Text: 1 Corinthians 2:11-14

 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?  even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.   12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;  that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.   13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;  comparing spiritual things with spiritual.   14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:  for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Saturday, 31^st August 2024        

THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS THE MYSTERY OF GOD

Text: 1 Corinthians 2:11-14

Memory verse: 1 Corinthians 2:9 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.

Mystery has a special meaning. It does not simply denote something that is puzzling or incomprehensible. Mystery is ‘a reality infused with the hidden presence of God’. Because God is totally other than we are, totally of the spiritual order, we cannot know God directly. Our experience of God is always mediated. That we are touched by the reality of God through events and things visible to us. For Christians, Christ is the great mystery.

Human in every way, he is at the same time God coming among us. To know Jesus is to know God. We can also describe the Church and its sacraments as mystery because they are tangible realities infused with a hidden presence and action of God. Indeed, the Christian message is ultimately about one mystery, God, who is revealed sacramentally through creation, through Jesus Christ, through the Church and through history. There is a problem when we try to understand the spiritual things of God with the natural mind of man. Comparing spiritual things to natural things, according to the text, makes the things of God seem like foolishness. The natural man cannot spiritually discern the things of God. This is why we must worship God in spirit and in truth. This is why we must walk in the Spirit, and this is why we must pray in the Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 14:15, Apostle Paul talked about praying in the Spirit. He wrote a letter to the Corinthian church and here is his conclusion on the matter. “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding”. Meaning we need balance in our prayer life. We must pray in the understanding. In other words, we pray in our natural language the things we know to pray. And we must pray in the Spirit. When we pray in the Spirit, according to 1 Corinthians 14:2, the Spirit speaks mysteries, or revelation.  

In John 4:24 Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” So, if you worship God in the Spirit, if you will move into true worship, then according to God’s Word, your spiritual eyes will see, and your spiritual ears will hear what God has laid up for those who love Him. The Holy Ghost is the mystery behind the reproduction of the nature of God in the sons of men, God duplicates and reproduces Himself in us through His Spirit. God has revealed His mysteries to us so that we may be able to relate with Him.

CGDS HYMN 28: SS&S 190: 

COME, HOLY SPIRIT, COME

1. Come, Holy Spirit, come;

Let Thy bright beams arise,

Dispel the darkness from our minds,

And open all our eyes.

2. Revive our drooping faith,

Our doubts and fears remove,

And kindle in our breasts the flame

Of never-dying love.

3. Convince us of our sin,

Then lead to Jesus' blood,

And to our wondering view reveal

The secret love of God.

4. ‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,

To sanctify the soul,

To pour fresh life in every part,

And new-create the whole.

5. Dwell therefore in our hearts,

Our minds from bondage free ;

Then we shall know, and praise, and love

The Father, Son, and Thee !  

 Prayers 

1.  Holy Spirit, show me the deep things of God concerning all matters in Jesus’ name.

2.  LORD God Almighty, reveal in me the secret things of the Father and bring me into God’s plan in Jesus’ name. Amen.    

3.  Pray for others in this regard.