How to Know God Through the Bible | Part 1

Why is it so we know God.

Listen to Adrian Rogers. I want to talk to your rewrite about how no God through the Bible how God can become real.

Not someone that you know about what someone that you know because you know him is to love him or love him is to trust him to trust him is to obey him to obey him is to be blessed. It all begins with this idea of knowing God to teaching the real truth of the gospel, resented the biblical messages you as we just heard the way to be blessed is to obey God.

If you want to obey God, we must first trust in and to trust him is to love and in order to love him. We must know. But how can we know God.

If you have your Bible turnout of first Corinthians chapter 2 will begin in verse one is Adrian Rogers, explains how to know God through the Bible, God's word and turn chapter 2 I think one of the great great chapters in all of the Bible. I want to tell you tonight how you can be blessed in order to be blessed. You must obey in order to obey, you must trust in order to trust. You must love, and in order to love you must know that this chain of events begins with the idea of knowing God.

The reason that many people are not blessed is they don't know God, that they might love God, that they might trust God that they might obey God and that they might be blessed. I want to talk to you really about how to know God through the Bible how to know God through the Bible how God can become real to you. Not someone that you know about what someone that you know because to know him is to love him to love him is to trust him to trust him is to obey him to obey him is to be blessed and it all begins with this idea of knowing God and the entire second chapter of first Corinthians deals with this idea of knowing God and really it deals with the word of wisdom because what wisdom is, is the knowledge of God. Wisdom is the knowledge of God. Wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective, from God's point of view.

That's what wisdom is now he talks here in this chapter about human wisdom and its deficiency, and then he talks about heavenly wisdom and its sufficiency. Now we're going to talk first of all about human wisdom and its deficiency and then were going to talk about heavenly wisdom and its sufficiency how we can sufficiently know God through that heavenly wisdom that God gives Alice began reading. Therefore, in chapter 2 and verse one and I Rev. when I came to you came out with the excellency of speech, nor wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

That is, he said I didn't, like a man with a double PhD and a marvelous order for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Now when I think first of all about the deficiency of human wisdom. The first thing that comes to me is that this human wisdom, dear friend is so super efficient you see if you knew God just simply by human wisdom. If I just began to teach a course in systematic theology. I could tell you all the facts about God and you could get out your notebook and you could write them down and you could say God is omnipotent God is omniscient and God is theirs and God is that you can learn all the facts about God you would know God, I mean if I would be able to report all menus, all kinds of flamboyant speech and clever phraseology in all of these things that would help you to know God. You see, the apostle Paul said when I came to you what I preached to you, I didn't come this way with human wisdom.

You see, the people at Corinth had been swept away by worldly philosophy.

Now the apostle Paul if he had wanted to could not be apostle Paul was mighty in and let he was mighty in learning but he was terrified at all that their fate should stand in human wisdom because it is so superficial and I remember hearing Billy Graham say one occasion, he said I stay frightened.

I wonder why Billy said that I listen more carefully set. I stay frightened and Annie went on to explain these and I'm so afraid that I might do something or say something that would discredit my Lord, I have people following me rather than the Jesus that I preached. That's what the apostle Paul meant when he said I was with you in weakness and fear much trembling.

I don't want people he said to follow me and I don't want to be able use human ingenuity in human philosophy and human wisdom to get any kind of followership because the deficiency of human wisdom is that it is so super official. You can know about God and yet not know God. Secondly, not only human wisdom so superficial. It is so transitory look again in verse six, howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the prints is this world.

Now the word princes. It stands for the intellectuals, those intellectual top wars of this world. These these people who have attained in their learning. He said we speak wisdom about the wisdom of this world, not what the princes of this world. No, that will come to naught now when he says the princes of this world. He literally says the princes of this a that is for this time there certain people in this day in this age and they're supposed to be the great wanted intellectual leaders and Paul says hey. All of that is just going up in smoke is going to come to an all I remember hearing Dr. RG Lee, who had the ability to express himself so eloquently talk about philosophy and he said that philosophy was a chunk of cloud bank buttered with the night wind. Now that's what the apostle Paul is talking about here is the wisdom of the princes of this world, folks, this is going to come to nothing is so superficial. It is so transitory, and it is so limited. Look again if you will, in verse seven but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, not human wisdom is totally incapable of understanding are our probing into what Paul calls here the divine mystery we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom.

What does he mean hereby mystery is talking here about a sacred secret that you can only know as God reveals himself to you.

You see, human wisdom can never, never fathom God.

I don't care how smart you are. You have a head start toward God. You see the finite can never probe the infinite.

You can never fathom God. The natural man can never know the supernatural God.

Wisdom is so superficial.

The wisdom of this world, the wisdom of this world is so transitory is so passing away the wisdom of this world is so limited and then he goes on to speak of the wisdom of this world that is actually so dangerous and ungodly going in verse eight, and look he speaks of the wisdom of this world which job as compared to the wisdom of God and then he speaks, he says which none of the princes of this world new for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. If these smart Alex in this world had no real wisdom, they never would have nailed Jesus Christ to the cross. Here the classic crew of the bankruptcy of human wisdom is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and who crucified Jesus Christ.

I want to remind you that Jesus Christ was crucified by the best minds of his day. It was not the rabble. It was the Jewish and Roman intelligentsia that nailed Jesus Christ up to the cross.

I want to something else.

They did not do it casually. They did it carefully after they applied their minds to it. Not a few of them, but many of them and the Bible says they took counsel together.

That is, they pooled their so-called wisdom, and they crucified the Lord of glory. Why is all of this. Why is human wisdom so superficial.

Why is human wisdom so transitory, why is human wisdom so limited.

Why is human wisdom so dangerous and why does natural man, a man without Christ. Why does he have such a difficulty understanding the things of God will look in verse nine but as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him know what Paul is saying is the reason these people don't know God is they don't have the proper equipment they're trying to understand things with her eyes and with her ears and with the heart, and you can't do it. I have not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God had prepared for them that love him now when he talks about your eyes and your ears he's talking about object of knowledge, things that you can read and see and hear and when he talks about your heart he's talking about subjective feeling and what he saying here.

Whether it be object of fact are subjective feeling. You will never know God that way. Now you may know Greek but you will know God you may know Hebrew but you will not know him. Why, because you don't have the ability to know him.

If you are a natural man look in verse 14 of the same chapter he says here but the natural man receive is not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned or understood. Now what is he mean by natural man, the word natural is a translation of the Greek word Sue Kinko's are so wish man you see when God made man.

When God created man God created man to begin with body, soul and spirit with his body.

He has physical life and knows the physical world with his soul. He has psychological life and knows the psychological world is sold as his mind, emotions, and is will and then he has a spirit and with his spirit. He knows the spiritual world with his body knows the world anything with his soul. He knows the world around them with his spirit. He knows the world about how that's the way Adam was created he was body soul and spirit.

But when Adam sinned against God Adam die but how did he die, he did not die in his body. He did not die in his soul. He died in his spirit, his death was a spiritual death. God said in the day that you eat, you will surely die. What he ate and he died, but he continued to exist, but he was spiritually dead. That is the spirit in him shriveled up and now rather than being a spiritual man Adam became a natural man is the same word is used here in verse 14 he became a soulless man, and rather than knowing God through the Spirit. He now has his soul is the organ of knowledge, his soul deals with what is.

I can see his soul deals with what is ear can hear his soul deals with what is heart can feel and he lives by minding emotion and will, but he doesn't know God, because you see it is the spirit that is the organ of spiritual knowledge and you can only know God through the Spirit, you can never figure God out.

You can never come to God intellectually and understand God the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.

That is when God wants to speak to you when God was to illumine you when God wants to teach you. He is going to teach you in the spirit and God spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.

That doesn't mean that God bypasses your mind, it doesn't mean that you have to crucify your intellect, but it means that you know God in your spirit and your mind only analyzes codifies organizes its postulates expresses what you know down deep in your spirit. Now if you're a natural man and never have been born again, and a natural man is a man is only have one number. He is born into the natural world.

He is bound by the material world.

He's only had one number and he can never ever know the things of the spirit of God until he has a second birth. Look at it again. The natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God. Now, for example, if you were to come into the room and there's some music going on in that room but your dad and I say to you smell that music. Well some music. I think you could do that but but smell that music.

You say that's impossible that that would mean that there was anything wrong with you know it just would mean that the nose is the wrong organ for perceiving music you don't smell music you hear music. Now there may be nothing wrong with your mind, your motion and you will but that is all wrong organ for knowing God so you do not know God, primarily with your soul you know God primarily with your spirit as we going to see is the spirit that is the organ of spiritual knowledge. The natural man receive is not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned. And so we see the deficiency of human wisdom. Human wisdom is so superficial. Human wisdom is so transitory human wisdom is so limited human wisdom is so dangerous you cannot know God through human wisdom. Now, let's just turn it over and tell you how you can know God, and remember to know God. To know God is to love him to love him is to trust him to trust him is to obey him and to obey him is to be blast and I want you to know God not to know about God not to know him with your mind, your motion and you will but to know him with your spirit that will affect your mind and your motion and you will all right now God has done three mighty acts that you might know him.

There are three things that God has done and because God has done these things you can know God, the first of these mighty acts is what we call Revelation.

God simply reveals himself. Now we left off in verses nine and let's pick up verse nine and 10.

Let's go back and read it again verse nine but as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him and I remember not by objectified supply. Subjective feeling are you going to know God, but now notice verse to notice the word but that is incontro distinction to watch you proceed with your eyes, your ears and your motion but God revealed them unto us by his Spirit. Now the first thing that God is done that you might know him, is Revelation, Revelation, God reveals himself. The only way that you can know God is for God to disclose himself to you.

I want to tell you again dear friend that you can never take your mind and unpick the divine mysteries. The finite can never know the infinite but natural can never know the supernatural on till the infinite reveals himself to the finite and the supernatural reveals himself to us. Super naturally and so this is what we call supernatural revelation look at it again, for God hath revealed them unto us first him by his spirit. For the Spirit searches all things EA, the deep things of God. Now he's talking here about the Holy Spirit that we verse 12 now we have received not the spirit of the world with the spirit which is of God, that we might freely know the things given to us of God. That is, it takes the Holy Spirit revealing truth to you in order for you to really know that through that I've told you before I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit of God can impart through. You might want to jot the Scriptures down John chapter 3 and verse 27 John the Baptist said a man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven, but that is a phenomenal statement on man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. How that altar calls us to lay our intellectual pride in the dust. You're never going to apply truth out of the word of God. If he doesn't give it to you. You will not have a man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven.

Let me give you again.

First Corinthians chapter 12 verse three Paul said wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed. Well, I think we would all agree to that but most of us perhaps would not realize the rest of that statement and no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. What he means is this an old man can have Christ as Lord in his life can know Jesus Christ as Lord so as to make a proper confession of faith that Christ is Lord on till the spirit of God gives him bad. I can do it.

No man can receive anything except to be given him from heaven. No man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

That's the reason the apostle Paul said in first Thessalonians chapter 1 verse five for our gospel came not in word only, but in demonstration of power and in the Holy Ghost. What has God done that we might know him. The first mighty act of God is what I call Revelation.

God supernaturally reveals himself to us.

Revelation is the communication of God's truth. The man by God himself.

Now the second thing the second thing that God is done. Not only has God given a supernatural revelation, but God is also given us supernatural inspiration continue to read now in verses 12 and following. 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 which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Now when Paul uses the word we he's talking here about the apostle and he saying that we have received this message and now he says we give you this message. Now what is the difference between Revelation and inspiration Revelation is God disclosing himself inspiration is no taking what God has given and recording it in such a way that it is absolutely without error is a very word of God.

Notice in verse 13 which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches that is the Holy Ghost gave the words we believe in verbal inspiration coming up tomorrow in love with finding you'll hear part two of this important message. But today, many of questions about who Jesus is or what he means to you or how to start a relationship with God through Christ, go to where Discover Jesus page header website you'll find resources and materials that can answer questions you may have about your faith.

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