1 Corinthians 2:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What does "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" mean? If some difficulty arises concerning something spiritual, we bring explanations from spiritual things as well. For example, I say that Christ rose and that He was born of a Virgin. For explanation I bring testimonies and types: Jonah's stay inside the whale and his subsequent deliverance, the childbirth of barren women, Sarah, Rebecca, and others, and the growth of trees in Paradise, when seeds had not yet been sown, rains had not fallen, and furrows had not been drawn.

Future events were inscribed and prefigured, as in shadow, by earlier ones, so that people would believe them after their fulfillment. I also show how man came from the earth, how woman came from one man without any union, how the earth itself came from nothing, and how everywhere and in all things the Creator's power was sufficient.

Thus I explain spiritual things by spiritual things and nowhere have recourse to external wisdom, arguments, and syllogisms. The pagan sages strain and tear their weak reason, yet cannot explain the things about which they speak. Instead, they do the opposite: they produce greater confusion, increase the darkness, and heighten perplexity.

Therefore the Apostle says, "comparing spiritual things with spiritual." Do you see how he proves that external wisdom is superfluous? And not only superfluous, but even hostile and harmful. He expressed this when he said, "lest the Cross of Christ be made of no effect" (1 Cor 1:17), and, "that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men" (1 Cor 2:5).

Now he proves that those who hope in it and rely on it in everything cannot know anything profitable.

In a similar way, another question is resolved: How could the Virgin give birth? It is resolved by the barrenness of Sarah, Rebecca, and Elizabeth, who conceived contrary to the laws of nature, since conception depends on the power of the womb. It is also resolved by the fact that Eve came from Adam without seed, and by other cases considered in relation to man's coming into the world.

However, you may also understand the words "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" in this way: discussing and resolving spiritual questions together with spiritual people. For they alone can understand them. Therefore he adds what follows.

Since he has no power to understand it, for everything contained in Divine Scripture is "spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14), whether it concerns divine or human matters, he mocks those who "judge it spiritually" (1 Cor 2:13). He does not call such people spiritual or guided by the Spirit of God, but anagogists, as though they arbitrarily introduce a spiritual meaning into Scripture. He distorts their words and spiritual understandings and reinterprets them according to his own thinking.

But the spiritual man is not like this. Under the action of the divine Spirit he "judges all things," yet "he himself is judged by no one," because he has "the mind of Christ, which no one can explain" (1 Cor 2:15-16).

This is the wisdom "which none of the rulers of this age knew. For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ... God has revealed it to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God." He does this as easily as the human spirit knows its own inward actions and states (1 Cor 2:11).

All this, the Apostle adds, is what has been "given to us by God," and we proclaim it with unshaken hope of success. We speak "not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

In all this one hears the Apostle's reproving thought. Perhaps the Corinthians still chase after outward signs of verbal wisdom, and are disturbed over their various teachers and preachers, because they themselves are still far from the Christian way of receiving the Gospel preaching. They cannot stand among those perfect ones among whom Christian wisdom is successfully preached by comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The Apostle's saying about "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (1 Cor 2:13) needs particular explanation. St. Chrysostom offers it in this sense: the Apostles took the subjects needed on various occasions to explain their speech from the same spiritual and sacred-biblical realm, for example, from types and prophecies, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

"For example," the holy Father reasons in the person of the Apostle Paul, "I say that Christ rose, and that He was born of a Virgin. For explanation I bring testimonies and types: Jonah's stay inside the whale and his subsequent deliverance from it, the childbirth of barren women, Sarah, Rebecca, and others, and the growth of trees in Paradise, when seeds had not yet been sown, rain had not fallen, and furrows had not been drawn. Future events were inscribed and prefigured, as in shadow, by earlier ones, so that people would believe them when they came to pass. Thus I explain spiritual things by spiritual things, and nowhere have recourse to external wisdom."

According to St. John Chrysostom, here "the Apostle Paul honors us, showing that we have not merely learned, and learned together with the angels, but have learned from the Spirit Himself. At the same time he shows the importance of this knowledge. He makes clear that if the Spirit, Who knows the mysteries of God, had not revealed it to us, we also would not have known it. ... God was pleased to keep this work in mystery. Therefore we needed such a Teacher, Who would know this work clearly. Such is the Spirit of God.

'The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.' Here the word 'searches' means not ignorance, but exact knowledge. He uses the same expression concerning God when he says, 'He who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit' (Rom 8:27)."

"Having spoken of the Spirit's perfect knowledge, he showed that it is equal to the knowledge of God, just as human knowledge is equal to itself. Having proved that we have known everything from Him, the Apostle continues: 'which things we speak'..."

He shows that "we are as much wiser than the pagans as Plato the philosopher is distant from the Holy Spirit. They have rhetoricians as their teachers, but we have the Holy Spirit."

"Which things we speak." "Which things" means what we know through the Spirit whom we have received from God: all the mysteries of the Kingdom and the whole divine economy of salvation.

"We speak" means we preach and proclaim to all. "Not in words taught by human wisdom" means not in the verbal form devised by human wisdom for handing its teaching on to others.

The thought here is the same as in the words, "not in persuasive words of human wisdom," or, "not in wisdom of speech." Every verbal art taught by rhetoricians is denied.

The essence of this art is to stir the movements and passions of the heart by various turns and devices of speech. Through this it takes possession of minds and inclines them to its side.

Since everything passionate can be turned only toward the earthly, worldly, and fleshly, and the wisdom of God belongs to the opposite realm, the Spirit did not accept devices of speech invented to stir passions.

He did not accept them when He imparted the wisdom of God to men. We, he says, did not use them either.

We had our own methods. As the Spirit of God taught, so we spoke. The Spirit of God inspired definite truths. They called forth definite concepts, and the concepts drew definite words to themselves.

These words were taken from the sum of words possessed by the one to whom the truth was revealed. Likewise the manner of speech awakened was the one to which the receiver of revelation was accustomed or akin.

Yet when it was necessary to offer the teaching, he did not go to rhetoric for art. He did not even concern himself with the word.

It flowed from the heart, set in motion by the Spirit, who impressed there the mysteries of the Kingdom. The Apostle expressed this when he said, "we speak in words taught by the Holy Spirit."

The Lord also promised the same when He said, "Do not worry how or what you should speak, for it will be given you in that hour what you should speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Mt 10:19-20).

"Comparing spiritual things with spiritual." "Comparing" is συγκρίνοντες. This verb means fitting one thing to another so that they correspond to each other.

"Spiritual things" means the wisdom of God and all the truths inspired by the Spirit of God. "With spiritual" means with spiritual words, turns of speech, and ways of expressing the revealed truths.

Thus the Apostle says: for spiritual truths we choose words and turns of speech corresponding to those realities. These also must be called spiritual.

We never allowed ourselves to descend from the height on which contemplation, wrought by the Spirit of God, placed us. We did not seek ways of expressing divine truths here, in the sphere of vain human wisdom.

Although the Spirit of God moved the tongue of the evangelists, they did not lose self-possession. They directed their speech consciously.

Chrysostom explains where the necessary things for clarification are taken from. He says they are taken from types and prophecies.

Here are his words: "What does 'comparing spiritual things with spiritual' mean? If some difficulty arises concerning a spiritual matter, we bring explanations from spiritual things."

"For example, I say that Christ rose and that He was born of a Virgin. For explanation I bring testimonies and types. Jonah's stay within the whale and his subsequent deliverance from it are such a type."

"So also are the births of barren women, Sarah, Rebecca, and others. So also is the growth of trees in Paradise when no seeds had yet been cast, no rain had fallen, and no furrows had been drawn."

"For future events were traced and prefigured by earlier ones, as in a shadow, so that men might believe them when they came to pass."

"I also show how man came from the earth, how without any union woman came from one man, how the earth itself came from nothing, and how everywhere and in everything the Creator's power was sufficient."

"Thus I explain the spiritual by the spiritual, and nowhere do I resort to external wisdom, to reasonings and inferences."

"The wise men of the Gentiles strain and torment their weak reason, yet they cannot explain what they speak about. They even do the opposite. They bring greater confusion and increase darkness and perplexity."

So also teach all our interpreters: Theodoret, Oecumenius, and Theophylact. Among other things, Theophylact also expressed this thought.

"Comparing spiritual things with spiritual" means offering spiritual truths to spiritual persons, or discussing spiritual matters with spiritual persons. For such persons alone can contain them.

Πνευματικὰ πνευματικοῖς συγκρίνοντες. Πνευματικοῖς may also be translated as a dative. Some newer interpreters have followed this and have formed the opinion that this is precisely what the Apostle wished to say here.

To prefer this opinion to the first would perhaps be excessive. Yet it should not be entirely despised.

The following text gives it probability: "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God." It seems to be called forth by what has just been said.

That is, we strive to present spiritual things to spiritual persons, or to discuss spiritual matters with spiritual persons. They alone are able to receive them. But the natural man does not receive the spiritual.

The implication is that we do not even offer it to him. So also the Savior commanded us not to cast pearls.