Carnal Man

It's evident that everyone is tired. Would you turn please to the Old Testament book of Isaiah, and we'll read just a little in chapter 64, Isaiah and 64. Isaiah 64, and we will read at verse 1. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence.

When thou didst terrible things which we look not for, thou cam'st down, the mountains flow down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world, man hath not heard, neither perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Now would you turn for a moment please to 1st Corinthians and chapter 2, 1st Corinthians and chapter 2. We'll read verse 9. But as it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, and for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now may the Lord bless to us then the reading of his word. It was mentioned in the Bible reading that there are some 320 quotations out of the Old Testament that will be found in 16 of the books of the New Testament.

When we come across these quotations it's always wise that we should, number one, look at the context in which they are given. And I'm thinking just now of the context of the quotation of Isaiah 64. And then another thing is to look at the content of what would be in them, and any contrast that there are between the Old and the New Testament.

And our brother David Oliver kept us straight on this one, that we have to be careful in taking verses out of the Old Testament and their application. But nevertheless what he said was right and good. I want you to think with me just for a few minutes this afternoon of this little verse that we have here in 1st Corinthians 2 and 9. I hath not seen nor ear heard, but please remember verse 10 that follows says, but God hath revealed them unto us.

When we go to Isaiah 64, coming to the end of the book of Isaiah, the miniature gospel, and they won't go through that aspect of things, but you'll appreciate this. As you draw to the end of the miniature Bible, I should have said, as you go to the end of this miniature Bible, you know that you'll be introduced to the thought of a new heaven and a new earth. You read through Isaiah 65 and very evidently we've got millennial conditions, the wolf and the lamb, the lion eating straw, and so on.

So in other words, the end of Isaiah brings us to the end, looking forward to the coming kingdom. Gives us certain characteristics of the kingdom. And then before that you have Isaiah 64.

Isaiah 64 is a prayer. It's the heart's cry of a people, the people of Israel, crying out to God to help them in a very difficult day. I would suggest to you that some of the things that you find in Isaiah 64 will be very relevant for the people of Israel in the coming tribulation period.

Oh that thou would'st rend the heavens, that thou would'st come down. But then I didn't read as far as this, but what about this verse? All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Now all very well that we use it in the gospel and so on, but it's a people of a coming day that in their desperation will be crying out for God to help.

When you look at the content then of Isaiah 64, keep in mind that's essentially a heart's cry of a people. And then the verses that we did read, they are a people who are remembering what God has done for them in the past. And really the verse that I said was quoted in 1st Corinthians chapter 2, the changes in this sense, there's a number of little changes, I want to point them out.

But in essence the first thing we should notice is this, that in verse 4 of Isaiah 64, these people who are remembering a day when God did great things for them. You just think now they're coming out of Egypt, the waters of the Red Sea opening, God delivering from their enemies and everything else. And then suddenly as you hit verse 4, the sense is very much this, it's never been seen anywhere else, never been seen in this world, never been seen among all of the nations.

A God that can do what our God has done for us. Now go ahead to the Babylonians or the Egyptians or any of the others and they cannot say, they've never seen it, they've never heard it, they've never meditated upon their heart. The greatness of their gods as we know the greatness of our God.

That's the Israel of the Old Testament. Oh that thou would ran the heavens. In other words they're crying out for the God who has helped them so much in the past to deliver them again.

Again I say in a tribulation day when that nation is going to be surrounded by its enemies, overrun, and it seems like it's all over for them. But you'll notice looking at verse 4 of chapter 64 of Isaiah, we have a people remembering the greatness of God then from the past and crying out for present help. And please notice as you read through the verse, it is speaking of the things that he hath prepared for them that wait for him.

But I didn't read that in 1st Corinthians 2 and 9. In its content then Isaiah 64 is a nation prophetically looking ahead to that day when they're calling on God to help. Now the Spirit of God through the instrument of the Apostle Paul takes this up in 1st Corinthians 2. But 1st Corinthians 2 is not a cry for help in a time of trouble. 1st Corinthians 2 is anything but that.

1st Corinthians 2 of course is in a section where the wisdom of the world is on the one side but the things of God are on the other. And then in contrast to all of the worldly wisdom and everything else, we have the total ignorance of the world in relation to the person of Christ. And now I hath not seen nor ear heard.

And it goes on to tell us something of what's been given to them to the believers. In Isaiah chapter 64 again you'll notice this has to do with Israel. 1st Corinthians 2 has to do with believers, has to do with the church.

Isaiah chapter 64 is taking us back to a people who are calling out for physical deliverance. 1st Corinthians 2 and 9 is speaking of spiritual blessings. If Isaiah 64 is speaking of the greatness of God, 1st Corinthians 2 is reminding us of something of the gifts of God.

Isaiah 64 again notice it says them that wait for him. 1st Corinthians 2, them that love him. And there's a major difference.

Then that wait for him is a people waiting upon God. Then that love him is applicable to a people who have come to know God and know God on the basis of something wonderful that's been done. That wait for him.

Isaiah 64 then Old Testament is before the cross. 1st Corinthians 2 is evidently after the cross. Isaiah chapter 64 is before Christ the Messiah has come.

1st Corinthians 2 is subsequent to the coming of Christ. They that wait for him as a nation longing for their God to come and reveling in the greatness of their God. But 1st Corinthians 2 is a cause for believers to rejoice in what the Lord has done for us.

It is written I hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. In this little chapter the Apostle Paul is speaking about the wisdom the spiritual wisdom and the things that God hath revealed unto us. I suggest to you that he's talking about truths that have been given to the Apostles in relation to the church.

When you go to your New Testament there's a word mystery that is found a good number of times throughout the books of the New Testament. Someone has said the mysteries of the New Testament can be linked into seven distinct mysteries. There are more mentions of that.

But you stop to think just for a minute. We go to Matthew chapter 13 and we have the mysteries of the kingdom. What Israel expected was not what we quite see in Matthew 13 where we have the parables is it? In other words their expectations take a different turn altogether when you think of the mystery of the kingdom as we see it today and all the lovely pictures that are there.

We not only have the mystery of the kingdom in our New Testament we have the beautiful truth of the mystery of Christ. And could I just bring together with that not only the mystery of the Christ as we see it in the epistles but the mystery of godliness in relation to Christ as is mentioned in 1st Timothy chapter 3. And again you'll understand that what we can enjoy in relation to the mystery of Christ Israel wouldn't have known. They wouldn't have understood, not very many of them, about the Son of God coming and going to the cross of Calvary.

That wasn't their expectation. There they're talking again then they that wait for him but now it's they who love him and we love the Lord Jesus because of what he did. So there's the mystery of the kingdom there's the mystery of Christ.

And again could we repeat that in relation to the mystery of Christ. Oh they had all of the Old Testament passages about the Son of David coming and the everlasting kingdom Isaiah chapter 9 and so on and defeating the enemies bringing in the realm of peace and everything else. But you and I appreciate this because Christ has come.

Because Christ has gone to the cross of Calvary we have peace and we love him. There is as well the mystery not only of the kingdom and not only of Christ but there is the mystery of the church. They would have known nothing about that.

Nothing at all. But this beautiful truth that is brought out in a number of ways in our New Testament. The mystery of the church that a God in this particular time that we live and down through these ages sometimes referred to as the great valley of the day of grace between the mountaintops of prophetic truths.

That God should have come in in a most remarkable way and the Spirit of God would have taken up the Jew as well as the Gentile made of twain one new man broken down the middle wall of partition. Partition rather that was between them. God has come in in the church what would they know about that? I'd like to repeat what our brother David Oliver said today.

Be careful of this thing called replacement theology. The church is distinct in our Bible and it's a beautiful thing and all of us should need to learn more and more of it. But if we have the mystery of the church the mystery of Christ the mystery of the kingdom there is as well what's called the mystery of the gospel.

And when you think of the marvel of the gospel into contrast with these people their vain conversation received by tradition from the fathers and very much a system of works and rituals and then the gospel comes. You and I can appreciate can we not that the salvation that we enjoy because Christ has come and gone to the cross is a salvation that's not based upon any works or any ritual or anything that we can do. Everything centers on the wonderful person of the Lord Jesus.

We have then as well in connection with that not only the mystery of the gospel but there is a mystery of the transformation that is yet to come. Behold I show you a mystery says the Apostle in 1st Corinthians 15. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed.

And again when we think of that passage and think of the implications of it that there would be a great resurrection at the end would be known by these. But that resurrection would come in different aspects it's something that we can see from our Bible. The first resurrection and then of course the second.

The resurrection of the just the resurrection of the unjust. The resurrection unto life and the resurrection unto condemnation. Well these things will be seen as we go through our Bible.

But when you think of the great truth of the resurrection I show you a mystery we shall not all sleep we shall all be changed. In a moment twinkling of an eye the last trump. I think it's beautiful that there are three little phrases that are used there and perhaps you've heard this before but when you think of the wording in 1st Corinthians 15 and 51 in a moment of time the word that's used there is where the Greek word atom comes from.

In the twinkling of an eye that phrase I've checked it out and it's often used in Hebrew literature a poetic figure means the same thing. Just the very briefest moment of time. The last trump.

And just think of now what you've got there. You've got a Greek phrase. You've got a Hebrew phrase.

You've got a Roman phrase. A Greek Hebrew and Latin in other words. And could I ask you just for a second go in your mind with me to the cross where there was a sign written in what languages at the cross of Calvary.

Jewish people the priests and others who could read this is Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews it's there in their language the Hebrew language. There are Roman soldiers that would be there. Those people who lived by the trumpets and they'd be able to read because it's written in Latin.

And there would undoubtedly be people passing by and the commercial language of that day you know was the Greek. They'd be able to read. It almost seems as if God would want the whole world whether religiously politically or commercially to realize the significance of what's happening at Calvary.

But if we have those three in relation to the cross what do we have in relation to the coming of Christ. The last trump moment of time the twinkling of an eye. I would suggest to you that because of what I call the mystery of the gospel there is this lovely truth of a message.

And it's the only message that will meet the heart of a Jew or of a Latin person or of a Greek. Because there's nothing of the Greek world and that's the sense of these first two chapters of Corinthians. Nothing of all of their intelligence and all of their philosophy and everything else that could ever save a soul or meet the need of a poor sinner.

What's going to happen first Corinthians 15? Why of course in connection with first Thessalonians 4 the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and then out of the graves are going to be raised up from all over this world from every aspect of it and notice please the dead shall be raised incorruptible. You've got the contrast of the two bodies in first Corinthians 15. The dead shall be raised incorruptible.

I have noted in looking through my Bible that I can't find how the unsaved are raised. That they will be raised I don't have any doubt. But as to the bodies that they are raised in I don't know.

I wonder if they might come up the way they went down. That's not true of believers. The bodies of believers will be laid in the grave.

Pacemakers and false hips and elbows and everything else. What comes up is connected with what went down but I don't think the pacemakers are coming. Raised incorruptible.

Body like unto his glorious body. The mystery of a transformation. There's not only the mystery of the transformation.

Of course there are other mysteries as we go through. There's the mystery of iniquity and so on which you tie in with both second Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 17. But coming to this little verse again.

None of the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. With all of their intelligence. With all of the culture that these Corinthians had and others had.

And I wonder I guess I shouldn't divert into some of these ideas of Aristotle and some of the others that were there in those days. But with all that they had and tremendous as it is as far as history is concerned. What does it say? I hath not seen nor ear heard neither entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that not wait for him but love him because the waiting is over.

Christ has come. The cross work has taken place. There's a Savior who gave himself and because of that.

No Christians. Because of that. What do we have? God hath revealed them unto us as the Apostle.

I take it it's the Apostles that are in view there. But I would take it this way as well. That's what's what's being revealed to the Apostles as now being passed on to the Christians.

And here we are with this beautiful truth of what we call the New Testament. What do we have? I am thankful to God for this. That because of the work of Calvary's cross we are those who can say we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Think of it Christians. Some of you may have been saved when you were younger. Some of us weren't.

I can remember years in my experience trying to figure things out. Wondering what it was all about. I've often said times when on the deck of a ship at sea in the Navy looking at the stars and always that wondering what's life all about? Where am I going? I don't have those thoughts anymore.

Isn't that strange? Don't have those thoughts anymore. Every night before I get into bed I'll just pray. A little time of prayer.

Never mind the knee aches and the back aches and everything else but I put my head on the pillow and I know this. I have peace with God. The old pump stops.

It's alright for me. I don't have to worry. Somebody else might.

I don't have to worry. I don't want to go. Now I have certain concerns about others but you know what I'm saying.

Peace with God. Revealed unto us. What's it based on? That I was baptized? Not at all.

That I belong to a particular organization? Not at all. What's it based on? It's based on the fact that Christ died for the ungodly that he gave himself for a sinner like me at Calvary. Peace with God.

I wonder in keeping with the verse that we're looking at here if we could just ponder for a moment not only peace with God but that we have a Savior who has gone back to the glory. He's coming again. And verse after verse in our Bible would tell us of the wonderful truth of the coming again of the Lord Jesus.

I'm still I guess my mind is still sort of going over first Peter chapter 1 and just the fact of God's purposes and eternity as we look backward. And the inheritance and the blessings as we look forward to. And then so what? That right now we're in a little boat tossed up and down on the Sea of Galilee between two shores.

So what? Christ is coming. I go to prepare a place for you says the Lord Jesus. If I go I will come again receive you unto myself.

You begin to think not only peace with God, not only is it that the Lord Jesus is coming, but that there's a heaven prepared. I would wonder if in our Bible we might go somewhere like Ephesians chapter 1 and just get a glimpse. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.

How much do I know about the all spiritual blessings? That much? But they're there. Christians we could go on and on through our New Testament thinking of what we have. God hath revealed them unto us.

Let me just say again my time is gone. Not waiting. That's the Old Testament.

But love him. And we love him for what he's done. We love him for where he is.

We love him for what he's doing. I'm thinking now priest, advocate, intercessor. We love him for what he's doing.

We love him for what he's going to do. The world knows nothing about it as they knew nothing about Israel's God. They know nothing about our blessings in the Lord Jesus.

But thank God we've got a book where multitudes of things have been revealed to the Apostles, passed on to us as newborn babes. Desire the sincere, pure, genuine milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. May God bless his Word.