Light Steps: The Natural Man Does Not Receive the Things of God

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Natural Man Does Not Receive the Things of God

Some thoughts on natural man versus spiritual man...

The apostle Paul said, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)

Three quick things about a natural man from this verse, and one big result:

(1) A natural man only operates in human knowledge and insight, and that's extremely limited, even across the entire scope of humanity combined. The natural man "does not accept..." The natural person will not open their mind or heart or spirit up to God's comfort, help, or power.

(2) The natural man does not understand the Word of God, because (a) "they are folly" to a natural man, and (b) "they are spiritually discerned" having refused the help of God. Without the Word of God, they are again only operating in human knowledge and considerations.

(3) The natural man is "not able," meaning, they are ill-equipped for understanding a created world and order. It could be said they have limited tools with which to work. They don't accept things of the Spirit, so they are limited in what they have to work with.

The result of these things is simple: EVEN IF a natural person recognizes the historical activity of the person of Jesus of Nazareth, and EVEN IF they say He is a good example or a good teacher or a significant personality, BECAUSE they are natural, they miss the whole point of who Jesus is and what He came to do.

Conversely, the spiritual man is led of the Spirit: "The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:15-16 ESV)

Though much could be said here, let this be my sole point; the "spiritual person judges all things" because the spiritual person has opened themselves up to be possessed of and submitted to the divine power and insight of the Holy Spirit. By His power, then, the spiritual person can expect the help of God in discerning and discovering, deciding and determining what God is saying and doing in situations and circumstances.

To sum it up, the natural man has refused the help of God and the spiritual man welcomes the help of God.

The natural person will not submit to God.

The spiritual person is happily submitted to God.

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This Says it for Me!

Every Christian is a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. He goes against the grain from beginning to end. From the day that he is born again until the day that he goes on to be with the Lord, he must stand against the current of a world always going the other way. God expects him to be "beside himself," "a fool for Christ's sake," "drunk on new wine." If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, and reduce him to the dreary level of the general average. If the devil cannot keep us from being saved, he next endeavors to make average Christians of us, and in this he usually succeeds. He tames the holy recklessness of God's dare-saints until they sink into the drab pattern of most of us, "faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly dull." The devil does not mind our joining church if we behave like most of those who are already inside. But when a real, wide-awake Christian breezes along, taking the Gospel seriously, the devil grows alarmed and begins plotting his downfall. He gets plenty of assistance right in the church, for many church folk do not like to have their Laodicean complacency upset by these who turn the world upside down. So they conspire with Satan to turn the young Christian's fever into a chill. There are always plenty of human wet blankets to smother the zealot's flame, and they have put out more spiritual fires than have all the skeptics and infidels. -- Vance Havner

A Little About Me...

I was born in South Boston, VA, but was raised on the state line in the Person Co., NC - Caswell Co., NC - Halifax Co., VA region. I always tell people you know you are a country boy when your idea of being a "multi-national" means you've been to three counties in your lifetime.

Enough of my geographical meanderings...I became a Christian (ask me about THAT!) at the age of 25 and have done my utmost to serve God since that day. I worked as an associate pastor for 4 1/2 years and now serve in the role of Executive Director of My Life Matters, where I've been since March 2005, and I also serve as the pastor of East Rock Community Church, a church plant, along with fellow elders, Brett Carver & Casey Adams, where we've been since June 2007.

I love to write. I share a devotion in our local paper each week. This blog site is really just an extension of my writing. I really hope to share the Word of God with people...any kind of people, every kind of person. I also do a weekly podcast called "Light Steps Live," which can be found on several platforms.

Thanks for "stopping by"! Y'all come back now, ya hear?