1 Corinthians 2:12-14

Scripture: 1 Cor. 2:12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.

1 Cor. 2:13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1 Cor. 2:14 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.

Teaching: Paul is moving in these verses into an application of what he’s been discussing so far in chapter 2 – that everything the Corinthians have received in faith, everything they have access to in God, is not from Paul but from the Spirit of God, and thus God himself. When Paul says in verse 12 that “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,” he means that there is a spirit of the world (i.e. a sinful spirit that seeks for its own gain [see Rom. 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3]), and in contrast, a Spirit of God who gives understanding of the things of God. Following other teaching by Paul, we know that we are born sinful, driven by the “spirit of the world,” seeking and only understanding the things of the world while fearing death; however, when we receive the Spirit of God in faith, we are able to discern the thoughts of God, the character of God, the person of God and thus, seek and understand ourselves, the world, and life itself in a new way (no longer fearing death because we know there is life with Christ after).

Understanding this is not a work of the flesh or a matter of human wisdom, able to be taught and understood as if it were an academic class. No, Paul says in verse 13-14 that we grasp these truths of God spiritually because it is the Spirit of God communicating them to us. This sort of spiritual understanding is what leads a believer in Christ to turn from sin and deny himself earthly pleasures in pursuit of Christ --as Christ says, to carry one’s cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). As Paul will expand upon further in 1 Corinthians 15, spiritual truths understood in faith motivate behavior that is counter to worldly logic. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 on the topic of Christ’s resurrection, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:16-19, ESV). What he means there, and what is applicable here in 1 Corinthians 2, is that if Christ was not resurrected, then what are we doing all this for? If this life is all there is, why would we not eat, drink, and be merry, soaking up all we can? But Paul understands this spiritual truth: Christ did resurrect, this life is not all there is; quite the contrary, it is but a vapor. What matters is eternity with Christ. This spiritual understanding is, as Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:14, folly to the natural person (one without the Spirit of God indwelling and leading them). A natural person will follow the spirit of this world, seeking all they can in this life because they fear death and deny Christ. A person with the Spirit of God, however, has been given spiritual understanding, and thus, lives in a completely different way – seeking Christ over earthly fulfillment.

Takeaway: The tension between what the Spirit of God tells us is true and what our flesh desires is the predicament we all as believers face. As Paul describes in Romans 7, it is a raging battle at times. Spiritual maturity elevates and clings to spiritual truth over fleshly desires. It sees past the fleeting moments of temptation and painful realities of this world towards complete joy, fulfillment, and peace in eternity with Christ. This kind of understanding is not of human wisdom or the result of harsh self-discipline (as some attempt to make it), but rather the result of the spiritual wisdom of God changing our perspective on life. This life is not all there is; there is eternal life with Christ because Christ is alive. The Bible tells us that because He is alive, resurrected, we will be, also. He is our proof. Today, choose Christ over all else.