Articles
Becoming Spiritual Men - 1 Cor. 3:1
Becoming Spiritual Men - 1 Cor. 3:1
First, in talking about “spiritual men”, I am speaking of ‘human’ and not ‘male’. The problem with mankind, both men and women, is that they refuse to listen to God. We struggle to figure it all out on our own. In such, we fail. Every time.
“1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
23 I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10:23).
”12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Paul’s illustration is still correct: if we can not know the mind of another person without a ‘revelation from them’, how can we think we can understand the mind of God apart from a revelation from Him? We can not do either one, but especially we can not know God’s mind. (see 1Cor. 2:11).
The good news is that God HAS revealed Himself to us – read again 1Cor. 2:12-13. The Word of God is the Revelation of the mind of God to mankind.
Yet, men still ignore such revelation and set out to figure things out on their own. Such a man is a ‘carnal man’, a ‘man of flesh’. When one chooses to listen to God through His word, he begins growing into a spiritual man. The Corinthians had begun that journey but had gotten sidetracked. Thus, Paul could not speak to them as unto spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ, as to ‘mere men’. The more they listen, the more the grow, and the more they understand and rely upon God’s word and not their own thoughts.
Some have not only rejected the Word of God as any sort of guide for their life, but they also have chosen to live a lifestyle that is ungodly and sinful, dominated by sensual, worldly desires. Such can be described as not just ‘fleshly’ men, but ‘carnally minded’ (KJV Rom. 8:5-8 = ‘the mind set on the flesh NASB).
In contrast, we see a different attitude in those who can be called “spiritual”. For example, in the Old Testament, we see Ezra. “10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10). In the New Testament, Peter exhorted us to ‘grow in grace and knowledge’ (2Pet. 3:18). Such growing requires us to NOT lean upon our own thoughts, but upon the Word of God. (Prov. 3:5-6).
Would Paul describe you as spiritual or fleshly? Is your life governed by God’s word or by your own thinking?
Hugh DeLong
