Lesson 6 – 1 Corinthians Chapter 2:11-16 & Chapter 3:1-7

Paul opened chapter 2 by saying he didn’t come into Corinth with any slick talk, he didn’t come with any “superiority of speech or of wisdom.”

Paul was a straight shooter, he was genuine. Paul was the complete opposite of those who would come into town with their own personal agenda, looking to make money and gain some kind of power and notoriety.

The reason Paul didn’t have to play games or try to manipulate the people was because he was Holy Spirit driven, and his simple message was Jesus Christ… dying on a cross and being resurrected from the dead. Just as there’s “power in the Blood” there was power in the words he spoke through the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Paul also makes it clear that the only wisdom we should invest our lives in, is the wisdom from above, God’s wisdom. Man’s wisdom is steeped in sin and is dying.

Verse 7 says, “But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;”

God intentionally holds His wisdom a secret from natural man and his earthly wisdom, while revealing His wisdom to His children, allowing them to access to the deep things of God. This all comes to us through the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 2:11:
“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

“No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.” (NLT)

For example, take a husband and wife, they can be together for years and years, sharing their thoughts, dreams, and ambitions, and still there are things that only each individual knows about themselves… and of course God’s knows all about them.

Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God…

Who can know the thoughts of God? Only the Spirit can know God intimately.

Romans 11:34:
“For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him advice?” (NLT)

Isaiah 55:8-9:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (ESV)

As we can see from these Scriptures, the key to “knowing the thoughts of God” is for us to walk in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the key! The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, and the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God. When we walk in the Spirit, we allow the Holy Spirit to help us, teach us, lead us, guide us, and transform us. We are not to rely on our own power or our own wisdom, but on the power and wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit. This is how we can know the thoughts of God.

1 Cor. 2:12-13:
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

It’s important that we understand that we don’t discover God’s truth, but by His Spirit, God’s truth is revealed to us. We can consider that a gift from God.

As believers, we see things differently than the world sees things, and this is all because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, ministering to our spirit, and bringing God’s truth to us. It’s quite a privilege.

For example, the believer says, “No matter what the world’s top economic forecasters might predict, I am confident that God is watching over me and He will supply all my needs.

Phil. 4:19:
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

When we hear on the news that things are heating up in the Middle East once again, that a war could break out at any moment, we know things that the political pundits can only guess about. For instance, we know from the Scriptures that the armies of the world will indeed converge upon Israel and that there will be a battle of all battles. That could be the Ezekiel 38-39 war or the battle of Armageddon.

The natural man can’t understand these things, whereas the believer says, “it’s as clear as the nose on your face.”

So that we may know the things freely given to us by God…

Keying in on the words “we” and “us” this isn’t referring to believers here, but to Paul and the other apostles. Yes, God’s Word is for all believers, but these things were revealed only to the apostles and the other writers of Scripture. Only the men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit were allowed to put the Scriptures together.

2 Tim. 3:16:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

It’s also important to know that Paul and the other writers were not putting together clever thoughts and ideas based on their own thinking, but they recorded what the Holy Spirit gave them and “only” what He gave them.

This being true, and it is, this is the reason we can have the utmost confidence in the reliability of God’s Word. Even though the Bible has come down to us through the generations, we can still be sure that what we hold in our hands today is true. I personally believe that God has protected His Word, that the corrupt world can’t steal the Word from God’s people.

We have received… that we might know…

The Holy Spirit knows all the words that mankind uses to communicate, and so He selected each word and arranged them in exactly the right order that He wanted, producing the Scriptures.

Hebrews 4:12:
“For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The things freely given to us by God…

God is in control and He will always be in control. All the words given to Paul and the others were “God-breathed” or “inspired” and they recorded each one so that we could read it, study it, and memorize it.

Matt. 4:4:
“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

God’s Word is revealed, inspired, and it’s authoritative… and you can take that to the bank.

But in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words…

We speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. (NLT)

From David Guzik:
“This does not mean every believer has equal spiritual wisdom. And it does not mean we will understand all spiritual mysteries. It does mean every believer can understand the basics of the Christian message, which is unattainable (and undesirable) by human wisdom.”

1 Cor. 2:14:
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (or discerned).”

Who is the natural man? He is the unsaved man, the man who belongs to the world, and at times, he is happy in it. He comes home and does what comes naturally to him…he eats, he drinks, and is somewhat content, that is until the emptiness of his soul consumes him and he starts looking for answers.

Perhaps he decides to check out a small group, a Bible study someone told him about. He goes, he listens, he hears the Scriptures being discussed, but it all falls flat to him… for they are foolishness to him. The reason is, he is a natural man, so he is spiritually blinded. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.

A person can go to church for many years, study the Bible, perhaps even memorize some Scriptures, and still not understand them. Why? Because they don’t belong to God, they cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The phrase “they are spiritually discerned or appraised,” caught my attention. One definition is, Spiritual discernment is the ability to recognize and use God’s truth and authority to guide our life. So in the context of this verse, we see that the natural man does not have spiritual discernment, but that the Holy Spirit sees him as unregenerate and he is spiritually discerned by the Spirit.

When we are born into this world, we fall into the category of the natural man… it is that which we inherited from our father Adam. As Jesus teaches us in John 3, we must be born again to inherit the kingdom of God.

Human ears are not capable of hearing high-frequency radio waves; a deaf person could never be a music critic; a blind person can never enjoy art or a beautiful sunset, and the unsaved are unable to judge spiritual things.

Eph. 4:17-19 [Paul describes that natural man]:
“With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” (NLT)

The natural man left to his own wisdom will never be able to understand the spiritual things of God.

1 Cor. 2:15:
“But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.”

(NKJV) “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.”

(NLT) “Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.”

Just to be clear, he who is spiritual is the one who is saved, he who is natural is unsaved.

It is just as impossible for the natural man to understand faithful Christians as it is for them to understand God Himself and His Word.

On the other hand, he who is spiritual is able to put everything into perspective. The worldly one, the natural man, doesn’t have a clue. The unsaved just can’t understand why you go to that Bible study, why you have devotions, why you enjoy spending time in worship. You’re a puzzle, a mystery, a problem to the unbeliever.

John MacArthur says, “They may accurately evaluate our faults, shortcomings, and our living that is inconsistent with our faith. But they cannot accurately evaluate our faith. If the gospel itself is a stumbling block and foolishness to them, so is faith based on the gospel.”

1 Cor. 2:16:
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Paul is quoting Isaiah 40:13. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what He is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.

Of course, no human person teaches God anything. Job was described as blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil, but at the end of his trial he questioned God’s motives.

Job 42:3 (NLT):
“You asked, ‘Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.”

As soon as God answered Job, Job knew he should’ve kept his mouth shut. Who can ever instruct God? The obvious answer is no one. Unbelievers have a tendency to want to correct Christians, they want to argue about the truths we believe and follow, but when they contradict scriptural teachings, they aren’t arguing with us, they’re arguing with God… whose thoughts they don’t understand (no surprise there). For anyone to think they can instruct God is pure foolishness.

We have the mind of Christ. Aided by the Holy Spirit, believers have been given access to the thoughts of Christ. We have been given the ability to see what is spiritual and to think what Christ thinks. The real question might be, “Will we pursue the mind of Christ?”

Looking back to verse 15, as believers we have the Spirit, and He instructs us in all things… because we have the mind of Christ.

A good example is found in Luke 24:45 on the road to Emmaus it says… “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit opens our minds to the things of God. The Holy Spirit renews our minds, aligning our thoughts with God’s truth. As a result, we begin to see the world through a different lens, rejecting worldly ideologies and embracing Christlikeness.

Eph. 1:17-18:
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”

“The eyes of your heart” refers to our inner perception. Our “inner eyes” are “enlightened” when they open and light is cast on them, allowing them to see and understand the things of the Spirit. This is having the mind of Christ.

One commentary says, “The doctrine of illumination does not mean we can know and understand everything, that we do need human teachers, or that study is not hard work. It does mean that Scripture can be understood by every Christian who is diligent and obedient.”

When you first believed you were given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee. To have the mind of Christ is going to take an effort on your part, but anything worthwhile is worth the effort.

Chapter 3

1 Cor. 3:1:
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.”

It’s time to go to the “wood shed” with Paul.

Just as a father might say to his child before giving them a spanking, “This is going to hurt me more than you,” yet, Paul addresses them as brethren. By addressing them in this way, Paul is reminding them that they were still saved, even though they were mixed up in doing some despicable and serious sins, they didn’t lose their salvation.

Paul was hoping to speak to them as spiritual (having the Spirit), but their behavior was anything but spiritual, it was carnal… Paul is calling them men of flesh. The cool thing was, Paul was standing with them as a brother would, and not lording over them as a judge.

Could not speak to you as to spiritual men…

What happened to these guys? Perhaps in the beginning, when they had that emotional tug on their heart, they did sincerely ask Jesus into their hear, but then afterwards they fell flat.

This can happen in large and small churches alike. A great message can be given by the pastor, he says all the right things… how you must repent and confess your sins, then he makes the perfect alter call, really hitting the hearts of the people. The worship band plays some wonderful songs, and the unsaved begin to come forward. The people are led through a prayer of salvation… and then they’re cut loose. What’s wrong with this picture?

This is why Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” I think at the Corinthian church, these men didn’t get discipled. There was no follow up, no growing in Christ, therefore they didn’t have the mind of Christ. They had gone through the door of faith but that was it.

As to infants in Christ… sadly, they were Christian babies, and just as a child needs to be brought up with disciplines, new believers need to be taught as well.

2 Peter 3:18:
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

Growing as believers in Christ is a lifelong process. We never reach the place where we can say, “I have arrived. I no longer need to grow.” Even the apostle Paul did not consider himself to have “arrived” at the top level.

Philippians 3:12:
“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

Growing in wisdom and maturity keeps us working in harmony with God’s plan for our lives. The more we grow and learn, the more we know of God, then realizing there is so much more to know about Him.

When Paul spoke to the Corinthian believers, he did it in a wise way, he didn’t call them a basket of deplorables, but he referred to them as babes in Christ, perhaps softening the blow.

1 Cor. 3:2-3a:
“I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.”

When Paul and Peter talk about milk, it means two different things.

1 Peter 2:2-3a:
“Like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

The pure milk of the word used by Peter is a positive, in that he wants you to desire the Word of God for spiritual growth.

The point Paul is making in verse 2, is that they should have been a lot further along in their walk with Christ… I gave you milk to drink.

Hebrews 5:12-13:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”

It’s not okay for us to remain as infants in Christ. We must be willing to dig into the meat of God’s Word and grow, that’s why I like to serve you guys barbeque every time we meet… tasty morsels for you to chew on.

If a baby only drinks milk, there can be both short-term and long-term effects. Milk alone lacks certain essential nutrients that a growing baby needs. For example, it doesn’t provide enough iron, vitamin D, and other vitamins and minerals.

Long-Term Effects are: iron deficiency, gastrointestinal distress, nutrient deficiencies, and tooth decay. Just as babies aren’t supposed to just exist on milk, neither are Christians.

If you desire to grow in your understanding of God, consider pressing on to maturity by studying and applying the foundational teachings of Christ.

What happens when we begin to study and apply God’s Word to our lives? Number one, our sins begin to be exposed and the Holy Spirit convicts us showing us the right way we should go. A sinning Christian is uncomfortable in the light of God’s truth. We can either turn away from our fleshly desires or if we don’t turn away, we will start to block out God’s light.

1 John 1:6-7:
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 2:9-10:
“The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”

The Corinthian believers weren’t ready for solid food, they seemed to be quite content to stay on a diet of milk, because they were prone to their carnal ways. Sin makes you stupid, don’t fall into stupid.

For you are still fleshly…

The terms fleshly and carnal are the same thing. The Greek definition is; to be governed by mere human nature and not by the Spirit of God.

John MacArthur says, “A Christian is not fleshly in the sense of being, but in the sense of behaving.”

Jon Courson writes, “The carnal man can only receive milk. Like a baby, someone has to pamper him and burp him, counsel him and constantly explain things to him. The carnal man does not know what it means to open up the Word, seek the Lord, and walk day by day with Him.”

1 Cor. 3:3b-4:
For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?

Paul has made an honest evaluation of the condition of the Corinthian church. Sadly he observes that there has been no growth whatsoever, and that the lot of them were to be considered as carnal, and fleshly, that they can be labeled as immature Christians. There’s nothing worse than a congregation filled with babies.

A common trait found among immature believers is one of being self-centered. And a by-product of self-centeredness would be jealousy and strife.

Jealousy (zēlos) means having an envious and contentious rivalry among themselves.

Strife means contention, or wrangling.

So, jealousy is the attitude, and strife is the action that results from it. Paul points this out to them and then says, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? The fact that jealousy and strife were present among them, divisions in the church grew like weeds, causing destructive problems to occur. Plain and simple, they were infantile, self-centered, and divisive… all negatives to say the least.

Paul drills down on the culprit, For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? This brings us back to chapter 1, where Paul first pointed this out. When we turn church leaders into icons, trouble is sure to follow.

It was sinful for any kind of factions to develop around Paul and Apollos, and it is sinful for divisive factions to develop around any leader in the church today.

Are you not mere men? this is another way to say to them that they were thinking and behaving in a fleshly way.

Did your parents ever say to you when you were misbehaving, “Just stop it.” I think maybe Paul was feeling this way a little bit. In today’s vernacular Paul might say to them, “Would you guys just knock it off.”

1 Cor. 3:5:
“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.”

We need to look at the word “servants” here.

Servant, (dee-ak’-on-os) it isn’t the same doulos which is often translated as servant, slave, or bond servant. Dee-ak’-on-os simply meant a menial worker of any sort, free or slave. It was often used of people who waited on tables.

John MacArthur writes, “Paul was saying in effect, “No one builds a movement around a waiter or busboy, or erects monuments to them. Apollos and I are just waiters or busboys whom the Lord used as servants to bring you food. You do not please us by trying to honor us. Your honor, your glory, is misplaced. You are acting like the world, like mere men. Build you monuments, give your praise to the One who prepared the spiritual food we delivered.”

Through whom you believed… Paul, Apollos, Peter and all the others were the vessels, the means God used… not the cause whereby the Corinthians believed. The problem was, they were all about focusing on mere men rather than God. God deserves all the glory, not Paul, not Apollos or anyone else.

Even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one… Paul is saying, each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

Has the Lord given you something to do? If He has, are you being a faithful servant?

1 Cor. 3:6-7:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

Paul is using an agricultural metaphor here, which is nice because most people can relate to this. A farmer plows his fields, he burns the weeds out, he seeds the land, gives the soil the right fertilizers, then waters; but God gives the growth, God gives life into what man has planted.

The same is true for us, when we’re willing to share God’s secret plan of salvation. When we tell someone about what Jesus has done for them, we’re indeed planting a seed. When another person comes along and shares something else about God’s truth, they’re watering the seed that was planted, but God makes it all grow! That takes all the pressure off us, we’re not responsible how people react to the gospel.

We’ll close with this…

The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose… being obedient servants to God. Just like a farmer cannot force a crop to grow, a Christian cannot force spiritual life or growth on others. The way God uses His Word in the heart of an individual is mysterious and completely independent of any human effort.

For us in this little schoolhouse tonight, may we always be faithful in “sowing the seed,” praying for a harvest, and leaving the results to the Lord!