Are There Both Spiritual and Carnal Christians?

Are there both spiritual and carnal Christians?

Depending on what church you attend or the religious background from which you come, you may have a different answer to this question. Many churchgoers believe that you can be saved yet live like an unbeliever, no different than you lived before professing faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. They would even contend that if salvation is entirely of grace, we must not expect any works from people, even after being saved. They believe that there must be people who are saved and have never changed. In their minds, obedience to God is not necessary either to be saved or to show that you are saved.

On the other hand, many have taught (and I believe this more accurately reflects Scripture) that though salvation is all of God’s grace, once a person is saved God does more for the believer than wipe away his sins. He also gives him new life that in every case moves him to express new godly desires. In other words, everyone who is saved and justified is also born-again. Therefore, he will change his behavior to some degree. Not all grow in obedience at the same rate, but all will grow some.

This is the main point of 1 John 3:6-10 which reads, “No one who abides in (Jesus) sins (in a continuous practice as before salvation); no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” Other scriptures make this just as plain.

Despite this direct declaration, some Biblical interpreters see other passages of Scripture pointing to a carnal life of truly saved people. One of the passages at the heart of the controversy is 1 Corinthians 2:14 - 3:4. Since it has been used as a proof text, we want to explore it more carefully.

This portion of Paul’s letter seems to list three groups of people at the church of Corinth: Natural men (unsaved), Spiritual men (saved who are living obediently to Christ) and Carnal men (saved but living like unbelievers). Of course, if this interpretation is correct, then some people who live ungodly lives might still gain a measure of confidence they are saved and headed for heaven. However, if this is a distortion of Paul’s teaching, (as John seems to warn his children in 1 John 3) then it gives these same people false hope and will add to their deception leading to eternal destruction. Because the consequences of belief one way or the other is great, this is no small or curious matter to solve. I think we all should know whether or not truly saved people live differently than the unsaved. I believe Paul’s description of the carnal Corinthians has led to much misunderstanding. In order to discern Paul’s meaning we need to take a closer look at what Paul meant by these three descriptions. The Corinthian believers had a rather high view of themselves. They thought they were quite spiritual, but Paul starkly rebukes them and labels, at least some of their behavior as carnal. If we compare these descriptions, we will better understand Paul’s meaning.

The first description is The Natural Man in v. 14. A natural man is a man without he Holy Spirit. The word natural is “psuchikos.” It is a term that pertains to the human self. He is called natural because he is only able to draw on natural resources. He does not have supernatural resources to help him see truth and understand it. He is not yet a new man. He is his old person from birth. The natural man is dead in his trespasses and sins. He is in a condition where the Spirit of God has not yet moved in or caused a new birth. The natural man “does not accept the things of the Spirit.” He does not accept the spiritual words mentioned back in v. 13, nor does he accept the spiritual thoughts embedded in the words. He does not desire them. He does not like them. He is not attracted to them.

Why not? Two reasons are given. The first is that they are foolishness to him. That word “mōria” means stupid or absurd, even distasteful. He doesn’t see the value of God’s truth. The second reason is that he “cannot understand them” since spiritual words take spiritual appraisal. The word “cannot” is “dunamai” and refers to inability. It means he has not the power. He has not the capability. Since this verb is in the present tense, it reveals his present condition.

To know the things of the Spirit of God takes insight, knowledge, and appraisal. Only the Spirit of God in a man makes that kind of insight possible. “Anakrinō “appraisal” means ability to examine and investigate. The Spirit must be received to be able to judge the value of the Spirit’s words. Without the Spirit, the natural man cannot discern the beauty, power and wisdom of the message of the cross. Only the Spirit of God penetrating his darkness will bring him to the light. He must be born-again to see the kingdom of God. To be reborn means to be regenerated by the Spirit of God; to receive new life in Christ. A dead man cannot respond to anything, so the natural man must be made alive by God. Only then can he hear God and respond to Him.

He needs to become what Galatians 6:15 describes as “a new creation.” In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born-again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Being born-again is the equivalent to what is called in John 3:3, 7 being “born from above” in Greek “gennean anōthen.” It is a birth given, not from earth, but from above -- from heaven. In John 3 it is also called a birth of the Holy Spirit. The body, the flesh, has one kind of birth Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3. That makes a person a natural man. But the spirit must also have a birth. We are born of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit at salvation imparts life to our spirit. John 1:12-13 testifies to this, “But as many as received (Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

One of the premier verses on regeneration in the New Testament is 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” This new spiritual birth is a drastic new beginning. That truth is gleaned from the symbolism of birth itself. Birth is a beginning event. Physical birth marks our entrance into this world. It initiates all that we will accomplish in this life. So being born again initiates new life in Christ. It is not a reform of the old life. It is a brand, new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” It is not that you didn’t have a soul before the new birth. Every human has a soul. But that soul was dead to God – unresponsive, as Ephesians 2:1 describes. So, the new birth imparted God’s life to the human soul that you and I may begin to respond to God. But a natural man is not reborn.

Paul also speaks in this passage of an entirely different kind of human which we will read about next time.