1 Corinthians 3:1-4

The natural man is the man with a soul, a human, a person born once.  His portion is in this life (Psalm 17:14).  He blesses himself (Psalm 49:18).  He is known by the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).  He is illustrated by Goliath who trusted in his size, his weapons of war and what he could see.  He is also illustrated by the wicked whose lives seem to be so comfortable (Psalm 73:1-12).

The spiritual man is the man who has the Holy Spirit.  He sees things in this life from a spiritual point of view.  He realizes life’s battle is not fleshly but is spiritual and thus wages war against a spiritual enemy (2 Cor. 10:3-4; Eph. 6:12).  He is known by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).  He is illustrated by David who trusted God when he fought Goliath.  He is illustrated by the righteous man who finds his satisfaction in God and God alone (Psalm 73:18-28).

Today’s passage speaks of the Corinthians as neither natural nor spiritual but carnal.  The Greek term simply means they are fleshly.  In Romans 7:13-25 they are professing believers who are seeking to live the Christian life according to the flesh, the old path of obedience to the law.  They are sold under sin (7:14); frustrated (7:15-23) and defeated (7:24).  

We say “professing” believers because neither we nor Paul knows the heart.  They claim to be believers and Paul calls them babes in Christ but their thoughts and methods and goals are similar to the natural man.  They are characterized by envy, strife and divisions which are all works of the flesh in Gal. 5:20 (where the NKJV translates them jealousies, contentions and dissensions).  They are behaving like mere men.

In the illustrations used of the natural and spiritual man, the carnal man is like King Saul in the story of David and Goliath.  He gives David his own armor and weapons, wanting him to fight using the giant’s approach.  In Psalm 73 the carnal man is the author, Asaph, when he is envious of the wicked (v13-17).  He nearly stumbled because he was thinking about life as the natural man thinks.  Only when he went to the sanctuary, to hear the Lord, did he see life correctly.

Paul’s point in this section (1 Cor. 1-4) is to reprove the Corinthians for their carnal thinking and to bring them to the perspective of spiritual men.  Additional encouragement in this can be found throughout the New Testament.  For example in Eph. 4:17-24 where Paul tells believers to no longer walk as Gentiles, to put off the old man, be renewed in their thinking, and to put on the new man.  In Phil. 3:17-21 Paul encourages believers to reject the path of the enemies of the cross and to live as citizens of heaven.  This is critical for the carnal man.  There is no place for the attitude, “Well he may not be spiritual but at least he’s a carnal Christian.”  To remain in infancy casts doubt on the genuineness of one’s faith; it is not normal.  Let us take this to heart.  Let us not deny the power of the cross to change lives.