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Deal with Natural Man

【Natural Man】One might as well discuss nuclear physics with a wooden Indian in front of a cigar store as to discuss spiritual things with a natural man.—Vance Havner

【Natural Man】Those who are old enough can remember the infamous “iron lung” machines that kept alive many children who were stricken with polio and other diseases that limited their ability to breathe. The iron lung was a huge, casket-like pumping contraption that aided the patients’ respiration. It also made them totally dependent on others for everything. Persons in an iron lung had no freedom to come and go. Anything that they needed would have to be brought to them by others.

That’s an apt illustration of the spiritual condition of the natural man. He is trapped in the iron lung of his own incapacity. Anything spiritual that comes to him will have to be brought to him from outside his realm of experience, since he isn’t going anywhere on his own.

However, God did send his Son, and the Holy Spirit has come. They present spiritual truth to the man trapped in the iron lung of his own inability. And that truth can set him free!