And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1Corinthians 2:13)

This verse has been twisted and misapplied very, very often in the history of the Christian church, by people who want to be regarded as a kind of elite, “super-saint.” Such arrogance insists that “those who are spiritual” means that there is a lower class and an upper class of Christian. And, of course, the ones who teach this falsehood, always turn out to be members of the elite group. They, unlike the commoners, have been “taught by the Spirit” and the rest of us must emulate them and crave to become members of their class.

This is all entirely opposite to what the Apostle Paul means in this passage. He identifies two, and only two, categories of human beings – the natural man, and the spiritual man. Every real Christian, everyone who has been born again by faith in Christ, is indwelt by and is taught by the Spirit through the Word of God, the Bible. In other words, those who are spiritual are those who are in Christ and who are now radically different from the world and its natural worldlings.

What does this have to do with the RASN (reviler, abuser, sociopath, narcissist). Just this – RASNs who choose religion as their field of narcissistic supply, very often present themselves as a member of this false upper class of saints. They crave to be exalted in their local church. They seek (and very typically) positions – elder, pastor, music director, teacher, etc – and sadly, due to the naivete of the rest of the church members, very often achieve what they seek.

I suspect that many of you have known one or more of these kind. They can put on “holy talk.” They invite you to meet with them so they can “disciple” you. They seek a following and are intensely jealous of anyone whom they perceive to have a following. They put themselves forward as the “go to” person. Whether you need a Bible question answered or some kind of counseling – they are the ones to meet that need.

In politics lately you have heard of the “deep state” in reference to people and powers who operate behind the scenes, pursuing their own agendas. RASNs, because they regard themselves as super-saints, a cut above everyone else in the church, are a kind of “deep state.” They are constantly working to effect their own program, influencing people to go their direction, and very typically in doing so they are working against the real appointed leadership of the church. It is no wonder then that division and strife are so very common in the churches. These elitists are working non-stop to sow their seeds of discord. Remember, RASNs love to turn people against one another because divided people are easier to control.

If you are a Christian, that is, if you have been born again through faith in Christ, then you are what Paul calls “spiritual.” You are taught by the Spirit of Christ, led by the Spirit of Christ, always through the Word of Christ in the Bible. So don’t be intimidated by the elitist RASN. Be wise and understand that such a person is most often a wolf in wool.