The Natural Man vs. The Spiritual Man

1. The natural man places no restraints upon his lifestyle–he consumes himself with the excesses of life.

1) The natural man drinks to his heart’s content.

2) The natural man feasts until he is sick and then feasts some more.

3) If there is a vice worth being called a vice, the natural man engages it.

2. The spiritual man, however, exercises self-control.

1) He understands that God’s word forbids drunkenness.

a. Proverbs 23:29-35 “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”

b. Ephesians 5:17-18 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

2) He understands that God’s word forbids gluttony.

a. Proverbs 23:20, 21–“Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”

3) He understands that if he gives himself to any addiction it is sin.

a. Romans 6:16 ” Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?.”

b. 2 Peter 2:19 “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

3. While the natural man sees no restraint upon his lifestyle, the spiritual man understands that there must be restraint to be pleasing to God.

1. The natural man sees a strong self who relies upon no one.

1) He is the center of all activity–egocentric.

a. Such was the attitude of Pharaoh in Egypt.

b. Such was the attitude of Belshazzar in Daniel 5

2) He is confident in himself to overcome ALL obstacles of life.

a. This was the attitude of the Naaman at first.

b. This was the attitude of the Pharisees.

3) He sees himself as the standard for everyone else’s behavior.

a. Herod (who slew James)–Acts 12:20-23.

b. Simon before his repentance in Acts 8.

2. The spiritual man sees all of his weaknesses and throws himself upon God’s mercy.

1) He always considers others before self.

a. Acts 9:36-42–Dorcas thought of others before self.

b. 2 Corinthians 8–The Macedonians thought of others before self.

2) He recognizes that he needs help to overcome this life and that there is nothing he can do of his own power to merit that help.

a. Micah 6:6-8 “Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

b. Luke 18:9-14 “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

3) He looks to the one true standard for his code of behavior–the perfect law of liberty.

a. James 1:21-25 “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. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

b. Psalm 119:97-104 “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

3. While the natural man looks to self, the spiritual man looks outside of self.

1. The natural man sees no wisdom in forgiveness.

1) He asks no one for forgiveness because he does not think he needs forgiveness.

2) He in turn forgives no one if he does not need to ask forgiveness, then neither do they.

3) When someone does ask forgiveness, it is a sign of weakness.

4) Matthew 18:23-35 is a portrait of the natural man relative to forgiveness.

2. The spiritual man understands and practices a life of forgiveness.

1) He recognizes His need for forgiveness and constantly asks God for forgiveness.

a. Psalm 51–Read

b. 1 John 1:8-2:2 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

2) He recognizes that others make mistakes and offers forgiveness to them.

a. Luke 17:3, 4 “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”

b. Jesus attitude toward those that crucified him was, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).

c. God will not forgive us if we do not forgive others. “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

3) He sees forgiveness as a source of strength.

a. Forgiveness dispels evil. Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

b. Forgiveness engenders the mind of God. Colossians 3:12-13 “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

c. Forgiveness shows love. 2 Corinthians 2:7,8 “So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.”

3. The natural man does not practice forgiveness, but to the spiritual man, it is the essence of his life.

1. The natural man scoffs at the idea of servitude.

1) He believes in the principle of servitude only in as much as it will afford him gain in this life.

a. He is like the Pharisees, publicans and gentiles that Jesus describes in Matthew 5:46, 47 “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?”

2) Otherwise, he serves no one else because he is too busy serving himself.

a. The parable of the great supper. Luke 14:16-24. Those could not come to the feast because they had their own affairs to worry about.

b. The covetous fool of Luke 12:16-21.

3) If there is to be true servitude in this life it will be others serving him.

2. The spiritual man understands that service to fellow man is a privilege in and of itself.

1) He serves because it is his duty and privilege to serve.

a. Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

b. Mark 9:35 “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”

2) He looks for nothing to be gained by his service in this life.

a. Luke 17:10 “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

b. 1 Peter 5:5, 6 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

3) He understands that nothing he does in this life merits gain in the next.

a. Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

b. 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

3. The natural man serves self and merits for himself his glory in this life, but the spiritual man understands that he is merely a servant in this life and can never merit God’s grace.