The Fleshly or Carnal Believer 95
not of the flesh, and behaving like ordinary men?” The sin of
jealousy and strife is eminent proof of carnality. Dissensions were
rife in the church at Corinth, as is confirmed by such declarations as
“I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” I
belong to Christ” (1 Cor. 1.12). Even those who were contending for
Christ by saying “I am of Christ” were included among the fleshly,
for the spirit of flesh is always and everywhere jealous and
contentious. For these to hold themselves up as being of Christ, but
in that attitude of spirit, is inescapably carnal. However sweet the
word may sound, any sectarian boasting is but the babbling of a
babe. The divisions in the church are due to no other cause than to
lack of love and walking after the flesh. Such an individual,
supposedly contending for the truth, is simply camouflaging the real
person. The sinners of the world are men of the flesh; as such, they
are not regenerated; they are therefore under the rule of their soul and
body. For a believer to be fleshly signifies that he too is behaving
like an ordinary man. Now it is perfectly natural for worldly people
to be fleshly; it is understandable if even newly born believers are
fleshly; but if, according to the years during which you have believed
in the Lord you ought to be spiritual, then how can you continue to
behave as an ordinary man?
It is evident that a person belongs to the flesh if he comports
himself like an ordinary man and sins often. No matter how much
spiritual teaching he knows or how many spiritual experiences he
purports to have had or how much effective service he has rendered:
none of these makes him less carnal if he remains undelivered from
his peculiar temperament, his temper, his selfishness, his contention,
his vainglory, his unforgiving or unloving spirit.
To be fleshly or carnal means to behave “like ordinary men.” We
should ask ourselves whether or not our conduct differs very
radically from ordinary men. If many worldly manners cling to your
life then you are doubtless still of the flesh. Let us not argue over our
being labeled as either spiritual or carnal. If we are not governed by