From the
general need of man for divine illumination we go on to consider the specific
need for illumination in the matter of receiving God’s salvation. If it is true
that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, nor can he
know them, how is it possible for such a man to ever receive God’s salvation. Does
this passage mean that the unsaved man cannot understand what the Bible is
saying? To answer these questions we need to look more closely at the words receive
and know in the 1 Corinthians 2:14
passage. The lexicons indicate that the word here used for receive (dechomai)
has in it the connotation of welcoming the reception of a thing. Rotherham
translates this phrase: “But a man of the soul doth not welcome the things of
the Spirit of God.” The reason for man’s inability to receive the things of the
Spirit of God is not due to any defect in his physical constitution: it is due
to the alienation of his mind against God. He does not welcome the things of
God anymore than man welcomes things of his human enemies.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
No comments:
Post a Comment