Feeding the Sheep - Spiritual Things
Paul Preaches the Gospel
"Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers."
Galatians 1:10-14
[This is the 7th message of this series]
This lesson is intended for mature believers (or adulting believers). It is recommended that for a more orderly study, if you haven't gone through all the previous messages yet, please do so first.
Gospel
The Apostle Paul wrote several of the epistles or those letters of instructions we have discussed in a previous message. These letters make up a big portion of the Christian bible (New Testament bible) and is the basis of the Christian doctrine (teachings).
There were of course a handful of other early church leaders who wrote letters of instructions and encouragement (among them Peter, John, James and Jude). But Paul is uniquely blessed by God in his writing that even Peter himself wrote that he (Paul) was hard to understand (at times) and that when they did not see eye to eye on things, Paul was able to sway Peter to see it his way (and we know how hard-headed Peter was in his early days).
Stranger Things
Now before Paul had an encounter with the Spirit of God, he was a devout Jew and a religious zealot who was the number one enemy, the main persecutor, of Christians. He memorized their Jewish Scriptures and can teach their religious laws and obligations backwards and forward. He is a strict follower (a slave) of their religion and tradition, and their many human made rules and regulations which Christ came to free us from.
After Paul was converted (reborn), he was taught by the Spirit of Christ as opposed to the first believers who Christ taught in the flesh.
Paul became a believer after Christ have risen from the grave (Paul became a believer like every other believer of the last 1,900 years, unlike the other writers of the books of the New Testament bible, who were with Jesus before His death and resurrection).
Paul's revelations and teachings are spiritual in nature and are spiritually discerned. And we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit when we study these teachings.
['Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.'
-- written by the Apostle Peter
2 Peter 3:15-16]
The Good News translation puts it this way:
"Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis."
The Good News translation puts it this way:
"Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis."
1 Corinthians 2:14
Went Over Their Heads
Remember what Christ Himself told Nicodemus (another Jewish leader and teacher) when he visited Him secretly.
“You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
Went Over Their Heads
Remember what Christ Himself told Nicodemus (another Jewish leader and teacher) when he visited Him secretly.
“You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?"
John 3:10-12
For sure for anyone whose thinking and experiences are earth bound or physical, then the spirit realm and spiritual experiences would be like talking to them in a language they have not learned and understand.
Apostle Paul's Story
"But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas (Peter), and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me."
Gslatians 1:15-24
For sure for anyone whose thinking and experiences are earth bound or physical, then the spirit realm and spiritual experiences would be like talking to them in a language they have not learned and understand.
Apostle Paul's Story
"But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas (Peter), and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me."
Gslatians 1:15-24
Note: Peter and the other early believers were with Jesus in the flesh for about three years as they learn from him. Paul was learning from the Spirit of Jesus for three years as he was taught what he needed to learn. Adulting believers need to spend at least the same amount of time with their own studies.
Church of the Lost Sheep 2012
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