, morally the level they were at receiving. They needed a different kind of a lesson.
Speak to them in that way with your attention to.
And it goes along with.
If you go to the last chapter, first Corinthians, Paul says as touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren, but his will was not at all to come at this time. But he will come when he shall have a convenient time. So it seemed like Apollos understood the problem with the Corinthians. They liked eloquent people. Who of us don't like to listen to somebody eloquent? We do, naturally speaking.
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But if we get so occupied with the instrument that is eloquent, it detracts from the message.
Of the cross, which is the end of what we are as men in the flesh. And so that's what I think that's the point here in these verses, that he determined not to know anything among them save Jesus Christ and him crucified. How humbling to men naturally what was done with the Son of God, the glorious Son of God. Look at the Christ.
That's the treatment he got from this world.
No doubt.
Most eloquent and greatly educated man the Lord met when he was here was Nicodemus, and he wanted to discuss with the Lord religion, but of course he would have nothing to do with that. And when Nicodemus asked that, he did say he must be born again without a new life.
All eloquence means nothing. The word of God is all. And that's what was really the root problem of the Corinthians with all they had wrong with them. It was really moral more than doctrinal and the way they did things, they did remember the Lord. But Paul said, I do not commend you for remembering the Lord because it was the way they were doing it with flesh.
And and.
More or less pride in doing it, but the thing that was wrong I think is brought out in the second Corinthians and Chapter 11 and verse two and three.
This was a real deep problem with the Corinthians. He says in two, I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. You know, we're taught jealousy is not a nice thing, but a godly jealousy. We have to thank God for it. He loves us with a godly jealousy. And that brings in, of course, Exodus 34. We won't turn for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you.
As a chaste virgin to Christ, but I fear left by any means.
As the serpent beguiled Eve to his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is of Christ, I believe, rather than in Christ. It's really more deep than that. It's Christ himself and crucified. So they left that. And it could be intelligence at work, but we have to be fearful, dear.
Young people, nothing wrong with education. I have 4°.
And I had to get rid of the mall in order to do anything for Christ.
Count it all done. And I'm not saying you shouldn't get them. I'm thankful I got them. I've learned a few things that way. The Lord will use them. But I was wary of one course in college.
Comparative religion, and I do not suggest any to take it. We should be wise.
In education, too, you know.
After we have what is communicated, and in the latter part of the chapter we have how it is communicated. So we have later in the chapter comparing spiritual with spiritual. That's a little obscure, but it means communicating spiritual truths by spiritual means. So he's talking about how we communicate it, but in the first part of the chapter, he's really talking about what we communicate. We're communicating the wisdom of God, the testimony of God.
And just as a practical way, I know as a young brother and somebody would lay your hand on your shoulder and say.
You know, would you speak to the children in the Sunday school? Would you just preach the gospel? And suddenly it starts scrambling around in your mind, do I look for a Lantern or do I look for a football or do I look for something declaring the testimony of God? You're asked to speak to somebody. Saints are largely ignorant of the facts of Christianity. I've been astounded after, as I mentioned, after several funerals, how many Christians are ignorant of the truth of resurrection?
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So Paul came, This is contrary, completely contrary to the wisdom of this world, and the eloquent speech of this world is just to put to declare, He came declaring unto you the testimony of God.
You want to use an illustration. The Bible is full of them.
The Old Testament is the most wonderful picture book that there ever was. And Brother Gordon used to say you'll never meet a situation in your life that you won't find a story in the Old Testament that answers to it. So that's what Paul came doing. He came declaring the testimony of God. And I really believe that that's what he's speaking about. And then how we do it comes in later in the chapter, because the tendency is to try to communicate spiritual truths by unspiritual means.
And so you're not going to communicate spiritual truths by using rock'n'roll bands and plays and all kinds of other stuff because that's not, that is not how spiritual truths are communicated. But he gets into that later. But the world has a wisdom that encroaches into the things of God. Man tries to bring psychology, which is the science of the first man, into things and tries to bring its wisdom into dealing with matters in the assembly.
But Paul was bringing before them the plain testimony of God as to the gospel and as to the truth of Scripture.
In fear, in much trembling. That's not generally considered a very good way of presenting things, is it?
But the reason was that they were so tended to glory in instruments rather than glory in the Lord. He says in verse four, my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man wisdom. Man's wisdom at the end of that verse is interesting. Notice it says in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. There was power to his preaching. And what does give power to preaching, brethren?
Is keeping close to the Lord walking in fellowship so that the Spirit of God is ungrieved, unquenched in our lives in general? Then when He gives opportunity, the Spirit of God can use us without hindrance and the Word of God itself to present it in the clarity that is possible. Brethren, it's not what I say about Scripture.
That is so important. It's Scripture itself that is important. If I can be a help so that somebody understands scripture itself, that scripture is what carries weight and power with those that listen. Sometimes we put a lot of emphasis on the explanation of Scripture, but it is really scripture itself that has real power. It's the living.
Abiding word of God. It's what the Spirit of God takes to.
Apply the souls and produce new life. That is what it means when it says in John 3.
Accept a man be born of water and of the Spirit. It is the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and where there is a hearing here applies it, and that's what he uses in power to produce new life in souls. What a wonderful thing it is not.
Eloquent. Necessarily, that does it.
But it is the simple presentation of the Word of God. Young people, maybe you have an opportunity to talk to somebody at school or at work. Learn in the measure that you can. And I know I'm always tended to try to start reasoning with people. But what has more power than reasoning is the Word of God itself. Let's learn to use it.
And to apply it, God will use that.
Corinthians 13 after all the time Paul spent with the Corinthians and all the truth he gave them, and then the letter and now the second letter, and you know they're still denying in US way his apostleship that he is an apostle even. And so he says in verse 3 of 13 since you seek approved of Christ speaking in me, think about that.
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They challenged that and what did he say? Verse five, examine yourselves. You know the power of God in the word is salvation. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God and they were proved that he was speaking from God and of God. Then he said.
Except ye be reprobate, You know, That's a strong word for Corinthians.
But they deserved it. He didn't call them reprobates, but he said examine yourself.
If you don't realize that you have life through the preaching I gave you back there, then perhaps you're reprobate. I mean, think about it. It's solemn to have to go to that extreme. But he did. The Corinthians were just too carnal. They love gifts, and they had them, but they misused them. And everything they did was really something Paul had to correct in the two epistles.
But you know.
With the Corinthians he could commend and commend and commend. Why there wasn't doctrinal air and brethren with the Galatians? He said not one word good or commending about the Galatians, did he?
Why? It was doctrinal. And brethren, let's remember that doctrinal air is so solemn, so serious, has to be excised out, whereas moral error can be corrected, it can be handled, and it did in Corinth. So I just mentioned that with the Corinthians, a lot was wrong, but Paul could keep working with them. But he loved to come. He always wanted to come, but he had to come.
With an Apostolic power and he didn't want to do that.
This is reprimand to the Corinthians is having to say this wasn't that because.
He, it seems to me that Paul here is complete control of his speech here and bringing his speech down in simplicity, intentionally, because he knew that the Corinthians would get occupied with the wrong thing if he allowed any of that eloquence to come out and so on in the presentation of it. And so he and intentionally spoke in that way.
In verse six it says, Howbeit we speak wisdom among among them that are perfect.
The Corinthians had a problem and therefore he couldn't speak in that way. I enjoyed what our brother was saying to us in the address about the widow woman going in and closing the door. That was an indication that the power to multiply that oil was all of God, wasn't it? And that seems to be somewhat the thought here, isn't it? He's closing the door lest they misinterpret anything of man in Paul's preaching, it's all of God.
I just.
Put in connection with the second verse that people often quote this as much as to say I really don't. I really only want to know the gospel. Don't get me involved in anything more than that, and that's I'm paraphrasing their expressions. I've often heard it quoted in that way. I just want to know the gospel. Don't trouble me with all this question of church truth or don't trouble me with doctrine about all these other things, but what Paul is really saying is that when in everything he saw Christ.
And so you think of those two that were discouraged on the road to Emmaus, and the Lord was walking along with them.
And what did he do? He he said to them, oh fools and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory, and beginning at Moses, and all the prophecy expounded onto them in all the Scriptures things, the things concerning himself. So he saw Christ in every Scripture, and he saw the end, as it's been pointed out, of the 1St man.
And really what has happened in the name of ministry is man has turned the Bible.
Into a book of how to get through life. And he turns the Old Testament scriptures into dietary laws. And he's looking in the first chapter of Genesis for where fossils came from. And in the flood, he's looking for where fossils came from. He's not looking for Christ. He's looking for answers to infidels or he's looking for how to how to what to eat at the meal table and so on. And really those scriptures were to look for Christ in those.
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He's the man is looking how to better the 1St man instead of seeing the end of them and seeing the truth of Christ, Christ and him crucified.
And that's what Paul was really saying. Well, this is contrary to man. Man says, don't you have anything to offer to better this world? That's man's wisdom.
We don't have anything to offer to improve this world.
This world is under judgment. We have something to offer man.
And so that's really what he's speaking, I believe here in the message that he had.
Was that it was Christ and him crucified, and not the wisdom of this world?
In Luke, Sir, the hardest ones the Lord had to deal with were the apostles, the last group. And why? He said, why do thoughts arise in your hearts? That's the problem with the apostle. And you know we have the truth, brethren, but let's don't let thoughts arise in our hearts and get in the way of the simplicity.
That is of Christ. We can find it because the Spirit of God will do that for us if we wish. We ought to find Christ in all Old Testament Scriptures. He says we have the license to do it in Luke 24. So that's enough for me.
Give a Bible talk on how to raise children successfully and open up principles from the book of Proverbs as to how to run your family. He would pack this place they would need a place with 15,000 seats. Man wants he wants something to improve his situation in this life and even those Christians who've taken up scriptural principles on how to raise family of PAC Jews and Muslims and all kinds of people in to hear this kind of talk because that's what man is looking for.
But if you want to bring before him Christ, and to bring your family up in a place where Christ is honored.
That's not what the 1St man is looking for.
I was sitting in the restaurant the other day and I overheard somebody talking about this war over Israel. And it turned out it was a student. And I kind of overheard 10 minutes of this conversation and this one going on and on and on. And I sit turned to him and I said, you know, he said, oh, here, here comes the Bible. I said, you know, you should read the book of Obadiah. He says, I don't have time for that.
He's just been talking for 15 minutes. It would take him 1/3 of that to read the book. And man wants to know how to solve this. He'll spend a great deal of energy how to solve this situation. But when we see what the Word of God presents is the solution to that situation, we don't need to worry about it. It's going to be taken care of. But man says we have nothing to offer to us. People talk about global warming. What does a Christian have to offer for that? We have nothing to offer for that, but we have Christ.
And so that's why Paul came trembling to.
These Corinthians because they were looking for something to improve. They wanted to reign as kings without Christ in this world, and Paul had nothing to offer them to accommodate them.
Christ and him crucified is the is the foundation work of our faith, isn't it? It's his person, his work that is the foundation of our faith. And that's important that that he goes on to say in verse five that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And it was so important to establish that and I suppose that we here in the United States.
But a lot of emphasis on man's wisdom. It has a real message for us, brethren, that in the things of God we're not discounting man's wisdom. There's a lot of useful things to be known there. We have to make a living. And so if God allows someone to go to school to learn something of it, to use, we're not discounting that. But as to our faith, as to our relationship with God, man's wisdom has nothing to do. There it is.
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It's often been said the foot of the cross was placed in a place where man's skull was empty. And we have to come to that to realize in our relationship with God, man's wisdom has to be completely laid aside. It's a matter of God. It's a matter of Jesus Christ and him crucified. That is the very foundation of our faith, His person, His work.
Well, we shouldn't try to embellish this book. Let's stay with scripture as it is. This book, the 1611 edition, has 810,657 words in it, but only 6000 different words, whereas Shakespeare used 20,000 different words to write what he wrote. And it's really the the average word in this book is 5 letters.
And that's what Paul was preaching, the truth. It isn't something Paul added what he learned as a Pharisee. It's just the word of God. And it's not complicated, you know, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Those are not big words. Those are powerful words and we should stay with them, not try to make them eloquent.
Interesting, brethren, to think of the Apostle Paul, the instrument that God used for the introductory truth of the Church.
That he was not a man that we would put in that place.
Because it says in 2nd Corinthians 10, I believe it is, says that his bodily presence was weak and his speech was contemptible. And I I know that's that's related to his having a thorn in the flesh as to him seeing being caught up with the Lord and hearing words unlawful to utter in the human tongue.
But still.
He was afflicted such that.
What he ministered was not something that was attractive to the human heart and the human mind.
It was Christ and him crucified and not so much the cross doesn't say here that I determined to know not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified doesn't say save the cross, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. So that was the focal point of his ministry was the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified and Jesus Christ in the lowest form in a certain sense him crucified.
It's interesting to think of what Paul said in Philippians chapter 3.
It was a disclaimer as to him being qualified to be used in the ministry, which was he was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, and concerning zeal persecuting of the Church.
And those things which were gained to me, I counted lost for Christ.
All of that which was associated with the flesh he left at the cross, and it was gone. Moses, likewise, before he could be a qualified servant, had to, so to speak, unlearn what he had learned in the schools of men before God could use him and become weakened to the point where he couldn't even speak. And in Acts 7, it says that he was an eloquent man, and it says of Elijah. Is it not in First Kings chapter 18, before he was taken into the public ministry?
Public eye, the Lord told him to go hide himself by the Brook sheriff. That is cutting off. I believe that word means which is by the Jordan, the place of death.
So that there would be a learning of his place in type that it was He was hidden from view. And thus the preacher of the gospel is not the focus, it is Christ and Him crucified. But as as our Brother brought before us in the previous meeting, being filled with the Spirit would occupy souls with the Lord Jesus Christ, whether in a private way or a public way. It is Christ who is exalted in the ministry.
Verse five, that your faith should not stand in wisdom of men, but the power of God. That's a nice expression, Paul said. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God under salvation to everyone that believeth, the Jew 1St and the Gentile and the Gentile. So power of God is in the word.
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And there's real power. We've experienced it our own self. How were we saved? It's the word of God may be ministered to us by different ones. That's that's God's prerogative how he gets us to hear the word, but it is the word, nothing else.
Brother brought his father to a gospel meeting one evening.
Maybe some here that remember in Buena Park, but many years ago his father was a very afflicted and sick man in the entertainment world. He had cancer, diabetes and heart trouble. The man that would not expect to live much of the love of Christ and the love of God and the work of Christ on the cross.
And there may have been some that were sleeping in that meeting.
But it so happened after the meeting, this man, this older man.
Sat in his chair where everyone else was up visiting.
And he was broken to the very bottom with sorrow.
Conviction of his sins and the life that he had lived without Christ. His son had been saved years before.
And in fact, he had gone to the meeting and had shook his first in the face of a brother in the Los Angeles meeting.
Saying you have ruined my son.
But really, he was the one that had a ruined life, lived a ruined life.
And in all of his ruin he was brought to repentance through the simple presentation of the gospel by.
A brother we may not say was gifted in the gospel, but the Spirit of God used it in a tremendous way.
Albeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. Are there any here perfect? We don't use the word the way it is in the Word of God. You know, we think 1 Perfect never makes a mistake or never sins and all that, but it doesn't mean that at all. It really means full grown and able as a mature believer to take in strong meat and to understand and appreciate Christ.
I like the way it's put out by Paul and Philippians and it says I think it's Philippians 3 and verse 14 first and 15. I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded and if anything.
Be otherwise minded.
God will reveal this to you, all right, but it's really Christ as the sole object. That's one who's mature as a believer, and God will call him perfect. It's lovely. Of course, the Hebrews were not perfect. The Hebrews were dull of hearing. They couldn't take in these beautiful things we just feed upon because they were too much in that transition period.
Still adhering to the Jewish things of religion and they were dull of hearing. They couldn't hear it. But they got better things from Paul in Hebrews. They needed it. Something better is really the key of Hebrews for the Hebrews.
Or perfection or full growth is really to have Christ before the soul in every way, isn't it? It makes me think of what we have in second or second chapter of first John.
When it speaks of the fathers, there, there were the ones.
Of full growth. And it's often been noticed that he says the same thing in both both times he addresses them. He says, I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him, that is from the beginning.
And verse 14 I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him, that is, from the beginning.
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There was number growth beyond that point. It's to know Christ. It's to have Him.
Before the soul. But the Corinthians showed that they were carnal because they got occupied with men.
Paula, Paulus, Cephas We all have certain speakers we like better, and we have certain ones that kind of.
Suit us better. The personality kind of fits our personality a little bit better, and we kind of tend to group ourselves in one place or another. That's carnality. Paul was telling the Corinthians. And there is always the tendency. I see it in my own heart, brethren.
The tendency to do that, that is not spiritual growth, that is carnality and that was this, the Corinthians problem, but perfection is full growth and to have Christ before the soul to the point that really that is the only reference point in our lives, in our thinking, in our speaking.
That's Christ, the wisdom of God, not wonderful brethren.
Verse six. We speak the wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world which come tonight. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which was ordained before the world and to our glory, which none of the Princess of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified.
The Lord of glory, so the wisdom he's speaking about, the wisdom of God is Christ, the one that is made unto us by God. Wisdom. That's the person we're Speaking of. Beautiful to go back to a chapter like.
Proverbs chapter 8 and to read that chapter and to realize that although it just speaks of wisdom there, it's Speaking of Christ.
Evident that that's what he had in mind when he says.
While before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth, while as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world, when He was, when He prepared the heavens, I was there. When He set a compass upon the face of the depth and et cetera, right on down. Beautiful to realize that it was Christ there. That hidden wisdom hadn't been revealed at that time.
But now we know that hidden wisdom we have been brought to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we say to Bob that.
Perfection involves understanding the mind of God at that particular time and the way God is dealing with man.
So God could say to Abraham, walk before me and be thou perfect. Well, it had a different sense in his day because he didn't understand what you and I know, but he had an understanding that God was calling him out to walk before him.
Not having any land, any part of the land of Canaan to call his own, and yet walking before God.
With promises that he wasn't going to realize, it says in Hebrews 11, he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now in this dispensation, you and I, for you and me, I should say perfection involves Christ as our brother has been bringing out. And in that sense it involves understanding what God is doing so that we are intelligent as to the ways of God at this time that he's calling out of people from earth, from every nation.
To form his church with a heavenly calling and to take them up to be with Himself in heaven. Well, once we have a grasp of that, as Paul could say in Second Timothy 2, consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things. So everything falls into place, doesn't it? With that revelation of that mystery that was hidden in God, the mystery of Christ and the church, everything falls into place. The wisdom of God is able to be communicated to us.
And with those?
Thoughts firmly in our hearts, we can read the Scripture, we can understand them, and we can live and walk in the good of it. But as long as the Corinthians were looking for worldly wisdom, as long as they were looking for something that would improve the world, as long as we are connected with things down here, we're not going to be able to understand that hidden wisdom, are we? We're not going to be able to walk in the good of it. We aren't going to be mature enough to be able to have administered to us. And so the apostle had to approach these Corinthians, as we already have heard on a very basic level.
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Until they got hold of that.
Second Timothy and chapter three, I think is probably the most wonderful explanation of of one who's perfect.
16 of chapter 3, Second Timothy. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God that's old and new and is profitable for doctrine, for for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Why, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And it's a beautiful thing that it it, it tells us in the Old Testament. How do you become that way? Hear a little there a little line upon line, line upon line, here a little, and there a little, and you grow how beautiful that is. And so don't.
Race through it.
Don't get little helps that really are not needed. You just read it and you'll grow the feed on it. You're learning now. We each contribute and it's nice to get that. But your own reading is most important because you choose a cut.
You don't just read it and say I read it. You chew it, you, you digest it. And that's really what this is. It's unnecessary food. It's what we need. Let's see. Who was it that said, Jeremiah, I found thy words and I did eat them and they were under me, the joy and rejoicing of my soul or heart, I don't remember. So maybe. But he fed on it.
Brethren, we need to feed on it every day. Individually. The Lord is able to teach you what He wants as you feed on the Word. But you know, in presidium there's so many. I'll fed undernourished, starving believers and it's really hard to meet them. I love them and we can have fellowship to a point, and it's a different point.
With different ones, but they are starving, they're not getting fed. They're getting things that are feeding the flesh and it doesn't help growth at all. So I just mentioned that you can't neglect this book.
Let me ask a question.
1St chapter and the fifth verse, the last clause that says, well, let's read the whole verse is that in everything you're enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge. That is doctrinal knowledge. Is it? Is he saying here that they had the knowledge of these things, they were full grown and the knowledge of these things, but when you get to the third chapter, they're practicing putting them into.
Into effect was bad.
They there was divisions among them. Is that what it means?
It says in chapter 3.
I, brethren, could not speak unto you as under spiritual, but as under carnal, even as babes in Christ. Now, though they had gifts, and they had the knowledge of the word of God.
They were considering it in a fleshly, carnal way, and you only have to look at First Corinthians 11.
And see what they were doing. And yet it was scriptural. But thank God they were doing it because we have that First Corinthians 11 which comes up every Lords day some way usually. But that's what they were doing. They were doing the right things in the wrong way. It it's maybe hard to explain, but it was carnality that Paul couldn't reach him.
They say brother verse when it comes to the things of God, and this is quoting another of our older brethren, It's not what we eat that nourishes our bodies, but what we digest and in the things of God. It's not what I know that forms my walk, but what I enjoy. And I believe that's what you're bringing out, isn't it? Because the Corinthians were intelligent, generally speaking, in the things of God. But as we have been saying.
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Not in the right way. And that, I guess, speaking for oneself, hit some of us pretty hard. Because as our brother Bauman's been remarking.
If we have more light and more truth, how much more responsible we are to live and walk in the good of it.
And merely having it in my head will not do, will it? Merely knowing it is not going to form my.
Excuse me form my walk, but as we have here, whether it's lived out practically in the power of the Spirit of God, with Christ as the object of my heart. Otherwise it simply becomes a body of knowledge that perhaps I can hold or attempt to hold. But I'll find out sooner or later that if I don't live and walk in it, the truth of what the Lord Jesus says in Luke 8 will come to pass. That to him that hath, not even that He hath shall be taken away from Him.
And So what I don't walk in is not going to remain in my mind as a theory, so to speak. I'll lose it, won't I? Is that the thought you had, Brother Vern?
There's a.
Little warning, I think, going along with what our brethren have been speaking about. Perhaps we're aware of it, but it might not be wrong to just mention it back in Exodus 27.
Speaking about feeding.
On the Word of God, seems to me this is kind of a solemn thing, maybe just without going into it, the time came with Isaac when it says he was old and his eyes were dim. And if you morally apply that, we can as Christians get like that, we can.
Lose our energy for walking with Christ and lose our our spiritual sight.
And so he tells another, You go get me the meat that I love, the savory meat. He tells his son Esau, go hunt some savory meat that I love. So Isaac had gotten accustomed to someone else doing all the feeding for him. He got accustomed to the taste of that food that he saw was bringing to him. And he said, now I'm hungry, go get me some. But you know, brethren, it was that taste that he developed for just one certain kind of food.
That was provided by somebody else.
And I say morally, now we all get old if the Lord leaves us here. But I'm, I'm speaking morally. He lost his energy to a hunt for himself, to feed for himself, and he lost his vision to, to see clearly. The result was Isaac was badly fooled. And we need to be careful, don't we? We thank God for, and I think this has been mentioned and I'll just mention again, thank God for the gifts that the Lord has given us and those that are able to teach or to minister.
But beloved brother and our brethren have said it, let's remember there's a responsibility we have to expend the energy reading for ourselves and feeding on the word of God and not expecting someone else to do it. And then as I think brother Bob, you mentioned, we kind of have our favorites that we like to listen to. Then in a way, there's nothing wrong if we're careful with that. That's that's understandable. But to say.
You know that, brother, I just don't get out anything out of what they say. It's kind of a dangerous thing to say. We need to be willing to listen to the word of God ministered, but we really, really need to have the energy and the vision spiritually to search it out and hunt for it ourselves and to make it good for ourselves that we not get fooled.
In the first chapter we have knowledge, and in this chapter we have wisdom and wisdom as applied knowledge.
And so the Corinthians knew that a little 1111 The whole lump.
But what is it that they did with that?
And so he asked them a question. He said ought to rather not to have mourned that this one be taken away from among you. But they were going to the wisdom of the world. They were saying, the wisdom of the world is we're going to show love to this man.
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And they boasted in their love. And he said, When you come together, I praise you not.
Don't think I'm praising you for the way you come together. I'm not praising it because they were really going on in a way that was according to the wisdom of the world, not according to the wisdom of God. It wasn't that they didn't know that.
And so he said, I speak as the wise men. Judge ye what I say.
That the partakers of the altar are in fellowship with the altar. It's not as if Christians don't understand that, But what do they do with that?
And so if I go and break bread at a table where there's bad doctrine held us to the concerning the person of Christ, I'm putting myself in fellowship with that. So I may know the facts, but then the wisdom, how does that translate into my actions? And the wisdom of this world is what gets man into trouble.
And so this is really what he's bringing before us here is that if Christ is really our object in all of these things, then we're going to be right. If the world is our object and getting things right and getting along with things in the world is our object, then we're going to go wrong.
The fourth verse here I was thinking about this.
Enticing words of man.
There's some verses you can look at in Ephesians.
Ephesians 4.
In verse 14, that we henceforth be no more children crossed to and 12 cared about with every wind of darkened by the strength of men cunning craftedness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. And also in the 5th chapter.
Of the seasons.
The sixth verse. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. And in the 10th verse proving what is acceptable unto the Lord, there are many.
Men out there with enticing words who seek to deceive our young people.
With much attraction, they use the word of God.
In a wisdom of the world.
Exalting self and they seek to attract our young people. And when our young people leave the conference, they're going to be bombarded on every side. As you mentioned, Dave, they get it in school, they get it in their association where they work or just their friends, and they come in contact with those men who have enticing words to seek to draw away.
Our young people from the truth and our young people need to be cast on the Lord as what was brought before us. They need to prove what is acceptable by the word of God. And it's so easy to be caught up with the words of enticing men who seek to.
With attractions of this words and wisdoms of the world to draw their hearts away.
Well, we read in First Corinthians, Second Corinthians 11, Satan has taken upon himself the form of an Angel of light and his ministers likewise. So he's working and so are his demons and his messengers can be people, you know, Christians so-called, but he's working through religion and young people are particularly.
Successful.
Susceptible to that because in college, high school, you know, we're Christians too, just like you, only we have a broader base. We have great work, you know. Come and join us in this.
Christ, or let's see someone for Christ in college.
I think it's Christian for crying, youth for Christ. Yeah, you'll get mixed up quick, and before you know it, it's not. Come out from among them. Be separate, But you're in an unequal yoke with unbelievers because they profess what they don't possess.
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The Spirit of God, I'm not saying all of them, but so many and it's easy to get caught in that. You know, that was the snare that Jehoshaphat got into. You know, he says this is against God's people. The Moabites join me and he says I, I will join you. Good cause. But we need to know that what we do is according to the will of God and not just what we think.
Is a good 'cause you could get mixed up so quick and I used to tell.
My own children, it's a lot easier to stay out than to get out.
It's hard to get out when you get mixed up with it, and it's Satan's clever. He just works that way. He knows he can't gain a thing with believers, especially those that are going on in the truth. And he can't come on with with a red outfit and the tail and horns and the pitchfork doesn't work. He could do that, of course, with a large soul, but he doesn't do it to believers. He does it as an Angel of light.
Through religion, so be careful.
All shows, brethren, we need to in verse eight it says which none of the Princess of this world knew, or had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. They always tend to look at human instruments. Human instruments may be helpful, but at times they lead astray. And in this case the Princess were people that are generally looked to for direction. They were those who were high up in this world.
But.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in Princess. Thank God for our brethren who helped us in the Word, but let's put confidence in the Lord, brethren. That's where real confidence is to be found.
So they did not know it. They would have if they hadn't. If they hadn't known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
The contradiction of sinners against himself, that's what crucified the Lord of glory is. That's Hebrews 12/3. The contradiction of sinners against himself. And you know, this expression crucified the Lord of glory is really astounding. Crucifixion was only carried out under Roman rules and for a very short period for the worst of criminals.
The example to everyone.
And so Christ was crucified, the worst possible death to the highest possible person that ever walked this world. That's the contradiction of sinners against himself. God tells it as it is in Acts. He says they murdered the author of life. He calls it murder because they planned it. It was a forethought.
And then he also says they murdered, I think the justice one.
And true Well, God accounts that this world murdered his son.
And it's really astounding. Yet he offers salvation through that one to any Sinner who will just simply receive him. It's so simple and so wonderful. They miss it.
Solemn thing to think when it reads the Princess.
Of this world.
In verse 6.
And then in verse 8, the Princess of this world, none of the Princess of this world knew.
I suppose it would be acceptable to say at least one of those would be referring to Pilot.
And he asked a very solemn question of the Lord Jesus, and it does well for us to ponder that his question was very simple. What is true?
Princess of this world have no concept of what true moral truth is. The Lord Jesus said I am the truth, I am the way, the truth and the life. So let's not forget that.
When we're dealing with this world and it can look as has been brought out.
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So beautiful, so exciting.
So colorful, so inviting.
It is a world that is characterized by not knowing what truth is. For if the Princess of the world had known and had realized the truth of who this person was, they wouldn't have cursed. And that's a solemn, solemn indictment, isn't it? If they had known, they wouldn't have crucified. But Romans chapter one talks about the history of man and they give up the knowledge of God. They willingly ignorant. What a slide.
Beloved young people, that's the world you and I inhabit and don't.
Don't think for a minute that you can turn aside from the principles, the teaching of the word of God and to go into this world, even to the Princess, the leaders, the rulers, those that are leading and ruling today, whether it's ruling politically or ruling in philosophy, ruling and conduct, ruling in society, ruling in fashion, whatever it is, you can't turn to those leaders and find the truth of God that.
Class of people.
Those rulers.
Crucified, the Lord of glory.
And let's be careful that we don't get caught up with and taken up with and impressed by such things.
That we allow.
That we allow a further thought here too, that I just suggest there is no doubt that there was a measure of ignorance. And Peter says that to the Jews when he preaches the gospel to them, he says, I know that you did it in ignorance, and no doubt there was a measure of ignorance with Pilot 2. But I suggest that there's also the thought here that is a solemn warning to us of the.
Not only the ignorance of the natural man, but the enmity of man against God.
So that I believe this verse would also tell us that suppose God, and we don't want to speculate, but suppose God had revealed all of his wonderful purposes in Christ beforehand. And suppose that he had shown this world clearly everything that was going to transpire as a result of Christ being crucified. I believe this this verse would show us that man in his contrary nature and enmity against God.
Would have deliberately not crucified the Lord Jesus in order to thwart and frustrate the purposes of God.
And so we need to realize the character of the world that is out there. It's a world, yes, that is characterized by ignorance, but it's also characterized by enmity and of course, energized by Satan, by frustration, if possible. We know it can't happen. Nothing will frustrate the purposes of God, but the world would actually, if it could turn aside the purposes of God in blessing to you and to me.
If they could, by not going through with the crucifixion, they thought by crucifying the Lord they were getting rid of the one that was causing them so much trouble.
They didn't realize, of course, what God was going to do as a result of it. But had they known? I believe it was not only a matter of ignorance, but a matter of enmity and hatred against all the purposes of God in Christ.
You know, the Pilot is a warning to all of us, and perhaps not, not so strict as that, but it's a warning because I think Pilot knew that he was handing over an innocent man for judgment. I know he knew it. He said three times, I find no fault at all with this man. What has he done? And yet he turned him over.
To be crucified. And not only that, he gave him a good whipping purse.
You know, but notice James.
Verse chapter 4 of James and verse 5. This is pilot.
To him that knoweth to do good, verse 17 I'm sorry, chapter 5. To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
That would apply to us, brethren, to you can commit sin.
By omission.
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And Pilot really sinned heavily by omission. As a judge, he knew what he should have done. Found him not guilty of death, you know. But I think Pilate knew he was at least an innocent man.
Is there the thought in this date verse that when they crucified the Lord, they actually sent them to heaven they he was exalted to his heavenly throne to united people with be united with his people on earth and all the councils of God were to be fulfilled. If they'd have known that they wouldn't have done that act and but so but God the wisdom of God.
Overrules and causes this to happen.
And this is what Paul was the communicator of in the in the seventh verse we speak the wisdom of God in the mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. God knew all of this in the past eternity and purposed it to be. Paul is the communicator of it to us. We get this mystery through Paul. Paul longed to convey that.
Perhaps even now to the Corinthians that he had to take up some other matters first.
Before they could really take this in.
What does that mean? Tell us what that means, Lord and glory. It doesn't say Lord of the earth, doesn't say Lord of the. What's Lord of glory?
Intrinsic glory and he has an acquired glory. And when he was crucified.
God gave him an acquired glory that we may glimpse and share.
But never the intrinsic glory he hath. He had a glory before the world was just being the eternal Son of God, but he got an acquired glory doing God's will.
Fact, I don't want to go to the verses, it's late, but it says glorify me now with thy glory, with, with my glory, which I had before the earth began. And so he actually was glorified when he was crucified. God made sure of that.
7 Glorious of the sun in Hebrews chapter One perhaps bears that out, the last one when he had by himself.
Purged our sins. This is the 7th. Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Lord of Florida, we adore them.
#134.
Lord of glory we adore.
Glorious, glorious, glorious.
Dark.
Living worship, we pray.
Here we pray. Excellent.
All my word.
Who knows the shame with glory crying and fraudulent, fraudulent Lord.
Was rejected in my.
Call.
They will honor the.
Adore.
Lord of Snow and Nevermore.