The Only Thing Worth Knowing
1 Corinthians 2
1. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Let me reiterate something I said Sunday night/
But we need to preach Jesus.
Our message is Jesus from beginning to end.
The gospel is not how-to's or concepts or etc.
What we must preach is Christ. Whatever you need, Jesus is the answer.
Ac 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Jesus is the only thing worth knowing. Nothing else will buy you eternal salvation. Nothing else will save your soul. Nothing else will bring lasting peace.
You can get to hell with great intelligence, but even an ordinary person can get to heaven with just the knowledge of Jesus.
Paul's concern was this - there is nothing that can add to salvation. There is nothing but the knowledge of Christ that will effect our salvation.
"… and him crucified…" This is a key thing. I know some of you don't like seeing Jesus on a cross, and for good reason. He is no longer on the cross, or in the grave. He is risen and therein is our hope.
But we must never forget the crucifixion and what it did for us, and more importantly, we must never let the devil forget Christ crucified.
The empty tomb probably doesn't bother Satan as much as Christ crucified. He can live with Jesus alive. What drives him crazy is that we have salvation through his blood which was shed on the cross. Without the cross, we are still in our sins and Satan still has claim on us. The crucifixion paid for our freedom.
Our message centers around the crucifixion first, then the resurrection.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
This is vital - our preaching must be dependent upon the power of God, not the wisdom or talent of men.
Our preaching must be with humility, knowing that it is not our preaching that does the job, but the subject which we preach and the power of God that backs up the pure gospel message.
The reason much preaching is powerless is that there is too much of the preacher in it and not enough of God.
2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Therein was the secret of their preaching. That is why they turned the world upside down. That is why Jerusalem was buzzing with their message. It was Christ crucified - nothing else.
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:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
They spoke in the language of men, and framed the message in terms men would understand - the common language and mentality of their surroundings - but still the message was God's.
Our faith rests totally on the power of God.
9 But as it is written, Eye 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.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 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.
God's blessing and wisdom are not perceived through the flesh, but through the Spirit. It only comes by revelation. Only God, by His Holy Spirit can reveal it to us.
The things He has in store for us are inconceivable to the human mind. Our brains are saying, "I don't understand," while our spirits are going wild with excitement over what God is revealing.
Here is the thing - don't try to understand it or figure it out with your mind. The greatest frustration in the world is to try to explain spiritual things with words. It just doesn't really work.
It is, " … joy unspeakable and full of glory: "
It can only be understood in the spirit. It can only be expressed … with groanings which cannot be uttered."
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.
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.
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.
Don't try to convince people of the gospel in human terms or concepts. It cannot be understood that way. We don't need new improved ways to preach the gospel. We need to be faithful to the plain message of the Bible and let it speak for itself.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
We have the mind of Christ. We perceive the things of God because his mind is in us. By His Spirit we have revelation of heavenly things. They cannot be understood by carnal or fleshly beings - only by spiritual being, which we are if we have Christ in us.
I'll say it again plainly - the gospel is not there to be analyzed or dissected. It is there to be accepted. Then, and only then, will be perceive the truth of the message. Then, and only then, will we sense the joy of the Lord.