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Carnal Christians? - Part 3
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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 Cor. 3:1-4
These are the four verses that are used most often to “prove” that there is
such a thing as a “carnal” Christian. If you ignore the rest of the New
Testament and take these verses out of context it does sound convincing, but
if you are familiar with the Bible you will have trouble with this
interpretation because it completely contradicts so many other verses. How
can you believe that these four verses teach that a person can be saved, but
still living according to the lust of the flesh and not subject to God when
you read these verses:
For to be carnally minded is death; but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. 8:6-9
That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6
As is the earthy, such are they also that
are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 1
Cor. 15:48
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. Rom. 7:5
There are many other verses that could be
given to show that the teaching of a “carnal” Christian is a contradiction
of the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at 1 Cor. 3:1-4 and see if we can
explain what Paul is saying without contradicting other Scriptures.
The first evidence given to “prove” that these are actually “carnal”
Christians is the fact that Paul greets them by calling them “brethren.”
This is just not correct. Paul was addressing a local church and he knew, as
well as we do, that not everyone in a local church is truly saved. If we
were to write a letter to a church as a whole or stand in front of a church
we would greet them with a similar salutation. Just because he said
“brethren” doesn’t mean that he considered them all to be saved. What other
word could he have used, and how else could he have sensibly and properly
addressed them? It is common in the Bible for the word “brethren” to be used
referring to one’s own countrymen, or to one who belongs to the same group
of people. At least three times in the first three chapters of Acts Peter
called the unconverted Jews he was preaching to “brethren.” Stephen called
the Jews who were about to kill him “brethren” in Acts 7:2. Paul called the
Jews “brethren” in Acts 13:26, Acts 13:38, again in Acts 22:1, Acts 23:1,
Acts 23:5, Acts 23:6, and Acts 28:17. There is abundant evidence in the Word
of God that Paul used the word “brethren” when addressing people who were
obviously not saved. Therefore, it is very foolish to base a doctrine that
contradicts so many other Scriptures on one single word.
Now there is a contrast drawn between “spiritual” and “carnal.” He says he
couldn’t speak to them as spiritual, but as to carnal. These words are
opposites. Spiritual means NOT fleshly, while carnal means fleshly.
Spiritual means regenerated – carnal means unregenerate. Any dictionary will
tell you that. A spiritual person is controlled and led by the Spirit of
God, while a carnal person is controlled and led by the lusts of the flesh.
Paul says that if he spoke to them of spiritual things they were “not able
to bear it”– because they were carnal. The natural man IS a carnal man, and
he cannot understand the (spiritual) things of God. Paul told us this
plainly in the verses just prior to this in 1 Cor. 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.
Paul is saying that if these people were
spiritual they would be able to understand and he could talk to them about
spiritual things. However, he has found that to be impossible because they
are carnal. They have missed it. They aren’t listening. They aren’t
receiving. He has to back up and start over with the basic principles of sin
and salvation.
“Even as unto babes in Christ.” This phrase is taken as further proof that
we have saved people here who are living a continuous, carnal life. Notice
that it says, “AS UNTO.” He doesn’t say he is talking to babes in Christ,
but “AS UNTO” babes in Christ. He says, “I am talking to people who have
little or no understanding.” Babies are carnal – BUT babies grow up. These
people might have been considered babes in Christ if they had just been
saved, but because they hadn’t grown and were still unable to understand he
pronounced them “carnal,” which is a very strong word, when studied in light
of the Scriptures. There might be a time when a person first gets saved that
he appears to be carnal because he has to sort out some things and learn the
difference, but this doesn’t take very long with the Spirit of God and the
Word of God as your guides. Paul is saying to these people that he sees no
evidence they are really saved because they aren’t acting or thinking any
differently than they did before they made their profession. He isn’t
condemning the whole church any more than a preacher today is when he gets
up and preaches on sin. There were good people there, who loved God and were
growing in grace, but there were also some folks sitting there who were
continuing to live with the same attitudes and affections that they had
always had. Paul was speaking to the whole church as he dealt with these
people.
“Envying, strife, and divisions” are the words he used to describe their
carnality. While there were moral sins in the church at Corinth, as we see
from the rest of the letters to them, those sins are not what he is
referring to in particular here. These people were fighting and quarrelling
about things like which preacher they liked the most. They were envious of
each other and doing things to hurt each other because of their envy. When a
church is full of envy, strife, and divisions it is because there are carnal
people involved. It is because there are LOST people in the middle of things
who do not understand spiritual things. They are trying to have their say in
running the church and their motives and reasoning are carnal. They see
everything from the viewpoint of an unconverted person. They do not
understand the things of God and cannot know them because they are
spiritually discerned.
If you are a critic I can read your mind right now. You are thinking that I
have no right to judge so harshly. But my friend, it isn’t me who is doing
the judging – the Word of God judges, and makes it very clear that carnal
people are LOST people. It is YOUR mind that is so confused by false
teaching that you can’t make heads or tails of who is saved and who is lost
– even when they live in such a way that the Bible marks them clearly. You
are saying to yourself right now, “This can’t be true because I know some
good people who have acted in a carnal way and I just can’t believe they are
lost.”
First of all, you need to be made aware of the fact that you are judging the
Word of God by your experience, or what you see in the experience of others.
You are making void the Word of God by the “traditions” of men (things they
do). You should believe the Word of God and measure yourself and others by
THAT standard. “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The Bible is true
even if it condemns our best friend or our loved ones. If they are to have
any hope at all we must believe God and not judge God and his Word by THEIR
lifestyle.
You can say, “I hear what you are saying, but I know a preacher who is just
like what you are describing.” So what? Preachers aren’t exempt from the
Word of God, either. The Bible tells us plainly that Satan has his
“ministers of righteousness.” They are in the church and even preach
righteousness, but their life tells on them and reveals what they really
are, when they are full of envy, strife, and divisions. Again, you are
setting up people as your standard and trying to nullify the plain Word of
God because you know someone who is “saved” but acts like a carnal person.
Finally, it is a fact that a saved person may do a carnal thing from time to
time. As long as we are able to be tempted we will be able to sin. A saved
person is not exempt from being overcome by a fault, but a saved person
cannot CONTINUE in it. God promises to deal with his children. He promises
to chasten us and keep us in line. The Bible is clear that those who are not
chastened are NOT God’s children. People who are truly saved are teachable
and correctable. Not only God, but fellow Christians can point out to them
where their life is not consistent with the Word of God and they will
receive instruction and correct the problem. Carnal people reject it out of
hand because they cannot understand spiritual things. They are judging
themselves by others and comparing themselves among themselves, and they are
not wise.
What Paul is saying here in 1 Cor. 3:1-4 is, “If the shoe fits, wear it! If
you aren’t lost, quit acting like you are!” Just as in any church, there
were no doubt people there who were saved, but caught up in the ruckus that
was being stirred by the carnal people there. Without a doubt there were
some who repented at Paul’s instructions and got right with God. Then there
were others who resented his rebuke and remained just as they were – carnal.
The good people of God who were right all along were glad and thankful for
plain preaching that was consistent with the Word of God and dealt directly
with the problem that was tearing up the church.
Paul was just doing some good preaching to these people who had problems in
the church. You will search far and wide to find a church in our day that
DOESN”T have these same problems. But you will have to search even harder
for a preacher who will deal with the problem like Paul did. There are very
few who even believe there is a real difference between the lost and the
saved anymore. They make a place for everybody in the church. You can be
saved and be a good Christian, or you can be saved and be a “carnal”
Christian, and no one has a right to judge your “salvation.” Therefore, the
churches are filled with lost (carnal) people who are making the decisions
and directing the work of the church with no spiritual understanding or
discernment. Thankfully for us, there was an Apostle Paul there who cared
for them and was faithful to deal with them in truth and correct the
problem. Because of that the Gospel was carried across the world and we are
the glad recipients. But what are our descendants going to say about us one
day? What is going to become of the church after a generation of carnal
people have held the reins?
Mike Miller
(6/26/2005)
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