Natural Man – Spiritual Man – Carnal Man

1 Corinthians 2:12-3:6

I read about a letter that was received by a major automobile manufacturer in Detroit Michigan.
It read: "Dear Sirs:
"I have one of your new cars, and I have a complaint about it.
My complaint is that the car runs fine until I go out and buy vanilla ice cream.
I know you may think I'm crazy, but I'm serious.
I buy my family ice cream almost every night.

If I buy strawberry, chocolate, or some nut ice cream, my car starts fine.
But if I buy vanilla ice cream, the thing won't start.
Please help me."

This story and this humorous letter went through the ranks of that corporation with astonishing speed.
Everyone thought it was the most ridiculous, hilarious thing they had ever heard.
The idea that an automobile, their automobile, would not start when this man bought vanilla ice cream
for his family.
Silly!

Finally, the letter reached the office of the president of the company, who was amused and fascinated
at this incredulous account.
As he was laughing and telling the story to a group of engineers, one enterprising engineer
took the letter seriously.
He said, "Listen, let's find out what kind of eccentric this man is.
Let's send someone to visit him and check this out."

The president agreed, and said, "You are just the man to go."

So the engineer traveled to the town, and after speaking with the local automobile dealer,
began his investigation.
First, he drove to the ice cream shop in the car with the man and his family.
For five straight nights they went out for ice cream and on every occasion the car wouldn't start
exactly as the man had reported in his letter of complaint.

On the nights that they bought some sort of nut or fruit ice cream, or some other mixture,
they would return to the car, and the motor would start every single time.
On the nights that they ordered vanilla, the automobile would not start.

The automotive engineer was totally flabbergasted.
He moaned, "This is astounding; no one will ever believe us."

However, in a week he resolved the problem.
He discovered that when they bought a special kind of ice cream, they always had to stand in line
for about 10 minutes.
When the family wanted vanilla ice cream, there was never a line;
they bought the ice cream and returned to the car immediately.

The problem had nothing to do with the flavors of ice cream.
The time involved in purchases was the key.
When the engine was cut off, it would vapor lock, and the car could not start.
After 10 minutes or so, this problem corrected itself and the car would start on the first attempt.

On the nights the vanilla ice cream was ordered, they returned
before the engine had adequate time to cool.

When a person deals with a problem, the most difficult part is often the diagnosis.
This fact is illustrated in the life of a Christian.
The believer says, "I want to grow; I want to mature; I want to find out exactly what God has
for my life from this day forward."

The first step for that person is to find out where he is with God.

People can even get lost in a large mall, and have too much pride to ask for directions.
Then they come to this large directory and they see a red arrow pointing to a spot that says,
"You are here!"
It is of vital importance that we know where we are.

A person will never be able to get anywhere on this earth or in God's divine direction
until that individual knows where he is all the roadmaps in the world will not help.
How fast he makes the journey and what route he takes is of no importance
unless the traveler discovers from what point he is starting.

The church at Corinth had this same problem.
They were involved in so many different agendas that they knew neither where they were
nor where they were going.
Their fellowship accepted foreign doctrines and heretical beliefs.
They engaged in chicanery and in immorality.
Evidently, some of their church leaders also followed these false teachings.

In Paul's writings to this church, he drew some very sharp lines.
He introduced four individuals.
We recognize these four people when we read 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:6.

First, there is the natural man.
This man is lost and without God in Jesus Christ. (2:14)

Second, there is the spiritual man.
This man is able to judge, to discern good from evil – he is a growing Christian. (2:15, and 16)

Third, there is a type of carnal man.
This type of carnal man is a baby Christian. (3:1, 2)

Fourth, there is another type of carnal man.
This type of carnal man lives on the basis of a passion of the flesh. (3:3, 4)

There are all kinds of people in the church today.

There are those in the church who had an emotional, pressure-packed experience.
They walked down the aisle, and went through all the procedures, were baptized,
and their name was added to the church roll – and everyone was happy.
At long last he was in the fold.

The time came when he became bored with reading the Bible and prayer and began to drop out.
Spiritual matters concerning the deeper things of God were beyond his comprehension.
His day-by-day walk was void of any sense of Christian joy.
He knew nothing about a spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ.
And soon he's running around with the old crowd.

This is possibly a person who has never been born again.
He has never experienced salvation… and he has never been born again.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."
In the church – but lost – this is one group.

Then there is the natural man.

I truly believe that thousands and thousands of church members are natural men and women
– they are without Jesus Christ.
First Corinthians 2:14 says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God;
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned."

The book of Jude, verse 19, speaks of those "who separate themselves, sensual, not having the Spirit."
These members are the ones who start division and strife within the body of Christ.
They criticize and they voice disapproval about everything.
They were born in the negative case.
They are natural men and women, and they are oblivious to spiritual things.

They think that the things of God are foolish.
Adventures in faith are ridiculous to them because they live on an animal level.
Actually there are three levels of life.
There is the level of instinct.
There is the level of the law.
There is the level of the Spirit.

C. Roy Angell describes this ideal graphically.
He said that he had two dogs.
One of them was a tiny Pekingese.
And the other was a big English bulldog.

One day, he turned the tiny Pekingese out in the yard to feed them together.
Quickly the big bulldog ate his meal, and then looked over at the food of the Pekingese.
He walked over and without growling – just swung his big head and knocked
the little Pekingese winding, and then gulped down all of the tiny dog's food.
This is the level of instinct.

Take what you can.
Keep it as long as you can.
Push other people out of the way, and run over them if necessary.
We will find the low-level of instinct all through life.

Then Angell had to reconcile the situation.
He brought some more food for the little Pekingese, and this time he brought a rolled up newspaper
with him.
When the big bulldog started over toward the tiny Pekingese, he rapped him good with the newspaper.
Even after that occasion when he fed them, the bulldog would walk around and around the tiny dog,
drooling and moaning, but he never touched the forbidden food.

This action shows the level of the law.
We refrain from doing things because we are afraid of the penalty which is attached.

Angell goes on to say: "There is a higher level.
Paul called it the level of grace.
We are not under the law, but under grace."

The natural man lives on the level of instinct or the level of the law, and he knows nothing
about the level of the Spirit -- the level of grace.
He lives on the level of "I, me, mine, and mine."
What makes me look good.
What gives me pleasure.
What gives me power.
His primary concern is in the physical, material realm.

The natural person is not only attached to materialism, but he is also not interested in spiritual things.
He's not thrilled when the choir sings a mighty moving anthem.
He's not interested in the sermon or studying the word of God.
He's not interested in prayer for spiritual needs.
A natural person does not have an appetite for these spiritual things.

There are some aspects of church life which captures the attention of the natural man.
He understands a big offering: "That was some offering; wasn't it?"
A large attendance pleases him: "We sure had lots of people at the meeting!"
He is success-motivated.
A natural man comments on a well-articulated sermon and musical skill.
He is impressed, but not moved.

When the sermon speaks of serious Bible study and prayer and of being open to God,
and finding His will, and of giving his best to the Lord, the natural individual becomes restless.
The natural individual thinks the church is operated like a business.
He doesn't realize that the church operates on faith.

A successful, godly, out reaching body of Christ will be dreaming and attempting things
which can be accomplished only through God's supernatural intervention.
The natural person will not understand this.

In contrast, there is the spiritual man.

When a person receives Jesus Christ as his savior, he is Spirit-filled immediately.
We must remember that he is a babe in Christ, and not a spiritually, mature Christian.
The spiritual dimension of life as a direct relationship to every other area of our lives.
"But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."
(1 Corinthians 2:15)

That verse is really stating that the spiritual man has been given the ability to discern.
The gift of discernment as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 is different from judging.

In the beginning stages of the church, there was no written record or New Testament as we know it.
The gospel was passed along by oral tradition.
Some Christians were given the ability and the church to say, "That is of God," or "That is not of God."
This ability is minimized in the church today because we have the written Word: the Bible.

The ability to judge or discern as stated in 1 Corinthians 3:15 is the capability to perceive good and evil.
At the age of 19, I became the pastor of a growing church.
A year into my ministry in that church, we had a homecoming Sunday
in which more than 200 people attended.
After the morning service, a young man in his mid-20s approached me and said,
"God told me to come and preach for you today."
I knew that God had told me that I was to preach, and God gave me the ability to make
the right decision in that situation.

Hebrews 5:14 says that discernment is developed.
There are times when we make mistakes, but we come to have "the mind of Christ."
(1 Corinthians 2:16)
This process is growth in sanctification.
A spiritual person will have the ability to discern.

Worldly-wise decisions are not always the best decisions.

Some years ago, I read of a high school football team who had not won a game all year.
The last game of the season was against their arch rival.
If they won the game, the coach would keep his job; and they would consider it a "successful" year.

The score was zero to zero in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.
Through a freak play, they found themselves falling on a fumble on the opponents two-yard line.
The coach was ecstatic!
If he could only win this game, his job would be saved.

Two yards from victory, he signaled the quarterback from the sideline to call
his favorite play, number 34.
The quarterback ran 34, and they lost 2 yards.
The coach thought, "I'll run our next best play."
So with hand signals, he called number 23.
The quarterback ran 23, and the team lost five more yards.

In exasperation, the coach turned around to the stands, and held up his hands in disgust.
The fans boos resounded through the stadium.
And the coach looked at his wife who was seated on the front row, as if to say,
"Honey, pack up.
It's no use.
We are not going to win this game.
It's all over!"

But then he heard a roar from the crowd.
Has he turned around, he looked at the field and saw the official holding up both hands
indicating that his team had scored.
Instantly, the gun sounded, and the game ended.

He rushed onto the field, and grabbed the quarterback, "Son, how did you know to call that play?"

The quarterback answered, "Well, Coach, I got in the huddle and looked over there for your hand signals,
but you had your back turned.
Then I looked up and saw number 8, that wide receiver who had not caught a pass or made a block all year.
He's the worst player on our team.

I look down to the other end of the huddle and saw number 6 that halfback who's not worth anything
-- he fumbles every time he touches the ball.
So I said, "8 plus 6 is 11.
And I called number 11, and we won the game."

The couch answered, "Son, son, 8 plus 6 is not 11.
8 plus 6 equals 14."

The quarterback remarked, "Coach, if I were as smart as you, we would have lost the game!"

The church must have spiritual men and women who can discern good and evil, right and wrong,
who can see potentially in some people, and can also see in others that they are not ready for leadership,
and need more training and growing.
The ability to make the right decision is desperately needed.

The spiritual person also has an appetite for the things of God.
The natural person has to be coddled and coaxed and has to be visited, and has to get special attention
to capture his interest.
Spiritual people in the church are those who edify and teach and serve.
They love to reach out to people.
They are positive, and they have great vision, great dreams, strong faith,
and commitment of their lives to God.

The difference between the natural man and the spiritual man is their relationship to the Lord.
The natural man has never received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
He might be a church member, and he might attend every Sunday, but he has never really turned
from his sin and trusted in Jesus Christ to be his Saviour.
The spiritual man has truly invited Jesus to come into his life, and he has become a new creature.
A real change has taken place in his life.
He truly became a Christian.

Where are you?

Sermon adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L. White