The Bible Says
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 Meaning

In 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul draws a sharp contrast: 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 (v.14).

The natural man is someone who operates out of natural instincts and fallen human perspective. This is described in James 1:14, where the thoughts of the natural man are called our natural “lust.” James then notes:

“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
(James 1:15)

The Greek word “epithymia” translated “lust” in James 1:14-15 is presented in Romans as the intense desire that comes from the flesh:

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts [‘epithymia’].”
(Romans 13:14)

Believers can counter the intense desire for fleshly, worldly things by adorning ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. The verb form of “epithymia” is used to describe the intense “desire” of both the Spirit and the flesh in Galatians 5:

“For the flesh sets its desire [‘epithymeo’] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
(Galatians 5:17)

The “flesh” is the natural man. It will never “get” the things of the Spirit. That means our flesh is un-reformable. Our instruction is not to make our flesh better; that is not possible. It is to set the flesh aside and instead follow the Spirit. It is to walk in our identity as a new creation in Christ rather than the identify of ourselves as the natural man. Setting aside the natural man can also be described as dying to self. This then is an integral part of what it means to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus:

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’”
(Luke 9:23)

We can note the phrase “deny himself” in this quote from Jesus in Luke 9. To deny self is to set aside the natural man, to whom the things of God do not compute as being in our best interest. It is instead to believe that God’s ways are for our best.

These statements about the natural man can also be applied to unbelievers, as all people are born in sin, due to the Fall; we all possess an inner flesh or natural man. The unbeliever is still made in the image of God, so possesses a built-in testimony of right and wrong (Romans 2:14-15). However, the unbeliever lacks the indwelling of God’s Spirit, so does not have supernatural power to fully set self aside and follow in complete obedience to Christ.

Even though believers in Jesus have the indwelling power of the Spirit, it remains for them to learn to deploy that power as well as to choose to do so. Following the Spirit requires an ongoing choice. Believers can, and do, sometimes choose to walk in the flesh (1 John 1:8). The vast majority of the New Testament is aimed at instructing believers how to follow the Spirit and walk in their faith. And much of that instruction is in helping us learn to set aside the mind of a natural man and adopt the mind of Christ, taking “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

This distinction between the natural man and the things of the Spirit of God aligns with Jesus’s own teachings. He often spoke of having “ears to hear” and “eyes to see,” referring to those with open hearts to the Spirit (Matthew 13:9-16). Understanding spiritual realities remains out of reach without the aid of the Spirit. As 1 John 3:6-7 asserts, when we walk in sin we are walking in the ways of the world and its ruler, which is the norm for a natural man. “No one who abides in Him sins” (1 John 3:6) because when we walk in obedience to the Spirit of God we will do the things of God.

Walking in the Spirit of God aligns our mind with God’s perspective (Romans 12:2). This transforms us from being conformed to this world, which is the natural state for the natural man (Romans 12:2). Our inner, natural man, will never align with God’s truth. It will always see the things of the Spirit of God as “foolishness.”

This basic inner conflict is one of the key battles believers must win in order to gain the most from life. It requires the development of spiritual discernment, as Paul now notes: But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one (v.15).

The Greek word “anakrino” is translated appraises in the phrase he who is spiritual appraises all things. This word is translated “examined” in Luke 23:14 in the context of Pilate saying he has “examined” the evidence presented and found Jesus innocent of any charges. It is used in Acts 4:9 where it is translated as “are on trial” where Peter and John say to the Jewish leaders “if we are on trial [‘anakrino’] today for a benefit done to a sick man…”

The image painted is that he who is spiritual weighs evidence in his mind and makes sound judgments. Of course, in context here he who is spiritual is the one who has learned to discern the voice of his own internal flesh or natural man from the voice of the Holy Spirit. We are to weigh the voice of the flesh against the voice of the Spirit in all things. That is how we can bring all things into obedience to Christ. As Paul will later assert:

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

The act of “taking every thought captive” is the same as putting all things on trial in our minds. When Paul says he who is spiritual appraises all things he is saying that the believer who is spiritual can discern between what is of the world and what is of God.

In doing so, the spiritual man places his accountability before God. This means he should no longer be worried about what the world thinks. He is only concerned what God thinks. In the next chapter, Paul will elevate a focus each believer should have on giving a good account before God at the judgement seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). This places the spiritually discerning man in a position above worldly judgement: yet he himself is appraised by no one.

By “spiritual,” Paul means a person transformed and led by the Holy Spirit. Having God’s Spirit allows believers to see life and reality from heaven’s perspective (2 Corinthians 5:16, Philippians 2:5). Uses of the word appraises here suggests discernment—carefully evaluating all things in light of God’s truth and from a kingdom-of-God perspective.

Therefore, while the world may try to judge believers according to its ever-changing standards, the spiritual person’s ultimate identity and worth rest in God’s verdict rather than in human approval. The Holy Spirit bestows wisdom that even the brightest minds cannot fully grasp apart from spiritual insight. Paul boldly claims that because believers are in Christ, they understand a higher dimension of truth that worldly critics are not qualified to judge. Those that are not spiritual or that are natural should not appraise the spiritual man.

This is because following God’s ways places us above critique from human ways, for humans cannot know the mind of Christ, as Paul now asserts: For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ (v.16).

Believers who have the Holy Spirit have the mind of Christ when, in their minds, they discern the voice of and then decide to follow the Spirit. Thus, when humans criticize (as they have Paul), the answer of the spiritual man is, “Take it up with my Boss.” When we follow the mind of Christ, we follow the mind of the Lord.

When we follow the mind of the Lord we are following things that are beyond the capacity of humans to comprehend on their own, as we saw in 1 Corinthians 2:9. We will see in Chapter 4 that Paul will say he does not put himself on trial, because he is not the judge:

“For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.”
(1 Corinthians 4:4)

Paul states that he has appraised his own thoughts and found them to be consistent with all he knows is right within his conscience. But, he says, this does not mean he is fine because he is not the judge, even of himself. He will find out the truth at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). This is setting up for the next chapter where Paul will point everyone to the judgment seat of Christ and say, “Stop worrying what people think and start focusing on what Jesus thinks.”

Paul also will say in Chapter 4:

“Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.”
(1 Corinthians 4:5)

It is good to appraise oneself to do all we can do to align ourselves with what is true, and adopt the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:5). But it is not good to pass judgement on others as though we are God, when we are definitely not Him.

That the spiritual man is beyond being accountable to worldly judgement does not mean the spiritual person has license for arrogance or to be dismissive of others. Quite the opposite. Paul will soon focus our minds on the judgment seat of Christ, where all our thoughts, intents, and actions will be judged (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, Hebrews 4:12). As Jesus said, “every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

The phrase For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct Him? quotes Isaiah 40:13. Paul is a biblical scholar, and his knowledge of the Bible now has spiritual discernment. Before he had the guidance of the Spirit, Paul used the Bible to justify persecuting Jesus, the Living Word (Acts 8:1, 9:4). Now Paul quotes Isaiah to demonstrate that God’s word says of God that His mind is beyond human capacity, which is why humans have no capacity to instruct Him in any manner.

The book of Job also highlights this principle. During that entire saga, Job was highly favored by God, did not sin with his words, and only spoke what was correct about God (Job 1:22, 42:7-8). But Job asked for a hearing with God and inferred that God was missing Job’s perspective and therefore needed instruction (Job 23:4, 7).

God answered Job’s request for a hearing decisively by inviting Job to instruct Him about how the universe operates, bringing Job to a point of saying, “I know you can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” and “Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2, 6). This was a tangible illustration of Isaiah 40:13, quoted in 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Because Job was righteous, he saw and admitted his error. Job repented of trying to instruct God and direct His purposes. After his interview by God (Job 38-41), Job saw firsthand that he did not know the mind of the Lord and that it was folly to try to instruct Him.

Paul, or anyone, who follows in the mind of Christ affirms that their accountability is before Christ rather than man. But as we will see in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, that accountability is real. As Paul will later say of this accountability of judgment before Christ, he persuades men of this judgment because he knows “the fear of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11).

In Jesus, we are not merely forgiven; we are also given new hearts and a new capacity to discern spiritually. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in our lives guides us to love the things God loves and resist the enticements that the world calls “wisdom.” The statement we have the mind of Christ is a simple statement of fact. Because we have the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ knows the mind of God, we therefore have the mind of Christ. It therefore behooves us to lean into, listen to, learn from, and follow His mind that we might gain the greatest experience of life. Our flesh or natural man will always be pulling us in the opposite direction, seeking to convince us to follow our natural lusts, which lead to death (James 1:14-15).

In the next chapter, Paul will continue this train of thought, providing a tangible reason why believers should set aside fleshly desires, such as the desire to divide into factions and follow a man (“I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos”). That reason is that the foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ. There is no other foundation. And each believer will build on that foundation with the deeds they do.

If these deeds are in obedience to God, then they will be refined and purified in Christ’s judgment fire like precious gold or fine jewels. But if they are done for selfish ends then they will burn up like straw or kindling. Nothing will remain for Jesus to reward. As 1 Corinthians 3:15 states for someone whose deeds all combust, “he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

Paul desires that his disciples build on the true foundation, which is Christ, by doing deeds that lead to lasting treasures. Jesus desires the same for all who would follow Him.