This is a multi-part lesson called, He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. What I’m hoping to teach in this lesson is that the ability to hear from God and to understand the Scriptures is a special privilege that is reserved only for the church, and that not everyone has been given this ability.
Just to clarify so that we're all on the same page, when I use the term, "the church, I mean disciples of Jesus who comprise the many different members of the body of Christ.
What I’m saying might sound biased or prejudiced to people who think of God as being a god of equality; as a god who looks upon and treats all people equally, but the Bible teaches that God favors those who believe in His Son Jesus, and therefore believe in Him. I don't think that everyone would agree with me about this, so, before I get into the primary lesson, I want to establish the basis for why I believe that this is the case.
As we read the Bible, we see that one thing that God promises to His people is to avenge and pour out His wrath upon those who harm them. The Old Testament is filled with evidence of this as God led Israel out of Egypt and as Israel and Judah faced threats from their enemies who were looking to conquer them. God used these other kingdoms to bring judgement upon Israel and Judah, but then He brought judgement against these other nations for coming against His people.
For example, when Israel’s descendants were enslaved to Egypt and they cried out to God for deliverance, His judgement came upon Egypt and their gods because "He heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He SAW THE SONS OF GOD AND TOOK KNOWLEDGE OF THEM" (Exodus 2:24-25). These were the people whom He spoke of when He made His covenant, so by crying out to Him, they had turned to Him, and therefore He HEARD THEM, SAW THEM and TOOK KNOWLEDGE OF THEM. He destroyed Egypt, physically and economically, in His judgement against them for their harsh treatment of the people of His covenant.
Later, the kings of both Israel and Judah had continuously turned away from God and to the worship of idols. By their worship of idols, both kingdoms had broken the covenant with God and He brought judgement against them by sending Assyria against Israel and Babylon against Judah to conquer them and to disperse them by taking them into captivity and out of their land. When Babylon conquered Judah, it destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple, which were both very important to Israel because Jerusalem was the city where God resided and the temple was where sacrifices and offerings were made for the forgiveness of sins, and where the Levitical priests could access God on behalf of the kings and the people. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was God's way of showing the Jews of Judah that He had left them because of their "harlotry" against Him and their unfaithfulness to Him.
But even as angry as God was with Israel, Assyria and Babylon had killed and taken the people into captivity, whom He had set free from bondage in order to be His own, and they had destroyed their cities and their temple. Furthermore, they had forcefully taken the land which God had given to Israel to reside in. Assyria and Babylon's mistreatment of God's people had caused His judgement to come upon them.
There was also still a remnant among Israel who remained faithful to God and who did not break the covenant by sinning against Him in idolatry. It was through this faithful remnant that Jesus would come as God had promised King David. So, it was also for the faithful remnant who were His people because He was their God, that God brought judgement against both Assyria and Babylon by Assyria being conquered by Babylon and then Babylon being conquered by King Cyrus of Persia.
Revelation also has a passage where martyred believers are crying out to God saying, “How long until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).
Martyrs are disciples of Jesus who are killed by people who oppose Jesus. It is oftentimes difficult for people to understand that God uses His people to glorify Himself, and sometimes His people’s lives are sacrificed to do so. However, God is a god of justice, and His justice will prevail. For the sake of justice for His people who have given their lives for the sake of God’s glory, God’s judgement will come upon those people who persecute and kill His people, in order to avenge their deaths.
The Bible also teaches that God loves those who love Him, but He hates the wicked and evil doers. Psalms 45:6-7 is a Messianic Psalm which says about Jesus,
"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
Verse 6 is saying that righteousness is the scepter or staff that is held by King Jesus; righteousness is the scepter or emblem of God's kingdom; and righteousness is the power and authority of God and His Son.
Verse 7 is saying that God has anointed Jesus more so than anyone else because He loves righteousness and hates wickedness.
In summary, Psalms 45:6-7 is saying that because Jesus loves righteousness and hates wickedness, God has anointed Him as the King of His kingdom which is represented by righteousness. (As a side note, Jesus was also anointed as High Priest and Mediator of the New Covenant that God made with man.)
Psalms 11:5-7 also says that God's soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. The passage reads,
"The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. - Psalms 11:5-7
In this passage the writer is saying that God views the righteous and the wicked differently because He loves righteousness, and hates wickedness. It's saying that the wicked will face severe consequences because God hates the wicked, however, because God is righteous and He loves righteousness, the upright, or righteous, will see His face, whereas the wicked will not.
The apostle John wrote something similar in John 3:16. He wrote,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” - John 3:16-21
The apostle John is saying that God loves the world, meaning the people whom He created, so much, that He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, so that whoever believes in Him, that is Jesus, shall not die, but will have eternal life.
He goes on to say that God did not send Jesus to the earth to condemn the world, but to save the world through the sacrifice He made. He said that whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in Him is already condemned because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John continues by saying that the Light has come into the world and that people love the darkness rather than the Light, because their works are evil. Everyone who does wicked things hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that their works be exposed.
Light is obviously Jesus and Jesus loves righteousness and He is characterized by righteousness. Darkness represents evil and wickedness. People love evil and wickedness rather than Jesus and righteousness which is evident by their works, which are evil. The wicked hate Jesus and righteousness. They hate Jesus and righteousness, and therefore they do not come to Him because they are afraid that He will expose their evil works, and they would rather continue on in their evil and wickedness than come to the righteousness of Jesus.
In contrast, the righteous come to the Light, so that that their righteous works can be a witness of God's righteousness.
In summary, by God sacrificing Jesus, every single person has the opportunity to defeat death and to have eternal life. However, the condition that God has given for someone to take advantage of this opportunity, is that they must believe in Jesus - in the name of Jesus. If they choose not to believe, and many won't because they hate Jesus and righteousness, they are already condemned and will die and will not have eternal life. Therefore, the defeat of death and having eternal life is an amazing privilege that is given only to God’s people.
I won't delve into this too far in this lesson, but since we're talking about God's hatred of wickedness and evil because He is righteous, I want to point out that the Bible also teaches that God's people are to hate wickedness and evil too, because God hates it. There is a spiritual war taking place between righteousness and evil. God is a god of justice, and He has an expectation of His people to be just and to do justly. To do justly is righteousness and to take part in wickedness is evil. It is impossible for a person who takes part in evil to also be of God's people. His people are a holy nation, "holy" meaning set apart for Him. It is impossible for someone who is a part of His holy nation to be aligned with evil, the very thing in which God hates and is at war with. The subjects of God’s holy nation, or kingdom, also hate evil and wickedness. This is because God hates it, and because the wicked malign the name of God. Let’s read about how the writer of Psalm 139:19-24 felt regarding the wicked:
"Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
Clearly the writer hates the wicked because they hate God. He counts them as His enemies. Good and evil and righteousness and wickedness are enemies. They cannot be in alignment with one another.
However, the writer then asks God to search him and to know his heart, and to try him and know his thoughts, and see if there is anything in him which grieves God. He then asks God to lead him in His everlasting ways. The writer wants to make sure that his feelings towards the wicked are not misguided by his own prejudice or motivation and that they do not grieve God. He has strong feelings against the wicked, but he does not want his feelings to over ride God’s righteous and everlasting ways, so he asks God to check him and make sure that he is right in feeling the way that he does.
The passage ends without giving us God's answer, but by comparing Scripture to Scripture, we can see that his feelings toward evil and wickedness are well warranted and that God feels the same way. In the end, God will judge the wicked, ridding the earth of them, and putting an end to all evil.
What it boils down to is that the Bible teaches that those who love God, which He defines as obedience to Jesus, will find their life by being given new life in Christ, and that they will inherit the kingdom of God and will reign with Christ forever on the new earth.
These are extraordinary promises of God, given only to the church, and not to the wicked or to those who reject Christ. The promise to them is death.
With that being said, God created people in order to know Him and to be with Him, therefore God’s will is that everyone would be saved from spiritual and physical death through faith in Christ. He sent His only Son to die for them so that they would not die, but so that they could be with Him for both now and forever.
Understand that it's not that God merely chooses not to allow people to be with Him because they do not believe in Jesus, but rather it is because they are unable to be with Him because they choose not to accept or believe that Jesus is the sacrifice that God made for their sins.
Just as we just saw, righteousness and wickedness cannot be yoked together with one another, so there has to be a sacrifice offered to God to cleanse us of our sins. God offered the sacrifice Himself - His own Son, Jesus. In order to be with God, one must accept this sacrifice. They must believe that God provided the sacrifice for their sins. Jesus is the Tree of Life that is mentioned in the Garden of Eden. If people will eat of the Tree of Life so to speak, they will live.
Unfortunately though, much of the world refuses to eat of the Tree of Life. Many have no interest in knowing God; they reject that Jesus is the sacrifice for sin, and thereby they reject God, and therefore they are unable to be with Him, now or forever.
God requires that people believe in Jesus in order to be with Him. Believing that Jesus is God's sacrifice for man’s sins is one aspect of what it means to believe in Jesus, but there are other beliefs that are also required.
One of these required beliefs is that Jesus is the Son of God. Many people do not believe that Jesus is God's Son, but the fact that God sent His own Son down to earth to live among men and then to sacrifice Him for man's sins is the foundation of what it means to believe in Jesus.
Another required belief is that Jesus is the Messiah, or King, who was prophesied about in the Torah as coming to restore Israel. Many Jews today do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, so they are still waiting for the Messiah to come. They consider it blasphemy to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and they do not accept that He is their Messiah, or King. Because of their unbelief, they reject Jesus and some persecute Christians because of their belief that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Tragically, many Christians support Israel's unbelief of Jesus, and thereby, and typically unbeknownst to them for various reasons, are accomplices in the persecution of their own brothers and sisters.
When Jesus was on earth and when the apostles began building God’s kingdom, many Jews rejected their claims that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah, and that God had offered His own Son as the once for all sacrifice of sin. However, many did believe these things about Jesus and the church was comprised of primarily Jews. When God had seen that Israel had for the most part Jesus, He began sending the apostles to the Gentiles. Many Gentiles believed these things about Jesus and word about Him traveled throughout the world as they told others about Him, which caused God’s kingdom to grow and the church to consist of both Jew and Gentile. However, because many Jews deny that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, the church today consists primarily of Gentiles. Not that Jews are not welcome, because they are, but they must believe, just as anyone else, that Jesus is who He and His disciples claim He is, in order for them to enter the kingdom of God, yet they choose not to.
Besides dying for mans sins, God sent Jesus to establish His kingdom on the earth. People who believe in Jesus and who turn away from sin and turn to God inherit God's kingdom and are the people who comprise God’s kingdom. It is a holy nation, and as we mentioned earlier, "holy" means it is set apart from all others. The people of God's holy nation continuously turn away from sin and turn to God, and therefore they do not partake in things that God considers wicked and evil, which those who are outside of His kingdom participate in.
They also obey and follow their King who reigns over the kingdom in which they reside because they love Him. It is because they believe in Jesus and choose daily to follow Him, that they inherit the kingdom of God where they are His royal priesthood who can mediate between God and sinful men by interceding on their behalf and leading them to God and into His kingdom.
Not everyone can enter this kingdom, for outside of it are the wicked and evil doers. This kingdom, God’s holy nation, is reserved only for those who are set apart for Him because of their belief in Jesus and because they continuously turn away from sin and turn to God.
This lesson is about some of the privileges that God has given only to those who believe that Jesus is the sacrifice that God made on man's behalf to cleanse us of our sins; those who eat from the Tree of Life. These are the members of Christ's body called the church, which is also called the bride of Christ, and the royal priesthood of God's holy nation.
We will be looking at how God has given the church ears to hear from Him, understanding of the Scriptures, and eyes to see the mysteries of God and His kingdom. We will explore what this means further in the next lesson.
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This is part two of the lesson, He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. In the previous lesson, I presented the fact that God looks more favorably upon His people than upon those who reject Him, because they would rather love wickedness and evil than Him, and because He hates wickedness and evil.
This segment is a further introduction regarding a few of the privileges disciples of Jesus have been given which include, ears to hear from God, understanding of the Scriptures, and eyes to see the mysteries of God and His kingdom.
These three privileges, though said differently, are all similar in meaning in that they all convey an ability to understand God and His ways.
It is interesting that God used the human natural and physical senses of “hearing”, “seeing”, and “understanding” to describe the spiritual.
Only someone who has ears and who listens can hear; only someone who has eyes and who has eyes that are open can see; and only those who have a mind and who has a mind that thinks can understand.
Physically speaking, without ears, or eyes or a mind one cannot hear, see or understand. However, spiritually, the physical members are not required.
God is spirit thereby making His ways spiritual, not natural.
The spiritual characteristic of God is evident between the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible, which differentiate between God’s old and new covenants with His people.
In the Old Testament, which is about the old covenant that He made with Israel, who were the people He called to be His own, it is clearly taught that they were to reside in obedience to His Law. God never indicated to them that a spiritual law existed in which they must live by.
Though there were some people whom His Spirit came upon, He did not pour out His Spirit upon the entire population of Israel, nor did He ever command them to live by spiritual laws.
He gave Israel the natural Law, which was a type and shadow of the spiritual law which later came through Christ.
God, more specifically probably, Jesus, lived among His people in the Garden of Eden and His presence was there with Israel as He led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
He spoke to His people through His Prophets, and directed them back to His ways through His Judges.
He gave the people of His kingdom a Law to obey which included a sacrificial system to atone for their sins.
Within this system were priests who offered the sacrifices to God and who acted as the mediator between God and man.
Moses and Joshua acted as mediator during that time by personally speaking to God on behalf of the people, and God instituted priests through Aaron and his sons who would offer the sacrifices for Israel's sins to God. Later, Levitical priests who were descended from Aaron were required by God to be the mediator between God and man.
Even though God was physically with them and He gave them Moses & Joshua, priests, the prophets, judges and the Law, His people still only had the ability to live in their own natural power.
Of course, God wanted them to turn to Him and to fully depend on Him as their provider, defender, and King, but they typically turned away from God and wanted to do things their own way, in the natural, rather than by the supernatural ways of God.
But their own power was useless in keeping the Law or in understanding the mysteries of God and the Scriptures, therefore they continuously turned away from God and turned to worshipping false idols.
In the New Testament, which is about the new covenant He made with the people who would believe in His Son Jesus – all people, either Jew or Gentile – it is clearly taught that His Holy Spirit lives within His people, and that they are to live in the Spirit and not under the Law.
The New Testament teaches that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, there is no longer a need for a temple or the sacrifice of sin. The believer’s body is the temple of God where God’s Holy Spirit lives, and Jesus’s death atoned for our sins.
The apostle Peter told the crowd who thought everyone was drunk when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, that the Prophet Joel prophesied that this would happen, and that the prophecy was being fulfilled before their eyes.
Joel’s prophecy said, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.” - Acts 2:17
God poured out His Spirit upon believers at Pentecost and He continues to do so today by belief in Jesus which in turn leads to being born again by God’s Holy Spirit.
When this occurs, the newborn person begins to see and operate in the Spirit and the supernatural ways of God, rather than in the natural ways of man.
God gives them the ability to hear Him, to see Him and to understand Him and His ways.
Because this is the case, Christians need to live by the Spirit and discern if what someone is teaching them about God and Jesus is Biblically accurate and if what they are teaching about the Bible is true.
As we studied in 1 John, there are many antichrists in the world - false teachers, false prophets, and even false Christs - therefore we must be able to spiritually discern the genuine from the fake. Fortunately, God has given believers the privileged ability to do so by His Spirit.
We will discuss this further in the next lesson.
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This is part three of the lesson, He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. In the previous lessons, I presented the case that God looks more favorably upon His people than upon those who reject Him, because they would rather love wickedness and evil than Him, and because He hates wickedness and evil.
I also said that God gave Israel a natural law to follow which was a type and shadow of the spiritual law which He gave to His people whom He made the New Covenant with, and that they were unable to fully understand God and His law or to discern spiritual things because they had not been given the Holy Spirit.
This segment explores how Jesus spoke to the crowds and why He spoke to them the way that He did, so that we can better understand that God gives His people the ability to hear Him when He speaks, and that He takes the time to explain to us what we don't understand, as well as to understand that He does not give this ability to everyone, especially to those who reject Him.
When we read the accounts of Jesus's life in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke in the Bible, we read that Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God in parables to the multitudes who followed Him. These three books record over 40 different parables that Jesus told, not including the parallel accounts that are recorded in more than one of the books. A parable is defined as a story that is used to teach a truth, a principal or a lesson. Many times Jesus used stories to teach about God's kingdom.
Six different times the Bible records Jesus as saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”, after telling a parable. They are found in:
• Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43
• Mark 4:23, 7:16
• Luke 14:35
Jesus makes a similar statement when speaking to each of the seven churches in Revelation: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ - Revelation 2:29
He would often explain His parables to the Twelve when they were alone so they could understand what He was saying to them.
At one point, after he told the parable of the sower, the Twelve asked Jesus why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. The passage reads,
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” - Matthew 13:9-17
The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to them in parables. He gave the following answers to their question:
"Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."
"Because whoever has been given the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven will be given more, even an abundance, but whoever does not have the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, even what he has will be taken away from him."
"Because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."
"Because the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them where God said that Israel was unable to hear, see or understand because their hearts have grown dull."
"Because you are blessed because you were given the privilege and ability of hearing and seeing the mysteries of the kingdom of God, of which many prophets and righteous men desired to see, but did not."
We can see that Jesus spoke in a way in which some would understand Him and some would not. Only His disciples whom had been given ears to hear had the ability to understand what He was saying and they would be given more understanding and be given an abundance of understanding.
When the disciples asked Jesus the question, they asked why He spoke to "them" in parables and His answers refer to the "them" whom they asked about:
1. "to them it has not been given"
2. "whoever has not been given the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven "
3. "they do not see, "they do not hear, they do not understand "
4. "the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them"
5. "many prophets and righteous men desired to see, but did not.
So, who was it that Jesus was speaking about?
If we go back to Matthew 13:1 we see that after Jesus had come out of the house, a large crowd had gathered around Him by the lake. This was probably in Capernaum in Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee because that is where Jesus resided after being driven out of Nazareth after being rejected and nearly killed by the Jews (Luke 4:14-30; Matthew 4:13).
Capernaum was a Jewish town. The first place Jesus went when He got to Capernaum was the synagogue to teach the people. Those who heard Him teach were amazed at His teaching because His word had authority (Luke 4:32).
Jesus performed many miracles in Capernaum, and Capernaum is where His disciples Peter, Andrew, John, James and Matthew resided, and is where He invited them to follow Him.
Capernaum was also among the Jewish towns that Jesus proclaimed judgement upon because of their rejection of Him, which is ultimately the rejection of God (Luke 10:13-16).
So we know that the crowds Jesus was speaking to were primarily Jewish, and though they were amazed by His teaching and were both recipients and witnesses to many of His miracles, they ultimately rejected Him, thereby they rejected God.
In the passage we just read, after the Twelve asked Jesus why He spoke to them in parables, He said, “in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ - Matthew 13:14-15
Jesus quoted a prophecy that God said to Isaiah regarding Israel’s continuous rejection of Him. Jesus said in this passage that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled right then and there, by the crowds He was speaking to.
That means that He knew in their hearts that they rejected Him, which is why He spoke to them in parables.
Because of their rejection of God, they could not understand the parables. They were not able to understand them because they were not able to discern spiritual things.
Jesus said that He spoke in parables because the mysteries of God’s kingdom are not meant for everyone to understand, including those who reject Him, but only for God’s people because they have been given the ability to discern the spiritual.
In the next lesson, we'll look at some more Scriptures that provide evidence of how God has given His people the privilege of understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of God and the Scriptures, in which He does not give to everyone.
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This is part four of the lesson, He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. In the previous lessons, I presented the fact that God looks more favorably upon His people than upon those who reject Him, and that there are privileges which He gives to His people, that He does not give to everyone. Some of these privileges include giving us ears to hear from Him, eyes to see the mysteries of God and His kingdom and opening our understanding of the Scriptures.
Let's start by looking at what 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 says,
However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, 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: “Eye has not seen, nor ear 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. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the 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.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – I Corinthians 2:6-16
This passage speaks to the point of believers having the ability to comprehend the spiritual aspect of God and His ways and the natural man not having this ability. Let’s break this passage down:
• The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in the city of Corinth. He said that he and the other apostles and Christians speak wisdom, but it’s not wisdom regarding the age they were living in, or of the rulers of the age. The wisdom they spoke was different than the wisdom that the natural man speaks about – vs. 6.
• They spoke the mysterious, hidden wisdom of God that was established before He created the earth, which none of the rulers of their age understood, otherwise they would not have crucified their own King – vs. 7,8.
• Paul is quoting Isaiah 64:4 to point out the fact that nobody had been given the ability to hear, see or understand the mysteries of God until His Spirit was sent to dwell within the church, because only the Spirit knows the heart of God – vs. 9, 10
• Paul said that the church did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, so that we might know the things that God has freely given to them – vs. 10-12.
• Paul said that he and the other apostles spoke in words taught by the Holy Spirit, not by the wisdom which is taught by man – vs. 13
• The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit because they are foolishness to him, nor can he understand them because they are spiritually discerned – vs. 14
• The person who is spiritual judges all things, but they are not subject to any natural man’s judgment, because the spiritual man has the mind of Christ – vs. 15,16.
This passage essentially means that those who have been born of God and who love God, have been given the Spirit of God and the mind of Christ, and are therefore able to comprehend and discern the spiritual mysteries of God.
The natural man who has not been born of God or who does not love God and who rejects God, is incapable of understanding the spiritual mysteries of God because he does not have God’s Spirit or the mind of Christ. They are foolishness to him, which is why he rejects them.
A person becomes capable of understanding the spiritual aspect of God when they are born again. At that time the Holy Spirit has come into them and they have been given a new heart of flesh.
Jesus described this supernatural phenomenon to the Jewish leader Nicodemus, who had no idea what Jesus was talking about because he did not have the Holy Spirit of God:
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” - John 3:1-8
Jesus taught Nicodemus that anyone who is born of the Spirit will understand spiritual things concerning God and will therefore understand Jesus’s teachings and God’s kingdom, and only those who have been born of the Spirit will enter the kingdom of God, and that those who are born of the flesh will not understand or enter the kingdom of God.
Some other examples of eyes, ears, and understanding being opened are found in Luke’s gospel.
After Jesus was resurrected, He met two of His followers on the road and broke bread with them. They had no idea that it was Him until “their eyes were opened”, at which time “they knew Him”. They also said that as He spoke with them, "He opened the Scriptures to them". The passage reads:
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24:30-32
Afterwards, they went back to Jerusalem and found the Eleven gathered together, where they told them “He was known to them by the breaking of bread “: The passage reads:
And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. - Luke 24:35
Though their "hearts burned within them" as He spoke with them, up until the point that Jesus broke the bread, the disciples could not recognize that the man whom they had been traveling with and talking with was Jesus. The passage seems to indicate that they did not even know or understand the fullness of His being until that point. Something about the breaking of bread opened their eyes to who He was.
The disciples also did not fully understand the Scriptures until Jesus "opened them" to them. As He spoke and shared the Scriptures, their understanding of the Scriptures were opened.
During this same time, as the two disciples were sharing their experience, Jesus appeared to all of them and said:
“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. – Luke 24:44-45
Now understand, these were Jesus's closest disciples that He said this to; men whom God the Father chose to be the instruments to build His kingdom. They seemed to spend every waking hour with Jesus.
He personally taught and discipled each of them. He explained His parables to them so that they would understand them.
Yet, their understanding of the Scriptures and how the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms were fulfilled in Him, was not “opened”, or given, until that moment.
The disciples had not yet obtained the Holy Spirit, however when Jesus opened their understanding of the Scriptures, they obtained a fuller knowledge of who God is, who He is and how the Scriptures pertained to Him.
From what we see in the Bible, Jesus did not teach His disciples theology, but primarily the principles of God's kingdom. By opening the Scriptures to them, they would have the ability to understand Him and God in ways in which the Jews and others who rejected Him could not have.
Here are a few reasons why I think God opened their understanding of the Scriptures:
After Jesus went back to heaven, He would not be physically with the apostles as they proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom from place to place, therefore the Twelve would need to have understanding of the Scriptures to knowledgeably refute the Jews who continued to oppose and persecute them.
We see in the letters written to the churches in the New Testament that false teachings and heresy had already made its way into the church. The apostles needed understanding of the Scriptures to lead the church so that false teachings could not take root in attempts to mess up everything Jesus came to do.
As the apostles went and preached the gospel from place to place, people believed in Jesus and began meeting together. By default, the apostles were overseers in the development of those churches, and part of their “job” was to disciple the churches they oversaw in what the Scriptures teach and what Jesus commands, so that they could pass on the truth of God, the truth of the Scriptures and the truth of who Jesus is to others throughout the world.
Even though the apostles’ understanding of the Scriptures were opened and they attempted to correct any false teachings and heresy that crept into the church, they still found a way to get in by people who appeared to have understanding of the Scriptures, but in actuality they did not.
This has been the case throughout history, and even into the present day, where false teachings and heresy are present in many forms, even within some of the doctrines that are popular within modern mainline churches.
Satan’s biggest concern is the church because it is the body of Christ who comprise God’s kingdom. The body of Christ works together to build God’s kingdom until it overtakes the world.
Because the church is Satan’s biggest concern, he does everything in his power to destroy it so that it will be weak and powerless so that it will be incapable of taking back God’s rightful territory.
He does this in many ways, a few of which are false teaching, false prophecy and division within the church.
False teachings have led to the formation of religious cults such as Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. On the surface their teachings look and sound very much like Christianity, but when you dig in deeper, they are very different and contain teachings that are unbiblical and even contrary to what the Bible teaches.
Though these groups say that the founding leaders had “visions” from God which led to the founding of the religion, it is evident that they actually had no understanding of the Bible or of who God is, simply by the religion’s teachings that contradict Him.
Many people have fallen prey to religious cults by way of the false teachings of the cult’s missionaries and evangelists. Even Biblically illiterate Christians from mainline Christian churches have succumbed to the false teachings of religious cults because of their ignorance of who the God of the Bible really is.
Other false teachings come through pastors whose understanding of the Scriptures have not been opened because they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.
Many pastors today go to a seminary of a specific denomination that they doctrinally align with, and are taught the specific doctrines which that particular seminary believes. They rarely consider other possible doctrines which may actually be true, but rather teach their own doctrine as factual. With some Biblical topics containing more than one possible interpretation, everyone's view cannot be the correct view, therefore someone's view is wrong, so to teach these views as factual would be false teaching.
There are approximately 40,000 Christian denominations, and Biblical doctrines can vary tremendously between each of them, so the church denomination you attend determines what Biblical doctrines your pastor will teach you to believe.
Some pastors teach the Bible without ever studying and learning the Scriptures for themselves and if the doctrines they are teaching are actually what the Bible teaches. They teach what they have always been taught themselves or just regurgitate what they hear other pastors teach or what will draw the biggest crowds.
It also seems that many pastors today do not possess the spiritual discernment described in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, but operate more in the natural than the supernatural. Many are talented speakers, showmen, and business men, but they do not possess the ability to shepherd God’s flock, which is the very definition of "pastor ".
It seems that many do not have the gift of “pastor” that the Bible speaks about, but rather they become a pastor of a church for occupational or other purposes that personally benefit them, rather than for service to God.
With these kinds of pastors, their understanding of the Scriptures have not been opened, yet they are teaching people, either by their seminary’s beliefs, their own interpretation, or by parroting what they hear other, oftentimes celebrity, pastors teach.
This can be detrimental if they are teaching large numbers of people in their churches things about God, Jesus and what the Bible teaches, that are inaccurate and untrue. It is like yeast that works through the whole batch of dough, and has the potential to lead many people away from the Truth rather than to it.
These are examples of people who are unintentionally teaching false doctrines. Their motives to teach the Scriptures may be pure, but their understanding has not been opened, therefore they do not have ears to hear God speak to them through the Scriptures.
Intentional false teachers are making efforts to deceive people by teaching them lies or inaccurate ideologies about God. They know that what they are teaching are lies and that they are doing it to lead people away from God. These might be former Christians who have fallen away from God, or people from religious cults or other religions who are acting as true Christians, but in reality they are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Satan is crafty and will work through those who are willing to let him, just as Judas was. He will work to destroy the church from the inside if he can. This means he will use people posing as Christians, pastors and church leaders to work as his agents to destroy the church.
The point is, it is important to understand that not all people who claim to be Christians are Christian, and that not all Bible teachers have had their understanding of the Scriptures opened.
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This is part five of the lesson, He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. In the previous lessons we've been looking at how God looks more favorably upon His people than upon those who reject Him, and that there are privileges which He gives to His people, that He does not give to everyone. Some of these privileges include giving us ears to hear from Him, eyes to see the mysteries of God and His kingdom and opening our understanding of the Scriptures. We saw that not everyone has the Spirit or the mind of Christ, therefore they are unable to comprehend and discern God and the mysteries of the kingdom, and that only disciples of Jesus, who have the Holy Spirit living within them, have been given these abilities.
This is why these programs that we see on the History Channel that look at the Bible, or Jesus, or Christianity, usually depict an inaccurate view of them. These programs are usually produced by historians, or archaeologists, or even theologians, who provide a historical or theological view that is based on the natural and their own understanding. They will sometimes attempt to refute the supernatural claims that are recorded in the Bible because they claim that they could not of happened because they cannot provide a natural explanation of it. What they don't understand is that God is a supernatural Being, and therefore His ways do not fit inside the parameters of the natural, or within our tiny brains. I presume that most of the producers of these programs do not have the Holy Spirit, which is why they don't understand the things of the Spirit. From what we learned last time, is that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit because they are foolishness to him, nor can he understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
We finished the lesson last time with three reasons that God opened the apostles understanding of the Scriptures. These reasons were:
- They would need to have understanding of the Scriptures to knowledgeably refute the Jews who continued to oppose and persecute them.
- They would need understanding of the Scriptures to lead the church so that false teachings could not take root in attempts to mess up everything Jesus came to do.
- As elders of the church gatherings that they founded, it was their job to disciple them in what the Scriptures teach and what Jesus commands, so that they could pass on the truth of God, the truth of the Scriptures and the truth of who Jesus is to others throughout the world.
4. A fourth reason that God opened their understanding of the Scriptures, is that it has always been God’s greatest desire for people to know Him. Knowing God is the reason that God created man. Unfortunately, man has complicated this very simple truth by introducing complex doctrines, traditions & rituals, religion & religious duties, and stringent requirements. God opened the apostles' understanding of the Scriptures so they could pass on the simple truth of God wanting mankind to know Him.
Let’s break down the story of the Bible so you can see what I’m talking about:
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them to know Him, by them being His people and He being their God. He created a place for them to live and He walked with them. But they ultimately rejected Him by disobeying the only command He had given them.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were banished from the Garden of Eden, God commanded them to multiply and fill the earth with other people, so that they could know Him. Unfortunately, man’s wickedness increased throughout the earth rather than their knowledge of God, so in His righteous judgment, He destroyed them.
After God destroyed the inhabitants of the earth by a flood because of their wickedness which was due to their rejection of Him, He commanded those He had saved to multiply and fill the earth with people so they could know Him. Most rejected Him by continuing to worship idols and live in wickedness, but He promised to never destroy man again by a flood, so wickedness continued to fill the earth.
God had a servant named Jacob, whose name He changed to Israel. God commanded Israel to be fruitful and multiply because from his body would come a nation, a company of nations, and kings.
So, Jacob obeyed God and had twelve male children, who would become the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, which would comprise the nation that God promised him.
God’s purpose for this promised nation was that they would be His people and He would be their God.
After hundreds of years, the descendants of Israel’s twelve sons became enslaved to the nation of Egypt. Hearing their prayers, God led them out of Egypt and dwelt among them as a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
He instilled a law for them to live by and made a covenant with them to be their God if they obeyed His law and commands, so that other nations would know that they were His people and He was their God.
This nation of people would be known by the other nations as God’s kingdom, because they were His people and He was their God.
But they rejected Him as their God and King by continuing to worship idols and disobey His commands and by asking the judge Samuel to have a human king instead, like the other nations had.
God granted their desire and gave them a human king, but He was not pleased with them about it because He had led this people out of Egypt to be His people, and He their God; He wanted to be their leader.
He instructed Samuel to do what they desire, for they were not rejecting Samuel, but they were rejecting Him.
He instructed Samuel to warn Israel that if they have a human king, the king will take what they own and they and their children will be his servants.
He warned them that they would cry out to God because of the king they had chosen for themselves, but He would not hear them. Yet they refused to hear Samuel’s words and chose to have a human king.
Some of the kings obeyed God and led the kingdom to do so, but others did not. For the most part, the kingdom of Israel continued to reject God, so God sent prophets to call them to return to Him so they would be His people and He would be their God. However, they refused.
God divided Israel into two kingdoms during Rehoboam’s reign - the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
Though the northern kingdom was led by kings who rejected God more-so than Judah, both were eventually rejected by God and came under His judgement because of their rejection of Him.
Both kingdoms were conquered by other nations, and eventually dissolved.
However, God’s prophets prophesied of a time in the future where people from all nations, tribes and tongues would know God by writing His laws on their hearts, and He would make a new covenant with them, where they would be His people and He would be their God.
God sent His Son Jesus to establish the new covenant and to reign as King over His kingdom.
Jesus, who is God in the flesh and part of the triune God, came down from heaven to dwell among His people. He would make a way for God the Father to be with them always and forever.
God hates evil, and man cannot live with God because of the evil that resides in him, which is called sin.
So God sacrificed Jesus as the atonement for man’s sins, so that by His blood, man’s sins can be forgiven so he can live with God.
Because of God's forgiveness, we can live with God in His kingdom as His people and He as our God. This is the new covenant that God made with His people.
While He lived on earth, He began to establish the new kingdom by going to the “lost sheep of Israel”. He invited twelve men to follow Him. He lived among them and taught them as He preached the gospel, drove out demons, healed the sick, the diseased, the lame, the deaf, the blind, and raised the dead.
Many among the lost sheep of Israel believed that He was the King of the Jews spoken of by the prophets. However, many did not and they threatened to kill Him. They rejected the fact that He was their King.
Because of their rejection of Him, He said that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation who produces its fruits.
He told them that they had been invited into the kingdom of God, but they had ignored and paid no attention to God’s invitation.
He said that some of them treated His servants shamefully and killed them.
He said when the King heard about it, He was angry, so He sent out His armies to destroy the murderers and burn their city. He said they were not worthy to come into the kingdom.
So, God sent His servants out to invite everyone they could find to come into the kingdom, and the hall was filled. However, not everyone entered, because many are called, but few are chosen.
Those who do enter are the subjects of God’s kingdom, where Jesus reigns as the sovereign King. God’s Holy Spirit comes and lives within them, thereby God lives among them as their God, and they His people.
The people of this kingdom do not reject God by disobeying His commands or by worshipping idols, but rather they obey and worship Him because His Spirit lives in them. They live by the Spirit and under the new covenant that God made with His people.
The people of this kingdom tell others about the King, and persuade them to turn away from worshipping other gods, and to turn to the true God, so they too can enter His kingdom and know Him, and where they can be of His people, and He can be their God.
God’s kingdom grows every time someone turns to God and believes in Jesus, because they enter into the kingdom.
This kingdom was small when Jesus started it, small like a mustard seed, but it has continued to grow into a huge tree since then.
At the same time, Satan’s kingdom is becoming smaller, because when someone enters God’s kingdom, they leave Satan’s kingdom. This of course threatens Satan, so he is constantly seeking to steal, kill and destroy God’s people.
That is, in a nutshell, the story of the Bible. The idea that God wants people to know Him so that they can be of His people, and He be their God, is prevalent all throughout the Bible, but the apostles would have recognized it in the Scriptures that they had, because as we saw, from the Garden of Eden, to the formation of Israel, to the kings and prophets, and right up to Jesus, this idea is present. God created man to know Him, so that they can be His people, and He can be their God.
We'll finish here today, and hopefully conclude this lesson next time. We will look at the apostle Paul, at what heresy is and is not, and I'll provide some application for what we have learned in this lesson.
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One last example of having our eyes opened is from Acts 9:17-18, when Ananias laid hands on Saul, aka the apostle Paul, after encountering Jesus on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus:
And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. – Acts 9:17-18.
Now, what this appears to be talking about is Saul’s physical sight. We know that prior to this, Saul went blind and could not see when Jesus appeared to him, and here he regains his sight when Ananias lays hands on him and prays for him. But we also know that before this happened, Saul was spiritually blind and it wasn’t until he encountered Jesus and the Holy Spirit filled him that “something like scales fell from eyes, and he received his sight at once”.
I take this to mean that Saul’s eyes were opened both physically and to the spiritual and the supernatural things of God. He did in fact now possess God’s Spirit, where he did not before.
Saul was a Jewish Pharisee who knew the Law inside and out, but like many of the Jews, he did not have the spiritual understanding of the Scriptures and how the Law and the Prophets speak about Jesus. So, Saul despised Christians because they believed in Jesus, but he rejected Him, so he sought to persecute them.
However, when the Holy Spirit came into Saul, scales fell from his eyes so that his eyes were opened, he was given ears to hear God, and his understanding of Jesus and the Scriptures were opened.
After Saul’s eyes were opened, he became the primary vessel God used to preach the gospel of the Kingdom to the world.
Heresy
Since we are discussing having ears to hear, and our understanding of the Scriptures and our eyes opened, it would be beneficial here to discuss heresy – what it is and what it is not.
Different doctrines are taught in the church that have come about by differing interpretation of the Scriptures throughout the history of Christianity. Though the interpretations differ, they do not necessarily change or alter the character of God, who Jesus is, or God’s sacrifice of His only Son. The teachings come from the Bible and have been taught, at least at some point, throughout the history of the church. These are considered “non-essential “doctrines because they do not add to or take away from the character of God, Jesus or the Scriptures, and the church should not divide over them.
An example of this would be different views about eschatology, or the “end times”. There are several different views among Christians about what the Bible teaches about the end times, but taking one view over the other does not make one a heretic or disqualify them as being a Christian. They are merely different views based on Biblical interpretation.
However, one major view of end times teaching did not come about until a couple hundred years ago and has arguably little Biblical support, goes against other passages of Scripture and changes the character God (at least in my opinion), which should classify it as a heresy, yet is a very popular view among American Christians. Regardless, those who believe this doctrine or any of the other end times doctrines are still Christians and one body. Our end times theology does not dictate whether or not we are in Christ. It is our belief in Him that does.
Heresy is oftentimes newer doctrines and teachings about God that have come about by an individual receiving “a revelation from God “.
Typically, heretical teachings twist the Scriptures to make them fit into the doctrine they are teaching, and they may use books other than the Bible as Scripture. Some groups have even created their own versions of the Bible to fit their needs.
Heretical teachings portray a god who is not the God of the Bible, as well as a Jesus who is not what the Scriptures teach about Jesus.
Heretical doctrines typically require legalistic practices be done by its participants because they are not Bible based movements, but are man-made religions.
When considering if a teaching is heresy or not, we need to consider what Jesus taught His disciples and what they taught their disciples. Many of the topics that we would consider being “essential” to being a true Christian, were not taught by Jesus to His disciples.
In fact, they had very limited understanding of even who He was, let alone what some of today’s “essential “doctrines teach. They did not have perfect doctrine or understanding of a lot of things about God, yet Jesus still chose them to follow Him, and they were still Christians because they did follow Him.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the mysteries of God and His kingdom are not given to everyone, but only to those who have turned to Him and belong to Him by belief that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God.
Understanding of God and the Scriptures is a privilege given only to Christians by God, and also contains great value and responsibility, which we did not discuss in this lesson.
Beware of false teachers from both inside and outside of the church, because many people claim to have this knowledge, but they do not because the Spirit of God is not within them. He dwells only within His people.
Many false teachers might be unintentionally teaching false doctrines or even heresy, while others may be intentionally teaching it to lead people away from Christ.
We did not talk about this, but test the Spirit to know if what these teachers are teaching is true or not. Those who have the Spirit of God can easily discern if what they are hearing is from God or not.
Also compare what they are saying to the Scriptures. If it does not align with Scripture, then it is false teaching.
Not all doctrines that disagree with yours are heresy, and the church should not divide over differing doctrinal beliefs.
Christians are not saved based on their doctrine, but by their belief and obedience to Jesus.
Application
Here are some practical things we can do ourselves and teach our disciples to have ears to hear, open understanding of the Scriptures and eyes that are open:
• Read and study the Bible every day, not only be hearers, but doing what it says.
• Before reading and studying the Bible, ask God to open your understanding of the Scriptures and to give you ears to hear and eyes to see.
• When you make a new disciple, lay hands on them and pray that God will fill them with the Holy Spirit.
• Pray continuously, both privately and when you gather together.
• When you hear God speak to you, listen and do what He says. If it’s something that can be done right away, do it immediately so that you ensure that it gets done.
• Walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Sin not only hinders our ability to walk with God and hear from God, but it leads us away from God. If there is sin in your life, turn away from it, put it to death and turn to God. Obey the Spirit’s desires and not the desires of the flesh.
• Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.
• Set your heart on things above, not on earthly things. Set your mind on things above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.
• Seek God’s kingdom first and foremost before anything else.
• Ask God to give you eyes to see where His kingdom is not.
• Ask God where He wants you to go and who He wants you to talk to. Is there anybody specifically He has placed on your heart or mind or who He wants you to share your story or the gospel or a passage of Scripture with? If there is, ask Him to give them eyes to see and ears to hear and to open their understanding of the Scriptures. This may be a Luke 10 Person of Peace who will either enter the kingdom of God themself, or open doors to access other people who will enter the kingdom of God.
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