ANTHROPOLOGY
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Three Kinds of Men--1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Three Kinds of
Men
1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
INTRODUCTION:
1. A student in a secular college tried to witness to his college professor.
2. The professor scoffed because this student believed in:
a. The blood of Christ
b. The creation account
3. There are many like that professor.
4. By inspiration the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14 calls such a one:
I. THE NATURAL MAN--2:14. . . ."But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: either
can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned."
A. God's Things Unknown to Him
1. Unable to receive them
a. He is a NATURAL man.
(I) Calvin renders it THE ANIMAL MAN--"Any man that is
endowed with nothing more than the faculties of nature." (Calvin,
John, Commentary
on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1948; I:115)
(II) "It implies here the absence of that breath of higher life
which puts moral beings in communication with God." (Godet, Frederic Louis,
Commentary on First Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel
Publications, 1977; 157)
b. He has not the beginning of knowledge.
(I) Proverbs 1:7--"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools
despise wisdom and instruction."
c. He will not honor God.
(I) Romans 1:21 22--"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be
wise, they became fools,"
(A) Knows God
(B) Glorifies Him not as God
(C) Unthankful
(D) Profess wisdom
(II) "I have devoted the first 80 years of my life to Philosophy. I
propose to devote the next 80 years to another branch of fiction"--Betrand
Russell
(Newsweek, January 20, 1958; 94)
d. He is blinded by Satan.
(I) "Not, does not understand, but does not admit them into his
heart." (Vincent, Marvin R., Word Studies in the New Testament.
Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1949; III:198; italics are
his.)
(II) 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4--"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost: [4] In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
Who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
2. Are foolishness to him
a. The Gospel is foolish to them.
(I) 1 Corinthians 1:22, 23--"For after that in the wisdom of God the world
by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. [22] For the Jews require a sign, and the
Greeks [Gentiles] seek after wisdom:"
(II) "Are foolishness. Not merely seem. To him they
are." (Ibid.; italics are his.)
b. God calls these men foolish.
(I) Romans 1:22--considered earlier
(II) Psalm 53:1--"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
(III) "A pastor entered a" food place "where a man wishing to embarrass him,
rose and suddenly called out quite loudly, 'There is no God." [The
original statement was in German.] The pastor went to him, calmly laid his
hand on his shoulder, and said, 'Friend, what you have said is not at all
new. The Bible said that more than 2,000 years ago.' The man
replied, 'I never knew that the Bible made such a statement.' The pastor
informed
him, 'Psalm 14, verse 1 [also Psalm 53:1], tells us, "The fool says in his
heart, there is no God." But there is a great difference between that fool
and you. He was quite modest and said it only in his heart; he didn't go
about yelling it out in" food places." (Tan, Paul Lee, Encyclopedia of
7,700 Illustrations. Rockville, MD, c1979; illustration 1886)
B. God' s Things known spiritually
1. The example of the Lord and His disciples
a. Luke 24:44, 45--"And he said unto them, 'These are the words which I spake
unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which
were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in
the psalms, concerning Me.' [45] Then opened He their understanding, that
they might
understand the Scriptures,"
b. "When Queen Charlotte was once visiting her nursery a most amiable princess,
the Duchess of Gloucester, at that time about six years old, running up
to her with a book in her hand and tears in her eyes, said, 'Madam, I cannot
comprehend it.' Her Majesty, with true parental affection, looked upon
the princess and told here not be alarmed. 'What you cannot comprehend
today you may comprehend tomorrow; and what you cannot attain to this
year you may arrive at the next. Do not, therefore, be frightened with
little difficulties, and the rest will come in time.'" (Tan, illustration 7574)
2. The illumination of the Holy Spirit
a. "The use of the adverb [He has the Greek word here.],
spiritually, has nothing in common with the Alexandrine system of
interpretation, according to
which those were called spiritual who could distinguish in Scripture the
profound (alletgorical) sense from the grammatical. The word simply means
here, 'in virtue of spiritual premisses [sic.]."
b. John 16:13--"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He
will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself;
but whatsoever He
shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.:
c. Dr. Lewis S. Chafer on education--"We have here [at Dallas Theological
Seminary] a faculty of one, the Holy Spirit." "Education is the
process of
passing from unconscious ignorance to conscious ignorance." (Writer's small
notebook #2, 66B)
TRANSITION: The natural man, therefore, is unable to receive the things of God,
for he has not
the beginning of wisdom, and he is blinded. Also, he cannot
understand God's
things
because they are known spiritually. Thus, the only one who can know the things
of God is:
II. THE SPIRITUAL MAN--2:15, 16. . . ."But he that is spiritual judgeth all
things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known
the mind of the
Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the
mind of Christ."
A. Knows God's Truth
1. By the Word
a. The content
(I) 1 Corinthians 2:9-12--"But as it is written, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath
prepared for them that love Him. [10] But God hath revealed them unto us
by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things
of
God. [11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man,
but the
Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things
that are
freely given to us of God."
(II) Some statements of presidents about the Bible: George
Washington--"It is impossible rightly to govern the world without God
and the Bible."
Andrew Jackson--Pointing to the Bible, "That Book is the Rock on which
the Republic rests." Abraham Lincoln--"I am profitably engaged in
reading the Bible. Take all of this Book upon reason that you can,
and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man."
Woodrow Wilson--"A man that has deprived himself of the best there
is in the world is the man who has deprived himself of a knowledge of
the
Bible." (Writer's small notebook #1, 21A)
(III) "The learned Dr. Charles Elliott was throughout his long life a diligent
Bible student. When in his 77th year, and just a month before his death,
he
read the Old Testament through in three weeks. His daughter asked him what
he was reading. 'News,' he replied." (Tan, illustration # 404)
b. The method
(I) Study--"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
(II) Meditation--"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that
thy profiting may appear to all." (1 Timothy 4:15)
(III) "The fundamental idea of the word is examination, scrutiny,
following up [He has the Greek word in parentheses.] a series of objects
or
particulars in order to distinguish [Greek word in parentheses].
This is its almost universal meaning in classical Greek. At Athens it was
used
technically in two senses; to examine magistrates with a view to proving
their qualifications; and to examine persons concerned in a suit, so as
to prepare the matter for trial, as a grand jury." (Vincent,
III:199)
(IV) "God's method is the Holy Spirit using the Word of God through the man of
God." (Writer's Small Notebook # 2; 59D)
2. By the Spirit
a. Cf. v. 15c--"There is a great lesson for Christians who know by personal
experience the things of the Spirit of God. Men of
intellectual gifts who are
ignorant of the things of Christ talk learnedly and patronizingly
about things of which they are grossly ignorant. The spiritual man is
superior to all this
false knowledge." (Robertson, Archibald Thomas, Word Pictures in the New
Testament. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, c1931; IV:90)
b. "No matter how brilliant you are as a believer, you still have the natural
man, and you can't understand the Word of God by natural means." (Writer's
Small Notebook # 2; 74A)
c. He teaches--John 14:26. . . ."But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
d. No other teacher--1 John 2:27. . . ."But the Anointing which ye have received
of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but
as
the same Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no
lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."
e. "Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou
hast
for me; place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp, and set me free.
Silently
now I wait for Thee, Ready, my God Thy will to see; Open my eyes,
illumine me, Spirit divine.
Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou
sendest clear; And while the
wave-notes fall on my ear, Ev'ry thing false will disappear. Silently now I wait
for
Thee, Ready, My God Thy will to see;
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!"
(Worship and Service Hymnal. Chicago: Hope Publishing
Company, 1967; 506, stanzas 1 and 2)
B. Known Not by Others
1. Judged by no man
a. "He, on the other hand, is judged by no man,
because the assurance of faith is not subject to men, as though they could make
it totter at their nod, it
being superior even to angels themselves. Observe
that
this prerogative is not ascribed to the man as an individual, but to the word of
God which
the spiritual follow in judging, and which is truly dictated to them
by God with true discernment. Where that is afforded, a man's persuasion is
placed
beyond the range of human judgment."
(Calvin, I:117, 118)
b. ". . . the truth of faith which depends on God alone and is
grounded on
his word, does not stand or fall according to the pleasure of men."
(Calvin,
I:118)
c. ". . . he is not subject to any human wisdom or reason." (Calvin,
I:119)
2. Lewis S. Chafer quoting an unknown source in reference to the phrase
judged of no man (1 Corinthians 2:15), "Understood by no man."(Writer's
Small
Notebook # 1; 75C)
3. Many Christians have been misunderstood.
a. "Poor Ringo the duck! Grubbing for food at the bottom of
Grenadier Pond in Toronto's High Park, the duck got a pull-ring from a beverage
can
clamped around her beak. As a result, the duck could not feed properly and
faced starvation when the pond froze over. Concerned people saw her
plight, and set in motion various attempts to capture the bird and remove the
ring. First, a cannon which fires a large net was set up on the shores of
the pond. But no success! Then a skindiver tried to scare Ringo out
from the bullrushes. Again, no success! The Toronto Humane Society
tried to
allure Ringo with bread and corn, but only drew seagulls from miles around.
Finally, Canada's champion duck-caller was called in, but although he got
the attention of nearly every duck in the pond, Ringo did not respond.
All for the sake of a duck! Ringo simply did not understand that all these
attempts were not designed to frighten her, but to free her from her plight."
(Tan, illustration # 5345)
b. This writer has experience this on the Internet.
C. Has the Mind of Christ
1. The context
a. The mind of the Lord--"This is a confirmation of what precedes.
No one can judge a spiritual man, for that would be to judge the Lord. The
Lord had
revealed certain doctrines. The spiritual discern those doctrines to be
true. For any man to pronounce them false, and to judge those who held
them,
supposes he is able to teach the Lord. As no one can do this, no one can
judge those who have the mind of Christ, that is, those whom Christ by his
Spirit has taught
the truth." (Hodge, Charles, A Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians.
Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1974; 45)
b. An allusion to Isaiah 40:13, 14--"Who hath directed the Spirit of the
LORD, or being His counselor hath taught Him? [14] With whom took
He
counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment,
and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding?"
2. What it involves (Cf. Isaiah 40:13f.)
a. Directing
b. Teaching
c. Counseling
d. Instructing
3. The mind of Christ
a. A present possession--HAVE
b. Some refer this to faithful ministers; others to believers in general; This
writer prefer the latter, for ministers have no corner on the truth.
c. "Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., has said that an unlettered woman in a mountain cabin
may better understand the truths of God's Word than a learned scholar in
the university without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have Christ.
His Spirit dwells within us. There is some sweet affinity between
the born-
again , Spirit-led Christian and the Word of God." (Rice, John R.,
The Church of God at Corinth. Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of
the Lord
Publishers, c1973; 37)
TRANSITION: Yes, the spiritual man knows God's truth by studying and meditating
upon God's
Word, and by the Divine Teacher, the Holy Spirit. Thus, he has
the mind of Christ. But the
Apostle continues by saying that he could not speak to any of these Corinthian
believers as
the spiritual man, but only as:
III. THE CARNAL MAN--3:1-4. . . ."And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as
unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
[2] I have fed
you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were
not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. [3] For ye are
yet carnal: for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal,
and walk as men? [4] For while one saith, 'I am of Paul'; and
another, 'I am of Apollos'; are ye not carnal?"
A. The Lack of Growth Seen in Their Carnality
1. Not spiritual, but carnal
a. Literally
(I) Made of flesh
(II) Unsaid thus in Romans 7:14--"For we know that the law is spiritual:
but I am carnal, sold under sin."
b. Differs from the natural man, who is also fleshy, because they have the
Spirit of
God
c. "Thus the man who prefers the intoxicating pleasures of
speaking in tongues to the holy austerity of prophesying, or the noble
simplicity of teaching,
is in Paul's eyes like a yet carnal babe; comp. xiv. 20. Consequently
those who have found in the different forms in which the preaching of the
gospel
has appeared in Corinth an occasion for inflating themselves or disparaging
others, and thereby tearing the Church into factions, while satisfying their
personal vanity, have shown how the flesh, self-complacency, still ruled the new
life, and the action of the Spirit in them." (Godet, 165)
d. 1 Corinthians 14:20--"Brethren, be not children in understanding:
howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men."
2. Babes in Christ
a. Notice that they are in Christ.
b. We must receive Christ just like babies
(I) Luke 18:17--"Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom
of
God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."
(II) That, of course, does not mean you can only receive Christ when you were a
baby.
(III) It means you need to have the child-like attitude.
c. Cf. 1 Corinthians 14:20 (Quoted above)
d. "Time is needed to become a" spiritual man, as in the natural life there
is a need of growth to pass from the infant state to that of the mature man."
(Godet, 166)
B. The Lack of Growth Seen in Their Spiritual Food--v. 2
1. New born take milk.
a. 1 Peter 2:2--"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye
may
grow thereby."
b. 88BEC, C72, 49--"The import of the . . . form strong meat."
2. They have remained babes.
a. The text
(I) Nothing wrong in being a baby, but who wants a baby to remain that?
(II) Early in this writer's ministry, he visited the family of one of
the Sunday School students. Crawling around the floor in diapers was a boy
of about
twelve years. He would always remain a baby even if he grew
physically.
b. Cf. Hebrews 5:12-14--"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have
need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the
oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and
not of strong meat. [13] For every one that useth milk is
unskillfull in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe. [14] But strong meat belongeth to them
that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have
their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil."
c. Ephesians 4:14--"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men,
and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."
C. The Lack of Growth seen in Their Strife--vv. 3, 4
1. The strife--v. 3
a. Envy
(I) Actually the word for zeal, from verb to boil.
(II) Here uncontrolled, and thus jealousy or envy
b. Envy leads to strife
c. Scripture
(I) 1 Corinthians 1:11--"For it hath been declared unto me of you, my
brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are
contentions
among you."
(II) 2 Corinthians 12:20--"For I fear, lest when I come, I shall not find you
such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not:
lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults:"
(III) Philippians 4:2--"I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of
the same mind in the Lord."
d. "And doubtless that is what the apostle means by the expression:
walking according to man, that is to say, following a conduct after the
manner of
man left to himself." (Godet, 169)
2. The division--v. 4 .
a. Party spirit
(I) Not "party" as in "Let us party."
(II) "It is the tendency of immature Christians to follow men without
discernment. They do not have a solid base of doctrinal conviction;
they are easy
prey for false teachers. They are led into cults. They are led
astray on minor matters. They tend toward division and strife over human
leadership.
So young churches often have strife and splits." (Rice, 41)
(III) "In order to attack the spirit of rivalry with effect, and the
divisions which had invaded the life of the Church, Paul had gone to the
very root of
the evil; the false way of regarding the gospel itself. He had shown
that the preaching of the gospel was, not the exposition of a new
religious
speculation, but the good news of a fact, and that a fact absurd in the
eyes of reason: the salvation of humanity by a Crucified One;
and now he
deduces therefrom the true notion of the Christian ministry and of
the part it has to play within the Church." (Godet, 170)
(IV) Notice--"Paul would not even defend his own partisans." (Robertson,
IV:93)
b. Scripture
(I) 1 Corinthians 1:12--"Now this I say, that every one of you saith, 'I
am of Paul'; and 'I of Apollos'; and 'I of Cephas'; and 'I of
Christ'".
(II) 1 Corinthians 11:18--"For first of all, when ye come together in the
church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it."
(III) Luke 11:7--"And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not; the
door
is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise
and give thee."
c. "Hell is vibrant with ghoulish glee when Christians in church fight among
themselves. A New Jersey judge advised prayer as a solution to a church
property dispute. 'It is hard to understand,' he told members of
both factions in his court, 'how professed Christians could become so biter as
to bring
a matter involving dollars and cents into court. This controversy should
be resolved by members of both groups on their knees in prayer to
demonstrate your right to be called Christians.'"(Tan, illustration # 4859)
CONCLUSION:
1. Are you a natural man?
a. Without Spiritual understanding?
b. Without Jesus Christ?
(I) 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23--"[18] For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God. [23]
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the
Greeks [Gentiles] foolishness;"
(II) "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from
Immanuel's
veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains!
"The dying thief
rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; And there may I,
though
vile as he, Wash all my sins away." (Worship and Service Hymnal;
192, stanzas 1
and 2)
2. Are you a spiritual man?
a. Having spiritual understanding?
b. Having the Mind of Christ?
c. Few, if any of us are.
3. Are you a carnal man?
a. A babe in Christ?
b. Full of strife?
(I) with others?
(II) with self--cf. Romans 7:14ff. . . ."For we know that the law is spiritual:
but I am carnal, sold under sin. [15] For that which I do I allow not:
for what
I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. [16] If then I
do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. [17]
Now then it is
no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
c. Desire to be spiritual
d. Then present yourselves and yield.
(I) Romans 12:1, 2--"I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God,
which is
your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world; but be ye
transformed by the renewing of the mind that ye may
prove what
is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect will of God."
(II) Romans 6:13--"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness
unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from
the dead
and
your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."
(III) "You have longed for sweet peace, and for faith to
increase,
And have earnestly, fervently prayed; But you cannot have rest, or be perfectly
blest; Until all on the altar is laid. Is you all on the altar of sacrifice
laid? Your
heart, doest the Spirit control? You can only be blest, and have peace
and sweet
rest, As you yield Him your body and soul." ( Living Hymns.
Montrose, PA: Encore Publications, Inc., c1972; 476, s1)
4. Is your ALL on the altar?