1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The will of man is the means by which he decides what he will do. His will is shaped by his mind, his heart, his affections, and his conscience. What we have already seen is that his mind is darkened, his heart is hardened, his affections are vile, and his conscience is defiled. With this in mind, how can a man be inclined toward God? How can a man who is both legally and spiritually dead, and who physical and eternal death awaits him choose God? The fact is that he cannot be inclined toward God unless there is divine intervention. The verse above says that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God reveals Jesus.
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Man cannot know Jesus unless he is spiritually awakened. That is the state of man outside of the hand of God to draw him to Christ.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
The fact is that man does not have the ability to come. He is dead.
Romans 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Man’s members, his hands, his feet, his eyes, his ears, his mouth all bring fruit unto death. That is the natural state of man. This being so, how can man of his own will choose God? He CANNOT. He has no ability to do so.
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Man has no natural ability to know the things of God for they are foolishness to him. The notion that man can choose God is false and shows that men do not seek after God. They create a god in their own likeness. The universal love of God, the general redemption of Christ, and the free will of man all show that man sees the truth of God as foolishness and have constructed a god of their own imaginations. That is why man needs sovereign grace. It is the unmerited grace, the unconditional favor God shows to His people.