The Carnal Christian and Spiritual Christian

Identifying carnality

How do we identify carnality? We identify carnality by self-examination with God’s word. God’s word is like a mirror which enables us to see our true self for what it is – evil and sinful. This is because we were conceived in iniquity, and the human nature is wicked according to Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

The word of God is a discerner of the heart – it searches the human heart, exposes the evil in it, and shows you plainly so you can repent. It is not enough to hear the word of God, but doing it is even more important.

James 1:22-25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Overcoming carnality

To overcome carnality, a believer must consistently do the following:

1. Renewing the mind through God’s word:

Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Constant study and application of God’s word does something to the human spirit: it causes it to grow because God’s word is food for the human spirit. Jesus said “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”.

When a believer continually eats the word of God, with time it begins to affect their thought pattern. They begin to think like God thinks, because they are familiar with His word.

This is the process of mind-renewal. It doesn’t happen overnight, but over a period of years.

• Walking in the Spirit or living according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit:

Galatians 5:16-18
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The believer must consistently walk by the Spirit. In other words, they must pattern their thoughts and actions according to the Spirit of God. They depend on Him for guidance, help and instruction. They hardly do anything without first consulting Him, because they have developed intimacy with Him.

The Holy Spirit cannot and does not contradict the word of God, which is why the believer will never go wrong because of this.

• Living by the word of God:

Proverbs 3:1-4
1 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.

The believer must be intentional about obeying the word of God. They are fanatical about God’s word, and it holds great authority in their life.

• Practicing spiritual disciplines:
• Regular prayer and fasting (Jude 1:20, Eph. 6:18, 1 Cor. 9:27)
• Bible study (Psalm 119:11, 119:105)
• Fellowship with other believers (Psalm 133:1, 1 Cor. 14:26, Heb. 10:25)
• Evangelism/personal witnessing (Matt. 28:19-20, 2 Tim. 4:2, Mark 16:15)
• Service to the church (Gal. 6:10, Rom. 16:1-2, Acts 20:28)

Let me emphasize on the first point here: fasting and prayer. Fasting is a very powerful spiritual discipline, and it is extremely effective against curtailing the flesh. It is one of the most effective ways to crucify the flesh.

When we fast, we humble ourselves before God. The bible says if we humble ourselves the Lord will lift us up (1 Peter 5:6). The bible also tells us that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). When we fast, we receive grace from God to overcome carnality.

Most Christians hardly fast. They only fast when the Pastor declares fasting and prayer. But what happens if the pastor doesn’t do that? Some Christians do not fast at all. They are so much in love with food that they can’t even skip a meal in order to dedicate themselves to fasting.

It shouldn’t be so.

One of the enemies of the Christian walk is the flesh, and fasting is a sure-fire way to overcome it. Paul said I beat my body into submission (this implies putting off the old man, though fasting may be one of the ways) so it won’t be a hindrance to his ministry (1 Cor. 9:27).

• Intentionally dropping carnality by discarding the old man (human nature):

Ephesians 4:22
that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

Colossians 3:9
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

This is the part where you have to be intentional about. You were born with this nature, and you grew up with it. But you have to put it off and put on Christ.

This is something that you must do by yourself, not God’s responsibility. You must prayerfully and intentionally put off the old nature and put on the new nature by denying yourself or simply refusing to indulge in those activities you used to enjoy doing when the temptation comes.

Once you begin to build up resistance to these temptations, you become stronger in your spirit and subsequent temptations are not so tempting, because your willpower is subject to your spirit. At this point, your spirit rules over your being, not your soul or flesh.

• Trusting in God’s faithfulness:

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

This is the part where God helps us by “keeping” us close to Himself. He does this by calling our attention when we are about to stray away, or correcting or rebuking us when we fail to live the right way. This is because you are His child, and His correction is a sign of love. This is what the writer of Hebrews explains in this passage:

Hebrews 12:5-11
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

• Working out the process of maturing continually:

Philippians 2:12-15
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

The believer must work out his salvation, because he must produce the fruits of righteousness by living right and holy. This is what this passage means, and this is one of the ways to combat carnality.

• Walking in love

Colossians 3:14
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

This is perhaps the most important weapon against carnality. Intentionally walking in love will eliminate strife and quarrels, the very thing Paul wrote about the Corinthian church.