Sobriety helps the believer “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” In other words, it keeps him grounded rather than haughty. Pride is one of the greatest destructive forces in the world. Pride led to the fall of Satan and will likewise destroy the believer’s walk with the Lord along with his testimony before others. Sobriety is a companion to gravity (1 Timothy 3:11; Titus 2:2) and causes a believer to perceive himself as he really is. The Devil fell when he began to think more highly of himself (Isaiah 14:12-14). In his heart, he thought to exalt his throne and be like the most High. If the believer is not sober, he too can begin to think thoughts of pride. Just as it was with Satan, this pride will be his downfall.
As time winds down, the need for sobriety increases. Temptations are seemingly escalating from every angle and source. Even if sin did not have the ability to lure away a believer, busyness and hobbies tug at his heart to steal away one’s time and strength. The Devil labours to keep the believer from working while it is day (John 9:4) knowing that a sober believer gets much more accomplished for the Lord. While men are spiritually asleep (Matthew 13:25), the enemy has free reign to disrupt and destroy the lives of others. The apostle Paul saw this dilemma and warned “that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Romans 13:11).
Carnality becomes increasingly difficult to hide. Eventually, it clearly manifests itself in our daily actions. The carnality of the Corinthian believers showed itself in their relationship amongst their body of believers. They began to envy one another, eventually leading to strife and divisions amongst the group. When Paul learned of their failings, he knew carnality was at the root of the problem. Another action openly revealing the carnality of the people was their relentless desire to associate themselves with particular Bible teachers. They assumed an association with someone as well respected as Paul or Apollos would give them a spiritual boost among other believers. Considering their actions, Paul knew these believers were “yet carnal.”
God desires for each of His children to walk in the Spirit and be spiritually minded. Yielding our minds to carnality violates God’s will. In fact, “to be carnally minded is death” (Romans 8:6). When we give our minds over to the flesh, we die spiritually. We also miss out on the things that tend toward “life and peace” (Romans 8:6). According to scripture, “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). The word enmity is associated with the word enemy demonstrating that a carnal mind is the enemy of God and His will. In fact, the carnal mind not only will not, but cannot be subject to God’s law (Romans 8:7). Christians who are actively walking after the Spirit are the only ones faithfully obeying the Lord.
The Lord frequently uses comparison and contrast to provide insight for discovering biblical definitions. For instance, our text verse contrasts the carnal with the spiritual. This truth is not limited to our text as 1 Corinthians 3:1 also sets forth this teaching and contrast. In a related study, the Bible repeatedly contrasts the spirit and flesh (Isaiah 31:3; Matthew 26:41; John 3:6; John 6:63; Galatians 5:17). By considering these truths together, we find that the Lord defined a “carnal mind” (Romans 8:7) as someone who is “in the flesh” (Romans 8:8). Based upon these verses and others, we understand the word carnal to mean that which is earthly, natural, or fleshly.
