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Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis. International Standard Version A person who isn't spiritual doesn't accept the things of God's Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can't understand them because they are spiritually evaluated.
- 14 ESV
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit...
- Parallel Commentaries
1 Corinthians 2:14. But the natural man — The man who has...
- 14 NASB
Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit...
- 14 KJV
Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit...
- 14 NIV
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things...
- 14 NLT
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths...
- 14 Catholic Bible
Spiritual Wisdom … 13 Which things also we speak: not in the...
- 1 Corinthians 1
And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised...
- 14 ESV
- How Calvinists Explain 1 Corinthians 2:14
- The Situation in Corinth
- The Context of 1 Corinthians 2:14
- The Natural Man Cannot Receive The Things of God
- The NIV Translation of 1 Corinthians 2:14 Is Tragic
- Other Evidence For The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:14
- Can Unbelievers Understand The Scriptures?
Regarding this verse, Calvinists are not shy in stating their beliefs about what it teaches. As can be seen from these quotes, Calvinists use 1 Corinthians 2:14 to support the idea that unbelievers cannot grasp or understand the things of God. For this, they first need to be regenerated. Calvinists have also been known to use this verse against oth...
In Corinth there was much divisiveness as well, and one of the purposes of Paul’s letter was to correct the issues that led to this divisiveness. Paul knew that sometimes, correcting those who err is what leads to healing and unity. The faction in Corinth which was causing the problems believed in a hyper-spiritual form of Christianity. These “spir...
It is within this context that 1 Corinthians 2 must be read. Paul is trying to show them where true wisdom comes from, and how people learn about the things of God. Within the immediate context of 1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul talks about three types of people: the natural–soulish (Gk., psuchicos) man (1 Corinthians 2:14), the spiritual (Gk., pneumatiko...
This then brings us back to 1 Corinthians 2:14. When Paul says that the “soulish” man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, he is simply saying that the soul of a person, by itself, with only imagination, memory, reason, and emotions to guide it, cannot grasp spiritual truth. Spiritual truth is learned through the spirit. Spiritual truth ...
This is partly why the NIV translation of 1 Corinthians 2:14 is so tragic. I indicated earlier that the NIV translation of the Bible leans heavily toward Calvinistic thinking and theology, and 1 Corinthians 2:14 is an example of one such place. Where most Bible translations accurately translate the Greek as saying something along the lines of “The ...
William Barclay sums up the message of 1 Corinthians 2:14 quite well: The natural man, or soulish man, then, is not the man without the Spirit, or even the carnal man. The natural, soulish, man is simply referring to the person who relates to life solely through his intellect, emotions, and will, without regard to spiritual truth. While this may de...
Of course they can. We are not Gnostics, and the Bible is not a book of mysterious magic and arcane knowledge which can only be grasped by initiates who have the sacred decoder ring. No, while understanding the Scriptures certainly takes serious effort and years of study, it can be understood and grasped by anyone who seeks to do so. To say that on...
No one without access to God’s Spirit can even begin to understand the spiritual truths of God. The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of truth—enables us to understand things that are beyond our physical, material world. Spiritual truth is a mystery to the world
Jun 30, 2022 · Just as the “spirit of the world” enables us to understand the things of the world, so God’s Spirit helps us understand the spiritual truths of God. 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 (v. 14).
Jul 20, 2023 · So, Paul explains why that is and who they are in verse 14, the next verse: “The natural person” — that’s the unregenerate, unsaved person, without the Holy Spirit, contrasted with the spiritual 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 [assessed]” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The only way to be believe the truths of God, including His plan for salvation through faith in Christ, is for God to communicate those truths through His Holy Spirit. Paul's work is to help people who have been given that spiritual ability to believe to understand what it means, but he knows that he cannot make anyone believe it.
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The opposite of "natural man" is "spiritual man"—a person whose mind and heart are renewed by the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:12 confirms this. "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God." In verse 14 the "natural man" cannot understand the "things ...
