3. Set Apart but Not Alone
Question 1: What makes the wisest person you know seem so wise?
THE POINT
The Holy Spirit helps us know how to live holy lives.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
On a recent trip to Europe, I visited Greece, known for producing the greatest minds in history. Interestingly, the word “philosophy” comes from a Greek term, meaning “Lover of Wisdom.”
For centuries, many considered Greece’s Oracle at Delphi to be the single-greatest source of wisdom. The Oracle’s priestess, Pythia, was sought out by people from around the world, in hopes of learning what the so-called god, Apollo, might say through her about purifying guilt, the future, and the will of his father, Zeus. Later in Athens, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle spent their time discussing the latest and greatest ideas. A little later, the Roman Empire gifted the city of Athens with Hadrian’s Library, one of the greatest collections of human knowledge in existence.
The Greek tradition sought to understand the “good life.” They pursued the virtue of wisdom, but these were not rooted in the wisdom of God. The apostle Paul exposed this deficiency during his visit to Athens and to other Grecian cities during his missionary journeys (Act 17:16). Now, like then, people desperately search for advice about how to live. In this session, we will learn how the Holy Spirit helps us know how to live in ways that please God.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 Corinthians 2:6-9
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, “What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived — God has prepared these things for those who love him.”
Though we live in a world that appears infinitely more advanced than the first century, the issues raised by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians are largely the same. He was witnessing the deficiencies of the wisdom of the age and of its rulers who were “coming to nothing.” The utter hopelessness of it all, even as we drown in knowledge and worldly wisdom that was unimaginable only decades ago, has produced a pandemic of emotional pain and personal meaninglessness.
In contrast, God’s children have access to the fountain of wisdom, the Holy Spirit. He teaches us through our inner being by shining a divine spotlight on the Word of God and illuminating its truth. Divine knowledge is far more than the facts, trivia, and technical knowledge found on the internet. God’s hidden wisdom far overshadows all that is available to us in the hallowed halls of today’s universities, global think-tanks, and other religious communities.
Question 2:
What are some areas where you see God’s wisdom contradict worldly wisdom?
Like the apostles before us, believers with minds anointed by divine discernment and the authority of Scripture possess a cohesive worldview and insight into truth. These help us know how to live holy lives that are set apart, even when we find ourselves alone, confused, deserted, or estranged. When communicating to others using the authority of Scripture, God can use us to speak truth into peoples’ lives. This uncommon wisdom is a mystery to many around us, including many societal, educational, political, and religious leaders.
Now, as in Paul’s time, believers speaking truth given by the Spirit and Word of God are mocked and made the target of others’ derision and ridicule. That same spirit of anti-Christ is the one which led to the crucifixion of our Lord and that is a source of persecution for Christians today. God’s children must reject the thought that any of our spiritual insights represent our own intellectual brilliance. We should also disavow other people’s praise of what they consider our own shrewd thinking or penetrating discernment. Any genuinely valuable insight we have is nothing more than a reflection from the Person of God. Even so, the student of Scripture who submits to the Holy Spirit often encounters truths that are too wonderful for us and too lofty to attain (Ps. 139).
1 Corinthians 2:10-13
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.
Our brains are endowed by God with tremendous capacities. Though God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word came from the heart and mind of God, it was filtered through the brain of a prophet, apostle, or other divinely-anointed scribe who wrote it down. It’s hard to imagine that God, the Ancient of Days, didn’t give His divine truth directly to the world without the involvement of humans in the process. Instead, He chose to use select, deeply faithful, but also flawed people, to assist in the transmission of sacred Scripture. As it was, the Holy Spirit aided the process to prevent human error in the texts that were written. Divine wisdom passed through human authors’ Spirit-enabled minds, and ultimately into sacred writ—hand-written Scripture.
Something commonly misunderstood by people unfamiliar with how God fashioned humanity is the fact that the brain and the mind are not the same thing. Only persons have minds and identities. This includes God, angels, and humans. So, while the brain is part of the body, the mind is part of what we think of as the spiritual nature of humanity. Not only does that truth bear out in Scripture, but evidence of this has been discovered in modern brain research.1 In short, humans are not merely made of matter; we also have an essence that is immaterial, non-corporeal, and spiritual. As believers consider the wonder of how God created us, we must understand that without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we’ll be utterly incapable of understanding the things of God. A mind unsubmitted to the authority of the Spirit will unwittingly find its way to misunderstand God’s actions in our lives.
The Holy Spirit greatly affects and enables our ability to meditate on truth, interpret Scripture, and discern error. This ability is freely available to every fully-surrendered believer, and not just to rare classes of disciples with seminary degrees or decades in the faith. We are able to understand the things of God and live them out because the Holy Spirit empowers us. As this happens, God imparts wisdom through His Spirit. With the Spirit’s help, He often grants us the ability and opportunity to communicate what He’s taught us to others. As He does, we become sources of blessing to others through helping them understand the deep truths of God.
Question 3:
When has the Holy Spirit helped you apply a truth from Scripture to your life?
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For “who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Becoming a Christian is not mere behavioral change. We must reject the idea that Christian faith is the equivalent of getting religion or pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps. This is a radical misinterpretation of the change that Christ imparts at salvation. Becoming a child of God is nothing less than being born from above (John 3:4).
Question 4:
How do we see the world differently as followers of Jesus?
When a person becomes a believer, it’s as if he or she is given a new set of spiritual eyes. Such a person can now see the kingdom of God. The individual no longer walks in darkness but now walks in the light and gains a new spiritual perspective. Such a person gains discerning vision that allows him or her to see life anew, from Christ’s perspective.
God’s Word refers to those who have not been born again as being “without the Spirit.” The unredeemed part of the human self is sometimes called the “old self” (Rom. 6:6). This individual, an unsaved person, doesn’t have the capacity to fully appreciate or interpret the things of God. Such a person’s thought process is so spiritually upside-down compared to divine wisdom that God’s point of view is considered foolishness.
But at salvation, we receive the Spirit of God. This change is so radical that the believer becomes increasingly like Christ and no longer conforms to the values of the world. This difference is so explicit the Bible calls believers “strangers and exiles” (1 Pet. 2:11). Armed with this new perspective, we become equipped with discernment that was previously inaccessible. The child of God is able to evaluate everything through this enhanced spiritual discernment, but he or she must still have the courage to reject concerns about others’ disfavor for acting differently. These attributes are a part of what it means to develop a biblical worldview.
Question 5:
How would you describe someone who has the mind of Christ?
Engage
LIVING IN GOD’S WISDOM
What does it mean to live in the wisdom of God? Use the acronym below to record some of the signs of someone who receives wisdom from God.
W
I
S
D
O
M
“Let it be your business every day, in the secrecy of the inner chamber, to meet the holy God. You will be repaid for the trouble it may cost you. The reward will be sure and rich.”
ANDREW MURRAY
LIVE IT OUT
The Holy Spirit helps us know how to live holy lives. Choose one of the following applications:
List. Make a list of areas where you need wisdom. Take those things to God in prayer, asking for His Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Refine. Conduct an inventory of the sources that help you make decisions in life. Ask God for greater discernment in discriminating between them. Classify these sources by subject area (such as finances) and their degree of reliability; then eliminate resources that could betray your judgment or lead you astray.
Partner. Look for a godly mentor in one or more of the areas listed above. Schedule regular time together to grow in wisdom with God’s help.
We are commanded to live lives of holiness; we cannot do it on our own. Let’s actively take these steps to seek the Holy Spirit’s help.
Teachers Notes:
We weren’t created
to be human doings. We were created in God’s image as human beings
to communicate and walk in harmony with Him.
Doing is the result of Being
Birds sing because
they are birds; they do not sing to become birds. They sing, fly, and feather
their nests because of who they are. So, what God really wants is for all our doings
to emanate from our being. He has no interest in actions that have no
connection with our hearts. Whatever we do for God must come from a place of
overflowing love, worship, and surrender.
The first thing God wants us to do is to accept His offer of salvation. When we put our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, we can fulfill our purpose of knowing and glorifying God (Last week’s lesson - Romans 6:1–6). God takes on the job of transforming us (Mr. Miyagi) so that we become more like Jesus. After we are saved, God wants us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). When God adopts us into His family (Romans 8:15), we begin a new relationship with Him that affects every aspect of our lives. Rather than making decisions to please ourselves, we make decisions that will please the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:31). Those decisions will be supported by the Bible, affirmed through godly counsel, and acted on through the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25).
The
verses for this session are part of a larger section in the letter in which
Paul addressed primary concerns he had for the church. They had become so impressed with
themselves, their giftedness, and wisdom, that they valued their
accomplishments over the genuine work of the Holy Spirit. Paul confronted their
thinking to impress upon them the urgency of relying on the Holy Spirit to
guide them in knowing and doing God’s will and living holy lives.
1
Corinthians 2:6-9
We do, however,
speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers
of this age, who are coming to nothing. On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden
wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. None
of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, “What no eye
has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived — God has prepared
these things for those who love him.”
God’s wisdom is a hidden wisdom, and it is
greater than any other wisdom.
God’s message of
salvation is God’s alone; it is not something we must figure out for ourselves.
God has revealed His message, which was in His mind from eternity, so that we
might receive eternal life and enjoy the glory of His kingdom. The message of
salvation through the cross of Christ stands in contrast to the wisdom of the
world order, the faddish thinking of the times, and the misguided messages of
influential people.
Where do you see God’s wisdom
contradict worldly wisdom?
1
Corinthians 2:10-13
Now God has
revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except
his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except
the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the
Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given
to us by God. We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom,
but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual
people.
The Holy
Spirit helps us understand the things of God.
There are wonderful
truths that God has prepared for us who believe and love Him - they are beyond
anything we can conceive by relying on our human faculties. God reveals His
wonders to us through His Spirit, who as God, knows the deep things of God and
communicates them to us.
1
Corinthians 2:14-16
But the person
without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is
foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated
spiritually. The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he
himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. For “who has known the Lord’s mind, that
he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The Holy
Spirit gives us a new and set apart perspective.
God has given us
His Spirit to understand everything He has provided. Without the Spirit, we
can’t understand spiritual things or exercise spiritual discernment. The person
without the Spirit sees these things God did through Christ as foolish. If we
surrender to the control of the Spirit, we can learn to think like Christ.
How do we see the world differently
as followers of Jesus?
Becoming a child of
God is nothing less than being born from above (John 3:4). When a person
becomes a believer, it’s as if he or she is given a new set of spiritual eyes.
Such a person can now see the kingdom of God. The individual no longer walks in
darkness but now walks in the light and gains a new spiritual perspective. Such
a person gains discerning vision that allows him or her to see life anew, from
Christ’s perspective.
Question
So, what do I need
to do to understand the spiritual things of God, and to see things as Christ
sees them?
“Let it be your
business every day, in the secrecy of the inner chamber, to meet the holy God.
You will be repaid for the trouble it may cost you. The reward will be sure and
rich.”
ANDREW MURRAY
In an interview in
1994, Paul McCartney said of “The Long and Winding Road”: “It’s rather a
sad song. I like writing sad songs, it’s a good bag to get into because you can
acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It’s a good
vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist.” He later said that the song
was “all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach … the road that
you never get to the end of.”
The Long
and Winding Door
The long and
winding road that leads to your door
Will never
disappear, I've seen that road before
It always leads me
here, lead me to your door
The wild and windy
night that the rain washed away
Has left a pool of
tears, crying for the day
Why leave me
standing here?
Let me know the way
Many times I've
been alone, and many times I've cried
Anyway, you'll
never know the many ways I've tried
And still, they
lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me
standing here a long, long time ago
Don't leave me
waiting here
Lead me to your
door
But still, they
lead me back to the long and winding road
You left me
standing here a long, long time ago
Don't keep me
waiting here
Lead me to your
door
Conclusion
God’s Truth is the unattainable door that so many can’t reach no matter how many times they try. But for the believer - the Holy Spirit indwells to helps us understand and find the door to God’s truth – it’s the greatest wisdom of all.
