1 Corinthians 2:14
”The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Those that seek not the Lord of Hosts through the truth provided by His Spirit cannot discern nor understand the ways and means thereof; indeed, they are blinded by their own folly and cannot bear witness thereunto due to the facts of the illegitimacy of their wisdom: rather than trusting in the truth purported by the Most High, they rather seek to understand Him through the wisdom of the world. This wisdom, as has been eloquently demonstrated through Paul’s words in this epistle, cannot lead to God, but only to folly and destruction; therefore, by the foolishness of man does he remain foolish, by trying to grasp the eternal whilst using carnal thinking would lead that man only to the depths of carnality. Wherefore, dear Christian, I would adjure and warn you both in favor and against seeking this type of wisdom. For we should be prepared at all times to make a defense for the hope that is within us, but to rely solely upon worldly wisdom is found to be a perilous task indeed; I say not that the logic and historicity of the resurrection and the entirety of the Bible should not be imbued when discussing with someone who remains skeptical, but the entirety of proof should not be paced therein. I highly doubt that many men can be argued into belief, for there are few who would accept something at the same time that he is proven wrong. Indeed, this is a dread case of the human condition: we are fearful of the unknown and pride would overtake our minds unto denial when the objections against the Lord of Hosts are proven to be wrong.
Have you ever been discussing something and found yourself to be wrong? Is there not just a twinge of pride that refuses to acquiesce unto the truth that has been presented? Consider well, then, how one who does not believe and is totally enraptured with their own pride and sinfulness would thereby react to finding their position to be incorrect: at that moment, the devil knows that conviction from the Holy Spirit unto life has a high chance of working upon the will of that man, and therefore, he throws every dart and prideful thought thereupon; by this does he attempt to destroy the thoughts of wisdom unto life before they are able to take root. Indeed, he becomes the bird that works to snatch away the seed before implantation might occur, and therefore, by pride does he knock down many a solid argument through foolishness. Indeed, as we witness in the verse above, it should be noted that the unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Lord because of his great foolishness; wherefore it should be noted that since he relies upon the wisdom of this world, there is not salvation to be found therein, indeed, the wisdom of this world would lead a man directly to pride and destruction. Therefore, the things of the Lord God Almighty cannot be understood by those who retain a carnal mind because spiritual things cannot be discerned without spiritual means. That man sound rather confusing, but as I wrote above, if we attempt to understand or judge the spiritual by the carnal, then we debase that blessed spiritual understanding and drag it own to the level of carnality. We attempt to explain infinity through the application of fininitude, rather that desiring to know the Lord in the form which He takes.
Therefore, dear Christian, the argumentation with sinful men would be found to be totally fruitless unless the Lord of Hosts awakens him from that dread stupor of death; this remains not in a Calvinistic sense whereby only the elect are awakened, but rather all men might know and fear the Lord; common or prevenient grace abounds to all, and it thereby remains the choice of that man, working in conjunction with the will of the Almighty, to seek out the wisdom thereof. Indeed, the man might greatly desire to know the Lord and examine Him in a spiritual sense, and in what a blessed state this man is found to reside! For, again, the complicated things of — and I rather dislike the worldly undertones of this next word, but I must use it — spirituality cannot be comprehended by those who remain in the world, as infinity cannot be explained by finite things. Wherefore, we should never seek out this wisdom through any means but continual prayer and repentance before the Lord God Almighty. He is willing and able to bless our minds with a semblance of comprehension unto perfection, albeit the greater mysteries thereof will always and forever be shrouded in clouds and deep darkness, at least whilst we remain upon this earth in carnal bodies. If the understanding of these things will come to our minds when we ascend to be made like the angels in heaven I know not, but the blessedness thereof is found to be in the fact that we do not need to know these things in their totality in order to be saved. As I have written many times throughout this examination of 1 Corinthians, the Gospel remains simple and easy to understand by even the most foolish of men. Even though this is something of a spiritual nature, it remains so easy to comprehend that to do so requires little brains but much effort.
Indeed, the deeper things of the Lord would seem to be foolishness to those who are perishing; I rather imagine they cannot comprehend why we would spend so much of our lives working out the most minute details about a God they believe does not exist, but this only remains a condemnation of their foolishness. For there is nothing greater, there is no higher pursuit in this world than getting to know the Almighty Creator thereof; that by seeking and attempting to understand Him might we draw closer thereunto. This is found to be foolishness by those who reject the Gospel because they would rather seek out worldly pleasures in a sad attempt to drown out the pain and suffering that continually acts upon them. Therefore, dear Christian, be prepared at all times to elucidate the Gospel in several different manners, according to the arguments of your opponent. If they present themselves in intellectualism, then you should work out the truths of the historicity thereof and attempt to illustrate unto them how the Most High worked through the truth of the resurrection unto the life of all who thereby believe in Him. If the man with an objection seems more keen on seeking out emotionalism, then form your arguments in this manner and be especially kind and gentle with these. For they might not understand how the Lord has saved them or from what they might be saved, but to demonstrate the goodness and love thereof unto these sad individuals would be to illustrate the perfection of the Almighty and how He descended to become a man just like them, how He suffered and bled and died, in the same manner as any other man, and therefore remains similar and coherent unto their state.
Therefore, dear Christian, I write to exhort you to gentility and kindness, for these men do not understand their shortcomings and they cannot physically comprehend the Lord God Almighty without assistance. These things are seen as folly to him because he does not have a spiritual ability to discern the truth thereof, so rather than objectifying him and dwelling upon the foolishness contained within his mind, rather deliver unto him understanding and the simplicity of the Gospel. By this first understanding might that grow into a greater and ever greater desire to know the Lord of Hosts, and whereby that action shall be blessed with higher levels of spiritual wisdom and discernment.