What does 'first the natural, then the spiritual' mean in the Bible?
Scripture consistently follows a pattern: the natural precedes the spiritual. Adam, earthy, came before Christ, the spiritual second Adam; Cain preceded Abel; Esau preceded Jacob; Saul preceded David. This format runs from Genesis to Revelation, showing the pattern of natural first, spiritual second.
Les teaches that all through Scripture there is a format never abridged: first the natural, then the spiritual, carrying from Genesis to Revelation. He explains the first man, Adam, was natural, of the earth and earthy; the second Adam, as picked up in Romans and Corinthians, is Christ, who is spiritual. He illustrates this with Cain, the natural man who had no faith, then Abel, the spiritual; Esau, the natural with no faith, then Jacob, the spiritual; and King Saul, the natural and not a godly man, followed by David, the spiritual.