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July 26, 2023

William T. Howe Ph.D.

The Bible Edge


Everyone needs an Edge, Believers can have a Bible Edge


I Corinthians 2:15

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.


In Webster’s 1828 dictionary the above verse is used as an example of one of the definitions for the word “judge.” The definition given for the usage of “judge” when used as a verb, as in this sentence is: “Rightly to understand and discern.” As used in today’s verse it is a verb. So, it could be understood that …he that is spiritual judgeth all things… means that a spiritual person can rightly understand and discern all things.


This, however, is where it gets a little deeper. What does “all things” as used here mean? To understand this, consider the context wherein it is used. In short, and without spending time and space to prove this statement, the context is spiritual things versus natural things. This entire chapter is devoted to explaining these two realms. A natural person only has the ability to “judge” natural things. A spiritual person has the ability to judge both natural and spiritual things. In other words, “all things.”


This explains the second part of the verse: yet he himself is judged of no man. Meaning that the spiritual person’s motives, principles, purposes, etc. are not able to be judged by others. Consider as an example the life of Christ. No doubt He was spiritual, He was filled by the Spirit and led by the Spirit unlike any person who has ever or will ever live. He understood both the spiritual world and the natural world. He spoke of many things that must have seemed to be madness to those who heard him. Love thy neighbor, turn the other cheek, labor not for meat that perisheth, these and other teachings to the purely natural person are foolishness. Individuals who are only natural beings find it impossible to understand a person who is taught and led by the Holy Spirit of God.


In John 6:51 Jesus said: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Those that heard this murmured among themselves asking: …How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Jesus was speaking spiritually. They were trying to judge what He said naturally. They could not.


The same happens today in so many ways. Consider the story that Jesus told of the Good Samaritan, how he helped the man who was beaten and left for dead. He gave the man first aid, transported this victim to the inn, gave the innkeeper funds for the man’s room, and even told the innkeeper that upon his return if more money was needed, he would pay that. When the Spirit filled person hears this story, they go and do likewise. The natural person, no matter how religious, cannot grasp the motives of the Good Samaritan type of person, which is simply to do as their Lord would do with no hope of return on investment.


We must end here, suffice it to say there is a spiritual world and a physical world. They are as different as night and day. The physical cannot understand the spiritual, but the spiritual can understand both.


William T. Howe, Ph.D.

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