Caught in a Cloud of Carnality - Part Two
“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” 1 Corinthians 3:3 (KJV)
In today’s technologically-infused society, it is not uncommon for a person to have a laptop or computer that is configured to print to multiple printers. In order to distinguish between multiple printers, the user establishes a default printer which becomes the “go-to” device for that computer. When you consider a Christ-centered mindset or a carnal mindset, which have you established as your spiritual default printer?
I encourage you to place your spiritual default printer under examination! You are under a cloud of carnality when your flesh is your default printer rather than the Spirit of God! Ask yourself: When you communicate, engage in activity, draw conclusions, form an opinion, are you consistently in the flesh or worldly? For a follower of Jesus Christ, He must be your default printer and the Director of your decisions!
In last week’s blog, we discussed how the Apostle Paul called out the Corinthian believers for continually defaulting to carnality. It is important to note that in his letter to the Corinthians, he designates them as individuals that are part of the family of God by calling them brethren. This is the issue! Although they have the Holy Spirit (unlike the natural man discussed in 1 Corinthians 2:14), they are not behaving like spiritual people, but like carnal - that is, fleshly -people, worldly people, like immature Christians or babes in Christ.
There is a good degree of discussion directed at the designation of a carnal Christian in religious circles today. Some say it is a contradiction in terms, that Paul is really saying that these carnal people are not Christians at all. However, since he specifically calls them brethren, it is more accurate to say that they are babies in Christ. Therefore, the terms brethren and carnal in this context apply to someone who is a Christian.
Sometimes, new believers often think and live much as they did before they believed in Christ. In this sense they are worldly. The Holy Spirit had indwelt the Corinthian believers, but the Spirit’s sanctifying work had not progressed very far when Paul had first ministered to them. They are in Huggies diaper mode because they were hugging and holding onto the world!
As a Pastor, I have encountered numerous immature believers. Oftentimes, I find myself changing spiritual diapers of sheep that are covered in their carnality. These Christians, to some extent, are thinking and acting according to the flesh, not the Spirit of God. Of course, the flesh does not dominate every aspect of their life, or they would then have no proof of being people of God. But Paul is addressing issues that are applicable to both the Corinthian church as well as the carnal Christians that I have encountered. In both situations, these believers are clearly thinking and acting in a carnal - that is, fleshly - manner. They may see life from the lenses of race, setbacks and defeats, hurt, pain, or sickness, and a variety of glasses generated by the flesh! When you are wet from a cloud of carnality, you are soaked in sensuality and not the Spirit of God.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to think biblically and subscribe to the Spirit!
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR