Bible Devotion - 10/17/2021

October 18th, 2021

WHICH OF GOD'S THREE CATEGORIES ARE YOU IN?

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 (Part 2)

Last week we discussed the fact that God puts all mankind into three categories. He lays those out for us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-5. The first category is what is referred to as “The Natural Man”. He / She is one is tied to earthly things and blind to Eternal things.

Now, let's take a look at the second category of people. Paul also describes to us….
2. CARNAL PEOPLE:

We read 1 Corinthians 3:1, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal."

So in verse 3, Paul says "are ye not carnal."

The word "carnal" speaks of that which pertains to the flesh. This is a fleshly controlled person much like the natural man, yet this is a saved person. We know that the carnal person is saved because of the two words, "IN CHRIST," found in verse 1. Since they are "in Christ" we know they are saved.

You will notice in 1 Corinthians 3:3, Paul said that the carnal "walk as men." In other words, although the carnal man is saved, he acts a lot like the natural man.

Often, there is not a lot of difference between this category of people and those that are natural. They live and act like someone who is not saved. If you were around them for while it would surprise you to find out they are saved.

The noted agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, had an aunt, Aunt Sarah who was a devout Bible student and dedicated Christian. One day she received a package in the mail and when she opened it she found that it was one of Ingersoll's books in which he attacked the Bible.

However, in the flyleaf of the book was this inscription: "If all Christians had lived like Aunt Sarah, perhaps this book would have never been written."

Unfortunately, there are those who are saved that live more like unsaved people than saved. They are what the Bible calls carnal people. So what does the bible say about this group?

Well first of all he says they Remain Spiritual Babies.

The Bible defines them in 1 Corinthians 3:1 as "babes in Christ."

As I said, being "in Christ" indicates they are saved, but being babes indicates that they have never grown in their Christian life.

There was a point in their life when they accepted Christ as their Savior, but from that point on there has been little or any spiritual growth.

A newborn baby is a precious thing. Thinking about babies I think of the story I read about this couple way back up in the mountains of West Virginia and the wife went into labor. The doctor was called and since there was no electricity, the doctor handed the would-be dad the lantern and said, "Hold this so I can see what I am doing." In a little while a BABY BOY was born.

The dad started to set the lantern down and the doctor said, "Wait, don't set that light down. I believe there is another one coming." Sure enough, in a few minutes a BABY GIRL was born.

No sooner was it born when the doctor said, "Hang on, I believe there is another one." The dad scratched his head and said, "Doc, you reckon it might be the light that attractin' em?" (Are you smiling yet?)

No matter how many babies come along, there is something exciting and precious about a newborn baby. There is something precious and exciting about their first words, their first steps, their first tooth, etc.

They say "goo" and we call the whole family and tell them they just said their first word. However, if they are 12 years old and they can only say "goo" then it is no longer something to get excited about.

There are people who have been saved for years but spiritually are still saying "goo ga." Years have gone by since the glorious day they became a child of God but they have never grown spiritually.

What if we went to Sunday school by our spiritual maturity rather than our physical age? Would there be some 50-year-olds going to the nursery? Would there be some who have been saved for 20 or 30 years that would be in pre-school department? It is possible. Would Ranny or Jerry even have a class to teach? I hope so!

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:2, "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."

They should have been eating spiritual steak but were still eating Gerber's Peas and Spinach.

Secondly Paul also says they React as Spiritual Babies. In 1 Corinthians 3:3, "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?"

Like children fighting in the backseat of the car, carnal people are always getting their feelings hurt, getting upset, causing problems or stirring up something. They’re in and out of church like a revolving door.

The Church of Corinth had all kinds of problems. I hear all the time about Churches having trouble. The Church at Corinth is the model for a troubled Church. Why? Because so many of its members were spiritual babies and they acted like babies. Most, if not all Church problems, are caused by spiritual immature people.

I can imagine what a Sunday morning service must have been like in the Church of Corinth. Brother so and so is sitting there with a frown on his face thinking to himself, "If so and so gets up to sing I'm leaving."

On the other side is sister so and so with her mouth pooched out because someone sung her song. Then after service you have three or four huddled together discussing what the preacher did or said. You get the picture!

Instead of acting like spiritual adults, carnal people act like spiritual babies. Carnal people always want to get revenge when they have been done wrong.

I think about a mother who got all over her son for fighting with his best friend. The son said, "But mom, he threw a rock at me, so I threw one at him." The mother sternly said, "When he threw a rock at you, you should have come and got me." The son replied, "What good would that have done? My aim is better is yours." Carnal people want to get even.

1 Corinthians 3:3 also says Carnal people cause strife, division, and are envious. They are not only spiritual babies, but they also act like it. Now, let me ask if you fall into this category of people? Have you been saved for many years but have never grown in the Lord? Are you a carnal person? I pray not.

Well the last category of people that the Bible describes are referred to as….
3. SPIRITUAL PEOPLE:

In 1 Corinthians 2:15 speaks of "he that is spiritual." Also in 1 Corinthians 3:1, condemning their spiritual immaturity, Paul said, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual."

Obviously, this is a saved person because they are "spiritual." This Spiritual Christian stands in stark contrast to the carnal Christian. The carnal Christian is like the natural man, governed by the flesh; whereas, the spiritual man is governed by the Spirit.

The bible says two things about the spiritual person. First, it says that he/she is a Discerning Person.

When it comes to spiritual things, unlike the natural man, there is understanding. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:15 "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things."

The word "judgeth" means that the spiritual man is able to sift through the evidence and reach proper conclusions.

You will notice carefully in verse 15 that the Bible says the spiritual man is able to judge "ALL" things. The spiritual man is able to come to right conclusions about all things.

For example, the Christian community and the Church are often attacked in the media and in certain circles because of their stand and beliefs about certain moral issues that are prevalent in our society. The world often rebels against our convictions and endorses the things we preach and believe are wrong, immoral, and sinful.

Why is that? It is because they do not see things from the proper perspective, whereas the Christian comes to the proper conclusion because they understand things from God's perspective. Their view of what is right and wrong is distorted because they lack spiritual discernment, whereas the spiritual man has a good discernment.

Secondly the bible says that the spiritual man is also a Different Person.

In 1 Corinthians 2:15 we find that the spiritual person "is judged of no man." Whereas the spiritual man is able to understand all things, the world is never able to understand the spiritual man. That is, the world can’t explain what makes the difference in their life. There is a difference in how they live, how they think, who they are and what they do. The world doesn't understand what makes this difference. Being a spiritual person, their life is Spirit-led rather than flesh-controlled. They walk after the Spirit rather than after the flesh. They are Christians and their life is a reflection of what it really means to be a Christian.

Will Rogers said, "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." The spiritual person would not be ashamed to sell their parrot to the town gossip. Their life is God-pleasing, Christ-honoring, and Spirit-led.

L. E. Maxwell in one of his books told the story about two prospectors who struck it rich. They made their way back to town to make their claim and vowed not to breathe a word to anyone else about what they had found. However, as they left town they found more than 300 men following them. Who had told them? No one! Their beaming faces betrayed their secret.

Everything about the spiritual person says, "I know Christ!" Their walk and talk, their actions and reactions, their beliefs and behavior, their being and doing reflects the dedication and consecration of their life.

Now, understanding these three categories of people, which category do you find yourself in? If you are in the natural category then let me say that you need to come to Christ today and accept Him as your personal Savior. Your greatest need is to repent and turn to Christ.

If you are in the carnal category, then let you suggest that you begin to take your Christian life seriously. Be faithful to Church. Get involved and find a place in our Church where you can serve God. Make the Bible and prayer a vital part of each day of your life. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

The category we all want to be a part of is the spiritual. Listen to something A. W. Tozer said:
"A real Christian is an odd number, anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen; talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see; expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another; empties himself in order to be full; admits he is wrong so he can be declared right; goes down in order to get up; is strongest when he is weakest; richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live; forsakes in order to have; gives away so he can keep; sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passeth knowledge."

A real Christian may be, in the words of Tozer, an odd number, but we should all want to be a part of that number. God sees us all in one of three categories. In which does He see you?

Bro. Jeff