~ 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:
- Am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?
- 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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