Sunday,
May 26, 2013
THE SPIRIT, THE
WORD, AND WISDOM
Jesus said to each of the seven
churches in Rev. 2-3, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches." It is
essential that every believer hear from the Spirit of God. And how do we hear from the Spirit? How does the Spirit speak to us? A few weeks ago we found the Spirit telling
the leaders of the Antioch church to separate Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for a
special missionary work. Later, when
Paul and Silas were seeking to preach the gospel in places where it had never
been heard, the Spirit directly communicated to them that they were not to
preach in either Asia or Bithynia. I
suggested that there is nothing in the scripture which tells us that the Spirit
will not speak to us directly today.
Then more recently we looked at one of the reasons we might not hear the
Spirit when He speaks, whether directly or through the Bible. If we are not obedient to the voice of the
Spirit, we not only displease the Father, but we hinder our ability to hear Him
the next time He speaks. Why give us
further instructions, if we give little or no evidence that we have a heart to
obey?
We have talked a good bit about the
Spirit and the Word of God. There are
those who try to force us into making a choice between the Spirit speaking to
us through the Word and the Spirit speaking directly to the believer. I don't believe we have to make that
choice. Having said that, I need to be
very clear on something this morning.
The foundation of the Spirit's message to us is in the Word of God. Not only will the Spirit never tell us
anything that contradicts the written Word, but we should not expect the Spirit
to speak to us any other way, if we are not saturated by the Word. Direct revelation from the Spirit will never
be a substitute for the Spirit speaking through the Bible. The one who can expect to hear the still,
small voice of the Spirit is the one who is expecting Him to speak continually
and consistently through the written Word.
The best preparation for hearing the Spirit's voice in any form is to
prayerfully and humbly come to the Word again and again and again.
Some would say that the Spirit
speaks ONLY through the Word, and by no other means. I don't believe you can find that in the scripture. However, for those who have free access to
the Word, it seems that the Spirit's PRIMARY communication is through that Word
itself.
Please be turning to the first
chapter of Colossians. I want to read
some brief passages from the apostle Paul which talk about the will of
God. Who doesn't want to know the will
of God? Well, Paul speaks about knowing
that will. Let's read Col.
1:9-11...
For this reason we also, since
the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be
filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience
and longsuffering with joy;
Paul desired the Christians in
Colossae to be filled with the knowledge of God's will; He wanted them to truly
know the will of God. Why? So they could walk worthy of the Lord by pleasing
Him, bearing the fruit of good works, and by coming to know Him more and
more. And how were they to know the will
of God? "In all wisdom and
spiritual understanding." And where
can a believer find such wisdom and spiritual understanding? Let's go to the next chapter and read Col.
2:1-3...
For I want you to know what a
great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have
not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being
knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of
understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and
of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In
Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Knowing the will of God is vitally connected
to Christ, to abiding in Him. And, as we
have seen, Jesus said the Spirit would glorify Him. Wisdom and spiritual understanding are
centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is revealed in the Word through the
Spirit.
Someone has read from this passage
the two Sundays, but let's look again at Rom. 12:1-2...
I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.
The goal is to prove or demonstrate
what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God, but how do we do
that? Not by being conformed to the
world, but by being transformed by the renewing of the mind. And how is your mind renewed? The Spirit does the renewing, but the tool He
uses is the written Word. As many of us
read in Francis Chan's little book:
"When we read the Bible, we are approaching the mind of God" (Multiply,
p. 102). That is a powerful
thought. Our minds will be renewed as we
humbly approach the mind of God again and again.
Then come to Eph. 5:15-18...
See
then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the
time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand
what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is
dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
We
are to live our lives with the utmost care, because we are living in evil
days. As some translations put it, we
are to take advantage of every opportunity (redeem the time). How can we do that? Not by living as fools, but as wise. We must understand that this is the will of
God, living in wisdom while being filled with the Spirit. Wisdom and the will of God go together, and
the work of the Spirit is right in the middle of that connection.
Now let's read that familiar passage
from James
1:2-8...
My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Oh that this patience, this steadfast
endurance, might do its perfect work in us, that we might be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing. That is our
goal. But how does it happen? "If any of you lack the wisdom to
achieve this, especially in difficult circumstances, ask of God and He will
give it." And as we trust Him to do
this, without doubting, He will make us wise to handle the most difficult
situations, even to rejoice in the midst of them.
Do you see this emphasis on wisdom,
as it relates to the will of God and to coming to completion in Christ? There is no shortcut. Wisdom is essential. And what we find in the New Testament is
built upon the foundation in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament we have an entire book that is devoted to
wisdom. It is the book of Proverbs. We are not going to try to read all of the
book of Proverbs this morning, but let me just say that the emphasis on seeking
wisdom in the first three chapters, as well as chapter 8, is absolutely
amazing. Please pay close attention to a
few of the verses from the first three chapters of Proverbs...
Prov.
1:7... The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and
instruction...
Here we find the
foundation of knowledge and wisdom from God; it is the fear of the Lord.
Prov. 1:20-23... Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She
cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She
speaks her words: 22 "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my
rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to
you.
Now we find wisdom personified, as if it were a woman crying in the city
square. Understand that the term
"simple" is not used as we most often use it. It refers to a person who has not yet found
the wisdom of God. If that person
doesn't find the Lord's wisdom, he will become a fool. The fool is the one who has had opportunity
to find wisdom, but he has rejected it.
He goes on in the rest of the chapter to focus on those who do indeed
resist the voice of wisdom. We find the
end of those people in verse 31, "Therefore they shall
eat the fruit of their own way and be filled to the full with their own
fancies." If we don't come to the
wisdom of the Lord, we are left to our own resources, which equals
foolishness. Paul tells us that God's
foolishness [if there were such a thing] is wiser than men (I Cor. 1:25).
Prov. 2:1-9... My son,
if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you
incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if
you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you
seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will
understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD
gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up
sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He
guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then you
will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.
I want to focus a moment on this passage. Notice the tenacity of this search for
wisdom. The treasure hunter stops at
nothing to find that treasure. So we
must stop at nothing to find the wisdom of God.
That search is centered in the Word, for it is there that God has
revealed Himself most clearly. Now listen
to what he says in verses 10-12...
Prov. 2:10-12... When
wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion
will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way
of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things...
Not only does that wisdom deliver us from
the way of the evil man, but also from the immoral woman (vs. 16). In a positive light it equips us to walk in
the way of goodness (vs. 20).
Prov. 3:13-18... Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the
man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of
silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And
all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 Length of days is in
her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of
pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those
who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.
Prov. 3:21-26... My son, let them not depart from your
eyes; Keep sound wisdom and discretion;
22 So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. 23 Then you will
walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down,
you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. 25
Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it
comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from
being caught.
Prov. 8:1-11... Does
not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? 2 She takes her stand
on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. 3 She cries
out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors: 4
"To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O you simple
ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart. 6
Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips
will come right things; 7 For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an
abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. 9 They are all plain to him who
understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction,
and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; 11 For wisdom is better
than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
In chapter 9 wisdom is pictured as a
wise woman. She is contrasted with a
foolish woman. Who is this foolish
woman? She is everything that the wise
woman is not. Yes, she is foolish, but
be careful here. This is foolishness
that is highly attractive. Go back and
read chapters 5 and 7. It is absolute
foolishness for a young man to follow an adulteress woman. So why does he do it? Because she is very attractive and
seductive. So it is here with the
foolish woman. Human wisdom appears very
attractive, but it is in reality absolute foolishness. What this woman advertises is the best of
man's wisdom, anything that is less than the wisdom of God. Let's read it in...
Prov. 9:1-6... Wisdom
has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered
her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. 3 She has
sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, 4
"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks
understanding, she says to him, 5 "Come, eat of my bread And drink of the
wine I have mixed. 6 Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of
understanding.
Prov. 9:13-18... A
foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. 14 For she sits
at the door of her house, On a seat by the highest places of the city, 15 To
call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way: 16 "Whoever is
simple, let him turn in here"; And as for him who lacks understanding, she
says to him, 17 "Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is
pleasant." 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, That her
guests are in the depths of hell.
Please hear me. This quest for the wisdom of God is a life and
death situation. Some of us want to say,
"No, the issue isn't the wisdom of God.
The issue is Jesus Christ and how we respond to Him." Don't try to separate the wisdom of God from Jesus. I remind you of that little parable in Matt.
13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field."
Does that not remind you of what we read in Prov. 2:4 about seeking
wisdom as silver and searching for her as hidden treasure? Remember that all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:3).
And let me remind you of what Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:30, "But of
Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption..."
Don't ever make Jesus a substitute
for the wisdom of God; Jesus is the wisdom of God. The problem is the modern tendency to think
something like this: "Seeking
wisdom requires diligence. It means
getting into the Word and spending time with God. I'm so glad that there is a better way, the
way of Jesus. I just become a child of
God through Jesus and there is no longer the necessity for that diligent
seeking of God's wisdom." Listen to
me. If the Jesus you know doesn't drive
you to spend time with God and His Word, you are likely following a false Jesus
in whom there is no salvation.
We could read much more, but that
should be sufficient to demonstrate both the value of wisdom and the need to
give ourselves diligently to seek it.
God's wisdom is not something that will be received by the
half-hearted. It is for those who will seek
Him with their whole heart. It's that
simple. Sometimes we will talk to
someone about the Word of God and receive this response, "Well, I never
have been much of reader." So
what? Once we understand that God
reveals Himself through the Word, we become a reader. If you can read at all, you can read the
Word. Do you realize that missionaries
go to primitive tribes and teach the people to read for one purpose -- so they
can read the Word of God. And everyone
knows we live in a world of technology.
These modern technological devices can be trained to give us the Word as
well as they give us music and movies.
It's all about the desire of the heart.
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the
issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
Conclusion
Let's conclude by coming to I
Corinthians 2. While you are turning
there, let me speak to you. The Word of
God and the Spirit of God go together. I
have been emphasizing seeking wisdom, but I want to give you a warning. We can read the Word of God and study it, but
apart from the Spirit of God, it means nothing.
I want to give you an
illustration. I have given some of you
men that little book by A. W. Tozer. I
like Tozer because he writes lots of short little essays. I have been listening to an audio book which
is a biography of A. W. Tozer. I find it
very interesting. When he was 19 or 20
years old, he had experience with the Spirit of God. He spoke later spoke of definitely being
filled with the Spirit on that occasion.
He sometimes said that if God did anything good in his life, he had to
trace it back to that day when the Spirit of God got hold of his life. There are those who label him a
"mystic." We might be led to
believe that when Tozer got the Spirit, he threw his Bible away and just
listened to the Holy Spirit. That was
not the case. It was the Spirit of God
who led him to be in the Word and to meditate on the Word. He had insights that few men had, and he
attributed to the work of the Spirit.
So now let's read I
Cor. 2:1-16...
And I,
brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of
wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know
anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in
weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were
not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the
power of God. 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not
the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to
nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this
age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into
the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love
Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the
Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows
the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no
one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received,
not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know
the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also
speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit
teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him;
nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is
spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For
"who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we
have the mind of Christ.
The word "natural" in
verse 14 is literally "soulish."
The one who is unaided by the Spirit does not receive the things of the
Spirit. No man can study enough to know
the things of the Spirit of God. Praise
God that we have the Spirit, but apart from the work of the Spirit within us,
we cannot understand the things God has freely given us.
Let me put it as drastically as I
can. Let's suppose you have to make a
choice. On the one hand, you can take
all the study tools you can find -- concordance, commentaries, dictionaries,
etc. Or, you can lay the Bible before
you and trust the Holy Spirit to lead you.
I realize that we don't have to make this choice, but suppose we
did. Most of modern evangelicalism will
take the first choice. I am speaking
from experience; I have been there. When
I became a pastor, I would come to my office on Monday morning and lay out all
my books beside my Bible. How much
better to come humbly to the Word and cry out to God for the guidance of the
Spirit. I am not saying we should not
study the Word, but I am saying that our first resource is the Spirit of
God. We must come humbly to Him and say,
"I am dependent on you."
Some of you may say, "I'm just
not a scholar." Don't excuse
yourself. Study diligently. But understand that this is not about how
smart you are. This is about coming to
God and refusing to rely upon your own resources. IQ is not the secret. The key is in the work of the Spirit, as He
enlightens the Word of God. Oh, it's
easy to say that we are dependent upon the Spirit to understand the Word, but
do we really know what that means? If we
are dependent upon Him, then do we demonstrate it by asking Him to guide us and
trusting Him to do so?
So how does the Spirit do this? I don't know, but He does it. This morning we have talked about answered
prayer. Is this an important prayer to
pray? Absolutely. This Bible can become an academic pursuit,
but it doesn't have to. God's Word
requires more than a keen intellect.
Yes, use all your Bible study tools, but make sure that the Spirit is
your first resource.
Someone might say, "This is
dangerous. We will get the idea that we
can just open the Bible haphazardly and neglect careful study of it." Yes, there is a danger there, but the far
greater danger for us is that we will rely upon our mental capacity and human
resources and neglect the work of the Spirit.
Praise God that the Spirit can and will guide us in understanding the
written Word.
Don't oppose the Spirit of God to
the Word of God. I remind you that the
Holy Spirit is the author of the written Word.
"Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II
Pet. 1:21). Literally, they were
"carried along" by the Spirit.
Surely if the Spirit dwells in you, He will direct you to the Word He
authored. Certainly He is able to help
us understand what He has written. To
think we are longing for the Spirit to work in our lives, while not hungering
for the Word, is to deceive ourselves.
Brothers and sisters, if you want to
walk in the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit, to hear the voice of the
Spirit, then get in the Word. Let the
Word get in you. We spent plenty of time
looking at Luke 11:1-13, where Jesus' concluding words read: "If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13). Hang on to that, but you must read it light
of what Jesus also said in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it will be done
for you." The abiding of Jesus'
words in us and the ministry of His Spirit go hand in hand. You can't separate them.
I am aware that tomorrow is Memorial
Day, a holiday where Americans celebrate freedom and honor those who died to
defend it. I would like to say something
about that next week. I know I am a week
late, but that is okay. That will give
us time to ponder. Lord willing, I would
like to speak to you about Freedom in America, with a twist.
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