92SermonsofJonathanEdwards (continued)
of the Spirit of God; and how then can he be said to be such a stranger to them, and have no perception or discerning of them ?
The reason why natural men have no knowledge of spiritual things is, because they have nothing of the Spirit of God dwelling in them. This is evident by the context: for there we are told that it is by the Spirit that these things are taught, (verses 1012 ,) and godly persons in the next verse are called spiritual, because they have the Spirit dwelling in them. Hereby the sense again is confirmed, for natural men are in no degree spiritual; they have only nature and no Spirit. If they had anything of the Spirit, though not in so great a degree as the godly, yet they would be taught spiritual things, or things of the Spirit, in proportion to the measure of the Spirit that they had. The Spirit that searcheth all things would teach them in some measure. There would not be so great a difference that the one could perceive nothing of them, and that they should be foolishness to them, while to the other they appear divinely and remarkably wise and excellent, as they are spoken of in the context, (verses 69,) and as such the apostle spoke here of discerning them.
The reason why natural men have no knowledge or perception of spiritual things is, because they have none of the anointing spoken of. (I John ii. 27 :) " The anointing which ye have received of Him, abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you." This anointing is evidently spoken of here, as a thing peculiar to true saints. Ungodly men never had any degree of that holy oil poured upon them, and therefore have no discerning of spiritual things. Therefore none of that sense that natural men have of things of religion, is of the same nature with what the godly have. But to these they are totally blind. Therefore in conversion the eyes of the blind are opened. The world is wholly unacquainted with the Spirit of God, as appears by John xiv. 17, where we read about " the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it knoweth Him not."
5. Those that go for those in religion that are not true saints and in a state of salvation have no charity, as is plainly implied in the