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NASB | 1 Corinthians 2:14 ¶ But a natural man 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 2:14 ¶ But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters]. |
Subject: How can anyone be saved? |
Bible Note: Emmaus: You wrote: 'Sounds like adding the "work" of preaching to Christ's finisfhed work in order to accomplish God's plan of salvation.' Properly understood, the preaching is not a work that accomplishes anything itself. However, it is the medium through which the Spirit works: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." --1 Corinthians 2:3-5 It is biblically true that people will not ordinarily be saved without the work of preaching (Romans 10:14), but it is not the work of preaching that is active in saving someone, but rather the Holy Spirit working in and through the medium of preaching. That's why Reformed Christians refer to preaching as a "means of grace," because it is an avenue through which the Holy Spirit works. In the rest of 1 Corinthians 2, Paul distinguishes that the work of preaching itself accomplishes nothing on its own when he says the following: "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man 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." --1 Corinthians 2:12-14 So the unregenerate will not understand nor respond favorably to the message of God, because they have not the Spirit. It is only when the Spirit purposefully works in the life of the hearer of the external message that the message is understood and believed. This is in keeping with Isaiah 55:11, which says that God's word will not return void, but will accomplish every last thing that God intends it to. So, God uses the works of His people (the church) to accomplish his purposes. This includes preaching and the sacraments and prayer. None of these things do anything in themselves (at least in the classical Protestant understanding) but they all are appointed by God as the means by which he conveys grace upon his people. --Joe! |