 Right, let's pray and then we'll start. Okay, let's pray. Father, we thank you. Thank you for this day, Lord. Thank you for this time of worship that we have this morning. Thank you for speaking to us, Lord. Thank you for drawing us, Lord, to yourself, Lord, through your presence, through your word, through your love. Lord, we just want to honor you this morning. We just want to give you praise. Yes, Father God, we want to say that we love you, Father God, and Lord, I pray that our obedience God will reflect that, that we will to demonstrate, oh God, in our lives, Lord, through our actions of Father God, what we sing and say with our words, Father God, I pray that we will show that through our lives, Master, that through our obedience, through our character, Lord, through the way we live our lives, Father God, that we will show, Lord, that our lives itself, Lord, will be an act of worship, will be a demonstration of worship, Father God, enable us to live that way each and every day God. Yes, Master, we thank you. We give you all the praise and all the glory. In Jesus' matchless name, we pray. Amen. Right. Okay, so let's start. One Corinthians and hope you're able to go back and read through the notes. It'll be good if you can do that every time we finish the class, just to go through the notes and to see what we studied in class. It'll just come back, whatever we learned, whatever we studied will just come back to us. I just want to encourage you to also make notes what the Lord is speaking to you, even as we go through certain scriptures, certain scriptures, as we study Corinthians, I'm sure the Lord will reveal certain things and speak to you specifically about certain areas of your life, maybe about ministry, and maybe it's something new that you're learning that you can apply in your own lives, apply in church, apply in ministry, and so on. So make a note of that. And so that you don't forget that. Okay, so last class we started with, we looked at Corinthians, we looked at the geographical background of how the city was established, and we also looked at what kind of city it was. We saw that it was economically, commercially, it was a very, very vibrant city, and spiritually also, it was, we see that it was a hungry city spiritually. The people were hungry spiritually, and therefore they were going after these kind of deities, they had Apollo's Aphrodite, and they also were involved in a lot of things, especially if you see they had this temple, and we saw that all kinds of things were going on in this temple. And the historians say that they were also like, you know, temple prostitutes, and the worship was, you know, it was like that. So you can imagine the kind of values which were there. So socially, value-wise, morally, they were very corrupt. And so that's the kind of setting into which Paul went. So where did Paul write one Corinthians from? Any idea? Anyone? Anyone here? Sorry? Yeah, Prince? From Ephesus, yeah. So Paul wrote this epistle to the Corinthians while he was in Ephesus. So in which of his missionary journey did Paul go to Corinthians? Like he had some two or three missionary journeys, like three. So in which of his missionary journeys did Paul go to Corinthians, to go to Corinth and establish the church at Corinth? Anyone? You can either put it in the chat or you can tell me which missionary journey of Paul in which missionary journey was, you know, visit Corinth and the established church in Corinth? Anyone? Was it his first missionary journey? Was it a second? Was it his third? Okay, Prince, it was actually the second, right? So second missionary journey. So first missionary journey, Paul goes with Silas, with Barnabas, sorry, and then they come back to Antioch. And then Paul tells Barnabas, and we read that in Acts chapter, I think 15, yeah, Acts chapter 15. So there Paul says, you know, he tells Barnabas, let us go back to some of the places that we went and ministered, and let's go encourage them, and let's just see what is happening. And then they had that, they hadn't had that argument, that discussion about John Mark, and then they go their separate ways. Barnabas takes John Mark and goes and Paul takes Silas and they go. Okay, and in the second missionary journey, they go to several places, starting from Antioch, they go to, you know, they go to Philippi, they go to Thessalonica, they go to Beria, they go to Athens, and then finally on to Corinth. Okay, so that's what we see. Okay, another question. So who else did Paul meet on this second missionary journey, who became a part of his team? Another person who was part of Paul's team, a young man, who is who also, you know, to whom also Paul wrote it, John. Okay, so we read with that Paul went to Derby, Lystra, okay, and this is an Acts chapter 16. He came to Derby and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, right, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, and his father was Greek. So Timothy, you know, Paul takes Timothy also, so gets him circumcised and so on, and then Timothy also travels with them. So Timothy joins them, okay, from this place called Derby, and he's well known in Lystra and Iconium and other places. Like people have a good opinion about him. He has a good testimony with them, and then that also, you know, he comes to know and then we do that. He travels on. Okay, so he comes to Corinth, so how long did Paul stay in Corinth and minister in Corinth when he established this? How long was it a month? Was it six months? Was it a year? How long did he, okay, two years? Okay, so we know that he was there for about one and a half years. Okay, so that's what we see. Let's look at Acts chapter 18, okay, Acts chapter 18 and verse 11. So Acts chapter 18, the whole chapter is actually, you know, after his in reaching Corinth, right? So Acts chapter 18 and verse 11, we see, and he continued there a year and six months teaching the word of God among them. Okay, so continued there referring to Corinth. So he was there for a year and at least a year and six months. And then he, because the verses after that, it says verse 18, so Paul remained a good while, still remained a good while, then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria and so on. So maybe a little more than a year and six months. So, but we know for sure that he was there for a year and six months or 18 months, right? So, okay, one last question. So who brought news about the church in Corinth, from whom did Paul receive this news about what was happening in Corinth and because of which he writes this letter? Okay, anyone? So he gets gets some information about Corinth that things are not okay, right? Both good and bad, things are not okay. And then so he chooses to write this episode in order to set certain things right. So from whom did he receive that information? God himself reveals, okay. Okay, I'm sure that would have happened also. But we see a specific name mentioned there. Okay, look at Corinthians, first Corinthians, let's look at verse 11. Chapter one, verse 11. Okay, chapter one, verse 11. For there was ten non-words in this read. Now I plead with your brethren by the by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing that and that there be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Verse 11. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household that there are contentions among you. Okay, so you're saying Sosthenes. So Sosthenes is actually with Paul as he writes this letter, verse one. Paul called to be an apostle through the will of God and Sosthenes our brother. So Sosthenes actually is with him in Ephesus. He obviously he meant he, this is the same person whom he met at Corinth because in Corinth in Acts chapter 18, Sosthenes is mentioned there as a ruler of us. Anyway, so we see here that Chloe's household. So Chloe was a believer and the household of Chloe obviously they were very involved in the church and they see all these things happening and they decide to inform or get help from Paul to set these things right. Okay, what should we do to set these things? So it's Chloe and the household they send this information. So this is how he comes to know and he begins to write. Okay, let's move on to the second chapter and let's see what we can learn from the chapter two. So chapter one we saw Paul's greetings about grace and peace from the Lord. We see that that is a standard greeting and then he actually commends them in the sense he recognizes the grace of God that is on the believers in Corinth and he also tells them that you are enriched in everything in all utterance in all knowledge and also he acknowledges the fact that the social gifts are very much there in that church. So he says you come shocked and no gift. And so that's what he says in verse seven and then he goes on to the problem they are facing and the problem is division. So some people are saying I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos and so Paul addresses that he's saying was Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Did I baptize you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? So he says all that and then he talks about the cross. That's the important thing, the message of the cross. And even when I was there he said I preach the gospel not with wisdom of words but I don't want to take that focus off the cross knowing that something happened on the cross and it was the Lord who died for them on the cross. So he says this is the message, this is the gospel, the message of the cross. It is the power of God. So the message of the cross, the cross of Christ, it is the message of power. Verse 18 he says to those who are being saved it is the power of God. This message is the power of God and we'll also look at Romans chapter one where Paul says I'm not ashamed of the gospel of God because it is the power of God for salvation. So he's not ashamed of this and this is the message that he shared to them and he talks about the power of the cross. He talks about how it seems to be foolishness to the Greeks and it seems to be even for the Jews who are seeking after a sign or for the Greeks who want the wisdom, it seems to be foolishness. But to both this is what we share and he says that the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men and the reason he shares all this and he also says it looks for them and says look at your own lives, how you were called. It's not based on people's personalities or backgrounds or giftedness or performance but everything is off God that he called and he did this work that no man should glory in his presence. So the glory completely goes to him, goes to God and him alone. So no human being can glory in his presence and therefore he's saying you cannot say, in other words you cannot say that I'm of Paul or I'm of Apollo. There's no point in you saying this because it's about the cross and who died on the cross and the message of the cross which is the power of God. Let's look at chapter 2 and read through a few verses. And I brethren, when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear and in much trembling. In my speech and my preaching we're not with human, sorry we're not with persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. So what is Paul saying? Paul saying that when I came to you, when I visited you, when I was there with you, I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. And the testimony of God is what the gospel message. So I did not come with what was actually there. In those days the Greek philosophers they had this way of speaking, they had this way of eloquence and they had this oratory methods or great orators, they had this dramatic way of speaking and communicating. So Paul saying I did not come like that or with what you can call as wisdom, excellence of wisdom. I did not come with that, I did not come like that. Verse 2 is saying I determined, I decided that you should not receive or know anything except Jesus and Him crucified. So while ministering here, see Paul actually chose that they should know about the cross and they should know about the power of the cross and Him crucified. We see that this is central to the ministry or the message of anyone. So we learn from that that we cannot go away from this message if you want to be true ministers of the gospel. This is central and this is the one that changes lives and which might seem to be illogical or might seem to be foolishness according to the world, but this is the one which changes or transforms lives. So Paul saying that I determined when I came to you, I intentionally chose not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified because Paul actually was a very learned man and for him it would have been easy for him to talk about philosophy, to talk about wisdom, to talk about the ways of the world and all that. But then he chose to do this. He chose to share this and we also read during in several other places about Paul's ministry that he reasoned with people. He reasoned with people meaning that he chose to present his argument, present the facts and the evidence and so on. He reasoned with people what do you think and this is what scripture says. Acts chapter 18, he goes there and then he goes to the synagogue with both the first way the Jews and Greeks and from scriptures. But we see that everything that he reasoned was focused on the Lord Jesus, focused on the crucifixion, focused on the death burial resurrection and what that accomplished, what the Lord accomplished, it was focused on that. So it's an example for us as well. So Paul 3 says, I was with you in weakness, fear and in much trembling, which means that the people were actually, if you read Acts chapter 18, we see that there was a lot of persecution there. We see that especially from the Jews there was a lot of persecution. Let's go to Acts chapter 18. Acts chapter 18 verse 8, we see that many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized through the ministry. They heard the message, many of them were baptized. And verse 9, now Paul spoke, so the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by vision, do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent for I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt you for I have many people in this city. So obviously, there was a lot of opposition from the religious leaders because they saw that many of them were coming to Jesus through the ministry of Paul. And so they were, if you read earlier also, you know, verse 4, you see that he reasoned in the synagogue verse 6, they opposed him and blaspheme. So this kind of opposition was there. And so Paul writes, you know, when I came to you, I was with fear, I was with trembling and I was in weakness and so on. So the Lord strengthened him. And he says, verse 4 and verse 5, my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power. The reason, let's look at that persuasive words, persuasive words of human wisdom. So he's saying it is not with the human wisdom. It was not with earthly wisdom that I came and spoke to you. And he says not with those persuasive words, persuasive words meaning it could be, you know, manipulative or enticing words that cause a person to be trapped maybe. You know, entice, that's what it means, entice to trap, to ensnare. So I did not come with those kinds of words. Now, when we see, let's say, you know, somebody wants to sell something, they might be using certain words, you know, I'm sure you would have seen people selling things and they would be very, very persuasive, very, very forceful. I remember, you know, there was one person, I think we were on the street and there was one person selling some books. Okay, so selling some books and he would come, he was very, very, he just came behind and said, so just listen, just give me two minutes. I just want to tell you something. And I knew that it was about those books and I didn't want those books. But then he kept saying, you know, just listen to me and just give me two minutes. And then he, you know, he put the book in my hands, he said, you know, just see it. Okay, so he just wants you to get involved, right, wants you to examine the book, to hold the book, open it and see if it is good. And in some way, if you will be convinced that that is what you want, a very, very persuasive. Okay, and using all those techniques, you know, smiling and so hello, how are you, and so on. So Paul used none of that. In sharing the Gospel, he used none of that. He didn't want to entice them to the Gospel. He didn't want to manipulate them into obeying Christ. Okay, so that's a lesson for us as ministers of God. And like we might seize, you know, look around and see, okay, that person is actually using these things and using these tricks, like using these methods in order to, you know, get people to believe or get people to receive Christ. Now, the Lord does not want any of that, right, no gimmicks, no tricks, no, you know, none of these things, no manipulation, and no enticement, right. The Lord wants nothing of that. So, and Paul employed nothing of that. He says, my speech and my preaching. Okay, it was no tricks. None of these things. I didn't want you to, you know, come to the kingdom that way, right. So how was it? If it was not with human wisdom, if it was not with words of enticement, then how did he preach? He says, it was in demonstration of the spirit and power. It was in demonstration of the spirit and with power. So he preached about the cross. He preached, he presented the truth about the gospel. This is what happened. And this, this is what the Lord Jesus did. He took your sin upon the cross and he, you know, took it out of the way so that you could have new life and so on. And the power of the cross is available for you. And it was in demonstration or a display of the power of God. It was in display of the spirit. Okay, which means it could have been display of the gifts of the spirit, maybe in healing and and signs and miracles and wonders and the power of God and changed lives, maybe addictions breaking off, changed lives, lives being changed, addictions, you know, everything being broken and lives being changed. So it was the power of God. It was in demonstration of the spirit. It was not something manipulative. It was not something to trap the people. So the thing is this that, you know, it was not about for us to learn, right. We don't, we learn, okay, how not to do ministry and how not to do ministry, like our speech need not be to trap people, methods need not be to, you know, you do something and then you have hidden agenda. Okay, I'm going to do this and then they will, you know, get to hear the gospel. There's no hidden agenda. It was very, very open. And it was with demonstration of the spirit and with power. Okay, so, so he did not depend on his, you know, on his charisma or his human personality. Like we see, he says, I was with you in trembling. I was with you in weakness. I was within fear. And I ministered, right. So, so, you know, the in your notes, you know, there is this saying, right, what you draw them with is what you draw them to, meaning the method that you use or the things that you use in order to draw, right. The very things is what you draw them to actually, right. So, we don't want to, you know, use any, we should not, you know, use an entertainment or anything to draw people because you're actually drawing them to that entertainment, you're drawing them to that very thing that you're using. Okay, if it is some kind of a human philosophy, you're actually drawing them to that and not to Christ and him crucified. Okay, so, so that is something that we see. Okay. Any, any doubts, any questions here? And we can look at, before we look at verse six onwards. Okay. Okay, let's look at, let's read verse six onwards. Okay. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age who are coming to nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew, for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I have not seen nor your heard nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them to us through his spirit, for the spirit searches, all things, yes, the deep things of God. Okay, so look at verse six. So he's saying, you know, but however we speak wisdom, till now he said, you know, it was not with, you know, wisdom of man, it was not with all these things that he came and preached. Okay, but maybe he came to, I just wanted, I decided not to know anything, not to know, not to present anything to you except the power of God, except the power of Christ and him crucified. So here he says, however we speak wisdom, we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age. So it is not the human wisdom. It is not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, like people who are in some kind of leadership or ruler, maybe, you know, people who are chiefs and rulers and kind of wisdom that they use, earthly wisdom. Now, we know that this kind of wisdom cannot draw us to God. So we do not, we do not use that wisdom at all. Right. Because that wisdom is actually coming to nothing. It cannot help us to know God. Chapter one, you know, all writes that. He says, you know, about that kind of wisdom that, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to find that verse. So, yeah, in verse 18 and so on, in verse 17, so the wisdom of words. And he's saying, I'm not drawing you to that wisdom. We speak the wisdom of God. And we speak in, it's in a mystery, which means that things that are hidden, but these are to be revealed, to be revealed. And, which was actually hidden for, for a long time, right, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which means that these, this message of the gospel, it's at this time, it is revealed. Okay, the message of the cross and what this is at this time, it is revealed. It's a mystery that was concealed, which people did not know, people before the cross, yes, they knew a little bit of it. They prophesied about it, but they did not see it. Right. And even during the earthly ministry, they did not know it, but now it has been revealed. This mystery has been revealed for our glory. And it says that we speak this wisdom, we communicate this wisdom of God, this message. And it's the, in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory. Verse eight, there's none of the rulers knew about this. Okay, all those who were there, they did not know about this. And they did not engage in this, because if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord. They did not know about this. And in verse nine, it says, I has not seen nor hear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. Amazing verse. He's is not quoting, but actually is paraphrasing from Isaiah 64. He's saying, I has not seen, year has not heard, which means that, you know, for a human being, how do we receive information through our eyes, through what we hear, through what we touch and feel, right? Physically, we look at the world around and then we engage with the world with our physical senses. The Lord is saying, you know, Paul is referencing to Isaiah 64 and is saying, I has not seen, years not so had nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared. And then he goes on to say, but God has revealed them to us. So it comes by revelation, not through physical means, or even through human wisdom, but it comes by revelation. How? But God has revealed them to us through his spirit. He says, this whole message and this mystery of the kingdom of God, this mystery which is hidden to be revealed in this age, which was not revealed, which was concealed in all those ages, which was prepared before. Now this, God has revealed them to us. So it comes by revelation of God. How? Through his spirit, for the spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. So he's saying, through the work, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we receive it. It's not by what I see, what I hear, but through the ministry, there is the revelation. So we understand this that God has these, God reveals these things which are hidden. God reveals these mysteries to us. And it comes by revelation. And it's not by what we, you know, we may not have, we don't receive it by what we see, the natural, we don't receive it in natural means, but by spiritual means, by the revelation. God unveils this, discloses these things by his spirit. And the Holy Spirit knows all things, the deep things of God. The Holy Spirit is God. He has infinite knowledge and understanding and wisdom, and he reveals to us. And he goes on to say, right, in 1 Corinthians 14, we're talking about the gifts of the spirit. Again, Paul writes, and he says, you know, he prays in a spirit, praise, he who prays in tongues speaks the mysteries of God. He speaks edification. He's personally edified. And he who prays in tongues, he, he says he, in the spirit, he speaks mysteries. So those mysteries of God, the things that are hidden, we speak, you know, to our spirit, or these are revealed to our spirit, as we pray in tongues by the Holy Spirit. Right. So, so this is what we see, that we, this is how we receive. This is how one receives the revelation. And why is he saying all this? He's actually referring to the fact that this is how we minister. Okay, we did not minister with human wisdom. We did not minister with words, persuasive words, and words that were meant to entertain, words that were meant to, you know, just to make you feel good, words that were meant to trap you or ensnare you. Right. These are not the words that we use. We use the wisdom of God. We did speak wisdom, but we spoke the wisdom of God, because this is how God reveals these things, you know, and it is by the spirit of God that God reveals these things. And therefore, we came and ministered in the demonstration of the spirit, right, in the demonstration of the power of God. Okay. So, what man knows verse 11, what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man, which is in him, even so no one knows the things of God, except the spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. Okay, so he's saying, okay, here's another thing, this revelation, this mystery, you know, this is revealed to us by the spirit and no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. He knows all things, he reveals all things. And he says, guess what? You and I, we have received this spirit. We have not received the spirit of the world. It's the wrong kind of spirit. It's the wrong wisdom, it's the wrong spirit which leads to carnality, but we have received this holy spirit. We have received him who has been sent from God, the spirit who is from God, that we might know. What is the objective? What is the reason? The Lord himself said, the Lord Jesus, when we read John chapter 14, 15, 16, when he's talking about the Holy Spirit, I go to the Father that I might send him the comforter that he might come and lead you into all truth. He will lead you into all truth, he will guide you into all truth, he will teach you, he will remind you things that I spoke to you and so on. So he has come to show us that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. So as believers of the Lord Jesus, we have, you know, we have, as people who are one spirit, in one spirit with him, we have received many things from him and we have been born again, we have received the gift of salvation, we have received justification, we have received, you know, we have access to the wisdom, we have all these things, access to the wisdom of God and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that we might know these things that have been freely given to us, that have been given to us by the grace of God. So he reveals these things to us. Okay. Let's look at verse 13 says, so these things we also speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So we speak this, we teach this, we communicate this, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, not in the words of philosophy, not in the words of, you know, a natural man, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Okay. So we have, not only do we have the access to the wisdom of God, but not only, you know, do we have the Holy Spirit teaching us, revealing, showing us the things that we have received freely from God, but when we teach, we teach in the manner which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So he teaches us the spiritual things. He, how does he teach us? He shows us things in the word. He pickens the word to us, things that were, you know, that were maybe previously hidden to us. He reveals them to us. He compares spiritual things with spiritual things with the spiritual and we have, we receive that and we teach that. Right. Verse 14 says, the natural man does not receive the spirit, things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. So natural man, I could refer to a man who is depending only on his natural senses. Okay. Saying only if I touch feel, only if I see, only if I, you know, understand or only if it makes logical sense, only if it's scientific enough, then I will, I will prove it or I will deceive it. Okay. It can refer to a man who is just depending only on the natural senses. Okay. It can also mean a man who is not born again. Right. The natural man. One, it says here, they are foolishness to him. It does not make sense. So it's like, it's illogical, it's foolishness, nor can he know them. In a sense, see, first of all, he does not receive it because he thinks it's foolishness. Then the second, second part of it, he says, nor can he know them. He does not have the ability to know them because these are spiritually discerned. His spirit is unable to receive this. Right. So, so that's, that's, that's what he says in verse 14. These, these truths, these deep truths, they are received spiritually discerned spiritually. The Holy Spirit teaches to our spirit. But now this person is not, you know, his spirit is not born again, first of all. And he does not, you know, for him, he does not make sense at all. Okay. Now, the other thing that we need to understand is that, okay, let me just, the other thing that we also need to understand is that, that that God has given us our mind. God has given us the ability to think, to reason, to imagine, right, to, he's given us our natural abilities. So there's nothing wrong in using our natural ability. Because many times we, we completely cut that off. But it comes under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Right. It comes under the wisdom. It's, it is submitted to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. It is submitted to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. And our mind is renewed to the thoughts of God or the words of God. Mine is submitted. Right. So that takes the words of God, the thoughts of God take precedence over what our fleshly mind can actually come up with or imagine or, you know, reason. So our reason, our power of reasoning, our mental faculty, everything comes under submission to the leading and of the Holy Spirit. Under submission to the leadership or the authority of the word of God. Right. So, so we need to understand it and, you know, apply the truth in the right way. So we can't say that I cannot use our mind. I will not use my mind. Right. If my mind is renewed to the word of God, then there's, you know, it's very powerful. Right. If my thinking is renewed, if I'm thinking the thoughts of God, then my mind is very powerful. I'm able to decide as God would, I would do things because my mind is very important. It enables me to do those things. It enables me to make choices, righteous choices or unrighteous choices, wise choices or foolish choices. Right. So mind is very important. So we should not do away with the mind, but the mind needs to be in submission or renewed to the word of God. Okay. So here he says, you know, this is how they are, they are for the natural man. However, it doesn't make sense because his mind is not submitted. Right. His, he's ruled by his senses. Okay. Verse 15, but he who is spiritual judges all things yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. So the spiritual man or one who engages with the Holy Spirit, one who, one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and one who is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now he is able to examine and judge and discern by depending on the Spirit. Okay. So that's why he says the spiritual judges all things. Okay. What does judge mean? Judge mean I judge means that I consider and I come to a conclusion. I come to a decision. Okay. This is right. This is wrong. That is judging. So judging, of course, you know, we have this understanding that it's condemning. It's not just that it's to judge. It's to come to the place of deciding what is right and wrong. So a spiritual man judges. One was spiritual, one was empowered by the Spirit, one of the engages with the Holy Spirit, one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. He judges all things yet he himself is rightly judged by no one meaning by a natural man by a carnal person. He is not, he cannot be rightly judged discerned. Okay. So the spiritual man's life, lifestyle choices cannot be rightly judged by the person, you know, who is not, who's not actually led by the Spirit. Okay. Verse 16. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him. He's again referring to Isaiah 40. But we have the mind of Christ. Who knows God? Who knows his ways? The natural man will not know. The carnal man will not know. Who knows? I have, I'm finite. Even as a believer, I'm finite. I do not know everything. Who has known the mind of Christ, but he says, but we have the mind of Christ. We who have submitted to God, to the authority of God, we who have submitted to the teaching and the leading of the Holy Spirit to receive that revelation from the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ. Okay. So that's something that we need to, we need to renew our minds to this. This is the truth to say that, you know, I cannot understand. Yes, you know, but we come to God and we say, Lord, I submit to you, to your teaching, to your leading, for I have the mind of Christ. So we have the mind of Christ in order to, in other words, it means that I have access to the wisdom, the way God thinks, the wisdom of God, I have access to it. Right. But why? Because I'm spiritually one with Christ. Right. The Holy Spirit dwells in me. I'm united with Christ spiritually. So I have the mind of Christ. I have access to the mind of Christ. Okay. So it's wonderful to know that we have so much in Christ. Okay. So Paul talks about all this and he starts by saying in chapter two, this is how we ministered. And so that you will know your dependency will not be in the wisdom of man, wisdom of man, earthly wisdom of man. You should not be dependent on that. You should not be, you know, be in awe of that. But in the power of God, right? Because so that you might depend on the power of God. Okay. Okay. So we'll stop here and take a quick break and come back and we'll continue.