He That Is Spiritual

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 STUDY NOTES SERIES: SPIRITUALITY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:13-16 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES HE THAT IS SPIRITUAL SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTIONS--1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. “Which things” are the things that are “freely given to us of God,” 1Co 2:12 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. These “things” that are freely given to us by God must be received through the Spirit Therefore, they can only be communicated to those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit Paul communicated these “spiritual things” to us through the Holy Spirit within him “Spiritual things” can only be communicated to others through the Holy Spirit Man cannot learn them, and man cannot teach them to others without the Holy Spirit The Spirit is the influence, the conviction, and the power of the spiritual things of God The “spiritual things” of God are not influenced through the power of man’s wisdom They are “not in the words which man's wisdom teaches” “Man’s wisdom” is limited to the words of world wisdom and man’s teaching wisdom Man, without the Holy Spirit’s teaching is limited to the learning of man’s wisdom A lost person can study the Bible with interest and learn facts from the Bible But a person must be saved, born of the Spirit, in-order to learn spiritual truths from the Bible Those who are lost learn only enough about the Bible to argue and question the Bible Those who are saved can learn how to live according to the Bible, we learn through the Spirit The teaching of the Bible is that “which the Holy Ghost teaches” Paul wrote what the Holy Spirit taught him, which is what we read in the Bible When we read the Bible, we are reading what the Holy Spirit told men to write, 2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The truth of 1 Corinthians 2:13 is not limited to the authors of the Bible inspired by the Spirit Which things also “we speak” applies to every born-again believer who possesses the Spirit Christians should teach others what the Holy Spirit has taught us as we read and study the Bible Somewhere in the Bible is the answer to the questions that you have about life, death, and eternity When we study the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” “Spiritual things” are the things of God’s “Heavenly Wisdom,” 1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Paul is telling us again who can be taught the “Heavenly Wisdom” of “Spiritual things” “Comparing spiritual things with spiritual” is the same truth found in, 1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: The “perfect” are those who are not only born of the Spirit but also “filled with the Spirit” The Holy Spirit explains spiritual things to those who are spiritually minded The Holy Spirit puts together the spiritual things of God with our God-given Spirit Spiritual things are the message of God’s wisdom that Paul speaks to those spiritually mature We have the Spirit of God and God has spiritual things for us, the Spirit brings it all together Page 1 of 6 The Spirit brings together what God has for us in our time of need, He puts life together for us This is also known as the “Illuminating” ministry of the Holy Spirit Illumination is the Holy Spirit guiding believers into the truths and promises of God The Holy Spirit bringing together our life and the spiritual truths of God’s Word The Holy Spirit sharing scripture with scripture and applying them to our spiritual life The Spirit always has some spiritual wisdom and spiritual strength to share with your life THE NATURAL MAN--1Co 2:14 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. The “natural man” identifies with physical birth, literally a “soulish man” by nature The soul of man dominates, influences, and energizes the “natural man” The desires of the “natural man” are worldly and materialistic, without spiritual capacity The “natural man” is one who is spiritually lost, unsaved, who has never been born again The “natural man” is an earthly man, a sensual man, and spiritually dead, separated from God Therefore the “natural man” does not have the presence of the Holy Spirit within him He is unspiritual because he does not have God’s life through Jesus Christ He has only one nature which is called the “old sinful nature” or the “Adamic nature” His life is limited to the life of the wisdom of this world, he is without spiritual discernment He has a worldly mind, his thoughts are worldly, and his desires are worldly The only will that he lives by is a will for the things of this earth and the earthly life He is controlled and dominated by worldly wisdom which James identifies, Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. James and Paul, both tell us that there are two sources of wisdom, earthly and heavenly “Earthly” means of the earth and belonging to the earth, and distinguished from heaven According to Jesus, there are “earthly things” and there are “heavenly things,” Joh 3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? “Earthly things” come from this world according to the standards of man and this world They are the things that are limited to and bounded by earthly motives, principles, and goals Things that are measured by earthly success and judged by worldly standards Earthly things are the product of man, they are not given to man through the spiritual nature Therefore, there is no eternal benefit because it is of the human nature Therefore, if wisdom is earthly, it is also “sensual,” that which is of the “natural man” The word “sensual” identifies that which is the very opposite of that which is “spiritual” Jude identified the natural man as “sensual,” Jud 1:19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. They are “sensual” because they do not have the Spirit of God within them They are governed by the sinful nature of man, which is worldly, sinful, selfish, and devilish An example of the “natural man” is found in Luke 16, he is called the “rich man” Abraham spoke of his lifetime on earth, Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. By choice the rich man had chosen the world’s way of life instead of God’s way of life He had not allowed his heart to be influenced and convicted by the Holy Spirit If life is limited to what this world has to offer, then there is not much to life This sinful world has very little to offer in the way of a good life Sinful man through a worldly lifestyle will never come to know the things of the Spirit Without the spiritual new birth man cannot receive the things of the Spirit “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14) It is not because of a lack of intellectual abilities that spiritual things cannot be received Page 2 of 6 The wisdom of God does not come to man through the knowledge of college Man may be mentally intelligent, humanly educated, and well trained by worldly wisdom Yet, he cannot receive the “things of the Spirit of God” The word “receive” has the thought of “to welcome” The natural man does not welcome or put out the welcome mat for the things of God The natural man can welcome or accept the gospel and be saved when convicted by the Spirit The Philippian jailer is an example, Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? His question was answered, his salvation could not be attained through worldly wisdom, Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The gospel of salvation is through the heavenly wisdom of God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit The Berean believers are an example of those who “receive the things of the Spirit of God,” Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Many welcomed the truth of the gospel and were saved, Act 17:12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. There were those in Thessalonica that welcomed the gospel and were saved, 1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Paul was thankful for the Thessalonians, but it was God who must be thanked God is the one who deserves the thanks, Paul was grateful for what God had done and was doing It was-actually God who gave the “Word of God” to the Thessalonians (Heavenly Wisdom) But He gave it through Paul, Silas, and Timothy, and the Thessalonians recognized that They knew that the word they had heard through man was not of man, it was not worldly wisdom There are two different Greek words translated “received” in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Looking at the two words together we learn how the Word of God must be received by man The Thessalonians had received the Word of God by hearing it from Paul and his co-workers The first word translated “received” means “external reception,” they gave their ear to listening They paid close attention to what Paul said because they were interested in what they heard They brought the word they heard alongside of them they took what they heard unto themselves They desired to make a personal application of what they heard (not in one ear and out the other) They wanted to know more of the truth of the word they were hearing Paul spoke the Word of God to the Thessalonians, and they listened Believing the Word of God begins with listening to the Word of God What a difference listening to the Word of God made in their life Paul spoke and he was thankful for the way they received the Word Though they heard the word from man, they knew that it was more than a man’s word So, Paul said, you heard it from us, but you received it from God (Illumination of the Spirit) The meaning of the second Greek word translated “received” in this verse means “to welcome” A welcome that comes from within the heart, meaning that you approve of what you have heard And you desire for it to be true of your own life (Conviction of the Spirit) So, they accepted it by faith, they took hold of God’s Word and allowed it to take hold of them Their heart accepted it with full approval, there was a joyful reception of the Word of God They knew that this message was not man made, it could not have been of human origin They knew that it had to be of the realm of the supernatural, “God’s Heavenly Wisdom” Something supernatural was working within them when they “received” it There was something about this word that stirred their soul, this word had life in it It did what no word of man could do, it must have been from God Page 3 of 6 The Holy Spirit has a unique ministry to the world who does not believe in Jesus, Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; (Exactly what happened in Thessalonica) “He will reprove the world of sin,” reprove means to expose the facts, to convince of the truth The Holy Spirit works in the mind of the sinner to show them the truth of sin To convince the heart of the sinner that God is right, and they are wrong concerning sin He will convince you that you are in the wrong, the problem is your sin He will prove to you that you are in the wrong, you are the sinner The Holy Spirit convicts the lost sinner by pointing them toward the righteousness of Jesus The lost sinner will never be convicted of sin until their heart is turned to Jesus They will turn their life over to Jesus when they realize they can do nothing about their sin Their only hope is to trust in Jesus, to believe in Jesus, to welcome Jesus into their life The Holy Spirit will convince them that Jesus is the only one who can forgive sins When the sinner welcomes Jesus into their life, they are born spiritually But until sinners are born of the Spirit, they cannot receive spiritual things into their life They can read the words of God’s spiritual truths but cannot personally experience them Only those who are saved are-able to welcome the spiritual truths of God into their life Spiritual things are meaningless, nonsense, and of no value to the natural man Paul tells us why, “for they are foolishness unto him” The natural man has no spirit within for spiritual things to become a part of his life Without a spiritual life there is no place for the spiritual things that come from God Spiritual things don’t just appear to be foolish to him, they are “foolishness” to him The gospel of salvation is “foolishness” to those who are lost and on their way to Hell, 1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. God’s heavenly wisdom of salvation reveals the foolishness of man’s worldly wisdom, 1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? The natural man considers the preaching of the gospel foolishness, 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Through God’s heavenly wisdom, the preaching of the gospel, those that believe are saved Christ crucified is God’s wisdom, God’s way of salvation for the natural man, 1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; The natural man stumbles over God’s wisdom and considers it to be foolishness “Neither can he know them,” spiritual things are impossible to know through a worldly spirit He must have the Holy Spirit within before he can understand spiritual truths Spiritual truths cannot be recognized, identified, or received by man’s wisdom Because as Jude said, they do not have the Spirit of God (Jude 1:19) Spiritual truths are beyond the power of the natural man “because they are spiritually discerned” Without the Spirit of God within we cannot appraise the spiritual truths of God’s wisdom We must be indwelt by the Spirit and filled with the Spirit in-order to experience spiritual things Only through the Spirit of God can that which is spiritual be understood It is only through the spirit realm that the things of the Spirit will be appreciated THE SPIRITUAL MAN--1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. Verse 15 is in-contrast to verse 14 Page 4 of 6 Verse 14 says, “But the natural man” and verse 15 says, “But he that is spiritual” The natural man is lost and “he that is spiritual” is saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit Only those who are saved can be called “spiritual,” Christians are to experience “spirituality” But Paul is going to show us that all who are saved are not living a Spirit-filled life (1 Cor 3) The one that is identified as “spiritual” is the Christian filled and controlled with the Holy Spirit “Spirituality” is growing and maturing spiritually under the leadership of the Spirit “He that is spiritual” is saved, indwelt, filled, and dominated by the Spirit of God One who is spiritually alive and filled with a spiritual desire to learn spiritual things The one who is spiritual is the one who “judgeth all things” The word “judgeth” is the same word translated “discerned” in verse 14 So, the spiritual man is-able to do what the natural man cannot do The spiritual man is-able to investigate, examine, appraise, and evaluate all things in life Because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he can put a value on the things of this life “All things” include the secular as well as the spiritual realm, all-of the experiences of life The spiritual man has a special insight into this earthly walk of life, all that we will face The spiritual man has an appreciation for life that the natural man does not have The spiritual man has-the ability to look at life the way that God looks at life He has a special understanding of life upon this earth He possesses a Godly sensibility and a divine perspective of life Spirituality allows Christians to understand and appreciate earthly and heavenly things “Spirituality” is understanding what is of man and what is of God Knowing what is right or wrong in the sight of God Paul does not mean that we know everything and do not need to be taught God’s Word Spirituality comes from the study of God’s Word, learning and living God’s Word Other people will not always understand the way that the spiritual man views daily life Paul said, “Yet he himself is judged of no man” Man’s wisdom cannot understand or explain the work of God’s wisdom in the Christian The natural man will never understand the spiritual manner of life within the Christian The lost have no true spiritual evaluation of those who are saved and the way they live It is impossible for the lost world to understand why Christians live the way they do That is why the world will laugh, mock, mistreat, insult, persecute, and even kill Christians INSTRUCTOR OF LIFE--1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Paul does not say that no one knows or understands what God has determined to do But that no one has instructed the mind of the Lord, Isa 40:13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? The question is, who has given God advice? Who has given Him counsel? When the world attempts to tell Christians how to live, they are attempting to instruct God To contradict the Word of God is to argue with the mind of God and His absolute wisdom Living according to worldly wisdom is an attempt to tell God all about life, how we are to live But God is not only the Creator and giver of life He is the instructor of life It is not the wisdom of this world that gives man his instructions for life upon this earth How far away has America gone from God’s instructions for life? Our government today is making decisions for our life according to worldly wisdom Paul has a question in the beginning of this verse, now he gives the answer to the question “But we have the mind of Christ” The “we” is not limited to Paul and the Apostles it refers to all NT believers God instructs Christians how to live through the “mind of Christ,” which we have Page 5 of 6 But we have a choice of whether to apply it to our life or not, Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: “Let” states that it will be our choice, we must accept the responsibility, it is our decision We are to be Christ minded, which is the way we are to think, think with our spiritual mind Our mind must be directed in the right direction, which is Christ, what would Jesus do? Because we have the Spirit of God and the Word of God, we can have God’s viewpoint of life God’s heavenly wisdom is given to those who are spiritual Which allows us to read and understand scripture as the Holy Spirit illuminates the truth to us Which allows us to live according to what we have learned from God’s Word We can live according to scripture as we think of life in and through Christ And that is living life in the realm of “Spirituality” A spiritual mind allows us to make the right decisions for the steps of our daily life John called that an “unction” or an anointing of the Holy Spirit, 1Jn 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. Actually-the anointing is the Person of the Holy Spirit Himself Which provides an intelligence for us that comes in and through Christ An understanding of life that is a result of knowing Christ, Christians have a heavenly mind-set Christians are to think different, Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. We can think different because we are alive in Christ, Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Our desires are to be the things of God, Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. We can experience the hidden wisdom of God, Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Live for Christ today, for His is coming one day, Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Therefore, we must be living the life of “Spirituality” each-and every day, Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. CONCLUSION The life of “Spirituality” is more than the fact of being born again spiritually It is living the life of “Spirituality” daily, which every Christian is not doing Paul describes the different lifestyles of man today Paul spoke of the “natural” man who is lost and without Christ in his life, 1Co 2:14 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. Paul wants to speak to the “spiritual” the spiritual things of God’s Wisdom, 1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. The “carnal” man is saved but living as though Christ was not in his life The “carnal” are not living a life of “Spirituality” Paul speaks of those who are “spiritual,” those who are living a daily life for Christ Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit and growing spiritually, 2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. “Spirituality” is growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and living Christ-like We must learn and live the life of “Spirituality” Page 6 of 6