What Does It Mean When Paul Called The Babes in Christ as "Carnal"?
One of the greatest excuses for professing believers to live the way they want is 1 Corinthians 3:1 and worse, they use a CALVINIST translated Bible namely the King James version. It's funny how they reject Calvinism and say Calvinists aren't Christians (in due fairness, some Calvinists are false converts and other non-Calvinists are still true converts) but they tend to adhere to the King James only. Again, I am a King James onlyist because it's the best contribution of Calvinist translation. Now let's take the Scripture into context as well as the GREEK to understand it further.
1 Corinthians 3:1 says, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." Let us take this verse into CONTEXT with both the Greek and the English. Knowing the Greek would help us understand what the words mean. The Pulpit Commentary says, "Verses 1-4. - The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature. Verse 1. - I... could not speak unto you as unto spiritual. Though softened by the word brethren, there was a crushing irony of reproof in these words: "You thought yourselves quite above the need of my simple teaching. You were looking down on me from the whole height of your inferiority. The elementary character of my doctrine was after all the necessary consequence of your own incapacity for anything more profound." As unto carnal. The true reading here is sarkinois, fleshen, not sarkikois, fleshly, or carnal; the later and severer word is perhaps first used in ver. 3. The word sarkinos (earneus), fleshen, implies earthliness and weakness and the absence of spirituality; but sarki-kos (carnalis) involves the dominance of the lower nature and antagonism to the spiritual. As mite babes in Christ. The word "babes" has a good and a bad sense. In its good sense it implies humility and teachableness, as in 1 Corinthians 14:20, "In malice be ye babes;" and in 1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word;" and in Matthew 11:25. Here it is used in its bad sense of spiritual childishness."
Knowing the Greek meaning would help us understand it all the more. This carnality spoken here is is where the person is still in a state of weakness. It's that because they were still spiritually immature, it was sort of a temporal condition that they had to dealt with. The Christian is saved, yes but they are not sinlessly perfect because they still have to face their sarkinois even if they are no longer sarkikos, they still must struggle with sarkinois. The problem was that while they were not living any more the way they want, they still had the problem of carnality. All Christians will struggle with carnality but especially when they are still newly saved. However no Christian can remain in carnality for an indefinite amount of time. A Christian be sarkinois but not sarkikos. When a Christian is sarkinois, it's like suffering from a cold or fever. Remember even the best Christians fall but God is not willing to let the Christian stay carnal.
When one looks at this into context, we read next that they are fed with milk and not with meat. They are still not ready for meat at that time but God through His love, sent the Apostle Paul to help them grow. They have not fully understood the faith. If it were possible for a Christian to remain carnal indefinitely, then God didn't send anyone to assist those who are still sarkinois. He could care less about sarkikos because such people aren't His, but the sarkinois are those who are saved but are still having some problems. That's why in verses 12 to 15, we read that the Christians are also reminded about their rewards. The rewards here are mentioned as to have gold, silver and precious stones which represents their good works and the wood, hay and stubble as the failures of the Christian life. But by God's grace they will grow to be better Christians.
If you are a Christian, you are no longer sarkikos but you will continue the fact the problem of sarkinois that is, do expect you won't live sinless. Just because 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that you were not just saved, you are WASHED, SANCTIFIED and JUSTIFIED in Jesus' name and the Holy Spirit does not mean you are already sinless, you still have a long way to go. That is, you are saved then expect to be washed, sanctified and justified DAILY... that is when you sin, God will chastise you (Hebrews 12:5-7). Don't expect to revel in sin when you sin, because God is too loving to let you walk in sin. I really pray that those who think they are saved and are still reveling in sin be shaken away from their false conversion.
1 Corinthians 3:1 says, "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." Let us take this verse into CONTEXT with both the Greek and the English. Knowing the Greek would help us understand what the words mean. The Pulpit Commentary says, "Verses 1-4. - The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature. Verse 1. - I... could not speak unto you as unto spiritual. Though softened by the word brethren, there was a crushing irony of reproof in these words: "You thought yourselves quite above the need of my simple teaching. You were looking down on me from the whole height of your inferiority. The elementary character of my doctrine was after all the necessary consequence of your own incapacity for anything more profound." As unto carnal. The true reading here is sarkinois, fleshen, not sarkikois, fleshly, or carnal; the later and severer word is perhaps first used in ver. 3. The word sarkinos (earneus), fleshen, implies earthliness and weakness and the absence of spirituality; but sarki-kos (carnalis) involves the dominance of the lower nature and antagonism to the spiritual. As mite babes in Christ. The word "babes" has a good and a bad sense. In its good sense it implies humility and teachableness, as in 1 Corinthians 14:20, "In malice be ye babes;" and in 1 Peter 2:2, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word;" and in Matthew 11:25. Here it is used in its bad sense of spiritual childishness."
Knowing the Greek meaning would help us understand it all the more. This carnality spoken here is is where the person is still in a state of weakness. It's that because they were still spiritually immature, it was sort of a temporal condition that they had to dealt with. The Christian is saved, yes but they are not sinlessly perfect because they still have to face their sarkinois even if they are no longer sarkikos, they still must struggle with sarkinois. The problem was that while they were not living any more the way they want, they still had the problem of carnality. All Christians will struggle with carnality but especially when they are still newly saved. However no Christian can remain in carnality for an indefinite amount of time. A Christian be sarkinois but not sarkikos. When a Christian is sarkinois, it's like suffering from a cold or fever. Remember even the best Christians fall but God is not willing to let the Christian stay carnal.
When one looks at this into context, we read next that they are fed with milk and not with meat. They are still not ready for meat at that time but God through His love, sent the Apostle Paul to help them grow. They have not fully understood the faith. If it were possible for a Christian to remain carnal indefinitely, then God didn't send anyone to assist those who are still sarkinois. He could care less about sarkikos because such people aren't His, but the sarkinois are those who are saved but are still having some problems. That's why in verses 12 to 15, we read that the Christians are also reminded about their rewards. The rewards here are mentioned as to have gold, silver and precious stones which represents their good works and the wood, hay and stubble as the failures of the Christian life. But by God's grace they will grow to be better Christians.
If you are a Christian, you are no longer sarkikos but you will continue the fact the problem of sarkinois that is, do expect you won't live sinless. Just because 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that you were not just saved, you are WASHED, SANCTIFIED and JUSTIFIED in Jesus' name and the Holy Spirit does not mean you are already sinless, you still have a long way to go. That is, you are saved then expect to be washed, sanctified and justified DAILY... that is when you sin, God will chastise you (Hebrews 12:5-7). Don't expect to revel in sin when you sin, because God is too loving to let you walk in sin. I really pray that those who think they are saved and are still reveling in sin be shaken away from their false conversion.