Gambling With Eternity

I believe the scriptures.

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14


The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit.

Very simple.

Unsaved people don’t understand the scriptures.

Carnal Christians also don’t understand the scriptures the way intended by God.



JPT

The scriptures you gave have nothing to do with being born again BEFORE we hear and believe the Gospel.

SRDD

The fear of the Lord is the Spirit; The Spirit of the Lord.


There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
His delight is in the fear of the LORD,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Isaiah 11:1-3


This is what the Menorah, the seven fold candle stick in the Tabernacle.


It was a candle basin that was interconnect with seven stems containing a common oil for the light.

A main trunk with three stems on each side coming from the main trunk.


The Spirit of the Lord as the main trunk.

The Spirit of knowledge, wisdom and understanding on one side.

The Spirit of the fear of the Lord, counsel and might on the other.


The seven (sevenfold) Spirit of the Lord.

In my religious upbringing they taught me well about everlasting condemnation, but Never about trusting Christ and receiving this:

Praise His Precious Name!
-------------------------------------
Grace, Peace, And JOY In Christ, And In His Word Of Truth, Rightly
Divided (+ I and II)!

Thank you.

The natural man, according to 1 Cor 2:14, will not repent of breaking one of God's spiritual laws that he cannot discern, thinking it to be foolishness.

The natural man has no fear of the Lord.

I refer you back to your post #61. Your statement that the natural man can hear and believe before he has been born again contradicts your post #61.

Thanks GRACE_ambassador. Power, Love, peace and sound mind are so important.
Maintaining a dose of fear in the mix keeps me on track at times.
Human nature I suppose.

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 1 Corinthians 2:13-15


The natural man = soulish man; a person driven by the mind who understands things on a mental level only, because they are driven by the soul and unrenewed mind.

Natural = psychikos — Strong’s 5591


Paul is contrasting the difference between a carnal (soulish) Christian, and a Christian who discerns spiritually, which is what a mature Christian is able to do, verses an immature or carnal Christian (a soulish Christian) who follows the teachings of other men, and “head knowledge”, rather than being taught by the Spirit.


And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:1



Paul is speaking to and referring to different types of Christians, when he uses the terms, natural and carnal.

Paul is not comparing saved and unsaved people.




JPT

Many Christians have no fear of the Lord.

The Gospel, hearing the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16


No one is saved BEFORE they hear and believe the Gospel.



Grace is the God given ability to do what they can not do without it.

This is an excellent clarification justpassinthrough. I never knew. Thank you.

Isaiah 11:2 also references the Holy Spirit using a seven-fold description: “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” The prophecy is that the Messiah would be empowered not by seven individual spirits but by the One Spirit, described seven ways:

1) The Spirit of the LORD
2) The Spirit of wisdom
3) The Spirit of understanding
4) The Spirit of counsel
5) The Spirit of power
6) The Spirit of knowledge
7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord

Revelation 5:6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

I believe, according to the scriptures, you have a false comparison in comparing the members of the church in Corinth that were carnal to the natural man in 1 Cor 2:14. Those in the church have been born again in Christ, and Christ in them. The natural man has not been born again, and should not be classified as a christian.

Those in the church are saved eternally, and the natural man is not saved eternally, until God, by his sovereign grace, quickens him to the new spiritual life. (Eph 2:1-5).

Just when they are disobedient.

In your Post #61, You made the statement that the unsaved people does not understand the scriptures.

Those in the Church of Corinth were called carnal by Paul.

He is making a distinction between a carnal Christian who lives and functions out of the natural man, the carnal part of his nature, rather than a Christians who lives and functions out of the new born again nature that is filled with the Spirit.

In short Paul is making a distinction between born again Christians who walk in the flesh, with born again Christians who live and operate and walk according to the Spirit.




But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
1 Corinthians 2:14-15


And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? 1 Corinthians 3:1-3


A born again Christian who walks according to the flesh, is operating and living from his flesh nature.


A born again Christian who walks according to the Spirit, lives his life from the new nature that is empowered by and led by the Spirit.


Surely you know these things, right?


Are you baptized with the Holy Spirit?






JPT

Yes, the unsaved don’t understand the scriptures.


Neither do born again Christians who are carnal and immature.


And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:1



JPT

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4:18-19, 21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:14‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,

and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:21-22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”
‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:8-9‬

The gospel is what Jesus preached and it includes what he did on the cross it’s what we find in the gospel according to Matthew , the gospel according to mark the gospel according to Luke and the gospel according to John .

It certainly includes Jesus death on the cross for our sins and his resurrection from death three days later it also includes the message of eternal
Life he spoke to believers the message of his Father our Father the message of his eternal kingdom to come that we take part in now by faith all his teachings and preachings his kingdom parables it’s all the gospel everything you find in the four gospel accounts of Matthew mark Luke and John

and it’s absolutely the only source of salvation on earth till the end