Why are Christians carnal?

Hey Dave and church,


I was sitting on the front porch the other day, praying and pondering.

And the thought came to me:

"Why are Christians carnal?"

I mean, think about it...

Pretend like you're living in Israel during the period of time before Christ.

And you're thinking, "Wow, people around here are so carnal. We have the laws of God but we don't follow them. We know what to do but we don't do it."

This bothers you, so you go to the prophet Ezekiel and ask him.

"Why is it so hard to obey God? Why does He give us commandments that He knows we won't keep? It's all very frustrating."

Ezekiel nods his head knowingly.

Then he lays his hands on you and begins to prophesy:

"Hear what the Lord says: A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments, and do them."

And you're thinking, "Wow! That's the answer! If God can really change our hearts, and if He would really be willing to put His Spirit WITHIN us, then we would have the power of His Spirit to walk in victory and holiness!"

You eagerly wait for that day and you die waiting for it, because the promise is for a future time.

So fast forward a few centuries...

Jesus is born, lives, dies, and lives again.

The Holy Spirit is poured out on the day of Pentecost, and the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as Ezekiel prophesied.

And wherever the word of Jesus is proclaimed, God confirms the message by pouring out His Spirit upon these believers.

Problem solved, right?

Everyone lives holy ever after, right?

Wrong.

Paul writes to the Spirit-filled believers in Corinth and says, "You've got the spiritual gifts, but you are STILL CARNAL... NATURAL... FLESHLY... EARTHLY."

Ouch.

What a disappointment.

I thought once God came to live INSIDE a person then they would be set for life!

What happened in Corinth?

What happened to us?

What happened to me?

Because I'm filled with the Spirit, like many of you.

And yet, I struggle with stupid stuff I shouldn't be struggling with, like many of you.

What's the problem?

Then I realized...

Being "filled" or "baptized" with the Holy Spirit is only the first part of a journey that takes us from immaturity to maturity.

It's not the top of the mountain, it's the beginning of a path up the mountain.

We don't go from carnal to spiritual in one fell swoop.

And if you thought "getting the Spirit" would suddenly transform you into Superman or Superwoman then you were misled.

In fact, I've identified seven Scriptural "stages" one passes through on this journey from being carnal to being spiritual.

You won't hear this being touch in "Spirit-filled" churches.

Most people get stuck at Stage Two, or they want to skip from Stage Two to Stage Five - and once they get to that point, they know it all and you can't teach them anything.

But this not only explains why the Corinthians could be Spirit-filled and still be carnal...

It also explains why this keeps happening today.

To me, to you.

And it will continued to stunt our growth if we don't understand what God is doing and start cooperating with Him.

This article explains it all:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/blog/his-government.html




I am your brother,

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org