Thus in chap. vi. 1 we read, л, "I saw the Lord," and in ver. 5, "For mine eyes have seen the LORD of hosts!" Even in nonprophetic portions the same rule seems to be observed, the only exceptions are partial, such as Exod. xxiv. 11, where it is said that the elders " saw

"God, and did eat and drink," but even here in the preceding verse where the sight of the Divine Majesty is introduced, the verb is the one employed, and this is added as a general description of the vision. In Job xix. 27 both words are likewise used in combination; and Numb. xxiv. 4 and 16 do not apply, as the "vision of the Almighty" does not signify a sight of God, but a vision granted by Him of things that should be. Remembering this usage, which I believe to be a critical proof of a distinction between the application of these two verbs, as any Hebrew Concordance will show, it will follow that the first revelations made to the prophet concerned the sins and ingratitude of the nation, the consequent impending judgments, the after restoration and prosperity of the people, and such like; but all that the prophet saw was a diorama of facts and events, a land now desolated, now cultivated and productive, and of a people punished and pardoned; but there had been no visible manifestation of God as yet vouchsafed to the prophet's eye. This was the primary stage therefore, perhaps we might term it the pupilage of his calling; but when the great roll of Messianic prophecy was to be unfolded (chaps. vii. 10-ix. 7), and the prophet was to receive the full light of revelation, then the Divine Majesty unveiled His glory, and brought His servant, the Seer, inside the shrine of the heavenly temple, that he might be initiated in the mysteries of redemption and equipped for his office of the evangelical prophet by a personal manifestation of God. The change of the verb denotes the promotion from the lower to the higher platform, from the vision of things seen to the sight of Him that was to come and fulfil all things, for "these things said Esaias when he saw His glory, and spake of Him" (John xii. 41). There has been, therefore, no misplacement of sections, or chapters, or verses, but the oracles are arranged in the order in which they were imparted and received as the prophet grew in grace and receptivity of the things of God; there is no retrogression from the noon to the morning dawn, but the progress of the dawn unto the perfect day.

EXPOSITORY THOUGHT.

DISCERNMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL MAN.

BY REV. P. J. GLOAG, D.D.

Tertus receptus.—Ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς ἀνακρίνει μὲν πάντα, αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπ ̓ οὐδενὸς ἀνακρίνεται. Authorized and Revised Versions.-But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet (and, R. V.) he himself is judged of no man.-1 Cor. ii. 15.

THERE is not much difference in the readings of this verse in the different manuscripts. The only variation of any consequence is the insertion or

omission of the article rá before Travтá. Its insertion has the support of the principal manuscripts, and is adopted by Tischendorf and Meyer; Lachmann has it within brackets; whilst its omission is advocated by Alford and Westcott and Hort. Meyer observes that “Tavrá is an old correction of the text with the view of bringing the masculine to correspond with ovôevós, which comes after." We give the preference to its insertion on account of the predominance of authorities.

The difference also is extremely slight in the translations of this verse in the Authorized and Revised Versions. The Authorized Version gives in the margin discerned as an alternative reading for judged, whilst the Revised Version gives examined. The great difficulty of the verse consists in its interpretation.

The subject of which the Apostle is treating according to the context is the revelation of spiritual truths by the Holy Spirit. These truths could not be discovered by man's natural reason; they are beyond the sphere of the human intellect, and could only be made known by Divine revelation. God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. We have here a certainty on which to rely; for just as the spirit of a man can only know the things of a man, so the things of God can only be known by the Spirit of God, who searcheth all things, even the deep things of God. And as they are revealed by the Spirit, so they can only be understood by the teaching of the same Spirit. We must have a spiritual discernment in order to know the things which are freely given us of God. There must be a harmony between our minds and the truths revealed. It is only the spiritually minded who can understand the spiritual. The spirit which is in man must be enlightened by the Spirit which is in God. "These things," says the Apostle, "we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual-viewing these revealed truths in a spiritual light. For the natural man-man by his own intellectual faculties, unilluminated by the Spirit of God-man left to his own resources—is destitute of a capacity to understand the things of the Spirit of God; whereas the spiritual man-man instructed by the Spirit—judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man."

By the spiritual or pneumatical man (ó πvevμatiKós) is to be understood the man who is prevailingly actuated by the veûμa, in whom the higher or spiritual nature rules; just as the natural man is the man who is actuated by the xy, and the carnal man is the man who is actuated by the σάρξ. But, as in consequence of the fall, this higher nature of man is subordinate to his lower nature, and is in a measure dormant, so it requires the operation of the Holy Spirit to quicken it and to exalt it to its proper position. The Spirit which is in God must act upon the spirit which is in man in order to make us spiritually minded. Thus the spiritual man necessarily presupposes the man who is acted upon by the Spirit of God, whose spirit is illuminated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Man without the Spirit is under the influence of his intellectual or sensual nature; man

As

sanctified by the Spirit is under the influence of his spiritual nature. Alford expresses it: "The spiritual man is he in whom the vεûμa rules; and since by man's fall the veμa is overridden by the animal soul and in abeyance, this always presupposes the infusion of the Holy Spirit to quicken and inform the veûμa, so that there is no such thing as an unregenerate vενpaтiкós." Thus, then, the spiritual man is the man in whom his spirit (vevua) has the ascendancy, and who is influenced and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. There is an affinity between the spirit that is in man and the Spirit that is in God: both are expressed by the same word.

The spiritual man (ó πvevμatiкós) is in this passage opposed to, or contrasted with, the natural man (ó Yvɣikós). "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things." The adjective natural is an inadequate translation of the Greek term. Indeed, there is no proper English word which is a full equivalent for the Greek; natural, animal, sensual, all of which have been employed, do not give the complete meaning. We require to adopt the Greek term vxikós, and to leave it untranslated psychical. Now, as the spiritual or pneumatical man is the man actuated by the veμa or spirit, so the natural or psychical man is the man actuated by the x or soul. In the one case, the veμa is the predominant principle; in the other case, it is the x. In the one case, the man is influenced by the Holy Spirit; in the other case, he is governed chiefly by his intellect or reason. The nature of the psychical man is evil, inasmuch as the ʊx has become the ruling principle instead of the veûμa; but in the there is nothing inherently evil, no more than there is in the body both are essential parts of human nature. The great difference is that whereas the spiritual man is enlightened by the Spirit of God, the psychical man is not thus enlightened. St. Jude speaks of those who are psychical; not having the Spirit (Jude 19). But still, the spiritual man does not cease to be a psychical man, but there is a due subordination of his lower to his higher

nature.

x itself

According to Paul, man's nature is threefold-composed of spirit, soul, and body. Thus, in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, he says, pray God that your whole spirit and soul and body (τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ @ua) be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus" (1 Thess. v. 23). And in our passage the same distinction is made; St. Paul speaks of the carnal (oарkikoi), those who are governed by the flesh or the body; of the psychical (vɣikoi), those who are governed by the soul; and of the spiritual (vevpaтikoi), those who are governed by the spirit. And the more we reflect on the nature of man, the more are we constrained to adopt this threefold division of the Apostle. There is the body, the material part of our nature, the seat of our carnal appetites and passions; there is the soul, the immaterial part of our nature, the seat of our intellectual and emotional faculties; and there is the spirit, the religious part of our nature, that which

assimilates us to God, the seat of our spiritual feelings and aspirations. These three rise the one above the other. The soul is a higher nature than the body, even as an intellectual man in whom reason prevails is a more exalted being than a mere animal man who is governed by his senses. And the spirit is a higher nature than the soul, even as a spiritual man is a more exalted being than a purely intellectual man; a man of a saintly spirit, and of a high moral character, is a better man than one who is merely distinguished by his intellectual acquirements; the one, to use the language of the Apostle, has received the Spirit which is of God, the other is actuated by the spirit which is of the world.

The distinction between the body and the soul and spirit is evident, but it is of special importance to understand the not so evident distinction between the spirit (veupa) and the soul (x). This distinction is not only made by Paul, but is also recognized by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews when he says, "The word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit" (vxs kaì Tνeúμатоs) (Heb. iv. 12). The soul, as we have observed, is the seat of the intellect and affections; by the soul we think, we reason, we judge, we remember, we imagine; by the soul also we love, we hate, we rejoice, we grieve, we envy. The spirit is the seat of our religious, nature; by the spirit we realise God, we render to Him our homage, we obey His commands, we feel remorse when we do wrong and satisfaction when we do right; by the spirit also we embrace the revelation which God has made to us, we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, we become the capable subjects of the Spirit's influences, the union between God and us is effected. The organ of the soul is the reason, the organ of the spirit is the conscience. The soul is man's intellectual nature, the spirit is man's moral nature. The soul raises man above the beasts which perish, the spirit assimilates man to God, whose image he bears. The affections may be common both to soul and spirit; but, pervaded by the soul, they are fixed on earthly things, pervaded by the spirit, they are raised to heavenly objects, being fixed on things spiritual and eternal.

The spiritual man, the man in whom the veûμa rules, and who is actuated by the Spirit of God, judgeth all things. The word dvakpíve, here translated "judgeth," is rendered in the margin of the Authorized Version 'discerneth," and in that of the Revised Version "examineth." In the New Testament it denotes both to examine and to judge, or to come to a conclusion in consequence of examination. Thus of the Bereans it is said that they examined (ávaкpívovтes) the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts xvii. 11); and St. Peter, addressing the Sanhedrim, says, "If we this day are examined (avaкpivóμela) concerning a good deed done to an impotent man" (Acts iv. 9). Hence it denotes to judge, to come to a true understanding. Perhaps to discern expresses the nearest approach to the Greek term in our passage: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know

them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerneth all things, yet he himself is discerned of no man."

There must be a spiritual susceptibility to discern the things of God-a harmony between our spirit and the truths which are revealed. We must have this spiritual mind in order to be able to discern spiritual things. It is true not only of religious truths, but of all the departments of knowledge, that our disposition or attainments must bear a correspondence to the nature of the objects of our study in order to a full comprehension of them; there must be a pre-existent harmony. For example, a philosophical spirit is necessary for the study of Plato; a poetical spirit for a due appreciation of Milton's Paradise Lost; a logical and mathematical mind for the comprehension of the Principia of Newton; a sympathy with nature for relishing the poems of Wordsworth; so no less is it true that a spiritual mind, a religious disposition, is a necessary qualification for the true discernment of the revelations of God. The psychical man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God, because he is destitute of that spiritual mind by which only. they can be discerned. We must have a mind in sympathy with God before we can attain to a knowledge of the truth which He has revealed.

There are at least three elements which go to constitute this spiritual susceptibility. There is the sense of righteousness that leads us to pursue the truth wherever it leads, that causes us to judge intuitively as to whether a course of action is right or wrong, that enables us to persevere in a faithful continuance in well-doing. There is purity of heart. It is only the pure in heart that can see God. Thus only are our eyes opened to see God as He is in His character-a God of love and justice-the merciful Father and the righteous Judge; and thus only can we understand the mysteries of redemption. And there is the single eye that imparts impartiality to our judgments, so that we are not led astray by motives of self-interest or by prejudices which darken our perceptions. We are enabled to know the truth, and are strengthened to follow it. Thus, he that is spiritual has the faculty of discernment; he possesses that spiritual eye which beholds the things of God, and that spiritual ear which hears the voice of God.

The extent or sphere of this discernment of the spiritual man is indicated by the words rà Tavrá. Some critics, accepting the reading of παντά. those manuscripts which omit the article, take avrá in the masculine singular: "He that is spiritual judgeth every man." He is enabled to discern the spiritual condition of his fellow-men, to try the spirits whether they be of God. But this is evidently not the meaning of the words; the Apostle is speaking not of men, but of the things of God; and therefore the translation all things is correct. There is a certain universality in the judgments of the spiritual man: he discerneth all things that present themselves to his judgment. And similar to this is the declaration of St. John in his First Epistle, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John ii. 20). And so also in the Book of Proverbs it is said, "Evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord under