" Quicuuque tribuit aibi bonum quod facit, etiamsi nihil videtur mali manibus ope- rari, jam cordis innoccntiam perdidit, in quo se largitori bonorum prDctulit." — Hieron. in ProT. cap. xvi.
2GS CORRUPTION OR DEPRAVATION [BOOK III.
nacy of tlieir wills and affections, which men shall principally be judged upon at the last day; for "this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," chap. iii. ] 9. Hence it follows, —
That the will and affections being more corrupted than the un- derstanding,— as is evident from their opposition unto and defeating of its manifold convictions, — no man doth actually ajjply his mind to the receiving of the things of the Sj^irit of God to the utmost of that ability which he hath; for all unregenerate men are invincibly im- peded therein by the corrupt stubbornness and perverseness of their wills and affections. There is not in any of them a due improvement of the capacity of their natural faculties, in the use of means, for the discharge of their duty towards God herein. And what hath been pleaded may suffice for the vindication of this divine testimony con- cerning the disability of the mind of man in the state of nature to understand and receive the things of the Spirit of God in a spiritual and saving manner, however they are proposed unto it ; which those who are otherwise minded may despise whilst they please, but are no way able to answer or evade.
And hence we may judge of that paraphrase and exposition of this place which one hath given of late: "But such things as these, they that are led only by the light of human reason, the learned philoso- phers, etc., do absolutely despise, and so hearken not after the doc- trine of the gospel ; for it seems folly to them. Nor can they, by any study of their own, come to the knowledge of them; for they are only to be had by understanding the prophecies of the Scripture, and other such means, which depend on divine revelation, the voice from heaven, descent of the Holy Ghost, miracles," etc. (1.) The natural man is here allowed to be the rational man, the learned philoso- pher, one walking by the light of human reason ; which complies not with their exception to this testimony who would have only such an one as is sensual and given uj) unto brutish affections to be intended. But yet neither is there any ground (though some countenance be given to it by Hierom) to fix this interpretation unto that expres- sion. If the apostle luay be allowed to declare his own mind, he tells us that he intends every one, of what sort and condition soever, "who hath not received the Spirit of Christ." (2.) Oh ds^srai is para- phrased by, "Doth absolutely despise;" which neither the word here, nor elsewhere, nor its disposal in the present connection, will allow of or give countenance unto. The apostle in the whole discourse gives an account why so few received the gospel, especially of those who seemed most likely so to do, being wise and learned men, and the gospel being no less than the wisdom of God ; and the reason hereof he gives from their disability to receive the things of God,
CHAP. III.] OF THE MIND BY SIN. 269
and their hatred of them, or opposition to them, neither of which can be ciu'ed but by the Spirit of Christ. (3.) The apostle treats not of what men could find out by any study of their oivn, but of what they did and would do, and could do no otherwise, when the gospel was proposed, declared, and preached unto them. They did not, they could not, receive, give assent unto, or believe, the spiri- tual mysteries therein revealed. (4.) This preaching of the gos- pel unto them was accompanied with and managed by those evi- dences mentioned, — namely, the testimonies of the prophecies of Scripture, miracles, and the like, — in the same way and manner, and unto the same degree, as it was towards them by whom it was re- ceived and believed. In the outward means of revelation and its proposition there was no difference. (5.) The proper meaning of ov hiyjrai^ "receiveth not," is given us in the ensuing reason and ex- planation of it: Ou dvvaroci yvuvai, "He cannot know them," — that is, unless he be sjDiritually enabled thereunto by the Holy Ghost. And this is farther confirmed in the reason subjoined, " Because they are spiritually discerned." And to wrest this unto the outward means of revelation, which is directly designed to express the internal man- ner of the mind's reception of things revealed, is to wrest the Scrip- ture at pleasure. How much better doth the description given by Chrj^sostom of a natural and spiritual man give light unto and de- termine the sense of this place : Yu^iTihg avdpwTog, 6 8ia, aapyta Z^ojv, x.a! f/^rj'ffCiJ (puriffdiig rov vovv dia Uvsv/xarog, aXXa fJMriv t')\v t,</.puroi/ -/.ai dvdpwTrivriV Gui/i<fiv iyj^v^ ^v ruv a'Travroiv -^u^aTg s/xQdXXsi 6 Arifxiovpyog' — "A natural man is he who lives in or by the flesh, and hath not his mind as yet enlightened by the Spirit, but only hath that inbred human understanding which the Creator hath endued the minds of all men with." And, 'O 'jrviu/xarr/.hg, 6 diu 'Ilvsv/J,a ^a)i/, (purickig roi/ vouv hid Ti/ju/xaro^, oh /mIv/iv rr^v i/Mpvrov xai dvOpoj'—ivrjv sv\i%(Siv £'%wi', dXXd, fjbdXXov T'/iv yapKSdsTffav 'ffvtvfjbarjzriv, '/]v ruv viGtuv ■^■jya.7g i/mQuXXsi to "Ayiov Uvsufji^a' — "The spiritual man is he who liveth by the Spirit, having his mind enlightened by him ; having not only an inbred human understanding, but rather a spiritual understanding, bestowed on him graciously, which the Holy Ghost endues the minds of be- lievers withal." But we proceed.