In 1 Corinthians 2:14 Paul said, “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.” This verse has been misinterpreted for many years to teach that one cannot develop faith in God without special illumination from the Holy Spirit. It is taught that we are born totally depraved (born sinners); thus without the help of the Holy Spirit working directly on our heart, there is no way that we can understand the Bible, let alone obey it’s instruction.

Is this what Paul is teaching when he said that the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit God? If so, the Bible contradicts itself. The Bible clearly teaches that faith comes by hearing the word of God (John 20:30, 31; Romans 10:17). Can a person understand the Bible message without a direct operation by the Spirit on his heart? Calvinists and Pentecostals say no on the basis of Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:14. However, in Ephesians 4:3, Paul told the brethren at Ephesus that when they read his inspired words, they would be able to understand. Was Paul teaching one thing to the Ephesians, and something else on the same subject to the Corinthians? That would be a contradiction. And if Paul taught contradicting doctrines, which one should we accept? If there is one contradiction in the Bible, the whole book is uninspired. But Paul did not contradict himself because he never taught that one had to experience a direct operation of the Spirit in order to understand God’s word. So then, what is the passage in 1 Corinthians teaching?

Perhaps the best question is, who is the natural man of 1 Corinthians 2:14? The context gives us the answer. Paul said the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. The things referred to by Paul are those which were revealed to the apostles by the Spirit, i.e., the gospel of Christ. That gospel had been a mystery up until that point, but now it was being revealed. Paul said, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” Why does the natural man not receive these things? Is it because he cannot? No! It is because, as Paul said, “they are foolishness unto him.” Has Paul said anything about those who view the gospel as being foolish? Yes. They are those engulfed in the wisdom of this world (1 Corinthians 1:17-31).

Paul has been referring to those things that were a mystery before being revealed by the Spirit as the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God (inspired word which had its origin in the mind of God) has been set forth by Paul in contrast to the wisdom of man (earthly wisdom originating from the mind of man). Those who view the preaching of the Cross (the gospel) as foolishness are those who rely on the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God. They are those who reject revelation because it makes no sense to them. It is not in keeping with their human reasoning and philosophies; so they dismiss it. That is the natural man, the one who is governed by human reasoning instead of that which has been revealed by God. Such a man cannot understand the gospel; not because the Spirit revealed gospel is not understandable, but because he has rejected revelation, and apart from divine revelation, one is still in the dark. He can’t know the wisdom of God while simply relying on human reasoning. This would be true, not only of the person who rejects the gospel, but also of the one who has never heard the gospel of Christ. Many people saw Jesus hanging on the cross who had no idea that He was dying for the sins of the world. Apart from revelation, they could not have understood the significance of that event. God’s plan of salvation, and all other spiritual subjects, can only be understood in light of what God has revealed by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-11).

1 Corinthians 2:14 does not teach the need of a direct operation of the Spirit upon the heart. It teaches the importance of hearing, believing, and obeying the gospel of Christ. Salvation cannot be obtained without hearing the gospel. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? So, then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:13-17).