There is a surpassing experience available to every person - to have a real, object, experiential wisdom that passes knowledge. This means that edification is not a given, it is potential. The tragedy here is that there are those who fade out rapidly. The unbeliever by the wayside rejects the gospel. The person on rock soil has knowledge pushed out by suffering.
Thorns refer to slavery to the details of life, resulting in no edification.
God knew all about human IQ, and He knew what IQ every person would have. He decided not to use any of it and designed a grace plan for spiritual perception that would depend on the Holy Spirits teaching ministry rather than a person's ability to understand. This is the highest form of comparison in New Testament Greek. God is able to do what we cannot do, beyond anything that we can imagine. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials.