A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF 1 CORINTHIANS
SERMON # 6
“What
Kind Of Person Are You?”
1 Cor. 2:14-16
In 1 Corinthians 2 and
3, the Apostle Paul talks about three classes of people. He talks about the Natural Person
or the unbeliever; he talks about the Spiritual Person and then he talks about Carnal
Person. As we examine these three classes of persons this evening, I want to challenge you
to look at each of them and ask yourself, “Which of these describes me?”
Verse three of chapter
three asks the question, “Are
you behaving like mere men?”
The New
Living Translation renders it “You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.”
The Apostle Paul is amazed because as he
looks at the church, he doesn’t see a difference. What is the difference between the
people sitting in the pew listening to the service and people who don’t even go to
church. The modern church is facing a credibility problem because in a lot of
congregations there is little difference and in some cases no difference.
I heard a story about a fellow
who had a heart attack in the morning service. The ushers called an ambulance. The
paramedics came in and while they did their thing the pastor continued to drone on and on,
totally oblivious to what was happening. One of the ushers heard the paramedics say, as
they were carrying the man out, “We had to pick up six people before we found the
right one!”
A
lot of churches are like decaffeinated coffee, they look like the real thing, but they
just can’t keep you awake. By way of introduction like me share some
statistics about the pathetic condition of the “average” church in America.
50% in attendance
are not sure they are saved.
60% seldom attend
church.
80% give less 1%
of their income to the church.
80% do not attend
Sunday School.
90% have never
been discipled or trained.
3,500 to 4,000
church close their doors each year (that is ten a day)
In 1900 there were
27 churches for every 10,000 Americans today there are 12 churches for every 10,000
Americans.
The average size
of all churches in America is 75 and 85% of those have platituded or are declining. Now
that is Alarming!!!
“But the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he
himself is rightly judged by no one. (16) For "who has known the mind
of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (3:1) And I,
brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were
not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; (3) for you are still carnal. For where there are envy,
strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
Three Kinds of People
First,
There is The Natural Man (2:14)
“But the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Such a person can be cultured, refined,
educated, morally upright, and even a member of a church but he or she is natural in the
sense that Spirit of God has never taken up residence within them. They are the lost or
the unsaved individuals.
We are told two things about this person
· They
cannot appreciate the things of God.
This means that they do not embrace or claim
the things of God for themselves. Not only do they not appreciate them, he doesn’t
even really understand them. The Philip’s translation of this verse says, “It just doesn’t make sense to him.” You cannot understand the Word of God
until the Spirit of God opens your heart and mind to understand. It is spiritually
discerned. Only the Spirit of God can take the things of Christ and show them unto us. In John
16:13-14 Jesus explained, “However, when He, the Spirit
of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak on His own
authority; but whatever He hears, He will speak: and He will tell you things to come. (14)
He will glorify Me: for he will take of what is Mine, and shall declare it unto you.”
· They
cannot appropriate them.
Because they do not have the
Spirit of God they cannot receive or use the things of God.
Secondly,
There is The Spiritual Man
“But he who is spiritual
judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. (16) For “who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Paul says that the spiritual man “judges all things,”
meaning he understands, he has a spiritual discernment. Yet it is his spiritual
discernment that causes him to be misunderstood by the world because the unsaved (natural)
man simply cannot understand why the Christian does the things he does.
Third,
There is the Carnal Man (3:1-3)
“And I, brethren, could not
speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were
not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; (3) for you are still carnal. For
where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving
like mere men?”
The Greek word for “carnal” is (sarkikos), which means “fleshly.” In
Latin and French the word carna
means “sensual.” We get our word carnival
from two words, carne vale, which mean
“farewell flesh.” You see, carnival was something they had before the season of
Lent. During Lent they would practice farewell to the flesh with certain denials of
pleasure to the flesh; so just before Lent they get drunk, satisfy and satiate the flesh
in every possible way. Then they would be able to do without such things during Lent! An
example of this is the “Mardi Gras” in New Orleans. That literally means “fat
Tuesday” and refers to the Tuesday before Lent begins.
Charles Swindoll refers to these individuals
as “Pigpen Christians.” He says that
they are saved but “… they have squandered that part of
their spiritual inheritance which is intended to be enjoyed on earth. They trade it for a
romp in the slime of their selfishness. These earthly believers are still headed for
heaven… but living like hell.” [Charles
Swindoll “Strong Reproofs for A Scandalous Church.” Bible Study Guide for
1 Corinthians 1:1-6:1. (Fullerton, Calif.: Insight for Living, 1973) p. 46]
David Jeremiah points out five marks of being
a carnal person.
1. Babyishness – “babes
in Christ.” A
· Babies
cry until there needs are met.
A carnal person is always looks to see what
the church can do for them.
· Babies
have a limited appetite.
Babies
Someone has defined a baby as “A digestive apparatus with a loud noise at one
end and on responsibility at the other.” Is
there anything wrong with being a baby? No! But there is something wrong with
remaining one, it is called arrested development. Hebrews 5:12 describes this
person, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come
to need milk and not solid food.”
2.
Bitterness - “envy”
or jealousy. What is being described is an inward boiling. The vacuum created by the Holy
Spirit’s lack of control is something worse than just being “out of fellowship.”
3. Battling.
“strife” This person is defined as someone who is
constantly fighting over the non-essentials. Christians are commissioned to be people of
peace, so if you see someone loves nothing more than a good fight, then according to Paul
you are not looking a spiritual person. Dr. J. Vernon McGee says, “What is a carnal Christian?
Where do you see him in evidence? Wherever there is strife and division, ….. In many
of the fundamental churches one can see divisions and gossip and strife and bitterness and
hatred. When that is going on, we know that the flesh is on display. Sometimes Christians
can lose their tempers and cover it over by saying, “Well, I am just being frank.”
No, they are just being mean, that’s all.” [J. Vernon McGee.Thru The Bible
Commentary. (electronic ed. - 1997). (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1981)]
4. Brokenness.
“divisions” This
is not brokenness in the good sense but in the bad sense. A carnal person is always
fanning the flames of divisiveness with in the body.
5. Barrenness
“Are you not …behaving like mere men?” Or
as the New Living
Translation renders it “You are acting like people who
don’t belong to the Lord.”
[David Jeremiah. “Core Values of
Church: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.” Vol 1 (1:1-4:5) (San Diego:
Turning Point, 1996) p. 81]
“This is a critical time when
one of three possibilities may occur. The first possibility
According to Stedman too many Christians
are pretenders
rather than progressors. It is possible to be a pretender and not even realize
it until you’re confronted by it. You are a Christian but your Christian life is like
a veneer, a quarter inch glaze over a corrupt heart and a carnal life. Perhaps that is why
you are so unhappy?
Wouldn’t it be a
shame to come to the end of our lives only to realize that joy and reality of the
Christian experience have not be ours. God wants it to be real!
Application
Four Steps to A Spirit Filled Life.
1. Realize Your Need. (1 Cor. 13:11) 1
“When I was a child, I spoke
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put
away childish things.” It is time to move on to maturity.
2. Repent Of Your Ways. (Rev 2:5)
Jesus was speaking to believers when
3. Release
Your Rights (Romans 12:1)
“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.”
4. Receive God’s Power (Acts 1:8)
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”[1]
The New King James Version. 1996, c1982 (Ac 1:8-9). Thomas Nelson: Nashville