What is a carnal Christian?

(Vv. 14, 15). Thus we learn that the wisdom of God is made known by revelation and communicated to others by inspiration. Now we learn that the reception of the truth is also by the Spirit of God. The natural man cannot receive the things of God; they are foolishness to him; they can only be spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerns all things. We do well to remember that it is the “spiritual”, not simply he that has the Spirit, that discerns all things. A man must, indeed, have the Spirit to be spiritual; but being spiritual implies a condition in which a man is under the control of the Spirit. Such discern all things, yet they themselves are not discerned of any. The spiritual man can discern the motives that govern the world, though the world cannot discern the motives and principles that govern the spiritual man.

In verse 14 the Apostle speaks of the natural man, in verse 15 of the spiritual man, and in 1 Corinthians 3 of the carnal, or fleshly, man. The natural man is the unconverted man, without the Spirit; the carnal man is the believer, having the Spirit, but walking like the natural man; the spiritual man is the believer walking in the Spirit.

Now a carnal Christian is one who though truly a believer and indwelt by the Spirit is not walking in the Spirit, as we are exhorted to do in Galatians 5:16. He is open therefore to fulfil the lust of the flesh. The believer who walks in the Spirit does so as having come under "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," which sets him "free from the law of sin and death," as is indicated in Romans 8:2. Here are two forces: that of the Holy Spirit, and that of the flesh — the old nature, which we have derived from Adam — and under the "law," or "control" of one or the other we live. Though converted and possessing the Spirit of God, we still have the flesh in us, and our lives may still be largely controlled by it, and "the carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7). This is a strong and terrible thing to say, but such is its intrinsic nature, and hence, even in a believer, it leads his thoughts and judgments astray, according to the measure in which it controls him. No wonder the Apostle was not much impressed by any judgments passed on him by his converts at Corinth.

It has often been pointed out that in this and the preceding chapters, the apostle distinguishes three classes. First, there is the "natural" man, that is, man as born into this world, man in his unconverted state and condition; and it is of him Paul says that he "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." (Chap. 2:14.) Next, there is the "spiritual" man, one, that is, who is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, because the Spirit of God dwells in him (Rom. 8:9), and one who is also walking in the Spirit (see Gal. 5:16, 25), controlled by the Holy Spirit in his life and conduct. Lastly, there are the carnal (3:1-4), those who, though really Christians, "walk as men," that is, are governed, not by the indwelling Spirit, but by human principles and motives, in fact, by the flesh. Hence the apostle says, "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" Alas! that it should be possible for us, the children of God, to be so characterized. And as a warning, it should ever be remembered that when we are not walking in the Spirit, the flesh will assuredly assert its power and be manifested. It is on this account Paul elsewhere writes, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." (Gal. 5:16.)

They were not natural, for "the natural man" is man in his unconverted condition. Nor were they spiritual, for the spiritual man is man enlightened and controlled by the Spirit of God. They were carnal, for the carnal man, as spoken of in this passage, is man, who though possessing the Spirit, is controlled not by the Spirit but by the flesh. Being carnal, Paul had hitherto fed them with milk not meat; that is, he had only instructed them in the elementary things of the faith, and had not said much to them of that hidden wisdom of God, to which he alluded in chapter 2.

The Corinthians however might resent Paul's charge against them and wish to rebut it. So Paul proves his point by again referring to their divisions under party leaders, which generated envyings and strifes. In all this they were walking according to man and not according to the Spirit of God.

It is not however that the Corinthian saints were "natural" men, for this would imply that they were not born of God. This the apostle does not say or mean, but that they were "carnal," or "fleshly:" that is, flesh had still attractions for them. It was not judged, detected in principle, or hated in all forms and degrees. They still valued what was of man, wisdom, ability, or eloquence, as such. They had no adequate sense of nature's worthlessness in divine things. "Carnal," or "fleshly" describes not those dead in their sins, but those who, though quickened of the Spirit, are either not yet set free (as in Rom. 7) or still swayed by the influence of men, and nature unjudged — I do not say in its immorality, but in its estimate of itself. This last is before the apostle's mind here. The Corinthians might be babes in Christ, but they were not spiritual.

(Vv. 1-4). With all their boasted wisdom and knowledge and gifts the Corinthian assembly was in such a low spiritual condition that the Apostle was unable to minister to them the deep things of God. It is true they were not natural men that have not the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14), nor were they spiritual men walking according to the Spirit, but the Apostle has to say, “Are ye not carnal?”. They were believers, having the Spirit, but walking according to the flesh. How deeply humbling to discover that it is possible to be enriched with all utterance and knowledge and gift, and be “full” and “wise in Christ” and “strong” (1 Cor. 4:8-10), and yet, in the sight of God, be carnal, or spiritually undeveloped, like a babe that has ceased to grow, and therefore unable to assimilate the rich, spiritual food that God has provided for His people.

The Apostle convicts them of their carnality by calling attention to the conditions that existed amongst them. He says, “There is among you envying, and strife”. In their practical ways they walked as natural men. Instead of serving one another in love, as becomes saints, they were envious of one another and seeking to equal, or excel, one another in knowledge and the exercise of gifts, even as men of the world. Envy was thus at the root of all their strife. Perhaps there is no greater power for evil in the world than envy. Envy led to the first murder in the world, when Cain rose up against his brother and slew him; and envy led to the greatest murder in the world, when the Jews killed the Prince of life, for we read that Pilate “knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18). Will it not be found that envy has been the main cause of all the strifes amongst the people of God? The Apostle Peter warns us that envy knows no pity. It leads to “malice” and “evil speakings”, and the malice leads to “guile” by which a man attempts to cover up what he is, and “hypocrisies” by which a man pretends to be what he is not (1 Peter 2:1).

Their condition is next uncovered. They did not depend on the Spirit of God and did not enjoy the hidden wisdom and walk in it. They were carnal, mere babes in Christ, in the sense that their growth, their spiritual development had been arrested. Carnal (fleshly) is not equivalent to "natural." The believer is no longer a natural man, for he is born again. Carnal describes a condition in which the believer walks when he is not subject to the Spirit of God, but is led and governed by natural instincts and motions. Such was their condition. What was merely of man; wisdom, learning, intellect, eloquence and other things, were highly esteemed by them. They were wise in their own conceits and gloried in men. They delighted in and longed for that which is of man, and admired it, therefore the real spiritual truths communicated by the Spirit were unknown to them.

This distinction appears everywhere. Among believers, who does not know some spiritual, with not a few carnal? As believers, they are no longer natural, but they are not therefore necessarily spiritual. Not that they have not the Spirit, but that they do not walk or judge in the Spirit. The possession of the Spirit does not necessarily make a man spiritual. The Corinthian saints clearly had the Spirit, but there was unjudged activity of the flesh in many. There is a shade of difference between the word (and the sense, I also think) in Romans 7, compared with 1 Corinthians 3, which calls little for notice now. It is only one letter, and; the Auth. Version (though not always) translates both as "carnal." Do not suppose that we are going into critical points now; but it surely is of interest and importance to apprehend the difference between being born of the Spirit, and having the Holy Ghost dwelling in me. A man may be born of the Spirit, and yet may require to have the Holy Ghost given to him. Now the word in Romans 7 does not decide that the Spirit dwells there, the word in 1 Corinthians does admit of it. However this may be, we may now turn to the fundamental Christian truth of present deliverance.

So wrote the late Evan H. Hopkins, and we believe he was right. But erroneous teaching is given in some quarters on these lines: "You may be a true believer, yet you may not have received the Holy Spirit. There may be no fruit in your life, no evidence of His indwelling, no sorrow for sin, no sincere self-judgment, no effort to please and serve Him, no love for His people. You may be just living for self, to have 'a good time.' You have not received the Holy Spirit. Yet, of course, if you once believed in Christ you belong to Him, and are saved for ever."

Thus worldly minded people, whose whole lives give the lie to the assumption that they belong to Christ, are persuaded that, after all, because they once "believed," they are on their way to heaven!

What I should like to say to any such worldling is this: "Do not delude yourself with the idea that you are a real Christian. It is manifest from your life, your outlook, your selfishness, your whole course in the world, that you are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that you are a kind of lower grade believer. It means that you are not a genuine believer at all. You may believe like Simon in Acts 8:13; that is, you may give credence to the facts which the gospel sets forth, without repentance. Like Simon, though believing after this fashion and perhaps baptized, as he was, you have neither part nor lot in vital Christianity. Your heart is not right in the sight of God. You are still in the bond of iniquity. Never having received the Holy Spirit, you do not belong to Christ at all. You are none of His."

217 We have again false doctrine (in page 47), "God's Spirit cannot dwell with sin, or even with the love of the world." Had he said that it is not being filled with the Spirit, I should have heartily agreed. But I ask, did the Holy Spirit dwell in Peter, or had He left him when he used dissimulation, or how do I grieve the Spirit if sin and the Spirit cannot be there together? If a man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. Do we cease to be Christ's if anything of worldliness gets into the mind. most sad as it is to see it? I have no desire to weaken the force of the solemn texts he quotes, but to apply them earnestly to conscience; but his use of them is wrong. We are not in the flesh but the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in us. It is a state, not a walking up to that state, all important as this is. We have natural men, carnal Christians, and spiritual Christians, in 1 Corinthians. But it is a serious thing to say a man is none of Christ's, because he fails to live up to the power which works in him, though he has no excuse for not doing it, and is judged by the perfect law of liberty.