Sunday Sermons
The Natural Man
The Natural Man
1Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised”
“Natural”: “Refers to one who obeys the promptings of his bodily nature, unspiritual or carnal” (Lenski p. 115). “He's the man who stands aloof from the wisdom of God and who depends on his foolish wisdom” (McGuiggan p. 46). “Does not accept”:“Rejects, refuses to accept” (Robertson p. 89). “The things of the Spirit of God”: The things that the Spirit revealed through the Apostles (2:11-13), the natural man rejects the gospel message. Many consider this "natural" man to be a non-Christian, and such a person would certainly qualify. Yet, the Corinthians were in danger to becoming this "natural" man, “for you are still fleshly” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Paul defines the "natural" man as anyone who rejects the teachings delivered by the Spirit, and some Christians did that in the First Century (14:37; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14).
Therefore, the "natural" man is not a man so depraved that he cannot understand the gospel without the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. The phrase does not accept implies a choice, a conscious decision. He hears it, he understands what is being said, but he does not like it. The enemies of Jesus ("natural men") understood what He taught. (Matthew 21:45; 27:63). Those who rejected Paul's message, understood the concepts he was presenting (Acts 17:32; 22:22; 25:25 (Felix, a "natural" man, understood exactly what Paul was driving at). The Bible does not picture the sinner as “unable” to repent, but rather as “unwilling” to repent (Acts 13:46 “since you repudiate it”; Revelation 2:21 “She does not want to repent”).
1 Corinthians 2:14 “For they are foolishness to him”: Again note, the various unconverted Jews and Gentiles that had rejected Paul's preaching, "understood" that Paul was preaching a crucified Messiah, it's simply that they thought such a concept was ridiculous, “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). To this day people consider the message of the New Testament to be foolishness for various reasons. It's important to note that one's attitude toward's the gospel, reveals one's true self. Those that reject the gospel message are automatically labeled as "unspiritual". "People are revealed for who they are by their response to the cross" (Fee p. 117).
1 Corinthians 2:14 “And he cannot understand them”: In order to consider it "foolishness", he must know something about the gospel, if only what it claims. Paul has already stressed that man cannot know God apart from revelation (2:8-9; 1:21). Hence, the man or woman who has rejected the gospel message has just cut himself or herself off from the only true information that we have about God. “Because they are spiritually appraised”: “Appreciated by spiritual insight” (Wms); “because it takes spiritual insight to see its true value” (Gspd)
“Men access things differently according to their frames of reference. A fitness fanatic will (very often) have no appreciation at all for chess or sedentary pursuits. A man who has time only for making money frowns on holidays as a ‘waste of time’. The natural man judges everything by his worldly wisdom and spiritual things are ridiculed” (McGuiggan p. 46). How are things spiritually appraised? Clearly, by the Scriptures (Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 5:14). Therefore, the person who has no appreciation for the revelation of the Spirit, is going to be wrong about many things. So why were the Corinthians enthralled with people who rejected God’s revelation? (Jeremiah 8:9 “Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and whatkind of wisdom do they have?”).
1 Corinthians 2:15 “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one”
“Spiritual”: The person who accepts the revelation from the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:37). “Appraises all things”: “Can find out the real value of everything” (Beck). “All things”:
All things that pertain to salvation, all things that are vital for his relationship with God. He is also able to properly evaluate the importance of many common things in everyday life, such as money, relationships, spouse, children, and so on (Hebrews 5:14; Psalm 119:99-105). The key to this ability, is not any inherent wisdom in the believer but his or her acceptance of the Word of God and the willingness to apply what it teaches to daily living. “Yet he himself”: The Christian. “Is appraised by no one”:“He is properly valued by none” (Ber) (Hebrews 11:38). The world does appraise the Christian, it does make a judgment about him. “That is, those who are not Christ's do not know how to understand him. The natural man regards him as an enigma, the spiritual man is marching to another drummer” (McGuiggan p. 47). The person who has rejected the gospel, has just labeled himself or herself as an unqualified assessor of "value". Why are we so concerned about human "approval", when these same people cannot even properly assess the value of God’s word?
“'The profane person cannot understand holiness; but the holy person can well understand the depths of evil” (Fee p. 118). The Christian is qualified to talk about the life of sin, but the non-Christian is not qualified to ridicule the life in Christ. So, to whom should we listen? If we are needing advice about an important decision in life, whose counsel should we seek?
1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ”
“For”: This is a quotation from Isaiah 40:13, and is also quoted in Romans 11:34. “Who has known the mind of the Lord”: “Who is the person who wants to match wits with God?” (Fee p. 119). Read Job chapters 38-40, when you think you are ready. In order to properly judge Paul and other Christians, such men would have to know the mind of the Lord, and without revelation, that could only be accomplished if you had been the Lord's teacher! In this context, the only way that a person can know what God thinks about something, is to read God’s revelation through the apostles (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). Apart from such revelation, man is completely blind concerning spiritual truths and realties (Jeremiah 10:23; Isaiah 55:8-9). “We have the mind of Christ”: “The thoughts of Christ as they are revealed by the Spirit” (Fee p. 119). As already shown in verses 6-13 “We who are spiritual have the very thoughts of Christ!” (Phi)
Therefore, all those in the world who sit in judgment upon Christianity and faithful Christians, are manifesting a spirit, that Paul says is exactly the same as a person who would claim to be God's teacher. With the Scriptures, we have the very thoughts and mind of Christ, therefore we can properly judge and evaluate all things (Psalm 119:105).
Applications
Even Christians can fall into the trap of becoming a “natural man” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). It is so easy to look at the Scriptures from a worldly perspective. For example, how many people read Matthew 7:12 “treat people the same way you want them to treat you”, and immediately think, “Yea, people need to be treating me the way I want to be treated”. That is a “natural man” interpretation of that verse. Instead of applying the verse immediately to themselves and their need to serve others, the natural man thinks only of him or herself.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (John 6:26-27). It is tempting to follow Christ from worldly motives. Do we insist on a religion in which all our physical needs are being met? Do we attend services from the motivation, “What am I going to get, who is going to serve me?” Or are we simply thankful to be here and give something back to God Who has done so much for us?
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Unfortunately, there are many religious groups that no longer believe that the gospel has the power to draw people, and gimmicks that appeal to the natural man must be used instead. In an article entitled Stupid church tricks, Gene Edward Veith notes the fads and games that are being promoted by church youth groups to attract and entertain young people: Sanctuary softball, which is nerf softball played in the auditorium, Seafood catch, which involves putting minnows in the baptisry, then catching them by hand, (extra points for eating them?. One game involves girls putting makeup on guys, then there is the baby bottle burp, in which girls put a diaper on a boy, then feed him a bottle of soda and cradle him until he burps. Veith notes, “What do teenagers learn from these youth group activities? Nothing of the Bible. Nothing of the cost of being a Christian. But they do learn to lose their inhibitions. They learn to give into peer pressure. And they learn that Christianity is stupid. When they grow up they will likely associate the church with other immature, juvenile phases of their lives, and Christianity will be something they will grow out of. Teenagers get enough entertainment, psychology, and hedonism from their culture. They do not need it from their church. What they need and often yearn for is God’s word” (World Magazine, 8-24-2002, p. 11).
“This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it” (John 6:60). “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66). The natural man wants all the benefits of Christianity (peace, happiness, security, salvation, and so on), without the effort. The natural man is unwilling to spend the time and search the Scriptures to figure out what Jesus is expecting of him (6:56). The natural man wants to find a “short-cut” around a life of earnest faithfulness. The natural man does not want to wrestle with the Scriptures and bring his own will into line with God’s will. The natural man does not want to buffet his own body (1 Corinthians 9:27), but wants God to do all the work for him. There are too many people in this world, and even some in the church who are sitting around and waiting for some divine intervention to give them the help or motivation they need to do the right thing. The only intervention that we will receive is from the gospel message, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20); “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (3:22); (Luke 16:29,31).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
