1 Corinthians 2:1-7
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. (1 Corinthians 2:1)
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2)
I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. (1 Corinthians 2:3)
And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:4)
I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5)
Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. (1 Corinthians 2:6)
No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. (1 Corinthians 2:7)
(PRAY)
What The Bible Is All About
12 Weeks – 1/2 year
I need you
Have to help me figure out where this goes – Uncover a story together
My hope: join me on a journey that I’ve been on for around a year now.
Asking myself what I truthfully, honestly feel about the bible.
Grandpa Eiffert
Passed away Jan 15, 2012 – age 90
Marks in his bible: 266 – 296 – 809 – 1124 – 498 – 615 – 642 – Psalm 23 1979 Vision – 1311 – question mark – 1118 written
- War / MLK Jr. – (1922-2012)
My relationship with the bible
(My bibles)
684 / 825
Brutally honest: I’ve always struggled with what I’ve often considered to be a schizophrenic book
My life / reality: Loving, kind, compassionate
Divorced from bible.
I have safe havens in the bible but as a whole, but never confident in the whole thing.
For some – the difficulties of the bible, – Don’t think about it
How I ‘bleep’ music w/Jordan to keep her from hearing the ugly parts. We can do the same thing with the bible, but we shouldn’t.
Our ‘don’t think about it’ thing doesn’t work for a lot of people.
Some people would read bible and conclude that believers must mainly be people with lower IQ’s.
“Jonah – 3 days/nights”
I see people (esp young people) leaving the faith, or won’t come to the faith b/c lost their confidence in the bible. Maybe a class – doesn’t match science, or modern day archeology, or something like that.
My goal: discover together heart of the bible. when we do that help ourselves and other people with the head.
Humility
Open hand – “I could be wrong”
(Prayed about this series)
I believe God is honored by our honest seeking.
Permission to search
Say things I’ve never said – Think things you’ve never thought
“I don’t know, but I’m searching” – Disciple = learner
A few foundational points out of the way
Bible isn’t a book, it’s a lot of books. And Didn’t drop out of sky – it was written by people.
Many of the stories in the Bible began as oral traditions, handed down from generation to generation until someone collected them, edited them, and actually wrote them down, sometimes hundreds of years later.
Years and years – campfires – walking, – talk / discuss / debate / wrestle
Lots to choose from
Just like today, lots of stuff, you’d choose what you think is important.
If Alex wrote book
These authors – lots of material to choose from, choose what was in and what was out.
Choose what’s in and what’s out
“As for the other events of Solomon’s reign-all he did and the wisdom he displayed-are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?” (1 Kings 11:41)
Well, yes, I guess they are…it’s just that we have no idea what the author is referring to. Interesting the assumption on the author’s part that not only do we know this, but that we have access to these annals. Which we don’t.
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of disciples, which are not recorded in this book” (John 20:30) and book ends w/ line: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Oh yeah, I left of ton of stuff out. (John 20:30)
Not just writing, choosing. – agendas
“Agendas, views, perspectives, and particular points they wanted to make. (1) When you read the minor prophets, you’re reading the birth of what we call social justice. (2) Luke is writing his account of Jesus’s life because there are parts of Jesus’s life that he feels are still untold. (3) The Torah was assembled in exile, where the liberation story of God’s people in Exodus would have had particular immediate resonance. (4) The apostle Paul saw Timothy like a son and wants to impart to him particular wisdom about what it meant to follow Jesus in Asia Minor in the first century.”
Real people living in real places at real times.
It was assembled by people
End of 1st century through the next several hundred years, various councils and church leaders decided that certain books were what they called canonical (belonging in the Bible) and others weren’t.
They developed criteria and ways of evaluating which books had certain characteristics and which didn’t. There was lots of discussion and debate about this. (As late as the 1500’s a church leader named Martin Luther was saying disparaging things about certain books of the New Testament, suggesting they be left out.)
Martin Luther’s Canon
Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation removed
- Real people,
- writing in real places,
- at real times,
- with agendas,
- choosing to include some material,
- choosing to leave out other material,
- all because they had stories to tell.
“What about inspired, revelation, God breathed?” – I’m a believer – get to them later.
The 1st thing these books were, were books written by people.
Why does that matter? I prefer to think of the bible as something the Holy Spirit wrote to me. – You gonna miss a lot
Back to Work Podcast – Jordan listening
A lot of the books have LOTS of details about who, when, where.
Where people say “there’s no dumb questions.” That’s stupid. What if I was constantly asking Jordan “why do you hate me?!”
Why is God saying this? – Worse: why is God saying this to me?
Leaves you tied up in knots
Just like God says to his people in Deuteronomy – “show them no mercy.”
Better questions
- Why did people find it important to tell this story?
- What was it that moved them to record these words?
- What was happening in the world at that time?
- What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God is at that time?
- What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did these people think it was the story worth telling?
Guiding light – It’s a story about Jesus
Story about the cross
Everything about:
- God
- Bible
- Who we’re supposed to be
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV)
For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2 AMP)
Revelation of God in Jesus trumps all others
Center of our faith – christ
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! (John 5:39)
Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. (John 5:40)
Closing Statement:
If you come to the bible for what it IS and not for what’s NOT, and frame everything with the picture of Jesus dying on the cross – what you’ll find is a beautiful, truthful, inspired collection of books that will show you who God really is and who you supposed to be.
