To the Corinthians, I'd like to begin reading in chapter two and begin at verse fourteen, if you please. Going down into chapter three and verse four. Or rather through verse three. Paul writing by the Holy Spirit, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness or folly unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually or by the Spirit of God discerned. But he that is spiritual judges or discerneth all things. Yet he himself is judged or discerned of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat. For hitherto ye were not able to bear it. Neither now are ye able. For we are yet carnal. for as, whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, and are ye not carnal and walk as men. May God bless the reading of this special portion from its precious word, which the beloved Apostle Paul wrote so faithfully and diligently to the assembly in Corinth many, many years ago. The condition of that assembly in Corinth, every one of us who have read the Epistle and studied it in any measure, may be well acquainted with. But the beloved apostle was greatly troubled. And may I point out, at the commencement of the Epistle, he commended them for the many gifts, for all the gifts they had. They lacked no gift which, God by the Spirit, from the risen head above it given to them. But he was very reluctant to encourage them over their spiritual condition because of their strife and divisions and the manifestation of their carnality. But will you please notice three words in the portion that we have read, which we would like to emphasize. In verse fourteen, if you please note, The opening of the verse speaks about the natural man. Go down to chapter three and you find, as the apostle Paul calls them at the end in verse two and three as well as verse one, he refers to the Corinthians being carnal men. Go back to chapter two, verse fifteen, and the opening of that verse there is one written of who is a spiritual man. Take a note these three characteristics. A natural man, a carnal man, a spiritual man. May I first of all state, the natural man, which we can well speak of quickly, as you have it, in verse fourteen, is a man who by nature has never been born again. He may be upright, morally. He may be lovely in his character, or he may be the opposite. He may be educated, or he may not be educated, as the case may be. But he has never been born again. And the things of God, and particularly the word of God, means nothing to him. The Spirit of God characterizes him as one person, not born again, not having the Spirit of God within him. He knows not the things of God. Now go down the chapter in the third from verse one through three, and you find in verse two particularly, Paul addresses himself to those Christians they call him, saying, And I, brethren, He is calling them what they were by spiritual birth in the Lord Jesus. They were his brethren in Christ. But I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual brethren, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. Now here you have the statement. Very carefully let us realize it. They were Christians. They were members of the assembly in Corinth, members of the body of Christ. How long they had been saved, we have no knowledge, that is as far as written. But they had been saved long enough not to have been babes in Christ. You remember Peter in First Peter chapter two, verse two declares, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. And Peter properly says, when anyone is newborn, they are a babe in Christ, but they must grow, and they can only grow by sincerely drinking in and taking in the milk of the word of God. desire the sincere milk of the word of God that she may grow thereby. But evidently, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said, I can't address you as I could unto a spiritual person. I have to address you as unto babes in Christ you haven't grown. Can I lovingly say an incident that one dear servant of God recited to me many years ago? a dear servant of God from England over in this continent he was one time he told me in Vancouver and he was a very gifted man of God I knew him personally and he told of being in the assemblies in that area when ministering some of the brethren came to him and said brother our believers don't seem to understand what you're teaching how they can understand this to his surprise. Well, he told me bluntly. He said, I said, well, why don't you tell them to grow up? For he recognized they hadn't been growing up. Now, let me point out a fact. Each one of these persons, the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man, are characterized as such according to their knowledge of the Word of God. The natural man, the unsaved man, knows nothing about it. He cannot until he's been born again. The carnal Christian unfortunately hasn't gone on growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Word of God. But let's dwell for a few moments upon the spiritual man, looking in chapter two and verse fifteen, where we read, But he that is spiritual discerneth all things. And please let me emphasize. It doesn't mean he knows all things about the world. Forget that. He knows all the things pertaining to the word of God. The things of God shall be in the chapter. It's the things of God. And yet he himself, people can understand him. And that's the fact. Though he discerns the things of God, he himself is not discerned. For the knowledge he has of the things of God are oftentimes making him misunderstood and not known by many around him, not discerning what it is that he knows. But now let me ask the question. At this point, here are three men characterized. The natural man, the carnal man, the spiritual man ask yourself and let me ask myself the question which one am I natural well thank God I fully believe that we who are here tonight are not in that category having been born again but then there's the other two characteristics belong to Christians they are either carnal which means fleshly We get that word from carnation, as you well know. You probably heard about all carnation milk coming from the cow, you know, and the flesh of the cow. But one can recognize a carnal Christian is one, and you can read the context, who is concerned more about the flesh than the things that are spiritual. And then who have, unfortunately, I think the greatest condemnation is this, They have not grown. Now, how do you grow? Through the Word of God. Please may I emphasize it, I need it for my own exhortation. You need it, my fellow believer, for the whole assembly. We need to grow in the knowledge of the Word of God. And the proof of it is when spiritual characteristics can be seen. And the spiritual education of each believer is manifested. Now may I note very quickly how the spiritual man gets his education of spiritual things from the Word of God. Go back in chapter two with me and begin at verse Verse nine, if I may, begin reading. In verse nine, oh, I might begin at verse six. For the context sake, it would be very emphatic. And let me read through verse nine. Here is Paul writing to the Corinthians. Take the words then. It's trying to advise these carnal Corinthians. saying, how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect or mature, yet not the wisdom of this world. Can I pause for just a moment? The spiritual man doesn't get his knowledge that makes him spiritual from the world, not even from his wisdom. For Paul goes on to say and note it. In verse six, yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the princes of this world. He doesn't get what he knows from even the great of this world that come to naught, but we speak the wisdom of God. Notice, can I say, my dear brother, my dear sister, Here are you and I tonight, privileged to learn something of the wisdom of God. That's a lot better than going to Francis Marion College. Let me be blunt. That's a lot better than going to the University of South Carolina. That is a higher education to seek after. than all the learned institutions in the world. Drink it in. The wisdom of God. But let's read on. As the Apostle goes on to say in verse seven. In a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom. Why this wisdom that God has for his children of this age. was not known before. Wait a minute now. They never had it in the Old Testament. Oh yes, they had wisdom revealed, but not what you got in the New Testament. They never knew Christ. They never knew about his incarnation. They never knew about his impeccable life. They never knew about his atoning death being accomplished and finished once and for all. They never knew that he was resurrected from the dead. They never knew that he was exalted in heaven at the right hand of God as a man. That was hidden in the Old Testament. But no, what Paul says at the end of verse seven, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Now I don't want to be selfish and I'm not, but I want to take him when I believe God is saying, John, you've got more than the Old Testament saying, Anne. I've revealed through my dearly beloved Son what they never knew before, a mystery of what the hidden wisdom of God is. Christ, in the manifestation of his person and work, and even of his glory in heaven my beloved please let me say all well you remember in chapter one he speaks of Christ being made unto us wisdom and the joy of seeing please let me say again I don't know whether you've ever done it sometimes I thank God that I was saved in the church age and not in the Old Testament or neither in the Great Tribulation or any time But further on, in that church age. My beloved, you may not believe it, but please may I state the truth of it is in the word. We're in a better place of blessing than all saints of any other ages. Now go on in verse nine, eight, and know what Paul goes on to say, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, They would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. My beloved, they never knew what they were doing when the princes of the world crucified the Lord of Glory. They were thus rejecting the great wisdom of God. But now let's look in verse nine. And I want you to notice the scope of this wisdom. the scope of it, the extent of it, the vastness of it. And it's a quotation from Isaiah, but as it is written, I have not seen, here is not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Now may I point out something? I hope you see it. The ear of man, the eyes of man, the heart of man, could never conceive what God's revealed. Thy nature? Man cannot show it to you. You take the greatest intellectual man upon the earth, the wisest of the world, in the world's wisdom, he cannot recognize with his eye, with his ear, and even think in his heart. what God has for those that belong to him. The scope of the knowledge, can I say again? Please, may I say that. The knowledge that God's dear people can attain to is far greater than all that you could get in the world. And it doesn't come from the world, it comes from heaven. The scope of it is beyond telling. It's beyond human conception. But let me go further. I remember years ago I was listening to dear old brother Oliver Green on the radio preaching from that one verse. And he kept telling me, we could never imagine what heaven's going to be like. And he kept on enlarging upon what heaven might be like and what heaven must be and so on. And I felt like that. I wish I could shout through the radio. Please, brother Green, read the next verse. He never did. He was certainly enlarging on the thought of heaven, but he didn't use the next verse. No. But God has revealed them unto us. How? By his spirit. Oh, please notice. God has revealed them unto us by his spirit. My beloved, please let me say, never will I forget. With thankfulness, the dear brother I mentioned, that English brother I mentioned some moments ago, when asking him as a young man as to what my attention should be toward being the Lord's servant, as to my schooling, as to my instructions, he put his hand upon my knee and said, Boy, you'll never have a better teacher than the Holy Spirit. Can I repeat that? You'll never have a better teacher than the Holy Spirit. My dear brother and sister, please let me encourage you. You've got that same teacher. The Holy Spirit. I don't speak disparagingly on whatever you may speak of regarding schools, Bible institutes, seminaries and so on. Sometimes they tend to be seminaries. Regardless of all that, there's only one divine teacher in this world who knows everything containing about the things of God, the Holy Spirit. Let's read on, please, and know what we read. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. Why His Spirit? For the Spirit searches all things. Yes, even the deep things of God. You know, John fourteen, fifteen, sixteen? The Lord Jesus told his disciples before he went to the cross, he would send the Holy Spirit, who would teach you all things. My beloved, may I say lovingly, kindly, earnestly, you've got the same teacher I have. The Holy Spirit, let's read on further, please. For, and he illustrates it in verse eleven, by the human spirit. For by what man knoweth the things of a man? Save the spirit of the man that is in him. It's the spirit of the human nature that knows what a man is and what the woman is. It's human nature, the spirit that is in him. Even so the things of... Will you note the next words? Even so the things of God knoweth how many? No man. But the Spirit of God. My beloved, may I put it in this formation? For you and for me to know the things of God is only one person that can show us. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of God. He knows all things. You recall in our study of the priesthood. We may mention of First John chapter two, verse twenty-seven, I believe, that John writes to the little children in the family of God, to young infants. You have an anointing from the Holy One. You need not that any man teach you. In that connection, you have the Holy Spirit, your teacher. How wonderful. Look in the next verse very carefully. Now we have received... Not the spirit of the world. Can I pause again? I feel I should. To reflect on the fact. I can't learn the things of God by trying to get my schooling from the world. I may study engineering. I may study whatever may be the subject that is allocated in my education secularly. That's not going to... teach me the things of God I may be a brilliant mathematician and I might be a dumb one frankly I know I am that field but look the things of God it's not the world that teaches me the things of God it's the spirit of God for now note the words let me read it right through We have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. Now, my beloved, please may I say, every one of us who know the Lord is our Savior have the indwelling Holy Spirit with the capability of being taught by him. Now read the rest of the verse. That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God how much does it cost to go to college these days I remember when my daughter went to Winthrop back in nineteen forty something like that nineteen forty it was only six hundred dollars a year and you know it's a lot more than that now but please look here is an education that is divine and it's not only divine it is eternal Your worldly education, when you leave this world, it's gone forever. It's going to do you a bit of good in eternity. You can't take all your knowledge of this world and all that is in it into eternity with you, leave it behind. And there's no question of doubt whether it's in heaven or hell. And hell particularly, they're not going to enjoy their worldly education in hell. It's too late to get any joy out of it. They're going to be in gloom because they neglected what was the most important, coming to Christ. But for the believer, here's an education. How much does it cost you? Nothing. Freely. The University of the Bible. Sixty-six classrooms. Oh, I recall the words. Let me quote them. read them many years ago, I would say, fifty or sixty years ago, written by William Lyon Phelps. He was the professor emeritus of the English language at Yale University for many years, and a teacher there. I never will forget the admirable remarks that he made when I read him saying, I believe that every young person, he said, Should have a university education. But he says, I prefer that every young person would rather have a Bible education without a university education than to have a university education without a Bible education. I said, praise the Lord for the remarks of such a man. Of great learning in this country. He knew the values. Beyond a secular education. Of a Bible education. My beloved, do you, do I? And here we have the statement. We might know the things which are freely given to us of God. And what a joy. That's the purpose. For the spirit of God being our teacher. And what joy to realize. You've got the best teacher in heaven and earth. when you have the Holy Spirit. A dear young lady, who was a teacher in some secular school, every summer she went to university someplace, some other university, to further her education in the field of study and teaching that was hers. She mingled with many professors, old, young, other teachers, in those summer sessions. One winter, while at home, She came to the Lord Jesus and found him as her Savior, born again. And the next summer she went back to the university to get further education in her field of teaching. And she began to talk to all of her friends and former associates there about the Lord. To their amazement, one old professor got her on one side and said, Listen, young lady. Where have you been since we saw you last summer? Who's been your teacher? We are you talking about things we never heard before. Who's been your teacher? Oh, she looks at Henry's deadline. Oh, she says, sir, I got a teacher with a capital T, meaning the Holy Spirit. I've been saved. My beloved, please let me say, you can go to the top of the university and find a man that's not even born again. He can't tell you. He might not even be able to find a verse in the Bible. And if you know a verse in the Bible, you know more than he does, in the sight of God. Oh, the joy of knowing the purpose of the Holy Spirit that we might know. Now, let me quote the words of Matthew Henry, which one gave to me many years ago. Matthew Henry wrote, at the judgment seat of Christ, we shall be called to give an account of what we knew about God and what we did with it. But he said, also we shall give an account of what we might have known but did not. My beloved, let me put it this way. I may not be right, but I wouldn't be surprised that when we get to glory, some of us will have to keep our spiritual education still going on. There is having to catch up with it, maybe. But here's the thought. How much do you know about God? How much do you know about all the things of God now? Your education began the night you were saved, the moment you were saved. May I say this? I hope you recognize what I mean. Every time a person is born again, they're spiritual. They may get calm, but they start out spiritual. And that's unfortunate. Sometimes it does happen. They can get calm and neglect the spiritual education and the things of God. But the purpose is the spirit of God that we might know the things which to us which as you have that are freely given to us. of God. My beloved, let me say it frankly, lovingly, you'll get more education than the last you for returning out of this book than all the books in the rest of the world. Now let's go on quickly. Verse thirteen we find the Spirit's method. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches. Again the emphasis not even the best of men in the world can teach us, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing properly the word might better be rendered, communicating or interpreting spiritual things with spiritual or by spiritual words. My beloved, may I say lovingly, and I say this to my conscience, and I realize it, as I stand before you tonight, seeking to bring this word of God to your heart, I have to give spiritual words and communicate to you the spiritual meaning with spiritual words in interpreting the precious truth. Let me give you an illustration. Read sometimes Genesis forty and forty-one. Remember Joseph, he interpreted dreams. I'm not going to do that. You remember Daniel, Daniel two. Daniel four. Daniel five. You have Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar. Interpreting. Interpreting. Nebuchadnezzar had a vision. He couldn't remember it. He couldn't get anybody to interpret it. Till Daniel came along to it. God can do it. Joseph can do it. Joseph interpreted. Daniel interpreted. He did the same thing with Nebuchadnezzar in the other dream in chapter four. And then also... to Velshaver, he reminded him of what God had interpreted through him. My beloved, here's the whole thought. Joseph, Daniel, and even the Lord Jesus. Read Luke twenty-four. When he walked to Emmaus with the two disciples, he began at Moses. He went through all the scriptures, beginning at Moses and the prophets and through the Psalms, and he showed them how Christ must suffer and be crucified and rise again. He took the words, he took the words of God and showed them to them. Spiritual words. And what a joy is he expounded to them. He was communicating the voice of God, the words of God, heavenly wisdom. You know, I don't say it facetiously nor even boasting about, and I'm glad God gave me the privilege of preaching. There's no question of doubt it's the most sacred occupation to take the things that God has shown them and reveal them to God's people or to the unsaved in the gospel. Oh, beloved, what a joy. Now note again in closing, as we look at verse fourteen and fifteen. Here you find the natural man received, if not the things of the Spirit of God. And you go to chapter one, you'll find him. He says, their foolishness. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish. Foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them. It's impossible for him to understand them. They are spiritually discerned by the Spirit of God. But he that is spiritual discerner. all things, though he himself is discerned of no man. Beloved, please let me say, let me give you this thought. Look, the greatest teacher that ever was upon the earth, nobody understood him much. The Lord Jesus Christ. Now I don't expect the world to run after me either, and I hope they won't But thank God, I rather discern the things of God. Now note the conclusion at the end of the chapter. Who has known the mind of the Lord? That he may instruct him, a quotation from Isaiah. Isaiah back there was trying to say, It's impossible to know the mind of God, what he has in the future. But, says Paul, we have the mind of Christ. I like J.N. Dobby's translation where he says, We have the intelligent faculty of Christ. My brother, my sister, and John Bramall yourself, remember this, by the Holy Spirit you've got intelligence to learn and to know the things of God. You may not even have gone through high school, or you may not have gone through college. Somebody once asked me, Brother Bramall, what school are you in? I said, please, I'm still in school. The school of God. Now, isn't it nice to be here at school tonight? Shall we pray? Oh, Father, what a school we're in. The school of God. Not only learning the things of God, but even proving them in our lives. We've been praying tonight about some of our problems. Why? Because we learn in thy word. We're told to come to thee in prayer. Let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Father, we're so glad we're in your school. And Lord, once in a while you have to give us a whipping too. We know that. For whom the Lord loves, he chastened us. And Lord, we just ask thee, Keep it close to thyself. And Lord, help us to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Lord, we pray for every believer in this assembly that we shall each one of us be spiritual. To thine honor and glory. And for our Savior's blessed namesake, we ask it, giving thee thanks. Amen. Oh, thank God for his school.