Words Taught by the Spirit

Not Taught by Human Wisdom

As believing Christians, those of us who gather at Maple Street Community Church know that we will never be accepted or understood by people of the world, people who have not been taught by the Holy Spirit. The learning of the world applies only to the world and cannot tell us anything about spiritual things.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, we find these words: “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. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

The phrasing of this passage makes it very clear that it is not possible to interpret spiritual truths to those who are not spiritual: they will never understand, and that’s why the truths of Scripture will always seem strange to the worldly.

“For They Are Folly to Him”

1 Corinthians 2:14 goes on to say, “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.”

The “natural person” is simply a normal human being, a human being as nature made him. Without being open to the Holy Spirit, a natural person will never be able to understand the words of Scripture, because those words can only make sense in the light of spiritual discernment. That spiritual discernment doesn’t come from nature; it isn’t simply available to every person. It comes from the Holy Spirit and is only available to those who are open to receive the Holy Spirit.

At Maple Street Community Church, we know why the worldly person can never accept the words of Scripture: without the Spirit, those words can only ever appear as “folly” to him.