But a natural man (one without the Spirit) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 

  1 Corinthians 2:14-15

Perhaps, it’s one of the most difficult things, as Christians, with which we have to wrestle. We know it’s true, the Word of God makes it abundantly clear, and each one of us was once in this spiritual condition ourselves before surrendering our lives to Christ. It’s the reality that everyone apart from Christ is spiritually dead, void of the Holy Spirit, and without hope in eternity (apart from repentance). Today’s passage is one of my favorites and reveals to all of us just how important it is for us to make sure that we are in Christ and operating in the power of the presence of God living within us. 

“A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” Ever talk to someone about the Lord and the things of God and you were met with sort of a “deer in headlights” response? Or talking to someone about Christ and receiving in return retribution for your taking the time to share with them? These are natural responses for the lost world. The response we get from others will largely depend on their personality but there will be a consistent perplexed or baffled reply. If someone, who is not already a believer, does express interest in the gospel and the things of God, we can rest assured that God is working in the heart and life of that individual. But it is the natural state of a person that keeps them from accepting the things of God. Paul makes this all too clear. The good thing is that we can relate because all of us, who are in Christ, were once living in the same lost, spiritually dead place in which the rest of the world finds itself. 

Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:6, James 2:10, and Romans 5:18 all deal with this reality. But the gospel, the good news of Jesus, has the power to move us from spiritual death to spiritual life, take a life void of the Holy Spirit and fill that life with the presence of God, giving the newly born again person a place in the kingdom of God for all of eternity. But until that day, a person will continue to live in the natural state in which we were all born, not accepting the things of God. And although we know this to be true, it can be difficult to navigate this spiritual reality especially with the ones we love. We all want to know that those we love will be in heaven someday but unless a person is found in Christ, that simply is not the truth. Regardless, if a person is kind, charitable, has a great work ethic, is hospitable, or appears to be a hardworking, trustworthy person, apart from Christ, this person would still be spiritually dead, lost, and without hope in eternity. This is the real “walking dead”…not zombies rather people without spiritual understanding.

But let’s continue. Not only do unregenerate people not accept the things of the Spirit of God, they find those very things to be foolishness. “But a natural man (one without the Spirit) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.” Compare that to the following:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

      1 Corinthians 1:18  

People who have yet to be saved, find the gospel and the things of Christ foolishness. This is an indication that they are perishing, which is another way of saying that they have no spiritual life living in them and are destined for an eternity apart from Christ. But notice the opposite…yet for us who are being saved, the cross of Jesus is the very power of God to save our souls in spite of our being unworthy of such rescuing. He does it anyway for anyone who will call upon His name (Romans 10:13). 

But let’s continue. “But a natural man (one without the Spirit) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Not only do unsaved people not accept the things of the Spirit of God, in fact they find them foolish, they actually cannot understand them. Why? Because the things of the Spirit of God are spiritually appraised. To “appraise” something is to examine it to see the value or quality of the thing. A jeweler might appraise a piece of jewelry to determine its worth or value. As Christians, we are able to correctly and accurately appraise the things of the Spirit of God, but a lost, unsaved person, someone who has yet to give his/her life to Jesus Christ, cannot do so. Why? Because the things of God are spiritually appraised and require the presence and activity of God in our lives, giving us the ability, discernment, and spiritual eyes to see. 

This is what the rest of our passage reveals. “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.” As Christians, we have the ability to appraise all things. Don’t forget that! As a born again believer in Jesus, you will see things going on around you and correctly assess from where these ideas and behaviors come and then appropriately respond to the situation. This is a tremendous resource that we have in the Spirit of God. Religion will not do this for us. It’s easy to observe, in our world today, people who seem to be religious but lack any spiritual understanding. This is an indication that they have never been saved. Certainly, those who live in the power of the Spirit can determine good from evil, right from wrong, and what is of Christ and that which is from hell itself. The world will try to say that standing up for the truth of the Word of God is somehow judging others but the reality is that they are indeed the ones doing the judging. Consider Paul’s words: “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.” We are not properly appraised by the unbelieving world because they do not accept or understand the things of God and even find them foolish. Don’t forget that either! We don’t take spiritual advice from those who are spiritually dead themselves. Rather, we are to be shining the light of Jesus Christ into their lives so that they, too, can receive Christ, be filled with the Spirit of God, and move from spiritual death to spiritual life! (Matthew 5:14-16). 

It matters not how worldly successful a person is, how kind we may find their personality, or how impressed we are with some quality that they display. A heart outside of Christ is a dead heart. Difficult to navigate sometime…but the very reality of the world in which we live. Let’s be the ambassadors for Christ that He desires for all of us to be!

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

      2 Corinthians 5:20-21