Thursday, December 27, 2018

The Character of Carnal


“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

“Are ye not Carnal?”  The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, and you can feel the sorrow as it pours out onto the page.  Sorrowing for their state.  Sorrowing because there was division, envying, and strife.  Sorrowing because they were boasting of men and assigning the doctrine of Christ to man.  Because of this the piercing questions comes down through the ages: “Are ye not carnal?”  

The book of 1 Corinthians (specifically chapters 2-6) like the story of Samson is a wonderful example of what not to do.  In both scriptures, their focus was on self, the physical things of this world, and the natural things of life.  The Corinthians were prone to ascribe their salvation to man, boasting of man.  Furthermore, there was fornication among them, and “brother was going to law against brother.”  That is say one person in the church taking another in the church to court; over some matter.  The same thing happens today, someone will have a death in the family, and a marvelous squabble will break out over that lost family member’s possessions. Or a business transaction goes wrong between two persons in the church, and one sues the other for the sum of money.  Paul writes on the subject: “Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?”  Hereby we begin to see the characteristics of carnal take shape.  A great amount of emphasis put on self, and on the natural, physical things.  Furthermore, a complete unwillingness to abase oneself, and perhaps the most disturbing of all, the inability to see past the physical, therefore rendering oneself incapable to understand the spiritual.  Ask yourself: “What draws my attention?”  “What governs my life?”  Is it yourself, another, something that is tangible?  Or perhaps, what drives you is something unseen; “things that are higher, things that are nobler.”  The Lord Jesus Christ himself.  Are ye yet carnal or spiritual?  Spiritual is not the same as “spirituality.”  There are many today who sit in classes, read philosophy novels, meditate, etc. and this is considered a quest for greater spirituality.  However, “God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) The Bible says God is a spirit, and we know through the scriptures that he is the Creator and maker of all things; therefore, if any spiritual experience can be obtained it must be obtained by Him and through Him.  Spirituality (in my opinion) is a trinket you add, to your current lifestyle; spiritual is the overhaul of the lifestyle itself.  It is a total yielding to the gospel of Christ.  It is a complete surrender of your will and absolute adhering to the will of God.  Spiritual or he/she who is spiritual is the opposite of carnal.  In short, one who is spiritual is one who is Christ-like, Bible-like, focused on heaven; one who is a pilgrim and stranger here.

To be spiritual is to be Christ.  However, we do not adopt Christ, he adopts us.  We do not change Christ, he changes us.  One must renounce their self, their pride, their will, their wishes, and plead for Jesus in the person of the Holy Ghost to come in and take the helm of their whole life.  He is not an addition to life, but life itself.  So, flee all things carnal, and cleave to that which is spiritual. 

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