The Carnal Christian and Spiritual Christian

In this teaching, we will look extensively at portraits of the carnal Christian and spiritual Christian, their distinguishing characteristics, and how to escape the trap of carnality and live a truly spiritual life in Christ. This teaching is divided in parts for easy assimilation.

Galatians 5:16

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

This teaching seeks to among other things:

• define what carnality is and who a carnal Christian is
• highlight the characteristics of a carnal lifestyle
• emphasize the consequences of living a carnal lifestyle
• offer practical steps to move from carnality to true spiritual maturity.

Preamble

The Christian inherits a new life once he or she receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and experiences regeneration of the Holy Spirit. This is what we know as a “rebirth” or “new birth experience”. Jesus emphasized the importance of this when He told Nicodemus, “You must be born again of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5-7).

The newly born person in Christ embarks on a journey with the Lord by joining a church, getting discipled, and growing in the knowledge of Christ. However, a time comes when some things he left behind begins to make a comeback into his life – those things he used to do before he received salvation. Why is this so?

He realizes that sometimes, he can’t resist some evil desires, and he gives in from time to time. This is the conflict which every Christian must have faced at a time in their lives.

This teaching will help us understand why this is so, and what we can do to overcome it. So, what is the meaning of the terms “carnal” and “spiritual”?

To be carnal is to be earthly-minded, or to be soul-inclined in character and disposition. To be spiritual is the opposite; it is to be spirit-inclined, or to be in tune with the spirit realm. During the course of this study, we shall find out that both terms are polar opposites of each other. In other words, they are opposites and have opposing characteristics.

The Constitution of a Human Being

To understand this teaching, we have to go back to the basics and examine what constitutes the human being. First of all, let’s look at the human and what makes up a complete human.

A human being has 3 parts

• Spirit
• Soul
• Body

SPIRIT

This is what we call the life-force, or the immaterial force which animates or causes life to be. The spirit is invisible, but its effects can be felt. Without the spirit, a human being cannot live in the body. Also, without the spirit, the human being is not complete.

Jesus said this about the spirit, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” John 6:63. So, we see that the spirit is what imparts life and energy to the human soul.

Jesus also said something remarkable about the spirit, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8. Here Jesus is explaining the invisibility of the spirit. It is not perceived with the physical eyes because it is not corporeal. It is immaterial, like wind, but its impact can be felt.

The human spirit comes from God, the Father of spirits. At conception, the human spirit enters the fertilized egg and from there, the embryo develops into a zygote which in turn begins to develop into a full-blown human baby. After a few months, a new person is born into the world.

Without the spirit, a human is dead. The bible says this in James, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” James 2:26. This substantiates the fact that the spirit is what imparts life to a human being.

Whenever a human being dies, the spirit and the soul leave the body. The bible also talks about this here: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it” Ecclesiastes 12:7.

There are 3 compartments in the human spirit:

• Intuition
• Fellowship
• Conscience

Intuition: This is the part of the human spirit which senses or knows things which are beyond the physical, which is the metaphysical or supernatural. This intuition gives a man the ability to know, see or hear what the ordinary physical eye or ears cannot perceive.

Fellowship: This is the compartment in the human spirit which allows man to communicate with God and fellowship with Him.

Conscience: this part of the human spirit is responsible for the knowledge of good and evil. It is like a personal watchdog which alerts the human person when they have done what is wrong. This is why people say things like, “My conscience is beating me up for what I did”.

Now these 3 compartments make up the human heart. This heart is not the physical heart which pumps blood throughout the human body. Rather, this is the hidden part of man where fellowship, intuition, and conscience reside.

Please take note of the fact that the human heart can influence willpower, i.e., can influence human decision making.

SOUL

The human soul is the part of the human being which makes up the personality of that person. This is the part where character, traits, and unique abilities reside. The soul came about when the spirit from God’s breath entered the body shell, as Genesis teaches us:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7

The soul is further divided into 3 compartments:

• Intellect
• Emotions
• Willpower

Intellect

This is the part where knowledge, understanding and creativity reside. This faculty of the soul gives you the ability to learn and unlearn, to come up with unique ideas, to imagine things, and to exercise creativity.

The human intellect has 2 divisions: the physical and the metaphysical.

The physical aspect is the human brain which is like a hardware running code (in computer terminology). The brain is responsible for coordinating the body and soul. It is wired directly to the soul via the mind.

On the other hand, the metaphysical aspect of the intellect is the mind. The human mind is a powerful metaphysical organ which has even 2 parts:

The conscious mind: where intentional actions are formed. For example, thinking of a solution to a problem until you come up with one. The subconscious mind: where unintentional actions are formed. For example, remembering suddenly a song you learnt years ago, without even trying to remember it.

The mind is like the software, while the brain is the hardware. They both work together to regulate the human being. The human mind is the center of the human soul, and it is resident in the human brain. This is why one can lose their mind if something traumatic happens to the brain.

Emotions

The emotions are the part of the soul which is responsible for birthing and expressing feelings. The emotions are birthed directly from the human mind, which in turn is connected to the senses of the body.

This is why humans can feel a certain way immediately after sensing something. It could be danger; they immediately feel afraid. It could also be that the person was given a gift. The act touches their soul and they feel happy.

Emotions are an integral part of every human. They are good, but they hardly last – they are temporary. Emotions are dependent on external stimuli. This is why a human being can feel happy now, and afterwards feel sad.

Willpower

This is the part of the human sou which makes decisions. It could be anything: to go to the lavatory, to eat, to use toothbrush. The human will is one of the strongest parts of a human because it dictates how and when a human should respond to situations. It determines how a human should also live their lives.

The human will is sacred and inviolable: it must be respected at all times. Even God cannot violate the human will, though He can appeal to it and reason with it. The willpower can be influenced by the intellect, the emotions, and the human heart. The will is central to action or inaction.

BODY

The human body is the physical shell which houses the soul and spirit. It was made from dust of the earth. The body has 5 compartments, or senses.

• Smell
• Touch
• Sight
• Taste
• Sound

These 5 senses are live in the sense organs which are connected to the emotional engine in the soul which reacts by releasing feelings appropriately.

In summary, if any of these components fail, the other parts are affected as well. They all work together in keeping the human functioning optimally. The heart is the center of the human spirit, the mind is the center of the soul, while the brain is the center of the human body. All of them are interconnected to produce a complete human being.

Please refer to the diagram above which will help to illustrate all we’ve been saying. Having discussed the constitution or make up of a human being, let’s proceed to the next section.