THE NATURAL MAn's IGNORANCE OF DIVINE THINGS.
1 Cor. ii. 14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Sj)irit of God : for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he knoio them, because they are spiritually discerned.
CHRISTIANITY, as far as relates to its provi- sions, is founded on the necessities of man : there is a perfect correspondence between the want and the
9i 1 CORINTHIANS, 11. 14. [1942.
supply : whichever of the two is contemplated, we of necessity behold, or at least may behold, the other. Men, it is true, are not very willing to acknowledge their necessities ; and hence they think lightly of the blessings of the Gospel salvation : and many, who are willing to confess the depravation of their will and their affections through the fall of our first parents, are very averse to admit the loss they have sustained in their intellectual powers. But it is certain, that the mind of man is no longer what it was before the introduction of sin into the world : it can no longer discern the glory and excellency of Jehovah, or the mysteries of his spiritual kingdom. This is expressly declared in the words before us ; which it is our intention, I. To explain —
That we may have a just view of them, we will distinctly shew,
1. Whom we are to understand by " the natural man" —
[The term which we translate " natural," is differently translated in different places; and the sense must always be determined by the context. Now the whole context shews, that the person here spoken of is man in his natural state, un- taught, and unassisted by the Spirit of God. From the middle of the preceding chapter, two descriptions of persons are men- tioned; one, wise in respect of earthly knowledge, but spiritually blind, and, in consequence of that blindness, pouring contempt upon the Gospel : the other, as spiritually enlightened, and, in consequence of that illumination, accounting the Gospel the richest display of God's wisdom and power. The former the Apostle denominates the " wise, the scribe, the disputer of this world," and comprehends among them " the princes of this world :" these, in our text, he calls " the natural man," that is, man conversant with worldly knowledge, but unin- structed by the Spirit of God.]
2. What are those things which he can neither receive nor know —
[These are " the things of the Spirit," or, the great mys- teries which arc revealed to us in the Gospel. And when it is said, tliat tlie natural man cannot know them, we are not to understand merely that these mysteries are not discoverable by the light of reason, so as to supersede the necessity of any
1942. j THE NATURAL MAn's IGNORANCE. 95
revelation; but that, however revealed to us externally by God, they cannot be inwardly comprehended, without a special dis- covei-y of them to the soul by the influence of the Holy Spirit. As far as they are capable of being judged of by reason, or are mere matters of science, any man may, by the application of his own natural powers, understand them : but, as far as they are objects of faith, and matters of experience, no man can understand them, unless he be taught of God. Theoretically, he may maintain the whole system of the fall and the recovery; but, practically, he cannot realize in his soul the truths which he maintains : the humiliation which his depravity calls for, he cannot feel ; nor the gratitude, which the wonders of redemp- tion so imperiously demand. On the contrary, the whole system, liowever as a theory it may be approved, as a practical and in- fluential 'principle in the soul is accounted " foolishness."]
3. Whence this incapacity arises —
[It is well accounted for in the words before us : " He cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned." We are not to understand by this, that the spiritual man is endued with any new faculty, which the natural man does not jiossess ; for then the natural man would be rather to be pitied for a defect which was unavoidable, than to be blamed for a weakness to which he himself was accessary : we are rather to understand, that the natural man does not make a right use of the faculties which he already possesses, but, through the corruption of his own heart, renders them unfit for the use for which they were originally designed. Perhaps we may attain some insight into this matter by means of an easy and familiar illustration. Many by nature are very indistinct in their organs of vision ; and art has enabled them to supply the defect. Fi'om the formation and structure of their eye, the objects which they behold do not fall upon the retina that should reflect them, but either fall short of it, or go beyond it : but, by interposing a proper medium, the object is brought to such a focus as the eye requires; and is then clearly discerned. Now we may suppose our natural pride, and unbelief, and sensuality, to have rendered our spiritual discernment so indistinct, that nothing is seen aright ; but objects, especially spiritual objects, are dim and distorted : but humility, and contrition, and faith being- given by God as a new medium through which they shall be seen, the objects are made, so to speak, to fall upon the heart, and are discerned by the heart in all their true colours and dimensions. "We do not propose this as di perfect illustration; for nothing in nature will perfectly represent the mysteries of grace: but it may serve perhaps to convey some faint idea of our natural incapacity to know and to receive the things of the Spirit ; and may shew us what we want in order to a spiritual