3 Men, 3of3

~ 3 Men Representing 3 Levels of Progress ~

Your Choice!  ~  The Bible describes three kinds of human beings.  In three successive posts we are looking at the three from different perspectives.  The most important two questions for each individual to answer are:

1.  Am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?
2. If so, am I living like it? 

The Natural Man  ~  The key issue is that this person has no personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  We all begin life as natural men and women.  We all have the choice to accept or reject Jesus Christ as Savior.  The Bible speaking of those who have accepted Christ as follows:  “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).  Notice that the natural man rejects truth and sees truth as foolishness.  The key factor is they lack the ability to discern truth.  If you are a believer how long has it been since you thanked God for the specific grace He gave you to understand spiritual things? 

The Carnal Man  ~  The key distinguishing characteristic is acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior—unfortunately they do not grow in their relationship with Christ.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.  I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal.  For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?  For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal?  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ((1 Corinthians 3:1-5).  The carnal person is a Christian who has not matured normally—picture a 35 year old man still eating baby food out of a jar!  Perhaps they allowed their past, or their present circumstances, to cripple their future.  They are believers who are still controlled by the flesh rather than by the Spirit of God.  Consequently they are driven by envy and living a life of strife and stress.  They are aligned with people instead of with their Savior.  They seem unable to handle spiritual wisdom. 

The Spiritual Man  ~  This individual has not only accepted The Messiah as their Savior but also seek to make Him Lord of their daily lives.  “But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’  But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15-16).  The spiritual person is the believer who continues to grow in both grace and truth because they are allowing the Spirit of God to control their lives.  As a result they have spiritual discernment allowing them to judge rightly.  They have the “mind of Christ”—they think like Jesus thinks!

concluding thoughts  ~  “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works’” (Matthew 16:24-27). 

While repentance is a requirement for becoming a child of God transformation is our calling!  Consider the words of martyred missionary Jim Elliot, “One does not surrender a life in an instant—that which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”  But how do we do that?  If Romans 12:1-2 is true for your heart and you make Proverbs 3:5-6 real in your life and use Colossians 3:17 for every decision, you can be guaranteed a happy, successful, and fruitful Christian life.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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