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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 3:1-3 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?

In chapter 2 Paul tells the Corinthian believers that, because they are born again, they are "spiritual' people, and thus have the mind of Christ (verses 15-16). But he begins chapter 3 by telling them that they were not "spiritual" during his previous ministry with them, and still were not. This seems like a contradiction, but since it can not be, what is Paul saying? We have mentioned in the past the idea of "positional" sanctification and "practical" sanctification. When a believer gets saved he is immediately set apart unto God as far as his position is concerned. However, as we mature in the Lord, hopefully we are becoming more set apart from sin and unto God in our daily lives. This same basic principle is what Paul is discussing in these verses. When a man gets saved he is no longer "natural". He has become "spiritual" because the Holy Spirit lives inside of him. However, the fact that he possesses the Spirit does not mean that he walks in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), nor does it mean that he always follows the Spirit's direction (Galatians 5:18). Therefore, though he might be "spiritual" in his position to the Lord, he is not necessarily "spiritual" in his walk with the Lord.

The Corinthian Christians were not spiritual in their walk. According to verses 1 and 3 they were carnal. The word "carnal" means "fleshly". Though they had the Spirit, they were allowing their flesh to dictate their decisions rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to do so. In Galatians 5:17, Paul is writing to believers when he says,

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

Paul then says in verses 2-3 that the Corinthian church members were behaving like spiritual infants. It should be noted here that it has been about 5 years since Paul's visit to Corinth, and there has been very little spiritual growth during that time because they couldn't eat spiritual meat previously and they still can't. Back then they may have been new converts, and thus had not had time to mature. However, enough time has passed that these Christians should be showing some maturity. Donald Carson wrote,

"At some point the number of years they have been Christians leads you to expect something like mature behavior from them, but they prove disappointing. They are infants still and display their wretched immaturity even in the way that they complain if you give them more than milk. Not for them solid knowledge of Scripture; not for them mature theological reflection; not for them growing and perceptive Christian thought. They want nothing more than a 'simple message' - something that won’t challenge them to think, to examine their lives, to make choices, and to grow in their knowledge and adoration of the living God."

Would Paul call you "carnal" or "spiritual"?