The Natural man, Carnal man, and Spiritual man
Three classes of people are shown in the Bible: the natural man, the carnal man, and the spiritual man.
- The Natural Man (Biblically means the ‘unsaved man’.)
Firstly, the Bible says that God does not hear the prayers of sinners and the unsaved are sinners.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Many times the unsaved will go to psychologists, take sleeping pills, other drugs, alcohol and so on. That is a very sad place to be when you have overwhelming problems. The bottom line is that the natural man has no one to help them through the trials.
Secondly, the natural man/unsaved man does not understand the Bible.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Acts 17:18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
Speaking to the philosophers in Athens, Paul was called the ‘babbler’ of Athens. This makes total sense because the cross divides men. The cross divides the saved from the unsaved. The Lord Jesus called Himself a divider of men, and the dividing line is His cross.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Notice Paul introduces, “the natural man” referring to the unsaved man. The natural man cannot understand and receive the things of God. Why not? Because they are foolishness to him. They don’t believe in: the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, the bodily resurrection of Christ or the miracles of Christ. They don’t believe in the literal six day creation, and they don’t believe in the pre-tribulation rapture.
The reason that they can’t believe is that they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them. Only the Spirit of God can take the things of Christ and show them to a saved person.
Thirdly, the Devil can possess the unsaved and control their behaviour.
2 Timothy 2:25-26 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
The Devil can possess a non-Christian any time he wants, and they can’t do anything about it. That would be a scary place to be.
To summarize the natural man, let me say this:
- He is at a place where God does not answer his prayers.
- He is at a place he cannot understand the Bible and therefore lacks Godly wisdom.
- He is at a place where the devil can control his life here on earth, and then when his life is over, he goes to hell.
This is not a route anyone should take, but it is the destination of the unsaved — or the natural man.
Having said all that, we need to always remember that God has shown every human being that they are sinners and need a Saviour.
Romans 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.
Paul clearly points out that God has written His basic moral and ethical laws in the human heart. It is the inborn image of God stamped upon the human heart at creation, and because each person has a conscience, each living person when they reach the age of accountability knows they sin. Many people don’t know what to do with the sin and that is why we need to share gospel with them.
We also know when we look at the created universe that there is a God. Something did not evolve from nothing. The Bible tells us that over and over again.
Psalm 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Finally, Jesus is enlightening every man that comes into the world.
John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Not only is Jesus Christ the true Light but this interesting statement continues. He “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The word translated as lighteth is also translated as ‘enlightens.’ Jesus is enlightening every man that comes into the world. What is implied is that the light of Jesus Christ, to some degree, has penetrated the heart of every man who has ever set foot upon this planet.
Most men and women are lost not because they are ignorant of God. They are lost because they have chosen to reject God. With that comes this empty feeling in every heart; they know something is missing. Jesus Christ has opened the door of salvation to everyone.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Some ignore the gospel message, some reject it, while some start searching for truth, searching for salvation and do accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Praise the Lord for that miracle.
- The Carnal Man (saved yet not growing spiritually)
Here is a Christian man trying to live a Christian life on his own. He is not submitted to the Holy Spirit’s leading; he is mechanical. He is not reading his bible on a regular basis, and not praying consistently.
On the outside he may look just fine; he even appears spiritual, but in his heart, he has grieved the Holy Spirit living inside of him, and therefore he is miserable much of the time. He is double-minded. On the outside he is putting on a show while in his heart things are much different.
James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
The word double-minded has the additional sense of ‘wavering,’ ‘uncertain’, or ‘doubting’. A double-minded person doubts God’s ability to help him. Many times, a double-minded person lives a very carnal life, and although he/she is a Christian, the Holy Spirit living inside of him is grieved.
When Christians live carnally, they will be miserable. Carnal means ‘fleshly’.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
The carnal Christian is the one who hasn’t grown up spiritually, and it is evident that he lacks spiritual discernment — not because he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, but because he is not growing in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ.
This carnal Christian is a babe in Christ. He has an ability and all the tools — the Holy Spirit living inside of him and the KJV Bible — but no discipline or desire to study and obey the Bible. Just as a newborn baby has the potential to become a learned man or woman, yet he has to start out by drinking milk. Paul carries this figure of speech over to the spiritual level.
The carnal man knows he is born again, but he is still living in the old nature. Every believer has been given a new nature and has been given the Holy Spirit. That should give him great potential for living a spirit-lead, spirit-controlled life. Now he can choose to live in this new nature with the help of the Holy Spirit — or he can follow his flesh and live as a carnal Christian.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Every day as Christians we have a choice: either to get the Word of God in our hearts and yield to the Holy Spirit or to be carnally minded, which brings death.
I really believe that social media is producing many carnal Christians. If we look at the top 25 social networks, Facebook has the most visits: over 1 billion monthly active users. Then there’s Myspace, Twitter and the list goes on. 95% of teenagers between the ages of 12-17 are online using Facebook, Myspace, and other social media sites. You say to me, “ Pastor, I am not looking at anything bad on social media”. Even if you can say that without lying, let me say this, Isn’t there a much better use of your time than to spend hours on these social media networks? You could be doing something for the Lord instead of wasting your time on these social media networks. You could be in church. You could be reading your Bible and writing down things God is speaking to you about. You could be collating on some Saturdays and distributing gospel tracts. There are many other things you could be doing for the work of the Lord instead of wasting your time on social media.
Always remember: “One life will soon be past, only what is done for Christ will last.”
Then there is pornography. The internet was started by pornography and it is estimated that 40% of the internet was pornography when it first started. You talk about a dangerous place for people to be. It is a known fact that 50% of Christian men look at pornography on a regular basis. 50% of Christian men — that is the Carnal Man. Even though he is saved, he is doing something wicked and something very evil. If that is you, you need to repent and need to have a plan of accountability with another Christian brother or it will destroy your life.
The music you listen to daily has a huge effect on whether you are carnal or spiritual. If Jesus came from heaven and wanted to ride in your car, would you be ashamed of the music playing in your car? If you are saved, the Holy Spirit is living in you. The Holy Spirit is in your car. That should make you really want to be careful to play spiritual music and not carnal music. Carnal music grieves the Holy Spirit.
What about the friends that you spend time with — are they saved friends?
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Young people, remember that unsaved friends or carnal friends will take you into sin and destroy your testimony. Listen to me carefully. If you are saved, you need to be very careful the friends you choose.
One example is Amnon, King David’s son. He chose the wrong friend.
2 Samuel 13:3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jon–a–dab was a very subtil man.
Amnon’s friend Jonadab caused him to commit a wicked sin. What was the result?
2 Samuel 13:28-29 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
Having a bad friend cost Amnon his life. He died a very young man. Stay away from unsaved friends or carnal friends. Always pray and ask God to help you have Godly friends who really have a desire to serve the Lord.
Romans 8:6-8 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
If you are a carnal Christian, remember: you cannot please God.
- The Spiritual Man (Saved and in daily fellowship with God through prayer and reading the Bible)
He/She is a Christian who is in fellowship with God. Because God’s Word abides in him, God has promised him peace and joy. Realistically, the Spiritual man is not always happy. He has trials that God uses to grow his faith. Sometimes he can get discouraged, but when the spiritual man has trials, he can go directly to God, pray and cast his cares upon the Lord. God is there to comfort him and help him.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
1 Corinthians 2:14-15 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
He that is “spiritual” is the one who is saved, and as a result has the Holy Spirit within him; he is a child of God. The spiritual man, unlike the carnal man, is yielded to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the fruit of the Spirit will be seen in his life. He “judgeth all things” means that he understands these things. “Yet he himself is judged of no man” means that he is not understood by the natural man. The spiritual man understands divine truth, but he is misunderstood by the natural man.
You will note that they are the kind of men and women that they are because of their relationship to the Bible, the Word of God. The spiritual man reads the Bible, studies the Bible, and applies what he learns to his life. As he does that, he becomes more and more like Jesus Christ. Daniel was a good example of a spiritual man. Daniel always purposed in his heart to do what was right.
Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Certain meats were, at that time, specifically forbidden, and they are listed in the Book of Leviticus; also, meats offered to heathen idols were repulsive to Godly Israelites. Daniel, with his three friends, were taking a stand under the Mosaic Law, and they were taking a stand for God. This could cost him his life and the life of his three friends, but Daniel was not going to change his mind. He was going to do right no matter what the cost.
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Notice the reaction of Daniel to this new law. He did not do anything different than he had done everyday for years. He opened those windows and went about his usual prayer life. He knew the writing was signed and his accusers would see him and he would be thrown into the lions’ den. How could he do that? Because Daniel read the Word of God, obeyed the Word of God, and prayed three times a day, it was easy for him to do what was right. It comes automatically, to do right in difficult times when you have been doing right the whole time. Daniel was a real spiritual man who gave us a tremendous testimony to follow as Christians.
Again, the spiritual man/woman is a person who is saved and in daily fellowship with God through prayer and Bible reading.
So how do we live spiritual lives and not carnal lives? What is the key to living a submitted, yielded life to God and being controlled by the Holy Spirit in everything we, as Christians, do and in everything we say?
You have to start by becoming aware that because you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Part of the Trinity is living inside of you. This has only happened in the age of grace we live in today. What a tremendous blessing.
The starting point to being submitted to the Holy Spirit is asking God questions. Remember, asking God questions in a humble way is asking God to use the Holy Spirit to do a work in your life today. You are saying, “Please God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, guide me and direct me every moment of the day.”
The first action of a spiritual person is starting the day in prayer. Pray, asking God if there is any sin in your life that is causing a problem between you and Him.
Psalm 139:24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
The reason for doing this is that it is not going to do you any good in your Christian life if you have sin in your life. This means your fellowship with God is broken.
Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Notice it says ‘will not hear me’; God will not answer your prayers. So ask God first if there is any sin in your life. If Gods shows you something, repent of it and move on.
Pray, asking God to show you exactly what He wants you to pray for today.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Jesus is everything we need. Ask God, in Jesus’ name, for wisdom, understanding and knowledge.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally (without reservation), and upbraideth (not denying) not; and it shall be given him.
Pray, asking God to show you what to do today. ‘Lord, You be the needle and I will be the thread. I will go where You want me to go. Please show me where I can be the most blessing. Is there anyone that I should encourage today?’
Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Pray, asking God what He wants you to praise Him for, to thank Him for today.
Hebrews 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Pray, asking God for witnessing opportunities, that He would lead you to people to witness to on a regular basis, guiding you where to go.
Act 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
The second requirement to being a spiritual person is reading your Bible daily.
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Jesus is saying, “I am the true vine, the genuine vine.” God has planted Jesus Christ as the “true vine”. God is the owner of the vineyard. Here He is the keeper, the farmer, the One who takes care of the vineyard. Jesus Christ is the genuine Vine, and the Father takes care of Him. The branches must be joined to the Vine for the purpose of fruit–bearing.
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
“…in me” … that is, in Christ. This is what it means to be saved. The entire spectrum of salvation is in the phrase “in Christ.” There are only two groups of people: those who are in Christ and those who are not in Christ.
How do you get “in Christ”? By the new birth. When you repent of your sins and trust Christ as Savior, you become a child of God through faith. You are born again by the Spirit of God.
John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
We get dirty walking in this wicked world, and need the Word of God to cleanse us continually. The cleansing power of the Word of God is a wonderful thing. As we read and mediate on the Bible daily, God’s Word rinses through our mind continually, cleansing it. It is brain washing of the human mind which desperately needs to be cleansed.
Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
God intends for us to be obedient to His Word.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We can break fellowship with God by allowing sin in our life, by stepping out of the will of God, or by worldliness, but Jesus wants us to abide in him so that we bring forth much fruit.
John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Let me say again that this is talking about our fruit–bearing, the result of our salvation. It is not talking about how we are to be saved but instead talking about bearing fruit as a Christian
As Christians, we ought to be careful about the how we live our Christian life.
If people hear us talking about being saved by grace, and there is no evidence of it, men will indeed cast us into the fire and we will be burned, so far as our testimony is concerned.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Not only does abiding in the Vine produce fruitfulness, it has the added benefit of power in prayer. As a believer remains in ever-closer fellowship to the vine, Jesus promised, “Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” A major insight to answered prayer is taught to us here. As we abide in the Vine by being in fellowship with God and in fellowship with Jesus Christ — through saturating our minds with the Word of God daily — God hears and answers our prayers. Always remember that is what is promised in the Bible for us.
1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
When God’s Will becomes our will and we are in daily fellowship with God, we know He hears us. We may not get the answer to our prayers immediately but we will get an answer. Of course, we have to remember our human limitations, for we do not always know what is wisest or best. Therefore, we must be prepared to find that the answer sometimes comes in a way we least expect.
There was a Christian man who was the only survivor from a wrecked vessel after a storm at sea. He found himself on a small island, and by great effort managed to make a little shelter from the storms. He waited day after day praying for God to send a ship to rescue him. He used to go down to the shore of the island and wave a piece of his clothing every time he saw a ship passing in the distance, but they never saw him.
One day as he was cooking his dinner, he spotted a ship some distance away and hurried to the shore, earnestly praying that this time they might see him and come to his relief. He waved frantically, but to no one saw him. Returning to his hut he was very surprised to see that it had burst into flames.
The wind had caught some embers and set the place on fire. Everything burned. He stood there utterly distressed, not knowing where he would be able to gather sufficient material to build another shelter. However, to his amazement, he noticed that the vessel he had seen earlier was headed straight for the island. As they neared the shore, they sent a boat for him and took him on board.
“Did you see me waving?” he asked.
“Waving!” they replied; “We saw your smoke, and so we came to rescue you.”
God had answered his prayer, but not at all in the way he expected it.
Someday when we get home to Heaven, we will see that many of the prayers we thought God had not heard were answered in His own wonderful way.
In review, let me say this. When you are a Spiritual man, or a Spiritual woman:
- You have a desire to prayer and to praise God.
- You have a real desire for the Bible — and to read it and apply it to your life.
- You have a desire to attend church, to praise God and hear the Word of God — and to be around other Christians and encourage them.
- You have a desire to share the gospel with others and see them get saved.
- You realize that everyday, you, as a Christian, were created to glorify God in your home, in your marriage, in your church, and to be a Godly testimony in this lost and fallen world.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Our goal is to bring glory to God. That is where God wants you to be — and that is where God can use you greatly.
Pastor Carl Dornn