December 14, 2023 WE HAVE RECEIVED
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who knows the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
There are two, and only two spirits; the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God. Every person lives under the direction and influence of one of these two spirits. Those who do not know Jesus as their Savior, live according to the spirit of the world; those who do know Jesus as their Savior, live, or at least should live, according to the Spirit of God who indwells them. Believers have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God. There is no comparing the two spirits-they have nothing in common. As believers, because we have received the Holy Spirit from God, we can have a fuller understanding of God and can know and experience the things that God has freely given to us. What we have as believers does not come from human wisdom, but from the wisdom of the Spirit of God. We may be thinking that that all sounds good, but what practical difference does it make in my day to day life. It makes all the difference! The wisdom of the world does not fulfill and the fruit it produces is always bad fruit; it leads to heartache, regret, and all sorts of trouble. It’s a no-brainer, but the wisdom of the world is not a godly wisdom. The natural man cannot understand the things of God and they are foolishness to him because he or she is void of the Spirit of God. The lost person lives every minute of every day in darkness-yet he is not aware of that reality. The good news is that because we have been given the Spirit of God, we can know what things God has given us, such as forgiveness, love, joy, peace, hope, a new heart and a new mind-and much more. We can know these things not just in our mind, but can know them experientially. And, we can now speak words that are spiritually sound. Because we have the Spirit of God, we can accurately appraise all things. Do not miss the last verse above-it is monumental: ‘we have the mind of Christ.’ Most believers struggle with this truth. But, God has given us a new mind, enabling us to think like He thinks! We are not forced to think like God thinks, but we can choose to think like He thinks and can do so because His Spirit lives in us.
John 14:16-18 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Blessings, Buddy
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For who knows the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”
There are two, and only two spirits; the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God. Every person lives under the direction and influence of one of these two spirits. Those who do not know Jesus as their Savior, live according to the spirit of the world; those who do know Jesus as their Savior, live, or at least should live, according to the Spirit of God who indwells them. Believers have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God. There is no comparing the two spirits-they have nothing in common. As believers, because we have received the Holy Spirit from God, we can have a fuller understanding of God and can know and experience the things that God has freely given to us. What we have as believers does not come from human wisdom, but from the wisdom of the Spirit of God. We may be thinking that that all sounds good, but what practical difference does it make in my day to day life. It makes all the difference! The wisdom of the world does not fulfill and the fruit it produces is always bad fruit; it leads to heartache, regret, and all sorts of trouble. It’s a no-brainer, but the wisdom of the world is not a godly wisdom. The natural man cannot understand the things of God and they are foolishness to him because he or she is void of the Spirit of God. The lost person lives every minute of every day in darkness-yet he is not aware of that reality. The good news is that because we have been given the Spirit of God, we can know what things God has given us, such as forgiveness, love, joy, peace, hope, a new heart and a new mind-and much more. We can know these things not just in our mind, but can know them experientially. And, we can now speak words that are spiritually sound. Because we have the Spirit of God, we can accurately appraise all things. Do not miss the last verse above-it is monumental: ‘we have the mind of Christ.’ Most believers struggle with this truth. But, God has given us a new mind, enabling us to think like He thinks! We are not forced to think like God thinks, but we can choose to think like He thinks and can do so because His Spirit lives in us.
John 14:16-18 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Blessings, Buddy
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