- VOD Pgm Evt Morning Worship
- William Malenfant: Comparing the Spiritual and Physical Person (1 Cor. 2:12-15)
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00:00:01 Our theme is a very interesting one 00:00:03 about the spiritual man, 00:00:05 how he examines all things. 00:00:08 It’s the spirit of God that makes a Christian 00:00:10 into a person who stands out 00:00:13 as different from those 00:00:16 who are part of this world. 00:00:18 So with that in mind, 00:00:20 read with me 1 Corinthians 2:12. 00:00:26 Here, the scripture states: 00:00:28 “Now we received, not the spirit of the world, 00:00:32 “but the spirit that is from God, 00:00:35 “so that we might know the things 00:00:37 that have been kindly given us by God.” 00:00:42 The spirit that we receive from Jehovah God is his active force. 00:00:47 And we really must have it if we’re going to understand spiritual things 00:00:51 —if we’re going to appreciate the things 00:00:53 that Jehovah God has kindly given us, 00:00:56 as the text states. 00:00:58 Has Jehovah’s spirit opened the door 00:01:01 to kindly give you and give me wonderful things? 00:01:07 The Kingdom, the ransom, 00:01:10 the hope of everlasting life, 00:01:12 a new world, the resurrection 00:01:16 —these are things that the spirit has revealed to Jehovah’s people. 00:01:21 Something else that we’ve received is the worldwide brotherhood 00:01:25 or, really, that we’re a part of. 00:01:28 And when you examine the worldwide brotherhood, 00:01:30 it becomes very evident 00:01:33 that it could never exist 00:01:36 apart from Jehovah God’s spirit. 00:01:39 In no way could man bring about such a brotherhood. 00:01:44 Now let’s read verse 13—1 Corinthians 2:13; 00:01:49 it says: “These things [that is, the things he has given us] 00:01:53 “we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, 00:01:58 “but with those taught by the spirit, 00:02:01 “as we explain spiritual matters 00:02:04 with spiritual words.” 00:02:07 We focus on spiritual things. 00:02:10 The sum total of human experience and wisdom 00:02:14 —its writings, philosophies, and teachings— are as Jesus said, 00:02:19 “of no use at all” 00:02:22 to gain everlasting life; 00:02:24 that’s John 6:63. 00:02:27 Spiritual matters and spiritual words 00:02:31 are found right here in God’s Word, the Bible. 00:02:35 And our vocabulary is different 00:02:37 from the world’s way of speaking, 00:02:40 which is becoming more and more vulgar and disgusting. 00:02:45 Our speech centers on spiritual matters 00:02:49 —Jehovah’s will— 00:02:51 and so we explain the spiritual matters that we understand from the Scriptures 00:02:55 with spiritual words. 00:02:58 And in the end, we give glory to Jehovah by doing so. 00:03:03 And now let’s read verse 14. 00:03:06 There it says: “But a physical man 00:03:08 “does not accept the things of the spirit of God, 00:03:11 “for they are foolishness to him; 00:03:13 “and he cannot get to know them, 00:03:15 because they are examined spiritually.” 00:03:19 When it speaks of a physical man, 00:03:21 it’s not speaking about a person with a fleshly body 00:03:25 because, after all, all Christians living today on this earth 00:03:29 have fleshly bodies, 00:03:31 but it refers to a person who has no spiritual side to his life. 00:03:37 And there are many who fall into this category. 00:03:41 Some of them are humanists, 00:03:43 who seem to be people who really want to do what is good. 00:03:47 They want to help people. 00:03:49 Their main pursuit is the welfare of people. 00:03:53 But does that make them spiritual? 00:03:56 No. 00:03:58 The spiritual man knows that to ‘love his neighbor as himself’ 00:04:03 is the second commandment. 00:04:05 That’s the only thing they follow. 00:04:07 But the main thing, the first commandment, the most important one, 00:04:12 is to ‘love Jehovah God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.’ 00:04:16 And this is something that the humanist does not follow. 00:04:21 What about atheists, agnostics, and evolutionists? 00:04:26 As we studied recently, many people embrace evolution, 00:04:29 not because they have really studied things 00:04:32 and they’re convinced by certain things they consider to be facts, 00:04:35 no, but they’ve been told by someone that it’s true. 00:04:37 And so they accept what they’ve been told. 00:04:41 And on the other hand, there are dyed-in-the-wool atheists and evolutionists 00:04:45 who embrace theories 00:04:47 that if those theories they embrace were applied 00:04:50 to any other discipline or aspect of life, 00:04:54 they would not be considered 00:04:57 anything but fantasy and wild imagination. 00:05:01 And that’s the truth. 00:05:05 Some physical men ridicule believers in God 00:05:08 and say: “Well, your belief in God is just a crutch. 00:05:11 I don’t need a crutch.” 00:05:14 Well, you do need a crutch. 00:05:15 That’s the truth of the matter. 00:05:17 You’re mortal. 00:05:18 All of us are mortal. 00:05:20 And we need help in the sense 00:05:22 that we need divine intervention, help from Jehovah God. 00:05:26 And he provides it through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 00:05:30 So we understand why the physical man acts the way he does. 00:05:34 He shuts his eyes to the overwhelming facts of creation 00:05:38 —the obvious intelligent design of DNA; 00:05:42 the fine-tuning of the forces, 00:05:45 the four forces evident in the universe; 00:05:49 earth’s marvelous cycles that maintain it; 00:05:53 the precise placement of the earth in the solar system; 00:05:58 the wonderful symbiotic relationships 00:06:01 in the plant and animal world; 00:06:03 and so much more that make it very obvious. 00:06:07 The wonderful, the marvelous, intelligence 00:06:10 that Jehovah God exhibits in creation. 00:06:14 But as 1 Corinthians 2:14 says (and we’ve read it): 00:06:19 “A physical man 00:06:21 does not accept the things of the spirit of God.” 00:06:24 And what’s interesting is he looks at just the physical things, 00:06:27 and yet it’s the spirit of God that created the wonderful physical things, 00:06:31 but he’s blind because he can’t see beyond them. 00:06:35 It’s like a man who admires a beautiful painting, 00:06:37 a marvelous work of art, and he purchases it for his home. 00:06:41 And he praises the artist. 00:06:44 And then he wants to see the scene, or the site, where the artist did his work. 00:06:48 So he goes to the mountains where the lakes are, 00:06:50 the mountains are, the trees, the wildlife. 00:06:53 And he observes these things, and he is awestruck with their beauty. 00:06:57 And he praises the artist. 00:07:00 He doesn’t say anything about the one who did the original. 00:07:04 He’s blind. 00:07:05 And that’s how it is with a physical man. 00:07:09 First Corinthians 2:15, that verse says: 00:07:13 “However, the spiritual man examines all things, 00:07:18 but he himself is not examined by any man.” 00:07:22 The spiritual man is not one who all day long 00:07:26 wears a sanctimonious, or religious, expression on his face. 00:07:31 He’s not like a self-righteous Pharisee. 00:07:34 The spiritual man is capable of admitting when he makes a mistake. 00:07:39 His first thought is not to save face, 00:07:43 but his first thought is really to be honest and open. 00:07:46 He knows his Creator can see everything and knows everything. 00:07:50 We are honest with ourselves and with others, 00:07:52 and we deal with situations with modesty. 00:07:56 And what is more, the spiritual man is able to see the wrong position 00:08:00 of the physical man, the course of the physical man. 00:08:04 We understand the mental attitude of the physical man. 00:08:07 We know what makes him tick. 00:08:11 However, the physical man does not understand the spiritual man. 00:08:15 And just for a brief explanation, 00:08:17 1 John 2:15-17 00:08:20 (which I won’t read at this time) 00:08:22 gives a very brief description 00:08:25 of the mental attitude and outlook of the physical man. 00:08:31 A fact that cannot be ignored, also, is that Christendom’s churches 00:08:35 as well as all religions that are part of Babylon the Great 00:08:38 —with their unscriptural teachings, 00:08:41 unclean practices, and meddling in politics— 00:08:45 have played a major role 00:08:47 in driving people away from belief in the true God. 00:08:52 They have a great responsibility before Jehovah God 00:08:56 because of the foolish, ridiculous things they teach 00:09:00 and their activities that dishonor Jehovah. 00:09:03 They have driven people to atheism and agnosticism. 00:09:08 So how good it is 00:09:11 to know the true God, Jehovah —to have been drawn to him! 00:09:15 And if you know the truth, you have been drawn to Jehovah God 00:09:19 by his holy spirit, 00:09:21 his invisible power that is so evident in all of creation 00:09:26 and particularly in his Word, the Bible. 00:09:29 Spiritual men and women 00:09:32 can see the unseen. 00:09:35 We know who created the heavens and the earth 00:09:38 and all that is in them 00:09:41 —our wonderful God, Jehovah.
00:00:01 Our theme is a very interesting one 00:00:03 about the spiritual man, 00:00:05 how he examines all things. 00:00:08 It’s the spirit of God that makes a Christian 00:00:10 into a person who stands out 00:00:13 as different from those 00:00:16 who are part of this world. 00:00:18 So with that in mind, 00:00:20 read with me 1 Corinthians 2:12. 00:00:26 Here, the scripture states: 00:00:28 “Now we received, not the spirit of the world, 00:00:32 “but the spirit that is from God, 00:00:35 “so that we might know the things 00:00:37 that have been kindly given us by God.” 00:00:42 The spirit that we receive from Jehovah God is his active force. 00:00:47 And we really must have it if we’re going to understand spiritual things 00:00:51 —if we’re going to appreciate the things 00:00:53 that Jehovah God has kindly given us, 00:00:56 as the text states. 00:00:58 Has Jehovah’s spirit opened the door 00:01:01 to kindly give you and give me wonderful things? 00:01:07 The Kingdom, the ransom, 00:01:10 the hope of everlasting life, 00:01:12 a new world, the resurrection 00:01:16 —these are things that the spirit has revealed to Jehovah’s people. 00:01:21 Something else that we’ve received is the worldwide brotherhood 00:01:25 or, really, that we’re a part of. 00:01:28 And when you examine the worldwide brotherhood, 00:01:30 it becomes very evident 00:01:33 that it could never exist 00:01:36 apart from Jehovah God’s spirit. 00:01:39 In no way could man bring about such a brotherhood. 00:01:44 Now let’s read verse 13—1 Corinthians 2:13; 00:01:49 it says: “These things [that is, the things he has given us] 00:01:53 “we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, 00:01:58 “but with those taught by the spirit, 00:02:01 “as we explain spiritual matters 00:02:04 with spiritual words.” 00:02:07 We focus on spiritual things. 00:02:10 The sum total of human experience and wisdom 00:02:14 —its writings, philosophies, and teachings— are as Jesus said, 00:02:19 “of no use at all” 00:02:22 to gain everlasting life; 00:02:24 that’s John 6:63. 00:02:27 Spiritual matters and spiritual words 00:02:31 are found right here in God’s Word, the Bible. 00:02:35 And our vocabulary is different 00:02:37 from the world’s way of speaking, 00:02:40 which is becoming more and more vulgar and disgusting. 00:02:45 Our speech centers on spiritual matters 00:02:49 —Jehovah’s will— 00:02:51 and so we explain the spiritual matters that we understand from the Scriptures 00:02:55 with spiritual words. 00:02:58 And in the end, we give glory to Jehovah by doing so. 00:03:03 And now let’s read verse 14. 00:03:06 There it says: “But a physical man 00:03:08 “does not accept the things of the spirit of God, 00:03:11 “for they are foolishness to him; 00:03:13 “and he cannot get to know them, 00:03:15 because they are examined spiritually.” 00:03:19 When it speaks of a physical man, 00:03:21 it’s not speaking about a person with a fleshly body 00:03:25 because, after all, all Christians living today on this earth 00:03:29 have fleshly bodies, 00:03:31 but it refers to a person who has no spiritual side to his life. 00:03:37 And there are many who fall into this category. 00:03:41 Some of them are humanists, 00:03:43 who seem to be people who really want to do what is good. 00:03:47 They want to help people. 00:03:49 Their main pursuit is the welfare of people. 00:03:53 But does that make them spiritual? 00:03:56 No. 00:03:58 The spiritual man knows that to ‘love his neighbor as himself’ 00:04:03 is the second commandment. 00:04:05 That’s the only thing they follow. 00:04:07 But the main thing, the first commandment, the most important one, 00:04:12 is to ‘love Jehovah God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.’ 00:04:16 And this is something that the humanist does not follow. 00:04:21 What about atheists, agnostics, and evolutionists? 00:04:26 As we studied recently, many people embrace evolution, 00:04:29 not because they have really studied things 00:04:32 and they’re convinced by certain things they consider to be facts, 00:04:35 no, but they’ve been told by someone that it’s true. 00:04:37 And so they accept what they’ve been told. 00:04:41 And on the other hand, there are dyed-in-the-wool atheists and evolutionists 00:04:45 who embrace theories 00:04:47 that if those theories they embrace were applied 00:04:50 to any other discipline or aspect of life, 00:04:54 they would not be considered 00:04:57 anything but fantasy and wild imagination. 00:05:01 And that’s the truth. 00:05:05 Some physical men ridicule believers in God 00:05:08 and say: “Well, your belief in God is just a crutch. 00:05:11 I don’t need a crutch.” 00:05:14 Well, you do need a crutch. 00:05:15 That’s the truth of the matter. 00:05:17 You’re mortal. 00:05:18 All of us are mortal. 00:05:20 And we need help in the sense 00:05:22 that we need divine intervention, help from Jehovah God. 00:05:26 And he provides it through the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 00:05:30 So we understand why the physical man acts the way he does. 00:05:34 He shuts his eyes to the overwhelming facts of creation 00:05:38 —the obvious intelligent design of DNA; 00:05:42 the fine-tuning of the forces, 00:05:45 the four forces evident in the universe; 00:05:49 earth’s marvelous cycles that maintain it; 00:05:53 the precise placement of the earth in the solar system; 00:05:58 the wonderful symbiotic relationships 00:06:01 in the plant and animal world; 00:06:03 and so much more that make it very obvious. 00:06:07 The wonderful, the marvelous, intelligence 00:06:10 that Jehovah God exhibits in creation. 00:06:14 But as 1 Corinthians 2:14 says (and we’ve read it): 00:06:19 “A physical man 00:06:21 does not accept the things of the spirit of God.” 00:06:24 And what’s interesting is he looks at just the physical things, 00:06:27 and yet it’s the spirit of God that created the wonderful physical things, 00:06:31 but he’s blind because he can’t see beyond them. 00:06:35 It’s like a man who admires a beautiful painting, 00:06:37 a marvelous work of art, and he purchases it for his home. 00:06:41 And he praises the artist. 00:06:44 And then he wants to see the scene, or the site, where the artist did his work. 00:06:48 So he goes to the mountains where the lakes are, 00:06:50 the mountains are, the trees, the wildlife. 00:06:53 And he observes these things, and he is awestruck with their beauty. 00:06:57 And he praises the artist. 00:07:00 He doesn’t say anything about the one who did the original. 00:07:04 He’s blind. 00:07:05 And that’s how it is with a physical man. 00:07:09 First Corinthians 2:15, that verse says: 00:07:13 “However, the spiritual man examines all things, 00:07:18 but he himself is not examined by any man.” 00:07:22 The spiritual man is not one who all day long 00:07:26 wears a sanctimonious, or religious, expression on his face. 00:07:31 He’s not like a self-righteous Pharisee. 00:07:34 The spiritual man is capable of admitting when he makes a mistake. 00:07:39 His first thought is not to save face, 00:07:43 but his first thought is really to be honest and open. 00:07:46 He knows his Creator can see everything and knows everything. 00:07:50 We are honest with ourselves and with others, 00:07:52 and we deal with situations with modesty. 00:07:56 And what is more, the spiritual man is able to see the wrong position 00:08:00 of the physical man, the course of the physical man. 00:08:04 We understand the mental attitude of the physical man. 00:08:07 We know what makes him tick. 00:08:11 However, the physical man does not understand the spiritual man. 00:08:15 And just for a brief explanation, 00:08:17 1 John 2:15-17 00:08:20 (which I won’t read at this time) 00:08:22 gives a very brief description 00:08:25 of the mental attitude and outlook of the physical man. 00:08:31 A fact that cannot be ignored, also, is that Christendom’s churches 00:08:35 as well as all religions that are part of Babylon the Great 00:08:38 —with their unscriptural teachings, 00:08:41 unclean practices, and meddling in politics— 00:08:45 have played a major role 00:08:47 in driving people away from belief in the true God. 00:08:52 They have a great responsibility before Jehovah God 00:08:56 because of the foolish, ridiculous things they teach 00:09:00 and their activities that dishonor Jehovah. 00:09:03 They have driven people to atheism and agnosticism. 00:09:08 So how good it is 00:09:11 to know the true God, Jehovah —to have been drawn to him! 00:09:15 And if you know the truth, you have been drawn to Jehovah God 00:09:19 by his holy spirit, 00:09:21 his invisible power that is so evident in all of creation 00:09:26 and particularly in his Word, the Bible. 00:09:29 Spiritual men and women 00:09:32 can see the unseen. 00:09:35 We know who created the heavens and the earth 00:09:38 and all that is in them 00:09:41 —our wonderful God, Jehovah.
