John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 2:15

"But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man." — 1 Corinthians 2:15 (ASV)

But the spiritual man judgeth all things. Having stripped human carnal judgment of all authority, he now teaches that the spiritual alone are fit judges in this matter, since God is known only by His Spirit, and it is His unique role to distinguish between His own things and those of others, to approve of what is His own, and to nullify all other things.

The meaning, then, is this: “Away with all the discernment of the flesh in this matter! It is the spiritual man alone who has such a firm and solid acquaintance with the mysteries of God as to distinguish without fail between truth and falsehood — between the doctrine of God and human contrivances — so as not to fall into error.”

He, on the other hand, is judged by no man, because the assurance of faith is not subject to men, as though they could make it waver at their command, since it is superior even to angels themselves.” Observe that this prerogative is not ascribed to the man as an individual, but to the word of God, which the spiritual follow in judging, and which God truly dictates to them with true discernment.

Where that is provided, one’s persuasion is placed beyond the range of human judgment. Observe, further, the word translated judged: by which the Apostle indicates that we are not merely enlightened by the Lord to perceive the truth, but are also endowed with a spirit of discrimination, so that we do not remain in doubt between truth and falsehood, but are able to determine what we should shun and what to follow.

But here it may be asked, who is the spiritual man, and where may we find one who is endowed with so much light as to be prepared to judge of all things, since we feel that we are always encompassed by much ignorance and are in danger of erring? Indeed, even those who come nearest to perfection occasionally fall and injure themselves.

The answer is easy: Paul does not extend this faculty to everything, so as to represent all who are renewed by the Spirit of God as exempt from every kind of error. Instead, he simply intends to teach that the wisdom of the flesh is of no avail for judging the doctrine of piety, and that this right of judgment and authority belong exclusively to the Spirit of God. Therefore, to the extent that anyone is regenerated, and according to the measure of grace conferred upon him, he judges with accuracy and certainty, and no further.

He himself is judged by no man. I have already explained on what basis he says that the spiritual man is not subject to the judgment of any man — because the truth of faith, which depends on God alone and is grounded on His word, does not stand or fall according to the will of men.

What he says afterwards, that the spirit of one Prophet is subject to the other Prophets (1 Corinthians 14:32), is not at all inconsistent with this statement. For what is the purpose of that subjection, but that each of the Prophets listens to the others, and does not despise or reject their revelations, so that what is discovered to be the truth of God may at last remain firm and be received by all?

Here, however, he places the knowledge of faith, which has been received from God, above the height of heaven and earth, so that it may not be assessed by human judgment. At the same time, ὕπ ᾿ οὐδενός may be taken in the neuter gender as meaning — by nothing, understanding it as referring to a thing and not to a person.

In this way, the contrast will be more complete, as it indicates that the spiritual man, to the extent that he is endowed with the Spirit of God, judgeth all things, but is judged by nothing, because he is not subject to any human wisdom or reason. In this way, too, Paul would exempt the consciences of the pious from all human decrees, laws, and censures.