Reformed theologians have consistently taught that there are only two kinds of people in the world; the saved or unsaved or to use their terminology the “spiritual” and the “natural.” They hold dogmatically that believers are always classified as “spiritual” in the New Testament. They do admit that believers can be “carnal” in some aspects of their life but that there is no state of “carnality” for a believer. Lately this view has been adopted by some within dispensationalism.

The question is whether the exclusion of the overarching category carnal by the reformed is a proper understanding of Scripture. Does the position reflect faithful exegesis of all of Scripture? In order to limit the consideration of this subject to a manageable level, I will use the booklet What Should We Think of the Carnal Christian? by Ernest Reisinger as representative of the reformed position. He believes that the teaching concerning a carnal believer is a grievous error that has disastrous effects on theology and the Christian life. He wrote this booklet “to show the dangerous implications and present day results of this teaching.”¹ Among the charges he makes is that this teaching is “the mother of one of the most soul-destroying teachings of our day,”² that it “breeds Pharisaism,”³ and is “the consequence of a shallow man-centered evangelism in which decisions are sought at any price and with any methods.”⁴ One could respond to these attacks in kind but this is counter productive. A better approach is to look at Scripture itself and through exegesis determine what Scripture teaches and then form a theological conclusion based on that teaching.

The Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

One of the key passages involved in the discussion concerning carnality is 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Most of those holding to the reformed view have little to say about this passage. At best they only mention it in passing. Reisinger attempts to de-emphasize the doctrinal significance of the book. To him “1 Corinthians is not primarily a doctrinal epistle. . . . It was not written . . . to lay doctrinal foundations”.⁵ One wonders where one would go for doctrinal details about the believer’s physical resurrection if he did not have 1 Corinthians 15.

Another error made by reformed theologians is to divorce chapter three of First Corinthians from chapter two. According to their interpretation, in 2:14 16 Paul refers to two types of people, then goes on to a new subject in chapter three. Two things must be remembered at this point. First, chapter divisions were not in the original text of Scripture and second, a new chapter does not necessarily mean a new subject. Paul connects chapter three with chapter two by the use of the connective “kai” translated “and” in our English translations. “One of the distinctive features of the conjunction kai when compared with other conjoining particles is that of union. Kai informs that the following is to be closely united with the preceding.”⁶ With this Paul contrasts the spiritual condition of the Corinthian believers with the spiritual believer of 2:15-16. They were not spiritual but carnal. Note, he did not say they were somewhat carnal or had some aspects of carnality. The word carnal is used the same way as the words natural (2:14) and spiritual (2:15). If the words “natural” and “spiritual” refer to a spiritual state then the word “carnal” must also refer to a spiritual state.

Understanding "carnal" as a reference to a spiritual state is confirmed by what Paul indicates concerning these believers in 3:1-3. Paul uses two words for them. In 3:1 he uses the word “sarkinos.” BDAG, the lexicon considered by most New Testament scholars as the most authoritative for the New Testament, states this use is opposed to or opposite of “spiritual” used in 2:15 and “ in reference to the state or condition of a human being with focus on being weak, sinful.”⁷ The second word found in 3:3 is “sarkikos.” Its basic idea is “belonging to the flesh” and it is used of a level of behavior on the human in contrast to the spiritual level.⁸ Paul states that “ ye are yet carnal,” which must refer to the spiritual condition in which they were then existing. That this is a reference to their general conduct or condition is supported as well by the use of the word “walk” in the last part of 3:3. This verb is used frequently by Paul in the sense of conduct, way of life or lifestyle. One of many examples that could be used is Ephesians 5:8. It reads “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light”. This verse and many others that could be used demonstrate that Paul means more than isolated acts when he uses the word “walk”. To him it designated a pattern of behavior for which we could use the term “lifestyle”. Applied to the Corinthians it means that their lifestyle was not spiritual in nature but fleshly or carnal.

The lifestyle of the Corinthians marked them as infants in Christ unable to handle the more developed aspects of their Christian life. The word “infant” marks these believers as immature Christians.⁹ This phraseology connects the 1 Corinthian passage with Hebrews 5:11-14. In the Hebrews passage we find both infants and milk as is found also in 1 Corinthians 3. It is interesting that along with a superficial treatment of 1 Corinthians 3, those who hold to the reformed position on carnality usually ignore this passage. The recipients of Hebrews were dull of hearing or more literally “have become dull of hearing” (v. 11). Although these believers were saved long enough to have been teachers in the assembly, they still did not have an adequate grasp of the elementary teaching of the Christian faith. Instead they needed a milk diet of spiritual truth which signified that their spiritual development was on the infant level. Note that neither Hebrews nor 1 Corinthians deny that they were true believers. In fact, Paul in 1 Corinthians emphatically states they were “babes in Christ.” In Paul’s writings it is clear that only true believers are “in Christ.”

Confusion of Positional and Experiential Truth

Another interpretive error that Reisinger makes is confusing position truth with the experience of the believer. For example, he uses 1 Corinthians 1:2 as proof that the believers in Corinth were already sanctified and therefore could not be in a carnal state. He writes “we must bear in mind the designation he gives to them in chapter 1. He (Paul) says they are ‘sanctified in Christ Jesus’.”¹⁰ It is correct to say that all believers are completely sanctified and seated in the heavenly places with Christ among many other things. Yet no believer is experientially seated with Christ in the heavenly places as no believer is completely sanctified experientially while on earth. Even reformed interpreters see this truth in some areas. D. M. Lloyd-Jones, in his commentary on Ephesians in discussing the concept of the heavenly places, comments,

A day is coming when I shall be in the heavenly places not only in spirit but in my body also. . . . We are seated together spiritually in the heavenly places with them (the Christian people who have gone on), and with Christ at this very moment . . .but we are still in the flesh, in the body, still struggling, still groaning.¹¹

While all agree that all believers are fully sanctified as to their position before God the Father, this is not the actual experience of believers here on earth. Some believers have developed so little in this area that Paul calls them carnal and babes in Christ. Those holding the reformed view try to say that those who believe that believers can be carnal separate justification from sanctification as if one can be justified and then later in life start the process of sanctification. This is an unfair representation of the carnal Christian view. Both views believe that sanctification begins at the time of salvation. It is just that the carnal view recognizes that Scripture teaches that some believers do not progress as they should and others regress into an inferior spiritual condition.

Conclusion

Many other issues need to be pursued if a complete examination of the reformed view is undertaken. Among these would be the concept of lordship salvation, a consideration of their interpretation of Romans chapters six and eight, and other related passages. A careful study of these subjects and passages would further illustrate the inadequacies of the reformed view. Unfortunately our space limitations do not allow for the expansion into these subjects and passages.

The conclusion that must be drawn when all the Scripture is examined is that Scripture clearly teaches that there is such a believer who can be classified as a carnal believer. This is not a desirable condition and one that not only destroys the testimony for Christ of that believer but also places him under the disciplinary hand of God. As Paul states of the Corinthian church concerning its members:

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:30, 32).

Paul only uses the word “sleep” to refer to the death of a believer in his writings.

This concept of a believer who is not spiritual is seen in the early confessions of faith.

And though they may, through the temptation of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein, whereby they incur God’s displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit, come to have their graces and comforts impaired, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded, hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.¹²

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light, yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith.¹³

¹³Ibid., Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation, paragraph 4.