TWO MEN AND TWO TREES

TWO MEN AND TWO TREES
Chapter 8

THE NATURAL MAN CANNOT UNDERSTAND

INTRODUCTION

Truly there is a wisdom of the world, and another hidden, mysterious wisdom which is from God and can only be revealed by His Spirit. This theme is expounded through Paul in the first epistle to the elect at Corinth:

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written:

      " Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
      Nor have entered into the heart of man
      The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."^[c]

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy^[^d] Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 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. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?"^[e] But we have the mind of Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:6-16)

This beautiful passage expands upon the difference between the carnal and spiritual man, in terms of how they understand (or misunderstand) the things of God. This subject is extremely pertinent, especially in this age of rampant religiosity, as it pertains to the reality of truth, and how it comes by revelation, and not by the intellectual studies of man and his ‘grey matter’.

THE WISDOM OF GOD AND MAN

In the scriptures, the Lord made it abundantly clear that the wisdom of God is above the wisdom of man, and altogether different, even to the degree that it exposes the wisdom of man as foolishness, and is indeed seen by the wisdom of man as foolishness itself:

27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." (1 Corinthians 1:27-31)

Ah, there is that choosing of God again! And indeed, He chooses the foolish things (according to the understanding of this present age) to shame the wise. And why? That no flesh may glory in His presence. Again, as we already heard from Paul:

7 …we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory… (1 Corinthians 2:7)

One of the great deceptions with regards to the faith, is that we learn truth by intellectual reasoning – that we ‘figure out’ out way to a deeper understanding and apprehension of Christ. But the Lord’s wisdom is hidden – ordained before the ages for our glory, and ONLY taught by the Holy Spirit:

For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy^[^d] Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)

There is a spiritual language, and a perception of God, that can only come by His own Spirit. No amount of intelligence, no amount of cerebral power can propel us into truth – for truth comes only by revelation – by revealing. Understand also, that Truth is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, and He Himself is revealed, as the last book of the Bible states. Thus, the Most High, who holds the curtain of revelation in His hand, puts to shame those of wordly wisdom, who in their carnality believe that they have already gone behind and ‘figured out’ the great mysteries concealed by the divine hand. Just look at how that religion called Christi-Anity selects it’s leaders – they are processed through a school system that models itself after worldly education, with it’s text books, and seminars, and essays, and so forth. The students are then approved by man, and hired by man, and salaried by man, to spew forth that which they learned in school. Brethren – this is nothing more than trained monkeys and performing seals! And it is carnal – carnal to it’s very core:

14 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)

Our knowledge of the Lord God comes by revelation – by beholding and perceiving the Lord Jesus Christ, who indeed is the express image of the Father, and such knowledge is relational, and comes only by God’s own Spirit, as we abide and commune with the Lord:

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

Amen! Let us be found abiding in Him, and knowing Him. For religion has exchanged knowing Him for knowing OF Him, so that the multitudes can all recite His biography without even knowing His voice! May we come to a place where we hear that voice ever clearer:

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one." (John 10:27-30)

As we walk with the Lord, we begin to be awakened to His voice, far above the den of the hirelings and charlatans, and we begin to be awakened to the language of the Spirit.

SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE

There is one passage in scripture that has always struck me as a great example of how the carnal man cannot understand the spiritual language. When we look at the passage in question and apply it to other areas of received doctrine, we see how the ‘dark sayings’ of Christ bring death when understood carnally, but life when understood in the Spirit. The passage in question is found in the sixth chapter of John, when Christ was speaking to the Jews:

26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."
28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’"^[d]
32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."


41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?"
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’^[e]Therefore everyone who has heard and learned^[f] from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me^[g] has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"
53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed,^[h] and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.


60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:26-63)

This is a long passage to quote, but so profound, and so pertinent on so many levels, as is the case whenever the Lord opens His mouth to speak. These sayings came on the heels of Him feeding the multitudes miraculously with the fishes and the loaves, and thus he had attracted a crowd of hungry people, many of whom were just waiting on the next loaf. The Lord’s admonishment to them speaks to the difference between carnality and Spirit:

26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." (John 6:26-27)

Christ was introducing Himself as the Spiritual food – the true sustenance of man and the means of tasting Life. Earthly food in general, and the manna of Israel specifically, are but symbols and signs pointing to the true bread from heaven. Jesus was speaking not just towards man’s desire to have a full belly, but towards man’s desire to feed Himself with the natural, the temporal, and the carnal, rather than the spiritual. This is reinforced with the next question and answer:

28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:28-29)

The crowd confirm their carnality by immediately wanting to know what works they can do – how they can be justified. Looking back all the way to Cain, we see the same attitude, derived from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The question "what must I do?", instead of confessing "what God has done". The Messiah answers that the work of God is to believe in Christ Himself – to exchange the produce of Cain for the spotless Lamb of Abel, and trust in the person of God, and in His perfect plan.

Jesus then goes on to show again how the law could not bring man into the fullness of Life:

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Moses, a symbol for the law, was the means of giving a perishable ‘Bread from Heaven’ – for that manna in the wilderness did not last for ever, just like the law, and was insufficient to bring man into the promised land, as we have previously seen. Only Christ Himself, the true Bread from Heaven, can feed, sustain, and give life to the world. This reality came forth from the divine lips again, this time in a way that divided and offended those around Him:

53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed,^[h] and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:53-58)

It is not my intention to go into all the ramifications of what eating flesh and drinking blood would have meant to the Jewish nation. Suffice to say it was a very disgusting image to those listening, who could only attempt to understand it with their natural minds. In the same way that today’s carnal religious folks believe in a big burning pit called hell because of Christ’s words about ‘Gehenna Fire’, so the religious minds of that time could see nothing in Christ’s words but an invitation to chew on His literal flesh and wash it down with His actual blood. And so, as a matter of course, they took great offense, and Christ lost many disciples because of it. But what did Jesus say in answer?

"Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:26-63)

Christ revealed that He was speaking by the Spirit, and His words were life, given by the Spirit – but they could only be received spiritually. For if the words of the Spirit offend us, what if we were to see Christ ‘ascend to where He was before’ – perceiving Him in the Spirit realm?

BORN OF THE SPIRIT

Earlier in the Gospel of John, Jesus had been involved with the famous conversation with Nicodemus, the Pharisee who would later end up helping to prepare the body of Christ for burial, after Joseph of Arimathea asked for it from the Romans (John 19:38-40). In this particular exchange, Jesus again spoke of the difference between the earthly and the heavenly:

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8)

Nicodemus’s question, "Can a man enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?" sounds so laughable to the ear of the Spirit, yet this is precisely the same carnality that interprets so much of the scriptures for the masses. Christ, however, revealed that the Kingdom is not accessible by the natural mind, for it must be born into.

"…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit…" (John 3:6)

The Spirit realm is only accessible, and the mysteries of God only knowable, by His Spirit, and our birth into that realm is His accomplishment, having nothing to do with the will of man, no more than a babe being born into the natural realm came forth of it’s own will:

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

I have to add here, that it has been said that such a birth was given to those who received Him, as if God gave birth in reaction to those who had "chosen" to receive Him instead of reject Him. To this nonsense I say the following:

"…A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven…." (John 3:27)

Truly, all a man has is that which has been given to Him, and as Christ Himself said:

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)

Returning to the dialogue between Jesus Christ and Nicodemus, we see that Jesus began by saying:

"…Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…" (John 3:3)

A man cannot see, perceive, discern, taste or experience the kingdom of God, unless He be born again – born of the Spirit. For truly, the kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, and only those who are in the realm of Spirit can know it. Listen to how the Amplified version unfolds the same verse:

3Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. (John 3:3 Amplified)

So then, the only way to know this kingdom, is by God sovereignly giving birth to you in the Spirit. We cannot know it by any amount of study, education, seminars, sermons, crusades, or any such thing – but ONLY by the Spirit! The only way to truth is by the Spirit:

"…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you…" (John 16:13-15)

Oh that men may lay aside their intellectual vanity and acknowledge the Spirit of Truth!

WHERE THE SPIRIT BLOWS

Truly, we have seen how the carnal mind is left confused and veiled when the Spirit speaks, and how one can only understand the things of the Spirit, if one is born of that same Spirit. We have seen how the kingdom of God is spiritual, and can only be comprehended by that which is Spirit. In our next chapter we will go on to explore the nature of that kingdom, and why it cannot be discerned by the natural mind. For as Christ said:

20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’^[d] For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)