WWUTT 1442 Faith In the Power of God (1 Corinthians 2:3-5)

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Paul could have come to the Corinthians blowing their minds with all of the deep stuff that he had to share about God.

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But he did not. He came in weakness so their faith would be in the power of God when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the Word of Christ that men and women of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

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Tell your friends about our ministry at www .utt .com. Here's your teacher,

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Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. First Corinthians chapter 2 again today. I'm going to start off by reading the first eight verses out of the

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Legacy Standard Bible the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. And when

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I came to you, brothers, I did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the witness of God.

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For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

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And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

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And my word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the

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Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

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Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age who are being abolished.

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But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which

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God predestined before the ages to our glory, which none of the rulers of this age has understood.

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For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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This is the word of God. And yesterday we looked at Paul's humility, opening up this chapter, saying, when

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I came preaching to you, the witness of God, I didn't come in superiority of intellect to blow your minds with all the stuff that I knew.

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Verse two, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

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Paul's desire was that they would know Christ. It was not to build his own ministry or his brand or anything like that.

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It was to proclaim Christ, that they would know Christ, that they would be shaped in the image of Christ.

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Paul made nothing of himself and everything of Christ and says, furthermore, in verse three, and I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, weakness and fear and much trembling.

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When Paul was talking to the Philippians about the witness that he was able to do while under house arrest in Rome, he said that that the brothers have become confident in the

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Lord by his imprisonment and they are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.

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So we are emboldened to speak the word of God without fear. And we know that Paul was without fear when he preached.

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He didn't he didn't fear being in prison. He didn't fear being beaten. He did everything for the glory of Christ.

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He didn't fear death itself to the Philippians, he says, to live as Christ and to die as gain.

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If I were to die, well, that'd be great for me. I go be with Jesus. But it's better for you if I stay alive, because then

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I continue to preach to you and you're built up in your sanctification. So Paul had nothing to fear.

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He was confident in Christ. So what does this mean then for him to come to the

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Corinthians in weakness and in fear and in much trembling?

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Well, Paul did not fear man, but he did fear God. As we all should, for it says in Proverbs one, seven, the fear of the

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Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. And it's not that we have this fear of God, like any moment he's going to strike us down and cast us into hell.

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So we need to be on our absolute best behavior in order to appease God and earn his favor. We don't earn

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God's favor by our works. He gives us his mercy and grace. And we know that we have the favor of God by faith in the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Jesus is adopted by God into his family, and we have become sons and daughters of God.

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Now, God is going to discipline us. He is going to grow us even through pain and suffering that we might cling all the more to Christ to become more like him.

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Hebrews chapter twelve tells us if God did not discipline us, then we would be illegitimate sons and daughters and we would not be the children of God.

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So it is a good thing that God disciplines us. It's another way that he shows his love for us.

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Paul talks about this in second Corinthians chapter one, that in all the sufferings that they went through, they thought they had received the sentence of death.

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But this was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.

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That's second Corinthians one nine. So we cling all the more to Christ.

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We become more like Christ because of the discipline and guidance of our heavenly father.

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And if you had a father here on earth or have a father that you greatly respect, then you probably understand this fear of God, this healthy fear of God, a reverent fear of the

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Lord in somewhat of an earthly way. I have a great relationship with my dad. And when I was a kid,

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I always wanted to please my dad. I knew that I already had the favor of my dad. I was his son.

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And he told me that he loved me all the time. But I wanted to do what pleased my father. I did not want to do anything that displeased my father.

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I didn't want to do anything disobedient because I knew the discipline of my father. I knew his discipline.

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I knew the sound of his belt flying through belt loops. And so, see, there's like that healthy, reverent fear that keeps me walking in the way of rightness and staying away from any kind of disobedience that would incur my father's wrath.

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Now, if we are in Christ, we are not under God's wrath, but there's still going to be consequences for our sin.

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So in the fear of God and a healthy fear of God, we desire to do what is righteous because we love

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God and we want to please him over and over in scripture. We have these mentions of fearing the

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Lord and trembling at his word. As Paul talks here about coming to the Corinthians in much trembling.

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Isaiah 66 to God says, all these things my hand is made. And so all these things came to be declares the

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Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

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What do you know, all three of those things go right with what Paul says here, right? I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

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The Lord will show favor to the one who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at his word.

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And that was Paul. I remember this quote from John Knox, the great reformer. And you've probably heard this quote before, too.

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But he said, I have never once feared the devil, but I tremble every time

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I enter the pulpit. You know, it's having this healthy fear of God keeps us in in loving the word of God and handling it rightly, wanting to understand it the right way and communicate it to somebody else the right way.

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So because I have a fear of God, it keeps me walking in a way of reverence.

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I desire righteousness. I want to be above reproach. And it's also in this fear of God that I want to understand

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God's word and teach it and communicate it rightly. If there's something that I don't understand, I need to go back to the scriptures and make sure that I understand it so that I don't risk teaching something wrong.

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Leading somebody wrongly, but most of all, displeasing God because I misrepresented him.

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I did not accurately say what God has said in his word. I want to be able to communicate his word soundly and what points back to Christ and therefore shapes the hearers in the image of Christ, as we talked about yesterday.

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So likewise, I want to come into the word, preaching the word with weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

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I'm not sitting here just speaking all this off the top of my head. There are some times when I might be familiar enough with the passage that I can do that.

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But I've also got various cross references around me here, including that Isaiah 66 to reference that I shared with you so that you may understand this word better.

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And you also may grow in the knowledge of God. In fear and in trembling,

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Paul said this to the Philippians to, again, that same group of people that he said that we've been emboldened to have no fear as we continue to proclaim the gospel of God.

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We have no fear of man, but we continue in a reverent fear of the

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Lord, for Paul said to the Philippians to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

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Ecclesiastes 12, 13. This is the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, and it says the end of the matter.

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All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

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Notice that there. God will bring every deed into judgment, whether good or evil.

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And likewise, we will stand before God in judgment and he will judge our works, good or evil.

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The book of Revelation talks about great books being opened up and written in those books are all the works that we have done.

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Jesus said that we will give an account for every careless word that we have spoken. In second

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Corinthians, chapter five, beginning of verse six, Paul says this to the Corinthians in his next letter. We are always of good courage.

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We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

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Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the

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Lord. Again, like Paul said to the Philippians, it'd be better for me to die and go be with God. And but it's better for me that I stay here with you and then

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I'm growing you for your sanctification. So to be away from the body is to be at home with the

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Lord. Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

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Here's verse 10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

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Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others, but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

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Notice there the ways that Paul would use courage, talking about being bold, being courageous in the face of men.

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But in the service of God, we do so with fear, knowing that he is judge and he will judge every work, good or bad.

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So even in the secret things, may we be fully committed unto

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Christ and we commit ourselves fully unto Christ. When we in our spirits are in weakness and in fear and with much trembling before God, also in 2nd

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Corinthians later on in chapter 12. Remember that Paul had a tormentor of Satan came to him, a thorn in his side, he describes it, and three times he pleads with God to take it away from him.

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But God answered him and said, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in what?

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Do you remember my power is made perfect in weakness? Paul says, therefore,

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I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me for the sake of Christ.

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Then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities for when

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I am weak, then I am strong. And Paul goes on from there to talk about the power of God that was demonstrated among them.

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He says later on in verse 12, the signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

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And Paul reminds them of that so that they would know the difference between the true apostles and the false apostles, the false apostles he had talked about sarcastically referring to them as super apostles in chapter 11.

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How do they know who the true messengers of God are? Well, they're the ones who perform these great signs and wonders, the power of God demonstrated through what they did in service to God, not to elevate themselves, not to make their own ministries, not to to establish their own brands, but to preach

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Christ and him crucified. And they know that the word that they preach came from God through the supernatural miracles that were performed.

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And Paul goes on in verse four. I'm back in first Corinthians now, first Corinthians, two, four. He goes on to say, my word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power.

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Now, the Holy Spirit was working through the apostles to perform these miraculous signs.

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So the Corinthians saw the miraculous works. They know the word that was preached to them, which was done in weakness.

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Paul's weakness. They know the word that came to them is from Christ. So Paul, in his humility, demonstrated his own weakness so that they would not be persuaded by the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

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That's what Paul goes on to say in verse five. So that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men,

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Paul humbling himself, that they would not be coming to faith because they were impressed with Paul, but in the power of God.

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They would be changed by the message proclaimed the Holy Spirit of God, transforming their hearts to believe what was said to them now to the

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Thessalonians. Paul said this. This was in first Thessalonians chapter one, starting in verse four.

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He says, for we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the

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Holy Spirit and with full conviction. OK, they know or I'm sorry,

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Paul knows that they, the Thessalonians, have been chosen by God, chosen for salvation, chosen to believe and follow

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Jesus Christ. We talked all about that election going through chapter one of first Corinthians.

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So how does Paul know that these people are loved by God and chosen to be his people redeemed unto himself to be sanctified, to be glorified?

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How does Paul know that? Because the gospel came to them not only in word. I mean, anybody can go out with the gospel and preach it anywhere.

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How do you know the people that it is preached to are meant to be the people of God? Paul goes on to say that the gospel came to you in power and in the

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Holy Spirit and with full conviction. The miraculous signs of an apostle were performed among them, and many came to believe because of what they saw and what they heard.

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The power of God demonstrated among them and within them as their hearts were transformed, going from being pagans, worshiping false gods and idols and going after the passions of their flesh and doing worldly things.

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They went from that to becoming purified, to being transformed, to no longer being after the world, but being after Christ.

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And as Paul has observed this behavior change, this conversion that happened in the lives of the

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Thessalonians, he knew that they are loved by God. They are chosen to be his sons and daughters, the power of God among them, showing the transformation of a heart from a pagan into a

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Christian. That is the work of the power of God in a person's life. And so Paul says the same things here to the

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Corinthians. My word and my preaching was not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, demonstration of the spirit and of power.

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It was not so you would be impressed with Paul. It's so you would be impressed by his spirit, not with his spirit, by his spirit.

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Not impressed with Paul, impressed by his spirit to believe the foolishness of the message preached.

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Right. It's not the most mind blowing message that the

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Greeks had ever heard. It was, in fact, foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.

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We marvel at how incredible the gospel is because we have the power of God in our hearts.

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If you marvel at the gospel, if it just blows your mind, the stuff that you read in the scriptures is amazing to you.

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If it boggles the mind, why God would choose you to redeem you, to rescue you out of the world, that you would become a follower of Jesus Christ.

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Why did God's gospel come to me? Why do I believe? And this person over here that I know doesn't believe.

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Why did he choose me and not them? If this stuff blows your mind, it's because you have the spirit of God in you. It's because the message of the cross is the power of God to you.

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To those who are being saved, to those who are not, to those who are perishing, this message is foolishness because they are naturally minded people.

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As Paul will go on to say in verse 14, the natural man does not accept the depths of the spirit of God.

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They are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined.

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They are spiritually discerned. The message of the gospel of Christ is amazing to you because you are being saved.

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The demonstration of the spirit and of power in you. Now, when we talk about power, that's what we're talking about.

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The transformed mind. It is not seeing the signs of an apostle. Those signs have already been done and the message has already been confirmed.

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Peter says in second Peter chapter one, we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed. We don't need those signs and wonders anymore to confirm this word.

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It's already been confirmed. So the power of God that we read about here is the power that was performed by the apostles.

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But we are able to marvel at this power because of the power of the spirit that has transformed our hearts.

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And that's no small thing, my friends, because remember that the apostle Paul says in Romans 8, 11, that the spirit, the same spirit that raised

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Christ Jesus from the dead is the spirit that is at work in your heart and raised you from the dead.

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That that is that that's the power of God. We can marvel at that because we have that because we have the spirit of God dwelling within us.

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You don't need a miraculous sign or wonder to prove that to you. You believe it because the spirit has shown it to you, has made you to understand these words that we read and they are the power of God to you.

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Verse five, so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

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Do you believe that every word of the Bible has power, that it has the power to transform a person?

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It converted you from a sinner to a saint, from an unbeliever to a believer, from perishing to saved.

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Right. The word of God did that for you. And the word of God is still at work in power in you because it is transforming you to be more like Christ.

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Jesus saying in John 17, 17, Father, sanctify them in your truth.

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Your word is truth. It is when we read the word of God and we desire to do what it says that we are being sanctified, being made more holy, being shaped in the image of Christ.

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Again, as Paul comes to this at the end of first Corinthians to who has known the mind of the

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Lord, that he will direct him. We have the mind of Christ. That's what we have when we are conformed to these words that we are reading, and it is the power of God in us that makes us more like Jesus.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for the goodness that you show to us, and I pray that we would be more like Christ.

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Teach us to hate our sin and love righteousness. Teach us to love others that we might want to raise them up in a knowledge of this word so that they would be more like Jesus and all to the praise of your great name.

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Thank you for the love that you give to us and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

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You showed us your love to us in this way. And may we continue to walk in a way that we might be worthy sons and daughters of God until that day that we join with you together in glory.

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It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes.

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