81. Breaking Impasse (3)

Posted on Posted in Sermon Notes Tagged with , , ,

Hymns: RHC 255 Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart, 256 The Bible Stands, 252 The Old Book and the Old Faith

Job 32:6-9

6And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

Breaking Impasse (3)

OUTLINE

  • Speech of Elihu (32:1-37:24)
    • Elihu joins debate breaking impasse (32:1-22)
      • Anger with Job (32:2)
        • Justifying himself (32:2)
      • Anger with 3 friends (32:3-5)
        • Condemning Job unjustly (32:3-5)
      • Profile of Elihu (32:6)  
    • Plea for Audience (32:6-33:3)
      • The reason for his initial silence  (32:6-16) 
        • Teaching of the Holy Spirit Through God’s Word (v6-9)
      • The reason for his speaking  (32:17-22) 
      • The desire for Job’s attention  (33:1-3)[1]
    • Justice of God (33:4-34:37)
    • Sovereignty of God (35:1-16)
    • Justice and Power of God with man and His Sovereignty and Benevolence with Nature (36:1-37:24)

Continue…

  • The reason for his initial silence  (32:6-16) 
    • Teaching of the Holy Spirit Through God’s Word (v6-9)

6And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. 8But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. 9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

It is God, by His Spirit, instructs the spiritual man. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

God’s wisdom is make known to us through the revelation made by the Holy Spirit to the writers of the New Testament. The understanding here is that God’s Wisdom not discoverable by man without the help of the Holy Spirit who is the agent of transmission and communication. The word of God is therefore a revealed truth. God’s Book is a Book of words and the very language which is used to convey man’s wisdom, convey things “which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart.”

Only the born-again Christ by illumination of the Spirit can know and understand the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 3:5,9, Col. 1:26). This is because the content of the gospel is spiritual. 

Thus, only spiritual men, that is, those who are spirit endued) are enabled to understand it. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned (cf. John 16:13). 

John 16:13 (KJV) 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, thatshall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

The Spiritual man is able to understand all spiritual truths. He has the Spirit of God to help him understand Scriptures, spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man can thus know the things of God. 

Psalm 27:4-6 One thinghave I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Therefore, he is most grateful for all the good that he has received out of God’s good hand. He seeks the Person of his LORD for a sustained, consistent, meaningful fellowship. He realise that in departing from his LORD, he will be cut-off from the life-line that has sustained his well-being all this time. He saw how weak and feeble and needy he was and how great a God he serves. He dare not leave Him.

As Peter said to our Lord Jesus, John 6:68 “…Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” Jesus fed the five thousand at the beginning of the chapter and when He stopped feeding them they all left Him. There was only the 12 disciples left and Jesus asked them, John 6:67 “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” Peter weighed his options, he saw that he will be in a bad case without his LORD.

John 15:4-5 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye arethe branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We understand from 1 Cor. 2:12b that the born-again believer is given the Holy Spirit so that he might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

The things freely given to us is the completed Holy Scriptures. (At the point of writing, the Scriptures has not been completed yet, only the OT as available. God will use the apostles to write scriptures with the aid of the Holy Spirit.) 

The new born believer though enabled by the Holy Spirit does not know all truths immediately. He has to study the Scriptures to know “the things of God”. The Holy Spirit thus uses the Word of God to help him understand spiritual truths. 

The Holy Spirit uses study to help the believer in interpreting Scripture. The Holy Spirit does not work independent of Scriptures. The believer cannot know a spiritual truth out of a blank mind or from inputs that are outside of Scripture. He feeds on the Word of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit he “might know the things of God”.

The Holy Spirit aids us in this processas given in 1 John 2:20, 27.

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things … But the anointingwhich ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Now the Spirit’s ministry is one of aiding the believer to apply, to see the value, worth, and significance of a text for his own person, situation, and times … Accordingly, we must not confuse this activity of the Holy Spirit. His work does not offer the believer a short-cut which avoids the perspiration of grammatical, syntactical, historical, cultural, and theological exegesis. There is no royal road to interpreting the Scriptures. He does not infuse a meaning or meanings beyond what he has already taught to the writers when they combined spiritual truths with the appropriately taught spiritual words. But on the other hand, the Holy Spirit does, and, indeed, he must, aid me in assessing, appraising, and evaluating the word, value, application, and significance of that biblical truth with my need and my personal condition, my time, my family, my church, and my country and world.[2]

The importance or necessity of the Holy Spirit’s role in passing revealed truth in 1 Cor. 2:13. 

The Holy Spirit teaches the believer by imparting to him God’s wisdom so that he is able to preach, teach and witness for his Saviour. 

The term comparing “spiritual things with spiritual” does not mean (1) explaining spiritual truths to spiritual men or (2) interpreting scriptural truths in the light of other scriptural truths, ie. Comparing scripture with scripture or (3) Combining spiritual things with spiritual words, ie. making the utterance correspond to the thought using spirit-taught words to express spirit given truths but it means the apostle received his truth from God and cloth it in a language given by God’s Spirit. 

His claim is that his utterance is God-given and spirit-led. This is a proof text for infallibility of the preaching ministry of the apostles. Today, the apostles are no longer with us. But the Word of God that is written down is preserved for us today (Matt 5:17-18, Psalm 12:6-7). 

Today, we are to preach the Word of God as the Spirit of God teach us in our deep study of Scriptures. Our authority is in the Word of God recorded for us today. 

Having derived principles that the Holy Spirit works only in the born-again believer, the Holy Spirit uses study of Holy Scripture to help the believer to know God even His Son, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. The Holy Spirit together with hard work put in by the believer in grammatical, syntactical, historical, cultural, and theological exegesis helps to open the treasury of God’s wisdom. The Holy Spirit also enables the teacher of the Word of God to His Word after much study.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

The spiritual man (refers to all of the saved = those who do possess the Spirit of God) and appreciates God’s Truth. Appreciates God’s Truth because He has discernment.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

The Spirit enables us to appraise things with their true value, but when natural men appraise us they will always go wrong. (Piper)

He is one who possesses the wisdom of God. This wisdom is contrasted with the wisdom of this world, possessed by the princes of this world (v6). How this world’s wisdom will come to nothing – as Solomon puts it “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

9Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. 

14 But the natural manreceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The natural man that is without spiritual life is contrasted with the spiritual man. He has not the Spirit of God and therefore cannot comprehend spiritual things.

One pastor said well, “He does not have the equipment. You cannot smell music. Your nose may be working very well, but it cannot smell music.” (Adrian Rogers)

Vance Havner – The natural man can never be educated into apprehension of divine truth. In fact, the more wisdom of this world he accumulates, the more confirmed he is in error and the more moronic the Gospel appears. There is no hope in the supposition that a postgraduate course in secular knowledge will make it easier to see the things of the Spirit of God. It will only compound pride of intellect and harden resistance to the truth. Never forget that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men, which makes its believers fools in the eyes of men. Old Adam cannot be educated into a Christian. (All the Days)

6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect (complete/mature):yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

The natural man is endued with the wisdom of this world. A wisdom that is lacking and wanting.

To be continued…

[1] Hannah’s Bible Outlines.

[2] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. “A Neglected Text in Bibliology Discussions: I Corinthians 2:6-16” Westminster Theological Journal, WTJ Volume 43 #2-Spring 1981, 319.