1 Corinthians 2:13-16

Cf. “thoughts of God” in verse 11.

1Corinthians 2:13

And          we            impart       this           in words   not taught by human wisdom

but                                                                                                                      taught by the Spirit,

Interpreting = συγκρίνω = sugkrinō = to judge of one thing in connection with another, that is, combine (spiritual ideas with appropriate expressions) or collate (one person with another by way of contrast or resemblance): - compare among (with).

interpreting spiritual truths                            to those who are spiritual.

1Corinthians 2:14-16

The           natural person         does not accept        the            things of the                               Spirit of God,

for                                                                                                                        they are                                                                               folly to him,

and           he                                              Is not able to understand           them

Judges = ἀνακρίνω = anakrinō = properly to scrutinize, that is, (by implication) investigate, interrogate, determine: - ask, question, discern, examine, judge, search.

because                                                       they are spiritually discerned.

The           spiritual person       judges      all things,

but            is himself to be   judged by       no one.

“For          who                                            has understood                          the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?”

But                                             we            have                          the mind of Christ.

The Apostle Paul makes a rather amazing assertion in these three verses.  First, the natural person, the unbeliever, does not understand the things of God, because they are foolishness to him/her. To talk of Christian behavior and beliefs with a non-believer is generally a waste of time. To tell unbelievers that abortion is wrong or that homosexuality is wrong or that the sexual morays of today are wrong is nonproductive.  They do not understand because they do not understand the holiness of God.

Secondly, we are able to discern what is right and wrong, good and bad as it relates to God’s will for us but they do not and they cannot stand in judgment of us because they lack this discernment.  Thus, it is important that Christians make their voices heard on matters relating to the moral climate of our world because we are the only ones capable of discerning such things.  That is what Jesus pointed to when he told us we were the salt of the earth.

Matthew 5:13 ESV
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Thirdly, we can discern what God’s will is and what he wants because his Spirit resides in us and gives us this insight.  It is the Holy Spirit that understands God completely and relays this knowledge on to us so that we can know his thinking and will on all things that come before us.  The unbelieving world does not posses access to God or to his thinking.

We are truly the light of the world. 

Matthew 5:14 ESV
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

The world knows the truth about God and about God’s will for us only if we present them the truth.  We are the light carriers. We are the information centers. We are responsible to get the word out. This is a tremendous responsibility because if we fail at our task, they are condemned to live in darkness and suffer judgment.

If you tell them this they will either think you are ludicrous or you are arrogant or both. That is why Christianity are hated.  Christians know the way and the world doesn’t.  When we point the way they resist and hate us for shining a light on their hypocrisy and sinfulness. We shine light on the true path but they prefer the path of darkness.