And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
(1 Corinthians 2:13)
Read: 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Devotion: What does it mean to be a spiritual person? Though more and more people are claiming that they are not religious, the vast majority of the world still claims to follow some kind of religion, so most people on the planet claim that they are spiritual. And because so many people of different worldviews and cultures and beliefs use this term to describe themselves, it has taken on a broad meaning.
If you do an internet search today, Google’s top definition for spiritual is, “relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” That’s about as broad of a definition as you can get. Hindus, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, those who practice Transcendental Meditation, and every other idol worshiper can claim to be spiritual people. People who are irreligious but who believe in ghosts claim to be spiritual people.
Christians also claim to be spiritual people, but even within the body of Christ there are disagreements over what that means. How do we navigate through the confusion? As with every topic and issue, we must have our minds renewed through the pure spiritual milk of God’s word (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:2). God is Spirit and he created all spiritual beings. Therefore, he is the authority on this issue (John 4:24; Gen 1:1). Who are spiritual people? Spiritual people are simply those who have the Holy Spirit. Those who have believed in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and have received the promised Spirit who lives in them, empowers them, teaches them, and who guides them.
The Corinthian church had a whole host of problems. They were dividing themselves, accommodating gross sexual sins among the members of the congregation, practicing the Lord’s Supper improperly, misusing and thinking wrongly about their spiritual gifts, and they were confused over Christ’s resurrection and their future resurrection.
At the root of all these issues was a wrong understanding of what it meant to be spiritual people. Still thinking like their past worldly selves, they were viewing their status as spiritual people in terms of superiority and religiosity. “I am more spiritual because I follow a certain teacher,” (1 Cor 1:12). “No, I’m more spiritual because I have a better gift than you do,” (1 Cor 12:21). It’s the equivalent of, “I pray and thus I’m a spiritual person.” Paul corrects their thinking by pointing them to Christ, his gospel, and the Spirit who quickened their hearts and opened their eyes to the truth about who they really were. They were not spiritual people because of any of their practices or because of anything about them in themselves.
As Paul tells these Christians, the natural person does not accept true spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14). The truth that their soul is being fallen and needs to believe in a crucified Messiah for the forgiveness of their sins is absolute hogwash to natural, unredeemed, man. He is not just resistant to true spiritual matters; he is incapable of understanding them. Man needs God the Spirit, who understands every spiritual truth because He is God Himself (1 Cor 2:10-11), to remove their blindness and hardheartedness. We need the Spirit to make His home in us that we might cry out in faith to God that Christ died for us and that He rose again that we too would have eternal life.
Therefore, the Hindu that goes to their temple every week and prays is not a spiritual person. Yes, they’re committed to their religion, but they are not spiritual because they are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit and do not understand spiritual realities. They view Christ and Him crucified, and all other spiritual truth, as pure fantasy and as ludicrous. The same is true for the Mormon, the Muslim, the Buddhist, the ghost hunter, and every other natural person who does not have a new heart wrought in them by the Holy Spirit through the power of the gospel message (Ezek 36:26-27).
We need to rightly understand what it means to be spiritual, not only so that we might teach those who are self-deceived who think they are spiritual when they are not, but also that we might avoid the sins that the Corinthian church fell into. It is pride to define spirituality by our own efforts. No, we are spiritual people because the Holy Spirit has made us spiritual people. Because of this, if we are not walking by the Spirit, living according to his leading and teaching found in the Scriptures that he inspired, then like the Corinthians we’re not going to be living like true spiritual people (3:1-4). Let us then renew our minds as to what true spirituality is and live accordingly.
Ponder and Pray: Consider the implications of being a spiritual person. If a spiritual person is one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, what does that practically look like in someone’s life? Pray that the Lord will help you lead a more Spirit-led life.
