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Corinthians 3:1 – “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.”
A serious
problem we face today is carnality. One
of the problems Paul addresses in the church of Corinth was carnality. He writes in 1 Corinthians 3:1, “And I,
brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to
babes in Christ.” We learn in verses 3-4
this carnality had caused envy, strife, and divisions. Verse 4 reads, “For when one says, ‘I am of
Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?’”
Donald
Stamps in The Full Life Study Bible
defines carnality, or what we would term as the flesh, “as the sinful element
in human nature with it corrupt desires.”[i] The Free Life Dictionary defines carnality as
“the practice of finding satisfaction in activities related to fleshly desires
and appetites.”[ii]
The
Corinthian’s carnality kept them in infancy as believers. 1 Corinthians 3:2 says, “I fed you with milk
and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and
even now you are still not able.” Their carnality kept them from receiving a
deeper revelation of the Word of God.
Carnality gets a foothold when we open the door of compromise. We embrace carnality when we are no longer
grieved by sin, when we lower our standards and no longer uphold the truth of
God’s Word.
Paul outlines
the problem with carnality in Corinth. It was expressed in envy, strife, and
division. Envy can be defined as jealously.
Proverbs 14:30 says, “A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is
rottenness to the bones.” The second
problem of carnality is strife. Strife
results from arguments and contention.
Galatians 5:21 defines strife as a work of the flesh. James 3:16 from
the King James Version says, “For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work.” Strife
will open the door for every evil work.
The third
problem with carnality is division.
Division is destructive. The
enemy seeks to divide God’s people. Division
will bring confusion. 1 Corinthians
14:33 says, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” It separates
people and destroys families and churches.
How do we
overcome carnality? We must crucify the
flesh. Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus
said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” Galatians 5:24 reveals, “And
those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
God
desires to change our lives. He longs to
bless His children. He is calling us to
grow up in Him. It is time to leave the milk of the Word for the meat of the
Word. Psalms 42:7 says, “Deep calls unto
deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over
me.”
[i]
Stamps, Donald, The Full Life Study Bible, Notes on Romans, Zondervan, Grand
Rapids, MI, 1992, page 1743.
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