"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" (1 Cor. 2:14).

It is a common explanation among religious folks to say that one cannot understand the Scriptures until God "enlightens" him by the Holy Spirit. After this spiritual enlightenment, which involves some kind of supernatural process directly upon this person, then he is able to understand the Scriptures. If this is true, then the "natural" man of this passage is the one who has not yet been operated upon by the Spirit of God so that he can understand.

Of course, this would also mean that it is not the fault of the natural man that he cannot understand. If God never operates upon him, then how can he be blamed for misunderstanding the Scriptures? A man cannot be held responsible for what he cannot do. If God has unconditionally predestined some to salvation, and others to damnation, then the natural man has no responsibility in the matter. He should be pitied because God has chosen this man’s course for him.

Biblically, this is not an acceptable position. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34-35). Anyone can make a choice to turn to God and be a recipient of His saving grace. This includes the "natural" man of 1 Corinthians 2.

Then who is the natural man? There are several clues in the context of 1 Corinthians. Paul had chided the Corinthians for their foolish behavior in exalting men. They were putting confidence in the flesh, thinking in a way that resulted in jealousy and strife. He reminded them that they were acting more like those of the world than those who belonged to Christ.

In 1:18 and following Paul discusses the difference in attitude between those who are "perishing" and those who are "being saved." To the perishing, the word of the cross is foolishness. These have a wisdom of the world, a cleverness that magnifies man and degrades God. The "world through wisdom" did not come to know God; it can only grope in the darkness of sin. Jews looked for signs, Greeks searched for wisdom, but both were ignoring the power and wisdom of God as demonstrated by Christ and revealed by His Spirit.

This, then, is the "natural" man: the one who vainly looks to the wisdom of the world, the one who stumbles over the simple teaching of the cross, and the one who sees a crucified Savior as a fool’s notion. He is the unbeliever who rejects the message of God because it does not match with the world’s wisdom. He is the one who would boast in the things of the flesh, exalts the base things of the world, and ignores the spiritual. He is the one with the "spirit of the world," full of human wisdom, refusing to judge matters through a spiritual framework (2:12-14). As a result, it is impossible for him to understand the things of God. How can he? He has rejected the spiritual framework through which one must operate in order to understand God’s will.

Is this a man unconditionally predestined to remain this way? The fact is that anyone can change. But change is what must occur in the mind first. As long as this man blinds himself to the spiritual factors, he is always going to misunderstand God’s message. We teach that anyone can understand the will of God; and God commands that we do. However, understanding will be impossible when we put spiritual blinders on. The "god of this world" will blind the minds of the unbelieving "so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4). So a change in the mind must occur. Some will argue that only God can operate on the heart to produce such a change, but God does not act in violation of the free will of mankind He Himself created. Those who resist the Holy Spirit’s message do so of their own volition (cf. Acts 7:51).

God made us creatures of free will. We can choose to look at matters differently. We choose our worldview. We choose what is important to us, and what we will esteem. The pride of man will keep him from coming to God, and God resists the proud. In other words, God opposes those who resist Him. It is the natural man who will resist God.

Doy Moyer