What does 1 Corinthians 2:14 mean?

The point made in this verse is crucial in our understanding of spiritualty, and how to interact with the non-believing world. In short, non-believers cannot be expected to think, or to act, like believers. The problem is not intellectual or moral; reason and evidence point towards God (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:18–23). The key difference is spiritual: those who are not guided by the Holy Spirit, thanks to faith in Christ, simply lack a godly spiritual perspective.

The only way to be believe the truths of God, including His plan for salvation through faith in Christ, is for God to communicate those truths through His Holy Spirit. Paul's work is to help people who have been given that spiritual ability to believe to understand what it means, but he knows that he cannot make anyone believe it. Intellectual knowledge and human reason cannot produce faith—at best, they can only impart facts (James 2:19).

Now Paul shows the negative. Those without God's Spirit cannot possibly "get it." God's truths must be understood and believed on a spiritual level. Those without God's Spirit don't have that level, Paul insists. Like a radio, television, or microphone tuned to the wrong signal, they are literally incapable of receiving that message.

So the natural person rejects as foolish anything that comes from the Spirit of God. Those who have only their human senses and human reason will never be able to comprehend the spiritual truths of God's revelation about sin, salvation, and Christ to His people. It's unreasonable to expect non-believers to process spiritual issues in the same way as believers. It's impossible to expect them to have the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16) when they don't have the Spirit of God.