In Les Feldick's teaching, it means God's unbroken pattern in Scripture in which the natural, earthly, or fleshly person comes first and the spiritual follows.
Les Feldick calls this 'one of the laws of Scripture' [Clip 6] and 'one of the first rules of thumb' in the Bible [Clip 3]. The pattern runs from Adam to Christ, from Cain to Abel, from Saul to David, and right down to the Antichrist and Christ's second coming [Clip 1]. It also applies personally, since everyone is born natural and becomes spiritual through the born-again experience [Clips 1, 6].
1 Corinthians 15:46 — This is the verse that explicitly states the order: the natural comes first and the spiritual afterward.
1 Corinthians 15:45 — Identifies the first man Adam as a living soul and the last Adam (Christ) as a quickening spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:47 — Contrasts the earthy first man with the second man who is the Lord from heaven.
The phrase comes directly from the Apostle Paul's teaching on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul writes, 'And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit' (1 Corinthians 15:45). He then states the order plainly: 'Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual' (1 Corinthians 15:46). And he adds, 'The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven' (1 Corinthians 15:47). The same sequence is recorded earlier in Genesis. Eve's firstborn was Cain, the tiller of the ground, and her second son was Abel, the keeper of sheep (Genesis 4:1-2). Abraham's first son, Ishmael, was born to Hagar (Genesis 16:15); the son of promise, Isaac, was born afterward to Sarah (Genesis 21:2-3). Isaac's twins also came in order: 'the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out... and his name was called Jacob' (Genesis 25:25-26). Later, when the elders of Israel came to Samuel, they said, 'Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations' (1 Samuel 8:5). The Scriptures record this request and the events that followed.
Les Feldick teaches that 'first the natural, and then the spiritual' is a law that runs 'all the way through Scripture' [Clip 1]. He calls it 'one of the laws of Scripture' [Clips 2, 6] and 'one of the first, I guess you can call it rules of thumb in Scripture' [Clip 3]. The pairs he identifies are: first Adam the natural, then Christ the second Adam the spiritual [Clips 1, 2, 4, 5, 6]; first Cain the natural, then Abel the spiritual [Clips 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7]; first Ishmael the natural, then Isaac the spiritual [Clips 2, 5, 6]; first Esau the natural (the unbeliever), then Jacob the spiritual (the believer) [Clips 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7]; first King Saul the natural, then King David the spiritual [Clips 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7]; and in the final seven years, first the Antichrist the natural, then the Christ the spiritual [Clips 1, 2, 6, 7]. Les also applies this principle to individual believers. 'We come on life seen as natural. We have no spiritual life. We begin as natural, and as a believer we become what? Spiritual' [Clip 1]. He repeats: 'Here we are as sons of Adam, we are born natural, we're of the flesh. But after we have experienced salvation, we've been born from above, and now we're spiritual' [Clip 6]. In the Romans 5 context, Les explains that Adam was the first federal head of the human race and Christ is the culmination of all this, because we are 'not just dealing with the physical, we're dealing with the spiritual' [Clip 5]. All of this, he says, is what Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians 15:46 [Clips 2, 6].
The first pair Les points to is Cain and Abel. Scripture records that Eve 'bare Cain' first, and then 'she again bare his brother Abel' (Genesis 4:1-2). Les observes that 'Cain, as you well know, never became a spiritual individual... He remained the natural, but he was born first. Abel was then the spiritual of the two, and he came second' [Clip 3]. He later describes Cain as 'the beginning of the natural, or the non-spiritual aspect of the human race' [Clip 7]. The same order appears with Abraham's sons: 'first Ishmael, the natural, and then Isaac, the spiritual' [Clips 2, 5, 6].
Les sets the stage for the Saul–David pairing with Israel's demand in 1 Samuel 8: 'Make us a king to judge or rule us like what? All the other nations around us' [Clip 0]. He stresses that God had mandated Israel to be 'different... a set-apart nation of people,' but they wanted to be 'like everybody else' [Clip 0]. The request broke Samuel's heart, yet God told him to 'hearken unto the voice of the people' [Clip 0]. The result was that Israel's first king, Saul, was the natural — 'not a believer' [Clip 3] — while David followed as the spiritual king [Clips 1, 2, 5, 6, 7].
Les applies the law to each person's experience: 'We are born what? Natural, we're of the flesh. But after we have experienced salvation, we've been born from above, and now we're what? Spiritual' [Clip 6]. He puts it simply: 'We begin as natural, and as a believer we become spiritual' [Clip 1]. The biblical order is replayed in every life — natural birth first, spiritual birth through salvation second.
Les carries the pattern 'right down to the end time, in those final seven years. First comes the natural, the Antichrist, and then comes the spiritual, the Christ' [Clip 1]. He reiterates that 'as we approach the end time, we'll have first the appearance of the Antichrist, and then the appearance of the real Christ' [Clip 7]. The man of sin comes first as the natural; the true Christ follows as the spiritual [Clips 2, 6].
The principle is anchored in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul writes: 'And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit' (1 Corinthians 15:45), and then, 'Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual' (1 Corinthians 15:46) [Clip 4]. Les notes that this is exactly 'what Paul is referring to' as the law of Scripture [Clips 2, 6]. He also observes that Paul points to Adam, 'the first man was of the earth, he was earthy,' as the natural example [Clip 2].
Israel Demands a King Like the Nations
Les shows that Israel rejected God's call to be a set-apart nation and demanded a natural king like all the other nations — the setting that produced natural King Saul before spiritual King David.
The Pattern From Cain to Antichrist
Les gives the whole sweep of the pattern in one statement: Cain then Abel, Esau then Jacob, Saul then David, the Antichrist then Christ — and the personal application that believers begin natural and become spiritual.
One of the Laws of Scripture
Les calls the principle 'one of the laws of Scripture,' adds Ishmael and Isaac to the list, and ties it to the earthy first man Adam in 1 Corinthians 15:47.
Cain the Natural, Abel the Spiritual
Les introduces the pattern as a 'rule of thumb,' explaining that Cain was born first but remained natural, while Abel came second as the spiritual son.
The First Adam and the Last Adam
Les reads 1 Corinthians 15:45-46, showing that Adam was the natural, living soul and Christ the last Adam is the life-giving spirit — the natural comes first.
Adam as Federal Head, Christ as Culmination
In Paul's Romans 5 argument, Les shows Adam as the first federal head of the human race and Christ as the culmination, repeating the rule of thumb from Cain through David.
The Law of Scripture Applied Personally
Les applies the law to the reader: as sons of Adam we are born natural and of the flesh, but after salvation — being born from above — we become spiritual.
Cain, the Beginning of the Natural
Les identifies Cain as the beginning of the natural, non-spiritual aspect of the human race, and projects the same order forward to the Antichrist and the real Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:45: And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Paul contrasts the first Adam with the last Adam, Christ, showing the two heads of the race — natural and spiritual.
1 Corinthians 15:46: Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
This is the verse that states the principle the whole question is about: natural first, spiritual afterward.
1 Corinthians 15:47: The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Paul grounds the natural/spiritual order in the earthy origin of the first man and the heavenly origin of the second.
Genesis 4:1-2: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Records Cain as the firstborn son and Abel as the second — the first human pair Les uses for the pattern.
Genesis 16:15: And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
Ishmael was Abraham's firstborn son, the natural son born to Hagar.
Genesis 21:2-3: For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
Isaac, the son of promise, was born after Ishmael — the spiritual son coming second.
Genesis 25:25-26: And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Esau came out of the womb first, and Jacob followed — another pair Les cites as natural then spiritual.
1 Samuel 8:5: And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
Israel's demand for a natural king like all the other nations led to King Saul, the natural king, before David the spiritual king.
It means that in God's dealings with humanity, the natural, fleshly, or earthly version comes first, and the spiritual comes second. Les Feldick calls this a 'law of Scripture' and shows it running from Adam and Christ all the way down to the Antichrist and Christ's return [Clips 1, 2, 6].
1 Corinthians 15:46 says, 'Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.' Paul wrote this in the context of the resurrection, contrasting the first man Adam with the last Adam, Christ [Clips 4, 5].
Les teaches that everyone is born natural, of the flesh, with no spiritual life. Through the born-again experience of salvation, a believer becomes spiritual [Clips 1, 6].
The pairs Les identifies are Adam then Christ, Cain then Abel, Ishmael then Isaac, Esau then Jacob, King Saul then King David, and the Antichrist then Christ [Clips 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7].
Yes. Les teaches that in the final seven years, the Antichrist appears first as the natural man of sin, and then the true Christ comes as the spiritual [Clips 1, 2, 6, 7].
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Rejected God as King — 1 Samuel 8 Explained