I don't know how much you think about it, but it's just not natural. It's not natural to want to consume the Word of God. It's not natural to understand it. It's not natural to gladly accept it. It's not natural to build your life on it. It's simply not natural. Whenever you hunger for the Word of God, whenever you want to receive it, whenever it makes sense to you, whenever the Gospel is a comfort, or an encouragement, or a challenge, or a conviction, or a hope to you, something positively unnatural is taking place inside of you.
Functional Identity Amnesia
Now, why do I think that's important? Because I am very concerned that we forget who we are in Christ, that we forget what we've been given; I'm concerned that there may be a functional identity amnesia in us that changes the way we think about ourselves and then changes the way that we think about ourselves changes and the way that we live. You see, identity amnesia always leads to identity replacement. If you're not living out of a celebration of your identity in Christ, then you're looking somewhere else for identity.
You're looking to other people; you're looking to job success; you're looking to material comfort; you are looking somewhere for a replacement gospel to give you identity. And I think it's very significant that as Paul ends this discussion of the centrality of the Gospel that we have been considering in 1 Corinthians 1 and in 1 Corinthians 2, that he ends with a very clear, stark, if you would, discussion of identity. Paul does that because he understands his audience, and he understands how easy it is for us to forget who you are.
I would ask you, where are you looking for identity? Where are you looking for security? Where are you looking for an inner sense of well-being? What is your functional gospel? As a mom, as a dad, as a worker, as a man, as a woman, as a student, what is the gospel of your life? Look there in your bulletins or on page 953 of your church Bible. I want to read again these words for you from 1 Corinthians 2: The natural 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 discerned.
The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16, ESV) Paul makes a very significant identity contrast in this passage. Now good thinking is all about contrast - night and day, light and dark, good and bad, true and false, wise and foolish - and this is a contrast you need to understand: the contrast between the spiritual person and the natural person.
And this is a passage with amazing symmetry; each person's condition is described for us, his response to the Gospel and then the reason for that response. Look with me at verse 14, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God." Here's the condition; he's a 'natural person.' Here's what this means. It means he's attempting to function in life based on his natural range of created gifts. Now, think about that with me; God's creation of human beings is amazing; it's amazing the ability that God has given us to think, and to reason, and to analyze, and to evaluate.
It is a mysterious thing, the way that we never leave life alone; we're always interpreting; we're always seeking to understand. That is a glorious thing, but hear this: that thing was never meant to function in autonomy. You and I do not have the capacity, based on the natural range of our intelligence and the intellectual value of the gifts that we have been given, we do not have the ability to make proper sense out of life. We cannot know by our own reason, and by our own research, and by our own experience, and by our own logic, everything we need to know in order to live the way that we were meant to live, because the exercise of those things was meant to happen in submission to the God who is a God of all wisdom, insight, knowledge, and truth.
Adam and Eve Needed Revelation
Now, you know this is true if you have ever spent time in Genesis 1. It's really very interesting because, although Adam and Eve were perfect people, living in a perfect world, living in perfect relationship with God, no sin had entered the world yet; God did not expect that these two people, based on their own reason, would figure life out. And so, immediately upon creating Adam and Eve, what does God do? God comes and talks to them because they don't know who they are; they don't know what life is about; they don't know who God is; they don't know.
And their natural range of ability will never lead them to know the things that only God can give them by means of revelation. So, the Wonderful Counselor comes to Adam and Eve, and He counsels them. And so, it's a devastating thing when Paul says the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. That is a condition that every person is born into. We have wonderful God-given gifts; we see the image of God implanted on us; we have amazing intellectual ability, but it is not enough to live life as it was meant to be lived.
We need more! There's something else that fits under this title of 'natural man.' This person is also dealing with the natural effects of sin. Not only is he not able, in autonomy, separate from God, to know and understand what he needs to know and what he needs to understand, those capacities that are glorious have been damaged by sin. Every aspect of my thinking and my reason, and my analysis, and my evaluative abilities, has somehow been damaged, bent, distorted, by sin, so, I have a double problem.
Those beautiful things are not enough, but those beautiful things have been damaged, and so the result is this, this is the response--this person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. They are folly; they are foolishness; they do not warm his heart; they do not bring conviction; they are not encouraging to him; they do not build hope. They do not look to him like an awesome, beautiful portrait of what is true, and what is good, and what is right, and what is worth living for.
He doesn't see that portrait. Now, I want you to understand what he's talking about here, and we'll say more about that in a moment. Paul is not arguing that, when an unbeliever picks up the Word of God, the words appear to be gibberish to him. He is not saying that it looks like gobbledy-gook. His problem is not that he can't read the language; I mean, the natural man can read a sentence; he can, in terms of the definition of the words and the syntax and grammar, he can understand the sentence, but the sentence that is wisdom ends up looking like folly to him.
His problem isn't a language problem; his problem is deeper than that. Now, think of this, think of the billions of people that I've just described who are attempting to live, based on glorious gifts now bent by sin, who hear the most beautiful message that you could ever hear, whose eyes read the most stunningly gorgeous truths that you could ever weave through your brain, and they look at it, and what they see is utter foolishness. Now, that's the response. Now the reason for that - look at the rest of this verse, "And he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
His problem is not ignorance; his problem is not a lack of the theological ability; his problem is moral inability. Look at what it says, "He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." I actually think that word could be better translated. I think the word actually would be better translated 'appraised.' It's the word for appraisal. Think about this, every time you read something, whether it's in Time magazine, or New Yorker, or a Christian book, or a novel, or the Word of God, you are making some kind of moral appraisal; you are making a moral judgment.
Rational Means Moral
Is this true? Is this good? Is this right? Is this wise? That's what it means to be rational, and what Paul is saying is, apart from the work of God in your life, you are not able to make proper moral appraisal. You don't get it right; you think you're right; you're convinced of your thinking, but you lack the ability to make proper, moral appraisal. You evaluate truth improperly, and so you look at things that aren't true, and you see wisdom there; and you look at things that are true, and you see foolishness there.
What a sad condition! At some time, that was all of us. Maybe some of you still in this room, you're struggling to see the glorious truth of the Word of God as being glorious or true. We are not just a bunch of people who are somehow, some way, interested in spiritual things, and that's why we're here. Something magnificent has happened to you, or would you have no desire whatsoever to be doing what we're doing right now, and you and I must never forget that. And then Paul turns to describe the 'spiritual person.' "The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." Okay, here's the condition: "the spiritual person". When Paul uses that term, he's not using it like we often do, where we use that as sort of a way of saying, "This person is mature; he's spiritual." That's not what he means. What he means is something dramatic and amazing, something way beyond anything we would've ever thought or could have ever understood, happens when the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ transforms your heart and adopts you into God's family.
Hear this. God knew, as Paul has just described, that your condition was so profound and so pervasive, that it was not enough to just forgive you. He literally, God, literally, knew that the only way you would ever be what you're supposed to be and do what you're supposed to do, is if He, literally, unzipped you and got inside of you by His Spirit. Wow! God's answer to your inability is not a theology class; it's Himself! God looks at you in your inability; He looks at you in your foolishness, and what He gives you is Him.
I just don't think we can overstate this. I think it's impossible! The reality that this Spirit of God, who guided every word in this Book, this Spirit of God that illumines every word of this Book, that Spirit, (are you ready for this?) is actually living inside of you at this moment. And so now, you're able to value, rate truth properly; you're able to appraise it appropriately. That's why now the Word of God comforts you; that's why it convicts you; that's why it encourages you; that's why it gives you hope; that's why you have a twit of a desire to ever be in it, because the Spirit has been given to you.
Praise Him! Sorry. There just isn't much credit for you there. You just haven't done a whole lot to get it, to deserve it, or to keep it. You were unable, and you would look at the words of that Spirit, and you'd go, "Sphhh! It's foolishness!" But that Spirit is a Spirit of grace, and He moved towards you, and He invaded you, and He redeemed you, and He gave you the ability now to look at truth and see truth. Amazing! Amazing! I want to stop right here and get you to reflect for a moment. What should your response to that be?
Humility First
Let me mention some things, first, humility, humility. I am afraid that we turn this humbling message into an occasion for pride, moral self-righteousness, moral uppity-ness. I'm afraid it becomes a basis for subtle condemnation of the person who doesn't get it. Maybe even at times, ugly mockery. We should weep for the person who looks at the Gospel and doesn't see wisdom and doesn't see life. And we should say it again and again, "I am that person, but for the gift of the Spirit." We must not turn this Gospel of grace into a reason for condemnation and ugly judgment, moral superiority.
We are not morally superior - we're redeemed! It happens in subtle ways. Parents, it may happen when you say to your child, "I can't believe that you would do such a thing! In my day, I would've never thought of doing that," you know, buying into the delusion that you cut through your childhood like a hot knife through butter. It's moral superiority! And how do you get to the Gospel from there? And, "Oh by the way, Jesus loves you." It just sort of doesn't fit! Perhaps it should be remembered that the only difference between you and that rebellious little one is the gift of the Spirit.
We need to remember a third thing. Can this not result in zeal for ministry? Oh, wouldn't you want everybody around you to experience this gift? Wouldn't you want them to be free from the bondage to their autonomy? Wouldn't you want that to happen to every citizen of Philadelphia, every citizen of the surrounding suburbs, every citizen of the United States, every citizen of the world? Shouldn't our vision be that big? Because, if it's the Gospel, everybody needs it! Don't let yourself think right now, "Paul, you're getting a little bit out of control."
Now, notice the response here, "The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one." Listen, here's what Paul is saying: now this person carries with him the stunning ability to make moral judgment." What a sweet thing because the Spirit of God is in me; I'm capable of evaluation; I'm capable of Gospel-driven, Christcentered, biblically appropriate evaluation. Praise God for that! And that's not, just again, because I'm theologically aware or biblically literate; those things are very, very important, but it's because I have been given that ability in the presence of the Spirit who now lives inside of me.
"And I'm judged by no one." What does that mean? I no longer live enslaved to the standards of the natural person's judgment. I now live by a different standard. I'm now not living based on what people think about whatever, what culture says about whatever, what people think about me whenever. I have been taken up to a higher standard, the Lord of lords, the Creator of it all, now is my Teacher, now He is my standard; what a wonderful thing! And I can say things and be sure even though I'm standing in a thousand people, and they disagree; isn't that wonderful?
And I don't have to walk away thinking, "Oh, maybe I was wrong; maybe that wasn't right; maybe I don't think as well as I thought I did." All that anxiety of knowing can rest now, because the God who knows has given me the ability to know by this Spirit who lives in me. How sweet is that? And then Paul can't resist reminding us of this God who lives inside of us, "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" That's in that beautiful poem of Isaiah 40 that tries to capture the glory of God.
When I read Isaiah 40, it always feels like Isaiah, in his poetry, is stretching the human language as far as you can, somehow, some way, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, to capture the glory of God. And one of the things he said is, "If you want to know how glorious God's wisdom is, here it is: he's never had a teacher." Let that sink in for a moment. That is only true of God because the most creative artist, the most creative musician, the most creative philosopher or theologian, the most creative politician, the most creative parent, they have all gotten there through what?
Who Has Taught God?
Instruction ... but not God! He knows everything from beyond origin to beyond destiny, and He has never ever been taught. Now if that amazes you, fasten your seatbelt because look what he says next. "But we have the mind of Christ!" That awesome God, in the person of the Spirit of Christ, now lives inside of us. We have been gifted with His mind. Now notice this, this is not an 'ought' statement. This is not one of these passages that says, "You need to have the mind of Christ." There are those passages; Philippians 2 is one of those.
This is a Gospel 'is.' This God of glorious truth, this God of ultimate wisdom, now lives in your heart. Again, are you a celebrant? Or is there not much celebration in your life? Have you come to a sad place where this is all sort of mundane and normal, and you kind of take it for granted? Is there evidence that you are an identity amnesiac; you have forgotten the glory of what you have been given, and you're in frantic pursuit of identity in places where you will never find it? Or, do you know who you are?
Do you rest in what you have been given, and do you ravenously feed on the Gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? You see, that identity that Paul lays out will always take you back to the cross of Jesus Christ. Why are you different? If you're one of God's children--the cross, because Jesus died not just for your past, He died not just for your future, but He died to give you life in the here and now, understanding in the here and now, wisdom in the here and now, ability in the here and now, so you could live with Him and live for Him until He returns.
It's a gift; it's a gift; it's a gift; it's a gift of sovereign grace given to people who are utterly unable and whose hearts must be given life by God's Spirit. It is very, very important, not just on Sunday, but on every day, wherever we are, whatever the location or the situation, that we are people that keep the Gospel central-- That we have a cruciform worldview, again, cruci-cross, 'form or in the shape of,' that's central to the way we look at the world, is that the truth of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that defines who God is, that defines who we are, that defines the problem with the world, that defines hope, and meaning, and purpose, and future.
It's very, very important, secondly, that we live out of a Gospel-centered identity, that we're reminding ourselves and reminding one another, who we are lest we forget, lest we become identity amnesiac's. And it's very, very important that we call one another to humble celebration; because every time you celebrate that gift, you remember it was not you; you have no reason for pride; you have no reason for boasting; you have no reason for ugly condemnation of others; because what you have, you have been given.
May the cross be central, and may it shape all we say, all we think, all we desire, and all we do. Let's Pray: Lord, thank you for this clear description of the gift of Your grace that has transformed us. Lord, I would pray, in this moment, for anyone here who may not know You, who may still be struggling to accept the things of God; oh, won't You, by Your grace, cause them to cry out for Your help and to receive the gift of Your Son. And, Lord, for us, help us to remember who we are, for those of us who name Your name, may we not forget; may we not be amnesiac's; may we live a cross-shaped life. In Jesus's name, Amen.
