1 Corinthians 2:11, 14 (NKJV), “… no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. … 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The Apostle Paul amplifies on this marked distinction between the natural and the spiritual in 1 Corinthians 15. We cannot expect that those who have not committed their lives to the Lord in full consecration to even begin to glimpse the spiritual blessings. However, they can and should be able to see the difference in us as we grow in the knowledge and love of Him and of His Word.
What does show on the outside are the fruits of the spirit. As we mature, others may see that we no longer walk in sinful human ways. Matthew 7:16-18, 20 (NKJV), 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. … 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” These fruits are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” And he continues in verses 7 through 9, “the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” From these words, we can see that the spiritual blessings we receive are not obvious to natural men who live in a worldly way, not seeking for spiritual things.
And so, we cannot expect spiritual things to be tangible, physical things, although God does use such to direct us and guide us to the higher spiritual world.
