John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 2:14

"Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged." — 1 Corinthians 2:14 (ASV)

But the animal man. By the animal man he does not mean (as is commonly thought) the man who is given up to gross lusts, or, as they say, to his own sensuality, but any man who is endowed with nothing more than the faculties of nature. This appears from the corresponding term, for he draws a comparison between the animal man and the spiritual. As the latter denotes the man whose understanding is regulated by the illumination of the Spirit of God, there can be no doubt that the former denotes the man who is left in a purely natural condition, as they say. For the soul belongs to nature, but the Spirit is supernaturally imparted.

He returns to what he had previously touched upon, for his object is to remove a stumbling block that might stand in the way of the weak—the fact that so many people despised the gospel. He shows that we should disregard contempt that proceeds from ignorance. Consequently, it should not be a hindrance to our progress in the race of faith, unless perhaps we choose to shut our eyes to the brightness of the sun, because it is not seen by the blind. It would, however, indicate great ingratitude in any individual, when God bestows on him a special favor, to reject it because it is not common to all, when, on the contrary, its very rareness should enhance its value.

For they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them. “The doctrine of the gospel,” he says, “is insipid to all who are wise merely from a human perspective. But from where does this come? It is from their own blindness. In what respect, then, does this detract from the majesty of the gospel?” In short, while ignorant persons depreciate the gospel because they measure its value by the esteem men have for it, Paul uses this as an argument to extol its dignity all the more.

For he teaches that it is despised because it is unknown, and it is unknown because it is too profound and sublime to be comprehended by human understanding. What superior wisdom this is, which so far transcends all human understanding that man cannot even get a taste of it!

However, Paul here tacitly attributes to the pride of the flesh the fact that mankind dares to condemn as foolish what they do not comprehend. At the same time, he shows how great the weakness, or rather bluntness, of human understanding is when he declares it incapable of spiritual comprehension. For he teaches that it is not due simply to the obstinacy of the human will, but also to the inability of the understanding, that man does not attain the things of the Spirit. Had he said that men are not willing to be wise, that indeed would have been true, but he states further that they are not able. Hence we infer that faith is not within one’s own power, but is divinely conferred.

Because they are spiritually discerned: this means that the Spirit of God, from whom the doctrine of the gospel comes, is its only true interpreter, to open it up to us. Hence, in judging it, human minds must necessarily be blind until they are enlightened by the Spirit of God. From this we infer that all mankind is by nature destitute of the Spirit of God; otherwise, the argument would be inconclusive. True, it is from the Spirit of God that we have that feeble spark of reason which we all enjoy; but at present we are speaking of that special revelation of heavenly wisdom which God grants to His children alone. This makes the ignorance of those who imagine that the gospel is offered to humanity in common, in such a way that all are indiscriminately free to embrace salvation by faith, all the more insufferable.