In 1 Corinthians 2:15, Paul states, "The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one" (ESV). To fully grasp the meaning of this verse, it is essential to consider the context of Paul's message to the Corinthian Christians.
The Corinthian Christians faced significant misunderstandings regarding Paul's message and ministry. This led to division within the church, immoral behavior among its members, a selfish attitude, and stunted spiritual growth. Although they were sanctified in their position in Christ, their lives reflected unsanctified, fleshly behavior more akin to their pagan neighbors than to godly individuals of faith.
Paul sought to remind them that spiritual revelation and the Christian faith should be rooted in the power of God and His perfect wisdom, not in human wisdom.
He reminded them of their position and privileges in Christ and that they had the indwelling Holy Spirit, Whom the world does not know. The unsaved have no access to Him nor the capacity to understand Him.
Earlier in the chapter, Paul contrasts the world’s wisdom with the wisdom of God, revealing that true wisdom comes from the Spirit: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12, ESV).
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The Natural Man vs. The Spiritual Man
The larger context of 1 Corinthians 2-3 contrasts the spiritual man with the natural man. The natural man, who is without the Spirit, acts like this. The natural man does not accept the things that come from Him. They regard such truths as foolishness because spiritual things can only be discerned through power of the Holy Spirit.
The natural man will not receive or accept the things of God, because he considers them to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). In contrast, the spiritual man judges all things (1 Corinthians 2:15). That is, he is able to discern or evaluate properly the things of God because they are spiritually perceived.
The ingredient the natural man is missing-and the spiritual man has-is the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). The mature believer in Christ is the spiritual man, made alive and possessing a new way of thinking.
Infants in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1) are those who are newly born again. They have just come to know Christ and are only now beginning to learn about the things of God. Consequently, they might look like a fleshly person at times, not utilizing the mind of Christ in their own thinking.
The fleshly person (1 Corinthians 3:3) often acts like an infant, only without the built-in excuse. Infants are expected to behave like infants because that is what they are. The fleshly person, or carnal person, has not grown as he should have.
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Paul chastises the Corinthians because they are thinking and behaving like fleshly people (1 Corinthians 3:3) when they should be thinking like the spiritual man who judges or discerns all things. Their immaturity was inexcusable and showed up in their thinking and behavior. They were going beyond what was written in Scripture, becoming arrogant and judging wrongly (1 Corinthians 4:6).
The spiritual man judges all things, and he is misunderstood by the natural man. Those without the Spirit cannot appreciate or fully comprehend the spiritual man’s motives, worldview, or character.
When we believe in Jesus, we are born again and can now think as God has designed us to think. We should move past the immaturities of infancy and press on to maturity. We ought to think and act like spiritual people because that is what we are. As Paul put it elsewhere, we should walk in a manner worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1). We should no longer walk like fleshly people, focusing on the desires of our flesh. As we walk in the Spirit, we grow in our ability to judge everything according to God’s truth.
The Spiritual Man's Discernment
The spiritual man, therefore, is equipped with divine wisdom, enabling him to judge all things accurately. When Paul says, “The spiritual man judges all things,” he does not suggest that the spiritual person is judgmental or critical in the worldly sense. Rather, this judgment is the ability to discern spiritual truths and to distinguish between what is of God and what is not. Hebrews 5:14 speaks of mature believers who have their “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (ESV).
The fact that the spiritual man “judges all things” also implies that the opinions or judgments of others do not sway him. In the same verse, Paul notes that the spiritual person “is himself to be judged by no one” (1 Corinthians 2:15, ESV).
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There is a responsibility that comes with spiritual discernment. The spiritual man, as he judges all things, lives according to the wisdom and insight the Spirit gives. The judgments he makes align with God’s will. Paul’s prayer for believers is that their “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that [they] may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10, ESV).
Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
The believer has a built-in Bible Teacher - the Holy Spirit. This capacity of the believer stands in contradistinction to the non-believer, who cannot decipher spiritual truth (previous verse). It is the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit to illumine the Bible to the believer. God gave revelation and inspired the writing of the apostles, but He also illuminates the Word of God to all believers.
The believer then can “judge” or assess spiritual things by their true standard. He can come to believe properly and apply truth to experience. He can judge “all things,” in contrast to the non-believer, who cannot discern spiritual things (v.
Non-believers try to pass judgment on believers, but they do not have the capacity to do so because they are spiritually dead. They may accurately assess our faults, but they cannot accurately evaluate our faith. They might understand the facts about the Bible, but they cannot engage with its truth.
The believer has a built-in Bible teacher, but the non-Christian has no such teacher. The believer has a supernatural point of reference within him because the Holy Spirit indwells and illuminates him. The non-Christian can understand facts and objective phenomena of Scripture, but he cannot truly grasp the spiritual significance of its truth.
Summary of Key Differences
Here is a table summarizing the key differences between the natural man and the spiritual man, based on 1 Corinthians 2:
| Characteristic | Natural Man | Spiritual Man |
|---|---|---|
| Spirit | Without the Spirit of God | Indwelt by the Holy Spirit |
| Wisdom | Relies on human wisdom | Possesses divine wisdom |
| Discernment | Cannot discern spiritual truths | Can discern spiritual truths |
| Judgment | Judges based on worldly standards | Judges all things according to God's truth |
| Understanding | Sees spiritual things as foolishness | Understands spiritual realities |
| Mind of Christ | Lacks the mind of Christ | Has the mind of Christ |
| Teacher | No spiritual teacher | Taught by the Holy Spirit |
How can I have the mind of Christ? | GotQuestions.org
In criticising their carnality, condemning their behaviour, and comparing their worldly attitude to the unsaved, Paul is paving the way to remind us that we are a Temple of God. Being born of His Spirit gives us access to godly wisdom from above, and as spiritual men and women, we have the capacity to appraise all things. It is by faith that we have the indwelling Spirit of God, and should appraise ourselves to see if we are in the faith, walking in spirit and truth, growing in grace, and maturing in our Christian witness.
And as believers, we not only have the Spirit of God in our heart, but the written Word of God in our possession, which is living, powerful, and will guide us into all truth. Each one of us should be capable of inquiring and scrutinising the Word of Truth to understanding its content and apply it in our lives so we can appraise all things, are appraised by no one, and understand many mysteries of God which are revealed to us, whilst hidden from the world.
A Personal Prayer
Heavenly Father, what a great joy and privilege it is to know that my body is a temple of God. By the power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit, I am enabled to judge all things and be appraised by no one. Keep me low at the Cross and ever open to the leading and guidance of Your Holy Spirit. Prevent me from being enticed into the ways of the world or influenced by human wisdom. Guide me into all truth, I pray, as I stand firm on the unchangeable Word of Truth, and may the mind of Christ dwell in me richly.