The Tupelo journal., 1904-09-23

Nytlk III WI with the udtufd l
tXAAM \ and the material
WSn and through the
a MI ~ processes and
0R~ operations b e r e
met with to learn
of and understand the things which
pertain to the soul and God. Our text
contains a query and a declaration. 1t
is a proposition in the form OF a ques-
ton and then a logical deduction from
that proposition. The first is a thought
which the natural man can grasp ana
understand. And perhaps it would De
we'll to clearly define just what Is
meant by the natural and the spiritual
man, lnaSmuch as the terms are useu
in opposition, and indicate extreme
conditionS-that is, man apart from
and independent of God, and man IN
union and harmony with God. Ihe
natural man is what he is and may be
of and in himself; the spiritual man IS
what he becomes under the power anu
touch of God. The natural man is I'M
regenerate: that is, he is UNBORN 10 Ihe
realities and the needs and the oollSa-
tons of the unseen things OF Goa 5
spiritual kingdom. He is dead on the
Godward side as far as vital contact
with the cleansing and saving power OF
God through Christ is concerned. Inc
spiritual man is regenerate; tnat Is ne
has been born into a new experience
and new relationship with Coo. Inc
consciousness of God has come 10 De
more than intellectual and moral. The
sense of the need Of God has oeen
awakened, and new aspirations anu
hopes have taken possession or the
soul. When we speak, then, OF the
natural man We mean the man VINO ID
a stranger to God, and by the term
spiritual man we mean the man VINO Is
acquainted with God. 1t IS possible 10
know of God and know about GOO u
still be a stranger to Him.
r KNOW of the king OF England.
i l believe most implicitly, although
have never seen him, that sucn d
person exists. | know a great oea4
about him. but I cannot say mat
know him, | am a stranger to him. Anu
so it is with the natural man. he may
know of God. He may believe IN the
Supreme Being, he may nave a certain
reverence for Him, he may KNOW a
great deal about God, and he may seek
TO the best of his natural desire II
ability to keep Gods law, and IN spite
of It all he may be an utter stranger
10 God. To know God he must meet
God In that wonderful operation known
as regeneration and salvation. Through
she doorway of this experience the soul
must pass before it can really know
God. Through this door the Spiritual
man has passed, but not so the natural
man. He may be near the door, he
NAV be lingering on the threshold OF
conviction, but until he has passed
through the dOor and been born again,
he is a stranger to God. So much
for the natural and the spiritual man.
Now. as our text implies, the natural
man is able to know and understand
the things which pertain to man. The
literal rendering of the first clause of
n text is, "who of men knoweth the
things of man, say the spirit Of that
MANI" This is the man of n sight,
che natural sight. Because he is a mar
and has a spirit of man within him
he is able to know and understand the
things of a a
MAN cannot know how the bird feels
M as it scars in the heavens, or sings
in the tree top, or gathers its food, be-
cause he has not the bird spirit. Prof.
Garner has spent weeks in his iron
cages in the jungles seeking to learn
what he calls the monkey language
and to get upon a speaking %acquain-
lance with the Simians of the forest.
He has learned a wonderful lot about
the monkeys. He has caught upon the
sensitive wax of the graphophone the
cEstter Of the creatures the. Darwin
frsed to prove were the very ancient
Ehcestors of the human race. But he
has not accomplished what he set out
to do, nor will he, for he has not the
monkey spirit which is an essential
condition. He cannot understand Mr..
Monk in the way thatrhis long-tailed
brother, swinging at his side, can un-
derstand him. He cannot talk to him
as his chattering neighbor does. The
monkey spirit puts the monkey species
on terms of intimacy and fellowship,
and the painstaking professor, should
he spend a lifetime in the midst of the
monkey jungles, will not succeed, until
he discovers some way of migrating
within himself that same monkey spir-
n. which makes all m~onkeydom akin.
And the man spirit enables a mar to un-
'derstand man and the things of a man.
This spirit Of man equips him for the
relations of this life. It gives him
insight into and understanding of those
things which pertain to man. He has
natural sight. To the query of our
tsxt. then, the natural man can re-
spond intelligently and say: "Of course
man knows man and the things OF man
nv the spirit of man which is in him"
And Paul. having made this point, goes
IN to draw a reasonable deduction. If
man by mans spirit which is in him
Lnows the things Of a man, then it
uust require the Spirit OF God to know
the things of God.
TOW hard it is to get the natural
II man to recognize this principle,