“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritual discerned.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:14
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you think that you are ready to face the world? Do you think that you have enough knowledge to step right into the mainstream of daily happenings? Do you think that just because you are Christ-followers that you have the answer to whatever? In the book Futurecast – which is George Barna’s latest book – George Barna reports that your generation does not desire or pursue excellence – as your generation believes it is okay with doing just well enough, that your generation are not rosy lens colored optimists – as your generation believes that there is a limited number of opportunities for guys and gals in your generation to get ahead in life, that your generation is made up of water throwing pessimists – as your generation believes that what is promised by a guy, gal or . . . is nothing more than vacuous words, that your generation does not see itself as part of a greater community – as your generation believes that it is to do what it can do to better its own community, that your generation sees itself as a distinct micro entity that expects everyone in the greater community to accept, affirm and approve the kind of lifestyle and vocation that you desire and pursue – as your generation believes that is not okay with delaying or putting off work gratification or life enjoyments, that your generation because of a societal conditioned need for instant gratification and that life is boring if . . ., – as your generation believes in arbitrarily changing to another workplace if the workplace that a guy or gal in your generation is not doing whatever it is that that the workplace is to be doing and he or she will do self-entertainment even though it will mean utilizing plastic to pay for the expenses, that your generation has no respect for what it is that age, education, status, etc. can and will bring to the table – as your generation believes that it has an equal standing with every guy and gal in other generations, that your generation does not recognize God as being the Divine Creator of all things – as your generation believes that it is fine with having an amorphous god that fits into, answers or satisfies a search that a guy or gal has for a spiritual paradigm, that your generation cannot grasp the concept of absolute truth – as your generation believes that tolerance is the optimum mode for accepting what a guy or gal says or believes, that your generation no longer trusts anyone – as your generation believes because of having been told that your generation is to be skeptical of everything that your generation hears and reads, that your generation does not adopt heroes – as your generation believes that gravitating towards celebrities as life models as being a good thing and that your generation believes that the pursuit of knowledge is overrated – as your generation believes that experiential learning through a variety of life experiences trumps book and classroom learning venues.
When Paul heard about a church schism, he wrote a letter with absolute confidence that what he was writing was exactly what his audience – which was the Christ-follower community of guys and gals in the city of Corinth, needed to hear. 1 Corinthians 2 has Paul reminding the guys and gals – who he had spent time with several years earlier, that he was not an eloquent speaker who had used superior wisdom or intellectual aptitude to persuade them to accept a totally new belief paradigm – which was to have them to know nothing more than the absolute truth about Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Paul reminded the readers in his first Corinth Letter that he had traveled to their city and that had come into their lives with fear and trembling. Paul knew that when he was in the city of Corinth that the messages that he preached to the guys and gals there were words that had been breathed on him by God – as God the Spirit, to say and not words that he conjured up in his own mind. Paul knew that he was writing a letter to a misguided contingent of guys and gals who were being influenced by supercilious guys who were teaching that exceptional intelligence and oratorical capacity was the way to go instead of blindly accepting God’s power. Paul knew that when he wrote what is now verse 14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritual discerned.” that he was confronting fools who were attempting to dissuade guys and gals from continuing to believe in what God = as God the Spirit, had presented to them – through him, as absolute truth.
Your grandpaa is also reading Faith & Life by B. B. Warfield. This book was first published in 1916. The book is a compilation of messages that B. B. Warfield preached. Your grandpaa wishes that there are today B. B. Warfield preachers. B. B. Warfield preached that there are always just two groups of guys, gals and kids on planet Earth – us and them – Christ-followers and non–Christ-followers. Paul wrote in his first letter to the Christ-follower guys and gals who lived in the city of Corinth that they had God embed Himself as God – as God the Spirit, in them, that they will be able to with the help of God – as God the Spirit, accept with their eyes what they have not seen, accept with their ears what they have not heard, accept with their minds what they have not considered, accept with their hearts what God has prepared for them because of His love for them and to accept what He – as God the Spirit is revealing to them while at the same time, Paul wrote that it is an absolute impossibility for a non-Christ-follower guy, gal or kid to get it as to how God – as God the Spirit, is doing what He is doing for every Christ-follower guy, gal and kid.
1 Corinthians 2 (1175)