What is a carnal Christian?

The phrase carnal Christian comes from Paul's rebuke of the church at Corinth. Carnal means fleshly; the Greek word is sarkikos.¹ The Berean Standard Bible translates it worldly: "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:1). The phrase is used for a believer whose conduct is still governed by self and not by the Holy Spirit. Preachers disagree about whether it is a sound way to speak, and this page sets out both views.

Paul and the Corinthians

Paul calls these people brothers and infants in Christ, and then tells them what is wrong: "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?" (1 Corinthians 3:2-3). The evidence he names is not scandal. It is envy, quarrelling and party spirit: "one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos'" (1 Corinthians 3:4).

What the flesh means

In Paul's letters the flesh is more than the body and more than sexual sin. It is human nature turned in on itself. "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy" (Galatians 5:19-21). Religious pride and a quarrelsome spirit are as fleshly as drunkenness.

Natural, carnal and spiritual

Just before this passage Paul contrasts two people: "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God," while "the spiritual man judges all things" (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Many teachers read the Corinthians as a third group. Andrew Murray set out the three: "The unregenerate is still the natural man, not having the Spirit of God."² "The regenerate, who is still a babe in Christ, whether because he is only lately converted, or because he has stood still and not advanced, is the carnal man, giving way to the power of the flesh."² "The believer in whom the Spirit has obtained full supremacy, is the spiritual man."²

The marks of a spiritual infant

Mary Peckham said, "The carnal man is in a state of protracted infancy."³ Alan Martin said, "So a carnal Christian is a Christian who has retarded spiritual growth."⁴ A. W. Tozer worked out the comparison with a baby. He began with self: "Now, the first thing about a baby that I know is the self-centeredness of the little thing."⁵ Then he spoke of moods. Such believers are "Victims of their feelings, and of their senses."⁵ Hebrews describes the same condition: "Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food!" (Hebrews 5:12).

Immature or carnal?

A new believer is expected to be a child. Manley Beasley drew a line between that and carnality: "It's no disgrace to be an immature Christian."⁶ The disgrace is elsewhere: "A carnal Christian is a person that's seen light and refused it."⁶ On this reading the issue is not how much a person knows but what he has done with what God has shown him.

The teaching of two kinds of Christian

In the twentieth century the threefold scheme was widely taught, through the Scofield Reference Bible and through Lewis Sperry Chafer, who wrote, "The carnal Christian is not urged to try to live a spiritual life; he is rather besought to yield himself to God".⁷ On this view a person may be truly saved and live for a long time under the control of the flesh, until he yields to the Spirit.

The objection

Other preachers reject the category. Ernest Reisinger wrote a booklet "to argue that this classification is wrong".⁸ He pointed to Romans 8, where Paul speaks of only two kinds of people: "It is a division between those who walk after the flesh (the unregenerate) and those who walk after the Spirit (they that are Christ's)."⁸ Paul says there, "Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you" (Romans 8:8-9). Bob Phillips said flatly, "There is no such thing as a carnal Christian."⁹ C. H. Spurgeon, preaching on the same chapter, said, "The carnal mind is at all times enmity against God."¹⁰

The concern is pastoral. If carnal Christian becomes a settled class, people who show no sign of new life may be told they are safe. Peter preached that "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36), and no one receives him as Saviour while refusing him as Lord.

Where both sides agree

Reisinger did not deny that believers fail. He wrote, "There are many hills and valleys in the process of sanctification; and there are many stumblings, falls and crooked steps in the process of growth in grace."⁸ And those who use the phrase do not treat it as a safe place to stay. Paul wrote to Corinth to rebuke the condition. Both sides hold that a true Christian may act in a fleshly way, that he will be convicted of it, and that a life of settled, unrepentant sin gives no ground for assurance. Scripture speaks plainly: "if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13).

Loss

In the same chapter Paul warns that a believer's work will be tested by fire. "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames" (1 Corinthians 3:15). A life built with the flesh's materials may leave little that lasts.

The way out

Tozer was honest that there is no shortcut: "I know of no single experience that would instantly transform a carnal person into a spiritual one."⁵ The New Testament's answer is a walk. "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Romans 13:14). "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:24-25).

Growing up

The goal is maturity. Peter writes, "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Paul looks for the day when "we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves" (Ephesians 4:14), but "will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head" (Ephesians 4:15).