The Three Conditions

1. The Natural Person

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him”. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’

But we have the mind of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? (1Cor 2:9-3:3)

Have you ever tried to share your faith with someone and it is like they are on another planet? It’s like your words are just not making sense to them or seem to be completely irrelevant. What is going on there?

The apostle Paul gives us a bit of an insight. Firstly, he gives us the overarching framework for us to start to understand: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him”. These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” The things of God cannot be understood outside of the influence of God. Paul’s growing argument must be based on what is previously said. As you remember the apostle Paul went to great lengths in chapters 1 & 2 to say the message of the kingdom is not about knowledge, wisdom, or philosophy. The message is Christ and him crucified. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (2:4-5)

Therefore it is not possible to ‘see’, ‘hear, or ‘conceive’ what God has prepared unless these things are revealed to us by the Spirit. God is the one who reveals by his Spirit. We cannot reason and understand on our own. We cannot hear a sermon or a testimony and understand on our own. We cannot see the work of God and understand on our own. All these senses must be stimulated but the Spirit of God. As Jesus said, the Spirit takes what he hears from the Father and the Son and makes it known to us (John 16:12-15) The Spirit of God works to reveal from the spiritual realm to the natural realm.

The apostle Paul then goes on to explain that there are broadly three states/classes of a person: the natural person, the carnal person, spiritual person. This does not mean we are locked into the state in which we find ourselves for many have crossed over from death to life (John 5:24). However, two of the three classifications of a person make it challenging for the gospel to be understood and acted upon. They are also states in which we must battle within ourselves against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

We will be looking at these three conditions over the next few weeks.

The ‘Natural’ Person (2:14)

The person without the Spirit could better be described as the Natural Person. In this passage, the natural person is not blamed for their inability. It is simply an accurate statement of the fact of his limitations. Revelation is by the Spirit and a unique role of the Spirit. It, therefore, follows that the "natural person" is helpless to understand things revealed because they have not received "the Spirit which is of God." They have received only "their own spirit within them." Though they may, with human wisdom, be able to read the words, he cannot receive their spiritual meaning. I remember reading the Bible when I was not a Christian and thinking it was just nonsense (actually it made no sense). To the natural person, the revelation is "foolishness." He cannot "understand" it, or "discern" it.

However, there is hope. There is always hope in Jesus. Remember the arm of the LORD is not too short to save nor his ear too dull to hear (Is 59:1). The prodigal finds the route home to the open arms and acceptance of the Father. Jesus will draw all people to him (John 12:32). The change from the 'natural' person to the ‘saved’ person is a gift of God through His Spirit. Jesus said you cannot see the kingdom unless you are born again (from above). This is possible, and only possible, through the Spirit. He can turn the hardest heart into the most fervent believer (look at Saul/Paul).

Friends, do not give up on those who seem not to understand or care about the message of the gospel. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ (2Cor4:4-6). But in and through Christ this veil is taken away.

So let your light shine and let the Spirit do what he does and with prayer and faithfulness, the message will get through to the ‘natural person’, for we were all as such at one time.

Blessings

Fraser