Spirit-Enlightened Minds

If you would be so kind, please
take your Bibles and turn to First Corinthians. We find ourselves
in chapter two. First Corinthians chapter two,
and we have seen that Paul is detailing really the obliteration
of man’s wisdom through his own display of his own wisdom. And that wisdom comes through
the message of the gospel, faith in Christ for salvation, puts
to shame, and begins the process of obliterating worldly wisdom. God’s wisdom stands in direct
contrast to the wisdom that centers around the world. The wisdom of God centers around
a crucified Savior. which the world believes to be
only a weak man and not the conquering Messiah that they had hoped for. The perceived weakness of God’s
wisdom is also seen in those whom God has chosen for salvation,
you and I. People who are seen as foolish
and weak, despised, who use religion as a crutch, they say. And we
have to remember that Paul is still addressing the heartbreaking
division that existed in Corinth, Corinth and largely centered
around his own life and ministry. There was division about him. That was troubling to Paul. And part of the criticism of
Paul was his preaching. That just didn’t measure up to
the standard that the Corinthian people were used to. It wasn’t
as good as many of the Greek orators offered in his day. In Paul’s, the critics of Paul,
their estimation, his preaching was just so-so. Nothing spectacular,
but Paul stands his ground and argues that even though his style
might have lacked the Corinthian flourish and flair, it was his
ministry at the end and not the ministry of the Greek orators
that was blessed by God. His ministry, Paul is presenting
here in chapter two, was attended by the blessing of the Holy Spirit
himself. That’s Paul’s focus throughout
this chapter. Paul mentions the Holy Spirit
seven times in this short little chapter. The purpose of which
is to show that his ministry, that is Paul’s ministry, was
permeated by the Holy Spirit. Paul’s ministry was different
than the teachers of the world because his ministry was empowered
by the Holy Spirit himself. I’ve entitled this section, Weeks
Past, A Spiritual Service of Worship, borrowing from those
lines in Romans chapter 12, Paul’s own words. Because here, Paul
is providing evidence of a ministry that is thoroughly attended by the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s ministry was no ordinary ministry, but he was a part of
God’s rebuke to the wisdom of the world. And Paul is proving
this claim. He’s provided three different
pieces of evidence in his ministry. We’ve looked at two already.
His ministry was blessed, first of all, with Spirit-empowered
words, verses 1 through 5. It was attended with Spirit-imparted
wisdom, verses 6 through 11. And as we’ll consider this morning, what the Spirit produced was
Spirit-enlightened minds, verses 12 through 16. By the world standards,
Paul’s preaching may not have been spectacular, but Paul’s
preaching enjoyed the endorsement of God himself. Regarding the
first point of this chapter, that ministry was attended with
spirit-empowered words, he reminded them that his ministry was not
a ministry that was conducted by elitist discourse, what he
calls superiority of speech, But with the simplicity of the
gospel, Paul came. He didn’t carry himself in a
smug self-confidence, but with an unmistakable humility, weakness
and fear and trembling. And likewise, his converts were
not won by manipulative oratory, but by God’s marvelous power,
demonstration of the spirit and power. But Paul’s initial ministry
to Corinth was marked not only by spirit-empowered words, it
was attended with spirit-imparted wisdom. And such wisdom, Paul
tells us in verses 6 through 11, is humanly inscrutable. It
is beyond finding out, beyond discovering. It was not of this
age. It was eternal. It was mysterious,
unfathomable. It was hidden and therefore not
understood. But as the wisdom of which Paul
speaks is spirit imparted wisdom, it is not only inscrutable, that
implies that it must be divinely revealed. Only God can reveal
his deep, eternal truths, and he does so through the Holy Spirit,
that is, by means of the Holy Spirit. And even though the evidence
is strong regarding Paul’s ministry thus far, that his ministry was
attended with spirit empowered words and spirit imparted wisdom.
There is a third piece of evidence that we must consider that it
was also a ministry that was that produced rather spirit enlightened
minds. And we find this third feature
in verses 12 through 16. Would you again read along with
me the entirety of the chapter, chapter two. And when I came
to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or
of wisdom proclaiming to you the testimony of God, for I determined
to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and
in fear and in much trembling and my message and my preaching
were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration
of the spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest
on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Yet we do speak
wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this
age nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. But
we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined
before the ages to our glory. The wisdom which none of the
rulers of this age has understood, for if they had understood it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Because just
as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has
not heard and which have not entered into the heart of man,
all that God has prepared for those who love him. For to us,
God revealed them through the spirit, for the spirit searches
all things, even the depths of God. 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. 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 also we speak, not
in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit,
combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 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. But he who is spiritual
appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
For who has known the mind of the Lord that he will instruct
him? But we have the mind of Christ. Paul points out that there was
a third unmistakable sign of God’s blessing on his ministry.
The Holy Spirit had thoroughly permeated his ministry, even
enlightening the minds of his hearers. The Holy Spirit with
them was engaged on a deep level, interfacing with the minds of
those who were being converted to Christ. The Holy Spirit impacted
their thinking, their understanding and their minds. This is where
we find ourselves this morning. And we find ourselves in an astonishing
response to truth. We might even think that really
it’s up to us to convince people. After all, this truth is so magnificent,
so incredible. Why would anybody refuse this
truth? But what we find and what we
find immediately is that the response to truth is astonishing. Because not everybody does believe
it. There is a bewildering diversity
in the consideration of truth, in the assessment, if you will,
of this news, this information. And the first thing that we have
to notice about this passage is that it is a response of extreme
diversity. Look at verse 12 and 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. Paul opens this final section
of the chapter by highlighting the extreme, even the bewildering
diversity in the response to the gospel. Why doesn’t everybody
believe it? And it’s only right that I tell
you that there is a fuzzy difference of interpretation here right
off the bat. It centers on the word we. The
question is, to whom does we refer? Some commentators limit
the we to Paul and his friends, that they were the ones who had
amazingly received the spirit of God as opposed to the spirit
of the world. And while that’s true, that these
were the recipients of God’s spirit. That magnanimous gift
of God was not given exclusively to the apostles and their co-workers.
This whole section has been a contrast not to what the world had done
in the apostles compared to what he had done in the Corinthian
believers lives. The contrast is what the spirit
had done in all believers as opposed to the men of the world.
And so he says here that this third mark of God’s blessing
on his ministry was that the spirit who is from God had come
to indwell those who believed the gospel. They had received
the spirit as God’s gracious gift. But Paul makes this announcement
according to a style that is largely his own. He intersperses
this negative statement, not the spirit of the world, in order
to offset the positive statement, but the spirit who is from God.
Paul wanted to highlight the source of believers’ knowledge. It certainly wasn’t from human
wisdom. It wasn’t from a world that is
hostile and alienated to God. It wasn’t out of an unworldly
or ungodly worldview. It wasn’t by their worldly and
even ungodly way of thinking that we had come to know these
things. Rather, it was by God’s own spirit
who guided us into truth. What a glorious statement this
is for believers. We have received the spirit who
is from God. Jesus had repeatedly promised
the indwelling of his spirit to his followers. The helper,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, John 14,
26. When the helper comes, whom I will send you, John 15, 26.
When he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into
all truth, John 16, 13. The indwelling of the spirit
was a fulfillment of Jesus own promise. And the Holy Spirit
indwells believers immediately upon regeneration. As Jesus himself
promised, he will teach you all things. You see, this indwelling has
a purpose. Not just a sealing of the believer, but it has a
purpose of teaching, imparting information. So that as Paul
says here, so that we may know the things freely given to us
by God. Now, Paul has been heading this
direction ever since verse 10 of chapter two. Tick back just
a few verses to verse 10. For to us, God revealed them.
That is the precious, mysterious wisdom from God. God revealed
them through the spirit, by means of the spirit. For the spirit
searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among
men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man
who is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God, no one knows except the
spirit. And so if we’re going to come
to know any body of divine knowledge, we must receive such from the
Holy Spirit. Only God’s Spirit can know and
can communicate the deep things of God. Remember, divine wisdom
and knowledge is such that cannot be figured out. It cannot be
acquired through research. It cannot be discovered. It must
be revealed. And so Paul is indicating here
the precious truths that we could never otherwise know. The Heavenly Father intended
for believer to rise above the so-called wisdom of the world
and to enjoy a body of knowledge that he had given. The Christian
receives that with the giving of the Holy Spirit. As soon as
the Holy Spirit takes up residence in an individual’s life, he begins
a process of imparting divine wisdom. God, by means of his
indwelling desires, Paul says here, for the believer to know. He desires for the Christian
to be aware and to take joyful confidence in all that God has
done for us. Note that Paul identifies these
things as those which are freely given to us by God. Freely given. It’s an amazing word. Luke uses this same word in a
very poignant context. Luke chapter seven, a sinful
woman, you may recall, came into the household and she began to
worship Christ by pouring perfume on him and kissing his feet and
dabbing them with her hair. It was a remarkable scene of
humility. But suddenly, Christ turns to
Peter and asks what seems to be a completely obtuse question. He asked Peter to choose between
two men. One had a small debt, the other
owed 10 times as much. And Christ turns to Peter and asks, the more thankful when
they were both graciously forgiven. That’s our word. Both men owed
money. Neither of them had the means
to pay. Neither of them deserved a break.
And yet they were both graciously forgiven. They both graciously received
of the Lord. There was no obligation put to
them. There was no payment plan. And
Paul uses this same exact word in a number of different places
in his letters, but none more noteworthy than Romans 8, 32,
where Paul introduces a syllogism. You’ll remember it as soon as
I say it. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him
up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us
all things.” That’s our word. God gave without any obligation. And that is precisely his point
here in 1 Corinthians 2. The clear point here is that
these things, the wisdom and knowledge of God, was given as
a gracious gift. Not because God owed us anything. They are not and have not been.
They cannot be earned or deserved. Only God by his spirit can impress
that truth upon the human heart. Naturally, then. This became
the very body of knowledge that Paul and his ministry companions
declared, or as he says in verse 13, which things we also speak. They went around telling people
that, look, you don’t deserve this. It’s purely by the grace
of God. Servants of Christ can never
be content to just talk. Or to just talk about just anything. What Paul and his companions,
what anyone communicating spiritual truth must do is to limit themselves
to God’s message. That’s exactly what Paul indicates
here, speaking words taught by the Spirit. In other words, divine
truth, God’s word. God’s Spirit speaks, as it were,
in a language that can communicate His divine message. And so the
language of Scripture, the message of the Gospel, the terminology
of the Bible, metaphors in Scripture, illustrations, reasoning, are
all spiritual, words taught by the Spirit. And this, Paul concludes
in his opening point, is like a wood craftsman, his perfect
joint. It’s a perfect fit. That’s the
word combining. They are fitted together perfectly,
spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. It’s an amazing point. Paul centers upon the truth here
that God’s Holy Spirit gives life and meaning to God’s word. He affirms and illuminates and
utilizes the scriptures to regenerate lifeless sinners. This is why
we want to Open up and use the Bible when we share Christ with
people. We we want to recite the Bible. We want to read the Bible. We
want to have them read the Bible. The Holy Spirit illuminates the
scriptures, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. All in all. He says here, though,
amazingly, that the responsive is one of extreme diversity. The truth of God is a watershed. The responses to it are only
two. And there are two opposite extremes. Either that truth,
Paul says, is rejected, spurned for the love of the world’s wisdom,
or it is embraced for what it is, spiritual truth, communicated
by God’s own spirit. And at one end of that spectrum,
the first group with which Paul deals are those who reject God’s
wisdom. It’s a response of extreme diversity,
but The first group that he wants to look at, point number two,
is a response of confounded rejection. Look at verse 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. We know this language well by
now. That as soon as we hear the words
natural man, we know that Paul is not talking about someone
who only eats organic food or who only wears natural fibers,
who does not shave his face. He’s natural in that sense. We
know that he’s talking here about a man who is outside of Christ,
a man in his natural sinful state. He’s not a man influenced or
moved by the things of God in his natural state that is in
his sinful, fallen, guilty, spiritually dead state. Such a man is completely
disinterested in the things of God. The word here translated
natural is psuchikos, and the word has a very limited use in
the New Testament. It’s used here in 1 Corinthians
three times, once each in James and Jude, not many. The occurrence
of Jude is the one translated most strongly, worldly-minded
A natural man is a worldly-minded man, and that’s good and accurate
insofar as it goes. Elsewhere, it is translated natural,
at least in the NAS. Just kind of a, what it implies
is kind of a what you see is what you get. All you see is
what’s on the outside, because there’s nothing inside. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 of this epistle to offset the spiritual body of
the resurrection with the earthly, that is the natural physical
body with which we’re born. But while it’s translated by
the more innocuous word natural in James, it’s that verse that
provides perhaps the most clarity for understanding Paul’s use
of it here in 1 Corinthians 2. In James 3.15, James is contrasting
the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. He speaks of a wisdom that does
not come down from above. It is earthly, natural, and demonic. So when Paul identifies the natural
man here, he’s speaking of the individual who is completely
devoid of God’s transforming spirit. As such, he does not
accept the things of the spirit of God. This kind of rejection
is only to be expected in the unregenerate heart. It makes
sense. The same word is used of the
joyful apostle at the recollection of the Thessalonians reception
of the gospel. They received. The word in much
tribulation by the Holy Spirit. They received the word of God,
they accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really
is, the word of God. It was a miracle and Paul identifies
it as such because sin has adulterated God’s creation and has left humanity
with a darkened understanding of spiritual things. General
revelation, the sun, the moon, the stars, everything that we
see in nature, general revelation is completely insufficient to
lead sinners to salvation. And so they need what Calvin
called in speaking on this passage, they need the spectacles of faith. They need the Holy Spirit because
without divine enablement, without God’s indwelling spirit, the
person is hopeless and helpless to gain any understanding of
God. They are as those of whom Paul
speaks in his second epistle to the Thessalonians who did
not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. That’s the
most natural response in the world. The things of God make no sense
to a man who is apart from God. They are, and here again is our
word, moronic. Spiritual things are moronic,
they’re foolishness to the men of the world. It is as if his
mind is switched to the off position regarding spiritual things. And
because these truths appear to him as foolish, I want you to
note this, he cannot. He has an absolute inability
to understand them. The only way that anyone can
appreciate them for what they are, to appraise them, as Paul
says here in the text, is to do so spiritually. And there’s
no way to do that without the indwelling of God’s Spirit. Remember when I said that there
must be divine revelation in order for a person to know anything
about God? Such a man, a natural man, can
only be confounded by divine truth. It only makes sense. The
mind cannot jump tracks, so to speak. No matter how intelligent,
how accomplished, how smart one man may be in the natural realm,
they cannot decide to jump into the spiritual realm and enjoy
any measure of success. They can’t. Not unless and until
the spirit takes up residence and begins to influence the mind
for God’s purposes. And that brings us happily to
the third observation of this passage. It’s an astonishing
response to truth. Why don’t all believe? This message
is so good and so grand and so wonderful. Why the extreme diversity? Well, we see part of it in the
second point that it’s a response of confounded rejection. But
the third observation is that it is also a response of spiritual
analysis. And we find that in verse 15
and 16. where Paul says, but he who is
spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by
no one. For who has known the mind of
the Lord that he will instruct him? But we have the mind of
Christ. As Paul began in this discussion,
there is an extreme diversity in this response to God’s truth. There are indeed those who reject
the message of God. They are confounded, they reject
the gospel as foolishness, they can’t even begin to understand
it. And that is sad. Rather than being proud of your
Christianity, we should have pity and compassion on those
that Christ says are blind to the truth. But there are others at the opposite
end of the spectrum. They’re at the opposite end of
the extreme. There are those whom Paul identifies
here in verse 15 as those who are spiritual. I remember reading a book a long
time ago, more than 30 years ago now, early in my Christian
life, the title of which was borrowed from this very verse.
And I remember beginning to read the book and being disappointed
almost from the start. Because rather than identifying
who this spiritual man was, or how a young man like myself could
become spiritual, the writer almost immediately interjected
a strange idea. His explanation went something
like this. There are three kinds of people, the natural man, the
spiritual man, and the carnal man. Now by carnal, he meant
a person who lives by the flesh, not by the spirit. His understanding
of the natural man was the same as what we just described. The problem was that he was suggesting
that both the spiritual man and the carnal man are Christians. That it’s possible to be a Christian
who lives in such a way that by all appearance he looks like
a natural man. Well, the church took this bait
hook and all. And this convenient error has
soothed sinful people’s consciences for years. They’re saved. They just don’t live like it,
nor do they have to. And this allows people to park
comfortably under this false heading of carnal Christian while
they wait for some kind of motivation to move them to the next level
in their Christianity. to become spiritual. Well, not
only does Paul not say this, that idea goes completely against
what Paul was teaching. When Paul speaks of he who is
spiritual, he isn’t speaking of someone who has aspired and
finally arrived at the apex of his Christian walk. There isn’t
even a third man pictured in the passage. Only two. Either a man is a natural man
or the man is a spiritual man. There is nothing else. We know
what a natural man is. He is a sinner in his natural
unsaved condition. So what is a spiritual man? Quite
simply, it is a person and not just a man. but a man or a woman
who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, spiritual in that sense. Together with the illuminating
work of the Holy Spirit, scripture imparts truth leading to salvation. That’s the starting point. Illumination
by the Holy Spirit is necessary for a right interpretation and
a saving understanding of God’s word. And so the spiritual person
is the person in whom the Holy Spirit has taken up residence
and not only residence, but has begun to reign, producing godly
influence in the individual’s life. This is the person who
has come to faith. in Christ. They have repented
of their sin. They have placed their faith
in Christ. It’s the same spirit that regenerated them from the
dead and brought them to a living faith. Now he takes up residence
within them. The beginning of this influence
is a right assessment, Paul says, or as he uses this word, a correct
appraisal of all things. But it starts with the gospel.
It starts with who they are as a sinner before a holy God. The
word here, appraisal, is an important word. It means to examine carefully. to discern for the purpose of
rendering an opinion. And it was a term that was plentifully
used in Athens, Greece, in their court system, because there it
was used of a preliminary investigation and examination, which was meant
to determine whether or not there should be a trial. The process of examination. And we refer to such as the grand
jury, right? In a grand jury, there’s a collection
of the accused person’s peers, which evaluates the evidence
to determine whether or not there even is a case. And if so, only
then are charges filed. Well, Paul says that a spiritual
man is able to appraise, he’s able to examine the deep things
of God and discern spiritual truth. An amazing change has
taken place. This is precisely how one’s Christianity
begins, isn’t it? The Holy Spirit, in concert with
the Word of God, sets to work in the human heart, which we
refer to the doctrine of illumination, Whereas the Bible once made no
sense, now by the Spirit’s illumination becomes clear, leading ultimately
to conviction of sin, to repentance, ultimately to salvation and faith
in Christ. Illumination by the Holy Spirit
is absolutely necessary for a right interpretation and a saving understanding
of God’s Word. The Spirit enables the once blind
sinner to see the truth, to recognize it as such, and to respond appropriately. This initial work we call regeneration. And it too is a work of the Spirit
by which He, in a special and instantaneous manner, brings
the spiritually dead sinner to life. But once spiritually enlivened,
And upon hearing the truth of the gospel, the individual will
certainly come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Well, Paul supports this position with a quote from
Isaiah 40, which passage I love anyway, but I would have you
turn there for just a moment. Isaiah chapter 40. And you know, and we’ll remember
this, we’ve studied this in Christmas’s past, Isaiah chapter 40. And if you start at the beginning
in chapter 40, which is seen as the New Testament in miniature,
it starts with a message of comfort, the gospel, the good news about
a coming Messiah. There’s the comfort of peace,
the twin comfort, comfort ye my people. And then in verse
3 through 5, there is this preparation for glory as God is announcing
his shepherd, the Messiah. In verses 6 through 11, there
is this initial message, which is an exhortation to proclaim
Christ the shepherding ruler. But I want to take you quickly
to verses 12 through 17. The second message is a message
of peace. And he attributes. He looks rather
at the attributes of the God of salvation, the first of which
is omnipotence. It’s a declaration of the God
of salvation that he is all powerful. It’s an assertion of his omnipotence. Look at verse 12. Who has measured
the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens
by a span and calculated the dust of the earth by measure
and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a
pair of scales? God is absolutely all powerful. He’s omnipotent. But the second
point, from which our little quote is borrowed by Paul, is
a declaration that God, the God of salvation, is all-knowing.
It’s a declaration of His omniscience. Look at verse 13, who has directed
the spirit of the Lord or as his counselor has informed him
with whom did he consult and who gave him understanding and
who taught him in the path of justice and taught him knowledge
and informed him of the way of understanding. Paul, why on earth
are you quoting Isaiah 40? It’s precisely the same point.
that Paul makes earlier in chapter two, if you would turn back to
first Corinthians, it’s essentially the same point that he made in
verses 10 and 11 of chapter two. For to us, God revealed them
through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things,
even the depths of God. 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.
Only God knows God’s mind. Only the Father, only the Son,
and only the Spirit are intimately related in their thoughts. In the Godhead, the father knows
the mind of Christ, Christ knows the spirit, the spirit knows
the father and so on. But if the spirit dwells in the
heart and life of the believer, the spirit has the means. Of
imparting God’s mind. Lesson by lesson to the child
of God. And such a person, Paul says,
has the mind of Christ. We know his heart. We know his
thoughts. We know his plans. We know his
purposes. Only God’s mind could produce
in the individual in whom he dwells such knowledge. But equally, apparently, where the Spirit does not dwell, such person cannot know the things
of God. And so I ask you to take inventory.
What is Christ’s mind? Do you believe that you are a
sinner? If that’s the case, then God’s
spirit, God’s own spirit has imparted that information to
you that you have transgressed a holy God. Do you believe that
without Christ you are helpless and hopeless and hell bound?
If that’s the case, the spirit imparted that information to
you. Do you believe that there is nothing you can do to earn
your salvation or pay back? That’s God-given information.
That’s the mind of Christ. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
died for your sin specifically? If so, that is information that
God imparted Do you believe that your sin alone would have sent
Christ to the cross to die? That’s spirit imparted information. Do you believe that Christ alone
can atone for sin? That’s God’s position on the
matter. And if you believe that, the
spirit imparted that information to you. Do you believe that faith
alone and Christ alone can secure forgiveness? That is the mind
of God, that is the information, the truth of God that has been
imparted to you as a believer. Do you believe that faith alone
and Christ alone can grant eternal life, can save you? That’s Christ’s mind on the matter. Would you rejoice in prayer before
him? Our merciful God, we humble ourselves
before your glorious presence. And perhaps even when we walked
in here today, we had slipped back a bit, begun to congratulate
ourselves for all the hard work and study, for the efforts that we had done
in Finding Christ and now we’re reminded what we’ve known all
along It wasn’t us It wasn’t our scholarship It wasn’t our
sharp minds that finally figured out God We know Lord that if we know
anything it is only because of your mercy in our lives Granting
to us the Holy Spirit and imparting to our hearts and minds the deep
truths of God. But Lord, we know it is a response
of extreme diversity. And while we sit here and enjoy
with great joy. The truth that God’s spirit has
imparted to us. Lord, we know that others are
blind. We know that any natural man,
any man that does not know Christ, any man that is not indwelt by
God’s spirit is incapable of grasping spiritual
truth until that moment when your Holy Spirit does regenerate
that man. And so that is our plea, Lord.
Help us to have mercy. Help us to have pity on those
who do not know Christ. Help us to count ours as such
a priceless treasure that because of nothing in us, but purely
by God’s mercy, he chose to send his spirit to begin a work in
our lives. And in bringing us to life began
the greatest work A work of preparing us for glory and eternity. Lord,
help us to be grateful. We lay all of these things before
you and we pray them in Jesus name. Amen.