1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere
infants in Christ.
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.
Indeed, you are still not ready.
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among
you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
In 1
Corinthians 3, Paul contrasted the believer as spiritual with the unregenerate
as the natural (or physical) man. He supplemented that teaching by telling the
Corinthians that though they had the Spirit, he could not call them spiritual.
The word spiritual belongs to those who have not only received the
Spirit, but have also yielded themselves to Him to possess and rule their whole
life. Those who have not done this, in whom the power of the flesh is still
more manifest than that of the Spirit, must not be called spiritual, but
fleshly or carnal.
There are
thus three states in which a man may be found. The unregenerate is still the
natural man, not having the Spirit of God. The regenerate, who is still a
babe in Christ, is the carnal man, giving way to the power of the
flesh. The believer in whom the Spirit has obtained full supremacy is the
spiritual man. This whole passage from Corinthians is suggestive of rich
instruction in regard to the life of the Spirit within us.
All that
is carnal and sinful, the works of the flesh, must be cast out. Also, all that
is carnal (however religious it appears), all confidence in the flesh, and all
self-effort must be rooted out. The soul must be brought into the subjection of
Jesus Christ. In daily dependence on God, the Holy Spirit must be accepted,
waited for, and followed.
By
walking in faith and obedience, we may count on the Holy Spirit to do a divine
work within us. “If we live in the Spirit”—this is the faith that is
needed. If we believe that God’s Spirit dwells in us, “let us also walk in
the Spirit.” This is the obedience that God requires. By faith in the Holy
Spirit within us, we have sufficient strength to walk by the Spirit and yield
ourselves to His mighty power. Then He can work in us to will and to do all
that is pleasing in God’s sight.
Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
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