Tuesday, July 10, 2012

1 Corinthians 2:2,6,10-11

1 Corinthians 2:2
"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

How are we to make disciples?  Do you teach all the mysteries of God and wisdom from the Lord to a new believer?  Do you make known to an unbeliever the knowledge of how the body of Christ works in the church?  By no means!  Preach Christ to those who have not the Lord and who are new to the Lord.  "If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?" Psalm 11:3

Consider the soil: "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away."  Luke 8:13

Christians should be firmly rooted in the Gospel.  They should be able to exhort, teach, encourage, etc. others in the Gospel.  They should be able to pull from their hearts (Psalm 119:11) verses from the scriptures that describe the Gospel.  I don't picture someone firmly rooted in math and not having a full memorization of the times tables or how to do long division.  I don't think someone is firmly rooted in English literature that doesn't have some of Chaucer committed to memory.  Why is it any different when we come to the Gospel?

1 Corinthians 2:6
"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;"

There is a place for wisdom among the mature in Christ.  However someone is not mature in the Lord (no matter how long they've been born again) if they do not have the knowledge and ability to speak and share the Gospel (Hebrews 5:11-14).

1 Corinthians 2:10-11
"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." 

Here's a fact that should encourage you in your understanding and ability to memorize and share the Gospel: You HAVE the spirit of God living inside of you if you believe that Christ, by grace, has saved you from the wrath of God, and pulled you from a life of corruption, to live not for yourself but for him (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 1:13, Revelation 20:15, 2 Corinthians 5:15)!  He will equip you for every good work (Hebrews 13:21).

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