I had a dream in which I was in church and, at the last moment, was asked to do the Scripture reading.
Not having time to even find the text before going up onto the platform, I grabbed a Bible from the pew and headed to the microphone. (I’m not sure why, but I had left my Bible in the car for some reason.)
When I opened the Bible to find the text, which was in either Exodus or Leviticus (easy to find), the interior of the “Bible” had worldly things printed on the inside instead of the contents of the Bible. The congregation did not know my dilemma but knew I was having difficulty locating the text as they saw me flipping through the pages searching for the Scripture to read. One by one, church members began handing me their own Bibles to use (more to hurry up the process than to truly assist me out of kindness).
But, one by one the Bibles, which looked like Bibles on the outside, were but mere carnal words on the inside. Even a young boy offered me his Bible but to no avail. Becoming frustrated, I called for someone to get my own Bible from my car.
Shortly after having this dream while in my morning prayer, it became clear to me that this dream had more meaning behind it than a mere occurrence of inconvenience at church. You see, the Bibles in dream looked holy on the outside, but the inside was full of worldly substance and very much unholy. I began to see the parallels of many church members who, on the outside appear holy, but on the inside, are very much worldly.
I also began to think back to a book I have read quite a few times called Steps to Personal Revival by Helmut Haubeil. You can download the book for free by going to www.discipleshipcourse.org and clicking on the link. This article is based off of the content in Chapter 2 of the book.
Chapter 2 starts with our need of the Holy Spirit, both individually and corporately as a church. Ellen White states that “It is this baptism of the Holy Spirit that the churches need today” (Manuscript Releases Vol. 7 p. 267) and the Bible invites us to ask for the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:14 states:
“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
The book describes three groups of people with regards to their relationship with God: natural, spiritual, and carnal (or flesh). The Bible describes these three groups in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. Although there may be many shades within these three groups, there are still only three basic attitudes towards God.
The Natural Man
The natural man is pretty straight forward. It is the person who has absolutely no relationship with the Holy Spirit and does not have any interest in spiritual things. 1 Corinthians 2:14 describes him as follows:
“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.”
The Spiritual Church Member
The spiritual person is filled with the Holy Spirit. They make Jesus the center of their lives and are fully committed to Him. Every day they surrender their lives completely to Him and “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (Revelation 14:4). They are considered “hot” in the Laodicean message and “wise” in the parable of the 10 virgins (Revelation 3:15 and Matthew 25:1,2).
A spiritual Christian is one who has the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 states:
“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (emphasis supplied).
The Carnal Church Member
The apostle Paul, in speaking to carnal church members, states in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4:
“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? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (emphasis supplied).
In these verses, Paul mentions four times that they are carnal.
So what does carnal mean? It means that a person is not filled or sufficiently filled with the Holy Spirit and is living according to the flesh.
The apostle Paul is addressing these individuals as “brethren,” demonstrating that he is addressing these people as church members. He states that he is not able to address them as “spiritual,” as these members were not filled or sufficiently filled with the Holy Spirit. They are still “babes in Christ.”
According to the book, there are several groups of carnal Christians.
1. “Many carnal Christians feel dissatisfaction, disappointment, purposelessness or are under constant effort in their spiritual life” (page 27).
2. “Other carnal church members have gotten used to this condition or are satisfied with this condition. They might say: We are just sinners! We can’t do anything about it!” (page 27).
3. “Again other carnal Christians might be enthusiastic. They are glad that they know Biblical truth. Carnal church members can be very active and even have leading positions in the local church or even in the church administration. They may even do a lot for God” (page 27).
They are the ones that Jesus was speaking of in Matthew 7:22,23 when He said the following:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
What was the problem with these individuals? Jesus said “I never knew you.” Either they didn’t have a relationship with Jesus at all, or their relationship was impure. They were not fully committed to Jesus nor did they have a devoted relationship with Him through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, they denied Christ.
How can one deny Christ? Ellen White states in The Desire of Ages (1898):
“A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny Him, whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evilspeaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny Him by shunning life’s burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny Him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwelling in darkness. In all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them” (p. 349).
Wow! Did you catch all that? Take a moment to read that again, slowly, point by point. And remember, 1 Corinthians 3:3 states that there is “envying, and strife, and divisions.” The book Steps to Personal Revival states it well when it says that “They can act just like natural people; albeit in religious packaging” (p. 19).
In Jesus’s time, there were rivals in the “church” between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, between the conservatives and the liberals/progressives. But both groups, as a whole, were lacking in the Holy Spirit. Both groups were carnal. There can be conservative Christians today that are carnal.
Carnal Christians are those whom the Bible refers to as being “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16). These are the ones God will spue out of His mouth.
Carnal Christians are those whom the Bible refers to as being “foolish” in the parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25). These are the ones in which Jesus will say “I know you not” (vs. 12).
Carnal Christians are those who want to follow Jesus, but they have not fully surrendered their lives to Him. Or maybe they previously were a spiritual Christian but have backslidden into being a carnal Christian. They may want to live according to God’s will but they may also want to live according to their own desires at the same time. The Bible is clear, however. Matthew 6:24 states that “No man can serve two masters.”
Carnal Christians cannot please God. “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).
Carnal Christians will not receive eternal life if they stay carnal. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9b).
So why are there carnal Christians? Why are they lukewarm? Revelation 3:20, in speaking of the Laodiceans, portrays Jesus as standing at the door knocking, but He is not being invited in.
There may be carnal Christians because people are acting on an intellectual level in their relationship with Jesus. Or, maybe like the rich young ruler, the price to pay is too great for them to give up their worldly pursuits (Matthew 19:16-22). Maybe they are ignorant and have not devoted themselves to the Holy Spirit. Maybe there is unbelief or little faith and they don’t trust enough in God’s wisdom and love. Maybe a person thinks they are filled with the Holy Spirit but they really aren’t or are not sufficiently filled. Maybe a person thinks they are too busy to maintain a relationship with Jesus. Maybe there are hidden sins interrupting their relationship with Christ. Maybe they are acting on their feelings instead of the Word of God. Or maybe there is a combination of the above.
Whatever the reason, there is still time to enter in to that spiritual relationship with Christ, although how much time is left we don’t fully know. Not only do we not know when the close of probation will be, we also don’t know what today holds. We don’t know when we will draw our last breath.
Going a step further, we know that the Bible states that in the last days, there won’t be three groups of people but instead only just two groups of people - the natural and the spiritual, the unjust and the just, the unrighteous and the righteous, the unholy and the holy (Revelation 22:11). At that time, the carnal Christians will be grouped with the natural man and not enter into the kingdom of God. They will not be saved.
Remedy
No one needs to remain carnal. Chapter 3 focuses on the remedy. We need to fully surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit. We need to daily follow Christ. Jesus said in Luke 9:23:
“…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (emphasis supplied).
Ellen White advises us to do the following:
“Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’ This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ” (Steps to Christ, p. 70.1).
Every day we need to have personal worship time with God, spending time in the reading of His word. We need to pray, including the repenting of and forsaking of our sins (Acts 3:19). We need to have a humble seeking of God and His will for us in our lives. Matthew 6:33 states:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
In going back to my dream, you may be wondering what was on the inside of my own Bible. I don’t know, as my dream ended before I was able to look inside. But I pray every day, that the carnal side of me will be transformed into the spiritual likeness of Christ.
What’s on the inside of your Bible?
“And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:24).
****
Stacey Johlman is a Speech-Language Pathologist who resides in Georgia with her husband. Her daily prayer for herself and others is that all will have the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their lives. She encourages all to download the book Steps to Personal Revival and read it for themselves.