Commentary - 1 Corinthians 2:14-16

Bird's-eye view

In this section of his letter, Paul is driving home the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit for any true understanding of God and His ways. He establishes a stark and unbridgeable chasm between two kinds of people: the natural man, operating on fallen human reason, and the spiritual man, illumined by the Spirit of God. This is not a matter of intellectual capacity or educational attainment; it is a fundamental difference in operating systems. The natural man is spiritually dead and therefore cannot receive or process spiritual data. To him, the gospel is nonsensical gibberish. The spiritual man, however, has been given a new faculty, a new capacity to see and evaluate all things from God's perspective. Paul concludes this profound contrast by quoting Isaiah, reminding us that no one can counsel the Lord, and then making the audacious claim that believers, through the Spirit, actually possess the mind of Christ.

This passage is a frontal assault on all forms of intellectual pride and self-sufficiency. It establishes what we call the antithesis, the fundamental divide between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of this fallen world. There is no neutral ground, no common set of principles from which the believer and the unbeliever can reason together to arrive at the truth of the gospel. The starting point for all true knowledge is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, who alone can take the "foolishness" of the cross and reveal it as the very power and wisdom of God.

Outline

Context In 1 Corinthians

Paul has just spent the first part of chapter 2 dismantling the Corinthian fascination with worldly wisdom and eloquent rhetoric. He reminded them that his own ministry among them was not built on clever speeches but on a demonstration of the Spirit's power, centered on the message of Christ crucified. This message, he has argued, is a "secret and hidden wisdom of God" (v. 7), inaccessible to the rulers and wise men of this age. These verses (14-16) serve as the capstone to that argument. He now explains precisely why this wisdom is hidden from the world. It's not just that they missed it; it's that they are constitutionally incapable of grasping it. This sets the stage for the problems he will address later in the letter, such as divisions, arrogance, and moral laxity, all of which stem from a failure to live consistently by the Spirit's wisdom rather than the world's.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Corinthians 2:14

14 But a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.

Paul here uses the term "natural man" (psuchikos anthropos) to describe a person who has not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This is man as he is born, man in Adam, operating solely on the level of his own soul and intellect. He lives and breathes in the realm of the merely human. He might be a brilliant philosopher, a celebrated artist, or a shrewd businessman, but in the things of God, he is deaf, dumb, and blind. He "does not accept" the things of the Spirit. The verb here means more than a simple refusal; it indicates a fundamental inability to receive or welcome them. It's like trying to upload a complex software program onto a computer that lacks a compatible operating system. The hardware just can't run the program.

Why can't he? Because to him, these truths are "foolishness." The cross, the incarnation, the resurrection, the idea of substitutionary atonement, these are not just difficult concepts; they are, to the unregenerate mind, utter nonsense. An offense to reason. A stumbling block. The world's wisdom operates on principles of self-preservation, power, and glory. The gospel operates on principles of sacrifice, weakness, and humility. The two systems are irreconcilable. Therefore, the natural man "cannot understand them." This is not a failure of intellect but a failure of spiritual capacity. He lacks the necessary equipment. The reason is that these things are "spiritually examined" or discerned. They require a spiritual faculty, given by the Spirit Himself, to be properly assessed. Without the Spirit, a man is like a tone-deaf person at a symphony, hearing noise but missing the music entirely.

1 Corinthians 2:15

15 But he who is spiritual examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one.

Here is the great contrast. The "spiritual man" (pneumatikos) is the one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Because he has the Spirit, he has been given a new capacity for discernment. He "examines all things." This doesn't mean he becomes omniscient, but it does mean he has the foundational principle by which all things can be rightly judged. He has the interpretive key to reality. Because he starts with God as the Creator and Christ as the Redeemer, he can make sense of the world. He can evaluate philosophies, ethics, and cultural trends from a divine perspective. He can see where things are ultimately headed. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), and the spiritual man has access to that treasury.

Yet, while he can judge all things, "he himself is examined by no one." The natural man cannot get his head around the spiritual man. He cannot figure him out. Why would someone turn the other cheek? Why would someone forgive a grievous offense? Why would someone give their money away? Why would they value humility over self-promotion? The spiritual man's motives, his worldview, his ultimate hope, all of it is a closed book to the unregenerate. The world can call him a fool, a fanatic, or a simpleton, but it cannot truly assess him, because it does not have the right standard of measurement. The world is trying to measure a three-dimensional object with a two-dimensional ruler. The spiritual man is living in a reality that the natural man cannot even perceive.

1 Corinthians 2:16

16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL DIRECT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

Paul concludes his argument with a quotation from Isaiah 40:13. Who has ever been God's counselor? Who can possibly fathom the depths of His wisdom and purpose? The answer, of course, is no one. God's mind is infinite, His ways unsearchable. This is a statement of God's absolute sovereignty and transcendent wisdom. The natural man stands before this reality completely baffled. He cannot instruct God or call Him to account.

And then, Paul makes one of the most staggering statements in all of Scripture: "But we have the mind of Christ." After establishing the utter transcendence of God's mind, he says that we, as believers, have been brought into a share of it. This is breathtaking. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God, we are given access to the very thinking, the very perspective, the very value system of our Lord Jesus Christ. This doesn't mean we know everything Christ knows. But it does mean that the same Spirit who animated Christ now animates us. We are able to begin to think God's thoughts after Him. We have the true framework for understanding reality. The world sees chaos and meaninglessness; we see a created order. The world sees history as a random series of events; we see the outworking of a divine plan. The world sees the cross as a tragic failure; we see the wisdom and power of God for salvation. To have the mind of Christ is to have the ultimate worldview. It is the gift of seeing things as they truly are.

Application

First, this passage ought to produce in us a profound humility. Any spiritual understanding we possess is a sheer gift of grace. It is not because we were smarter, more open-minded, or more morally upright than our unbelieving neighbors. It is because God, in His mercy, chose to switch the lights on. We were just as blind as they are. This should demolish all intellectual pride and make us patient and compassionate in our evangelism. We cannot argue someone into the kingdom. We can present the truth, but only the Holy Spirit can grant the understanding.

Second, we must cultivate this "mind of Christ." It is given to us at regeneration, but it must be renewed daily through the Word of God and prayer (Rom. 12:2). We must consciously learn to think biblically about every area of life, our work, our families, our politics, our entertainment. We have been given the ultimate tool for discernment; we must be diligent in learning how to use it. We are not to be conformed to the world's way of thinking, which sees everything as foolishness, but are to be transformed by having our minds re-calibrated to the mind of Christ.

Finally, this passage is a great encouragement. We are not left to navigate this world with our own faulty and fallen reason. We have been given a supernatural gift: the mind of our victorious Lord. This means we can have confidence and clarity in a confused and chaotic world. The world may not understand us, it may mock us as fools, but we can stand firm, knowing that we are the ones who are seeing reality aright. We are the ones who have been let in on the secret, and that secret is Christ Himself, the wisdom of God.