Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 23 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; 1Co 2:9-3:4.
Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 23 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; 1Co 2:9-3:4.
Announcements / opening prayer:
J. Filled with the Spirit: he must be led, taught, and empowered by the Spirit filling his soul.
There is an obvious difference in the quality and character of life that Christians experience. The New Testament is clear on the reasons for the difference. Believers can be either spiritual (filled with the Spirit) or carnal (under the control of the flesh).
Paul divides the human race into three categories - the natural man, the spiritual man, and the carnal man.
1Co 2:9 but just as it is written,
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
He has prepared the magnificent, divine things for all believers, but it is those who love Him that actually see them in time.
1Co 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
A distinction is made between the general subjects of human knowledge that enter through the eye and the ear and enter into the heart and the deep things of God which are revealed only through the Spirit, and what He reveals is only in the scripture. There are no extra revelations external to it.
So then, men are classified as to their ability to understand these things.
1Co 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
An unaided man may enter freely into the things of his fellow man because of the spirit of man that is within him, through his eyes and ears and into his heart.
He cannot know the things of the animal world or the angelic world.
1Co 2:12 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,
1Co 2:13 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.
1Co 2:14 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.
1Co 2:15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.
1Co 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
All Christians, all the saved, excluding none, have received the Spirit of God so that they might know the things freely given to us by God, or the deep things of God.
The Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of salvation and makes the believer's body the holy temple of God. The Spirit will never leave the believer. Yet the indwelling of the Spirit, which is not commanded since it is a guarantee for all believers, is not the same as the filling of the Spirit, which is commanded. Therefore there are conditions for the filling of the Spirit, yet they are based on grace, like all things in the plan of God.
Hence the leader, all mature believers, must be filled with the Spirit to even begin his journey towards leadership.
When learning the word of God he is to do so humbly, as a teachable student. He is not focused on applying what he hears to others. He does not listen in order to criticize or to look for mistakes made by the pastor. No pastor has 100% knowledge, nor does any Christian, but he should have a good amount of sound doctrine that will:
2Ti 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
He is to be taught sound doctrine. His humility will allow him to be reproved and corrected. So many believers have accumulated erroneous doctrines that they jealously hold on to and when the word of God clearly and objectively reproves and corrects those beliefs they reject it in stubborn arrogance. These are not teachable Christians and so they don't mature and therefore they never qualify as leaders.
The Bible is a book of words. They are the very words that convey man's wisdom which eye can see, ear can hear, and can enter into the heart of the natural man. However, these same words are used by God to convey that which eye cannot see, ear cannot hear, and neither can enter the heart of the natural man.
These truths, using the same language as man uses, are revealed only through the Spirit of God.
In this passage the natural man is not blamed for his inability. It is simply an accurate statement of the fact of his limitations and it goes on to assign the exact cause of these limitations. He is without the Spirit of God.
The natural man - the unbeliever. He only has the spirit of fallen man. He can read the words but cannot discern their spiritual meaning.
He has received only the spirit of a man, which is within him. It is the spirit of a fallen man. He can read the words but he cannot discern the spiritual meaning of the words, and so to him, the words are foolish.
Many of the moral principles are within the grasp of the natural man. He can understand the Ten Commandments. He can usually discern what he sometimes calls the golden principle of do unto others as you would have them to unto you. Therefore, they can be moral and so prosper to some extent from that morality, and that is a gift from God to His creatures. However, when it comes to the deep things of God, like redemption through grace and all the eternal relationship that the believer may have with God through adoption, election, and predestination; he has no understanding and can only count them as foolish. This is why an unbeliever can eloquently preach about the moral principles contained in the scriptures and do so with confidence and sincerity, but this is as far as he can go. He cannot qualify for spiritual leadership since he himself cannot be spiritual.
Satan must continue to snatch away the gospel when it comes to the natural man. Therefore, Satan also has deep things that are strangely adapted the blinded, modern, secular natural man.
Every modern cult has this. Science and evolution have this. All false religions have this and much of what they call "deep things of God" are copied from God and perverted to promote the creature above the Creator.
Joh 10:4-5
the sheep follow him because they know his voice. "And a stranger they [those who know His voice] simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
2Co 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2Co 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving [by giving them his own "deep things"], that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Hence, Satan's deep things can contain a lot of God's morality, as in the case of Mormonism for example, but within that system, the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on behalf of all mankind, furnishing salvation by grace alone through faith alone is foolishness to them. Human wisdom cannot help him understand. Only the gift of the Spirit, given to all who believe at salvation, will open his heart to this aspect of the depth of God.
To the child of God these revelations are freely given to the believer who will yield in humility to the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
Infinite harm has been done to theology due to the supposition that man's increase in science and natural wisdom gives him further insight into spiritual matters. The natural man with all his scientific discoveries, all his sincerity, and all his increase will not be able to discern one thing that is spiritual. He will only find any inference to such things as foolishness.
Such men and women are professors in many colleges and universities today, and they are only pushing young minds to reject the gospel by promoting the deep things of Satan. This is how Satan snatches the gospel from them. And it is just as much the fault of the young student who gulps down the principles of the progressive element without question. It is too generally assumed that a teacher or preacher who is an authority in some branch of human knowledge is equally capable of discerning spiritual knowledge, and in their arrogance they accept this supposition rather than acknowledging in humility that they know nothing of it. And the great gag is that universities are now charging unheard of prices for this foolishness. People likely think that if it costs so much it has to be true.
The natural man is burdened with the supernatural and he must explain it away, and Satan, in his genius, supplies these explanations which are perfectly suited to them.
Two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. A person cannot entertain two distinct beliefs about the person of Christ. Satan promotes a false Jesus. When this is accepted in the heart of the unbeliever there is no room for belief in Him as Savior.
2Co 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
2Co 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.
2Co 11:11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
2Co 11:12 But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
2Co 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.
As stated, the believer has no such limitation upon him. But he can limit himself greatly in the pursuit of the deep things of God through carnality.
1Co 2:9 but just as it is written,
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him."
1Co 2:10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1Co 2:11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 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,
1Co 2:13 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.
1Co 2:14 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.
1Co 2:15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.
1Co 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
1Co 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
1Co 3:4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men?
Carnal can be moral degeneracy or immoral degeneracy. They are carnal (fleshly) because they walk as men, i.e. they walk after the flesh of man and not the Spirit of God.