As a rule, after a man becomes a Christian, he should know the things of the Spirit. But why is it that so many brothers and sisters do not know them? The reason is that though they have a regenerated spirit, they are not necessarily spiritual men. Paul’s emphasis in 1 Corinthians 2 and 3 is not merely the spirit but to be spiritual. John’s emphasis is the spirit, but Paul’s emphasis is on being spiritual. A man must not only have the spirit but must be spiritual according to this spirit. One must have the spirit; without the spirit one can do nothing. But to have the spirit alone without living under the principle of this spirit, that is, without living in this spirit and walking according to this spirit to be a spiritual man, is useless.

Suppose you take a man who is born blind into a garden and tell him that he is standing in front of a mango tree. You can explain to the blind man what the fruits are like. But will he understand what you are saying? Even if he is very clever, very discerning, and has very sharp ears, he will still not understand what a mango tree is like. You can tell him about green, but he will not understand what green is. The world of sound is different from the world of sight, and the world of sight is different from the world of thoughts. In the same way, one has to exercise his spirit before he can realize the spiritual world. Those who have eyes may not necessarily see; one must exercise the function of the eyes before he can see. A blind man cannot see the mango tree. A man with good eyes can only see the mango tree if he opens his eyes. A blind man cannot see the mango tree with his ears. A normal man cannot see the mango tree either if he only uses his ears. The problem today is that blind ones have no eyes to see the mango tree, while men with good eyes try to hear the mango tree with their ears. A soulish man cannot know God; no one can know Him by turning to soulish faculties. But a man with a regenerated spirit does not know God either if he only uses his soul. This does not mean that anyone who has a spirit can know God. Even after God’s Spirit has entered into a man, it is still possible for that man to not know God. Wisdom and intelligence do not help an unbeliever know God; neither do they help a Christian know God. Knowledge does not help an unbeliever understand the Bible; neither does it help a Christian understand the Bible. The way to understand the Bible is by the spirit. It is not merely a matter of having the spirit, but a matter of being spiritual. No one can say that he has a spirit but does not have to walk according to it and instead can walk according to his former ways. Such ways were unacceptable when the man did not have a regenerated spirit; they are equally unacceptable now that he has a regenerated spirit. The fundamental way to the understanding of the Bible is through the spirit. This is the reason Paul showed us in 1 Corinthians 2 that the issue is not having or not having the spirit, but of being spiritual or not being spiritual. Spiritual things are discerned only by spiritual men.

First Corinthians 3:1 says, “And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshy, as to infants in Christ.” Here is another word: fleshy. The Corinthian believers were infants in Christ; they were fleshy. This is the reason verse 2 says, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.” To be sure, such ones are not totally ignorant of spiritual things. Yet they can only touch the most obvious revelations; they cannot touch anything deeper. They are fleshy, and therefore they can only take milk, not solid food. Milk is for those in their first stage of life. This means that these ones can only take the most elemental revelations in Christianity. Solid food, on the other hand, is for a grown-up throughout his lifetime. It refers to the deeper and more profound revelations. A man does not continue drinking milk all the time; there is only a short period during his life when he has to drink milk. Yet there are men who, like the Corinthian believers, are drinking milk all the time. “For you were not yet able to receive it. But neither yet now are you able.”

First Corinthians 2 and 3 show us three kinds of men:

First, there is the soulish man. Such a man merely possesses all the faculties of the soul. We can call him the psychological man. A soulish man is an unregenerated man; he does not have a regenerated spirit and does not have the proper organ to understand God’s word. Such a person cannot understand the Bible.

Second, there is the fleshy man. Such a man has God’s life and His Spirit within him. But he walks not according to this spirit but according to the flesh. He has a regenerated spirit, but he does not use his spirit or subject himself to the rule of his spirit. He has a spirit, but he does not come under the control of the spirit or allow the spirit to take over everything. The Bible calls this kind of person fleshy. He has a very limited understanding of the Bible. He can only take milk, not solid food. Milk is something that is first digested by the mother. It refers to indirect revelations, revelations that do not come to a person directly. A man who drinks milk cannot receive any direct revelation from God. He receives revelation from other spiritual men, who transfer such revelation to him.

Third, there is the spiritual man. Such a person has the Spirit of God. He operates under the power of the living Spirit and walks according to the principle of the Spirit. The amount of revelation he receives is unlimited. God’s Word says that spiritual things can only be discerned by spiritual men.

In order to study the Bible, we have to remember these basic requirements: We must be spiritual and we must walk according to the spirit.
Home | First | Prev | Next