Carnal Christians of Corinth...

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 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; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?  For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? --1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Pretty sure that the lack of growth in the believer's lives in Corinth lay heavy on Paul's heart. The Christians in Corinth were still babes...they had not even mastered the basics...he could not teach them the things they really needed to know to be prepared for what lay ahead. If you are a diligent student of God's word, you will notice that God uses His word in your daily life to prepare and equip you for situations and trials that are down the road. What was the evidence of the Corinthians' carnality?  Envy, divisions and strife.  James tells us this in chapter 4 of his epistle:

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.


Further down in verse 7 he tells us the remedy for our selfish desires is to submit to God, to draw near to Him, and to resist the devil.  When we do this, our flesh decreases and our spiritual desire increases.  We begin to want what God wants and by the power of His Spirit we put off our fleshly desires and put on our Lord Jesus Christ.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts --Romans 13:14


The Corinthian believers were still spiritual infants looking to their own or one another's righteousness instead of the righteousness which is of God through faith in His Son.  (I am of Paul...and another...I am of Apollos).  They should have been saying...I am of Jesus!

Paul tells them that they are behaving like mere men...this means literally walking according to man.   They were dominated by the things of the flesh and not the things of God.  Their minds were set on earthly things and not on the eternal.

The believers in Corinth were in Christ, but were unskilled in the Word because they were still choosing the things of the world instead of and before the things of God.  Our walk with Christ should be marked by growth.  How do we grow?  The very simple answer is by immersing ourselves in His Word...taking it in as our necessary food...praying through what we are studying and gleaning from it.  Choosing to feed our spirit rather than our flesh makes our Spirits' stronger.  Choosing to feed our flesh will weaken our Spirit.  It will also weaken our desire for the things of God and increase our desire for the things of the world.  On the other hand, when we feed our Spirit and not our flesh, it grows strong.  If we feed our spirit often enough, it will grow to such a point that we will no longer desire the things of the world at all.  Our minds will be focused rightly and our desire for God and His presence will be all encompassing.

Make it a point to look and evaluate how your time is spent.  Ask the Lord to increase your desire for Him and His word.  Listen to His Spirit speaking to your heart as you make choices throughout your day about how, where and with whom you are spending your time.  The bottom line purpose of our lives as believers is to glorify our Father in heaven.  Each one of our lives are to be hidden with Christ in God.  We are His bond servants. His slaves, really.  A slave does not look to himself for direction...He looks to His Master.  Look to your Master.  Follow Him.  Watch and stand fast in the faith.  Stay in His presence.  Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  Meditate on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Do all that you do with love!  Glorify your Father in Heaven! 


Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. --Ephesians 5:14-21 

Love
Mom