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alternative `spiritual men', for there is no sense in saying: "comparing spiritual things
with spiritual men". We can only say, "explaining spiritual things to spiritual men".
The two subjects of the sentence are (1) the things revealed and (2) the words used in
speaking them, and to these the two adjectives naturally refer. Alford's rather cumbrous
rendering has the merit of adhering closely to the original, and his comment is justified:
" `Putting together spirituals with spirituals' i.e. attaching spiritual words to spiritual
things, which we should not do, if we used words of worldly wisdom to expound spiritual
things" (Alford in loco).
Perhaps the translation of Bishop Shuttlew brings the Apostle's thought nearest to us,
when he translates `expounding spiritual things in spiritual language'.
We must leave the other two antonyms of this group for a consideration in another
article, as the space available does not permit a fuller examination of these vital themes.
No.13. Examples in I Corinthians.
Natural 5: Spiritual (2: 14, 15).
Milk 5: Meat (3: 2).
pp. 127 - 130
The fact that `spiritual things' need `spiritual words' for their conveyance demands a
`spiritual hearer', otherwise the language and the theme must appear `foolishness'. Man
is not `spiritual' by birth, he is `natural' or, as the word really is, `soulical', although such
a word has not been endorsed as good English:
"But the natural men receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"
(I Cor. 2: 14).
The word "natural" is the translation of psuchikos, which is derived from psuche
"the soul", a word which is a true synonym for the Hebrew nephesh, which it translates,
as for example in Acts 2: 27 with Psa. 16: 10 and particularly I Cor. 15: 45 with
Gen. 2: 7. Paul uses the word in its specific sense when writing to the Corinthians in the
first epistle, possibly because of the need he felt they had of realizing the close
association of the `soul', the `natural' man and `Adam'. Let us quote the only reference
to psuche in Corinthians in its context. It will be found that if we quote the context of
I Cor. 15: 45, we shall include all the other occurrences of psuchikos that are found in
Corinthians, and indeed that are found in any of Paul's epistles, and it will be seen that
the `natural' man is the man who is like Adam at his creation, and differing widely from
that man who, being in Christ, is a new creation (II Cor. 5: 17).
Speaking of the contrasts that are found between the present body of the believer and
the resurrection body, the Apostle uses a series of opposing terms: