That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God...

Transcription

1 Beforehand: Psalm 118:1-1- Let all exalt Jehovah s goodness, For most compassionate is He; His mercy, excellent in fullness, Endureth to eternity. Let Israel praise Jehovah s goodness, And say, Exalt His majesty; His mercy, excellent in fullness, Endureth to eternity. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth 1. Beloved, grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ 2. By the powerful operation of God the Holy Spirit. Amen. Psalm of praise 33:1-1- Rejoice ye in the LORD, O righteous, And let a new song fill the air. Praise is becoming to the up right; With harp and lyre His fame declare. For the LORD has spoken Words of truth unbroken; He is faithful still. Righteousness He treasures; Earth is with the measures Of His good ness filled. Prayer. Psalm 66:1-1- Let all the earth with loud rejoicing The greatness of our God acclaim. With shouts of praise let all adore Him, Sing to the glory of His Name. Let all then say, How awe-inspiring Are all Thy works, how great Thy power; Before Thy strength, O God almighty, Thy enemies all cringe and cower. Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 2 i. Text: 1 Corinthians 2:5, 9: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in 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. Our communion with the Lord is exceptional. The true believer experiences communion with the Lord, while the unbeliever or false believer does not. 1 Psalm 124:8 2 1 Corinthians 1:3 1

2 From His side, the Lord makes use of various means by which He continuously reveals Himself to us, so that we may truly know Him. One of the things, which He reveals to those who truly believe, is that they may take comfort in the fact that He makes them fit for His kingdom. Let us take a look at how the Lord continuously reveals Himself to us. This past year, we attended worship services on a regular basis. Many people underestimate how powerful it is to attend worship services and to listen to sermons. But if one quickly glances back to verse 1, one notices something very striking: the main point of the verse is that Paul came to proclaim the witness of God 3. What is literally written down in the original texts is that he came to proclaim the mystery of God. Perhaps it is better translated with the words: mysterious or secret truths 4 as in some translations. God the Holy Spirit proclaims the mysteries and truths of God to God s children! That is the meaning of this passage. The Lord s world is too deep and vast for man to fully comprehend it. o It is also a world, which due our limitations, lies beyond our reach, because we live within a world where one can see and touch everything, where one cannot touch the Lord, and cannot see Him, because He is Spirit. But now the Lord does not let us remain in this condition. He is a God of immeasurable mercy He reveals Himself to us. If we take a quick glance at the different things, which by Paul s pen, the Lord reveals about Himself in Jesus Christ, we find the following: In word and deed the Lord Jesus acts prophetically. o Jesus has absolute power over demons. o Jesus rules over life and death, and confirms this by His resurrection. o o He is exalted to Kurios 5 (a word which describes Jesus in His sovereignty) Added to which we await the Lord Jesus when He also reveals Himself to us at His glorious second coming. The thing, which goes to the heart of all of this, is the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which Paul also wrote down. And which is also what had been preached through all the ages. Read the beginning of the letter to the Hebrews: o In past times the Lord spoke through the prophets and in the last days through His own Son. o Thereafter the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ is treated. Which is also what Paul says in our passage. Why? Because the unique character of Divine governance, is a visible reality in the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus descended into the deepest depths of humiliation and suffering, and thereby showed how great He, the King of Grace, truly is. On the cross, the Lord Jesus revealed that He asks nothing for Himself, and that He sacrifices His life for His subjects, so that they may have eternal life. With that, the Lord Jesus made true that which is written down in 2 Corinthians 8:9 6, namely that He became poor so that we may be rich. 3 declaring unto you the testimony of God. (1 Cor. 2:1 KJV) 4 1 Cor. 2:1: Contemporary English Version: the mystery that God had shared with us, Common English Bible: preaching God s secrets, New International Reader s Version:..the truth about God's love 5 Greek word for God, lord, master 6 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2

3 This entire dreadfulness He endured to free His elect from it forever. This He does not do in secret, or in the unseen world. He did this on our earth, right in front of us. Paul, and every other preacher after him, expounds these things. But not because they are such great orators to convince the people of these things. They simply state it, as is written down in verses 3 and 4: it is with fear and trembling that the apostle visits the congregation, but the power of God the Holy Spirit makes the people to hear, understand and see. The minister is scant in these matters, but the Spirit of God is an Almighty Person who is active in the faithful. He proceeds from the Crucified Christ, because the Lord Jesus sends Him. Thus the Lord Jesus governs and instructs His congregation by His Holy Spirit and by means of the preaching. Thus He also protects us throughout the year. What Paul preaches here, is that it is the Lord Jesus God who lovingly works over and in the congregation. He performed all the decisive acts on the cross, but He completes it on the Day of His Return. Our King Jesus Christ, reigns eternally and it is He who daily decrees, and reigns over, the courses of our lives, each day and each year. The one who preaches (in our case our minister) cannot affect change in a heart. By His Spirit and power, the Lord does this work. It is the Lord who, by the preaching of the gospel, grabs hold of the hearts of those who listen to it. Just so, it is neither the neighbourhood watch, nor the policemen who guarantee our physical safety it is the Lord Jesus, by the omnipotence of His Spirit and Word that does so. When dealing with a matter of this nature, one must always look to the rest of the Bible too, to see what else is written on this topic in other places. In 1 Corinthians 2:4 it is for example written that the preaching comes to us in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. In some translations: the powerful operation of the Spirit. Which is indeed the meaning of the Bible, because in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 7 the Lord says that the gospel does not come to us only in words, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in great certainty. If we read this together with 1 Corinthians 2, then one can understand it no differently: Spirit and power, is the Spirit and power of God. It is the Lord who powerfully takes hold of us; and that He does by the Holy Spirit. The Lord causes simple words, spoken by a preacher to settle in our soul, where conversion is born, so that we may rise from sin and live a new life. Verse 5, is the conclusion to which the Lord leads us. Our faith is not in men, but in the power of God. This is a dynamic sentence! What is written here, means that our lives are continuously fed, and that daily; it grows out of the power of the Lord a process, which never ceases! With Word and Spirit God Himself grabs hold of your life. He changes you daily in your conversion and the growth of your faith. Is it possible to preached grace with greater clarity? Verse 6 contains a very important key phrase: we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: The word used in the original text simply means those who are fit for the end - with reference to the Second Coming. 7 5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 3

4 In the Greek translation of the Old Testament 8 this word is used to translate two completely different Hebrew words. The one is to describe animals without blemish, which are suitable to be sacrificed. The other word means: full, complete, and finished (compare Deuteronomy 18:13 Deuteronomy 18:13) 9. If we put all of this together, then we realise that the word used in 1 Corinthians 2:6, means that they are people whom the Lord considers to be fit for His kingdom. Naturally it is the Lord Jesus who makes them fit for His kingdom. But that is also exactly what this sermon is about. In the world of faith many things happen to the faithful, which an outsider neither sees nor feels. Things, which the Lord reveals to only the faithful. If a complete unbeliever were to observe us celebrating the Lord s Supper what would such a person see and think? He would see the minister break a bit of bread, he would see a number of people each taking a small piece of bread from a plate and eating it. Thereafter they each take a sip of wine from an old type of jug. They read from a book, sing something and then they leave. Or if an infant is baptised. What would he understand of the covenant of redemption and of someone s responsibility to raise that baptised infant for God and under the direction of the Holy Spirit? How many people understand the true meaning of Christmas? A very deep relationship with the Lord is a prerequisite in order to comprehend that the birth of the Lord Jesus concerns my own personal salvation! As believers, you experience these matters of faith. You realise that by His eternal love and power, the Lord has lead and protected us throughout another year. We understand this and now bring it into remembrance because the Lord allows us awareness and understanding of these deeper things (revelation). We experience the Triune God s presence with us. We experience that before our mind s eye, the Lord opens up before us a tremendous invisible world. We experience that the Lord Jesus bore our sin before God the Father, to thereby reconcile us with Him. And we experience that the Lord Jesus destroyed the forces of hell to free us from eternal damnation. And before your eyes the words of 1 Corinthians 2:9 are written and you understand what the Lord means when He said: the things which God hath prepared for them that love him! Brothers and sisters, as we now enter the new year, experience the comfort of the Lord s teaching in 1 Corinthians 2:5: Our faith does not consist of the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. We do indeed experience things which the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard and has not come up in the heart of men, and we know that God has prepared this for those whom He loves. Beloved, be deeply grateful and know that the Lord loves you, and renews you by His Word and Spirit so that you may live in His kingdom eternally, because in Jesus Christ He chose you for this very purpose. You are governed and protected by the eternally reigning King Jesus Christ. So serve Him wholeheartedly. Prayer. Versification 2-4:1, 2, 3. (33) 8 Septuagint or simply "LXX" 9 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 4

5 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. 10 Amen. Dr. M.J. du Plessis Reformed Church Bellville Date: 31 December 2010 (Midnight service) 10 2 Corinthians 13:14 5

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