He begins by making the distinction between ‘spiritual’ people, the ones he’s just mentioned in verse 13, the ones who can understand the deep and spiritual wisdom that as a teacher he longs to share with people, and ‘merely human’ people, people living on the ordinary level. The word he uses which we translate ‘merely human’ is a tricky one. Other writers of the time use it in a variety of ways. Paul may himself be picking it up from things the Corinthians, or others, are saying, in order to turn