The second characteristic of a fleshly person is the inability to receive spiritual teachings. "Brothers...I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. But neither yet now are you able." The Corinthians boasted of their great and lofty knowledge and wisdom. So far as we know, the church at Corinth was possibly the most knowledgeable of all the churches at the time. They were "enriched in...all knowledge" (1:5), and on that account Paul gave thanks to God for them. If Paul had then spoken to them the spiritual truths, they would have been able to understand every word. But all that they had would have only been in the mind! Although they had knowledge of all things, they did not have the power to express what they knew in their practical lives. Perhaps today there are many fleshly believers who know quite a few doctrines and may be able to impart spiritual truths to others, but they themselves are still not spiritual. True spiritual knowledge consists not of wonderful and profound thoughts but of such practical experience as may be gained in the spirit as a result of a union of the believer's life with truth. Intelligence is of no avail, nor is it enough to have a fervent desire for the truth. Rather, one must have a life that is completely obedient to the Holy Spirit before he can hope to be taught by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, it is merely a case of conveying thoughts from one mind to another. Knowledge of this kind cannot make a fleshly person spiritual. On the contrary, his fleshly life will cause his knowledge to also become fleshly. What is lacking in this kind of person is not more spiritual teaching (the apostle felt that this hardly needed to be mentioned), but an obedient heart that is willing to submit one's life to the Holy Spirit, obey His command, and take the way of the cross. To such a person, spiritual knowledge only strengthens his carnality and helps him to deceive himself into thinking that he is spiritual. "Otherwise, how could I know so many spiritual things?" "But how many of the things you know are things you have learned from your daily life, and how many are just things you thought of in your mind?" May God be gracious to us!

There is another strong evidence of being fleshly. "For you are still fleshly." What is the reason? "For if there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and do you not walk according to the manner of man?" (1 Cor. 3:3). The sins of envy and strife are evidences of being carnal. There was strife within the church at Corinth, and the believers variously claimed, "I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ" (1:12). Although there were some who contended for Christ, saying, "I [am] of Christ," this also was the work of the flesh. The disposition of the flesh is that of envy and contention. To exalt Christ in this kind of disposition is also of the flesh. Hence, any sectarian boasting is, at its very best, merely the babbling of babies. The divisions within the church are due to no other reasons except the lack of love and the walking according to the flesh, as what God has said here. Contending for the truth is only a pretext.

Sinners of the world are men of the flesh. Since they are not regenerated, they have their soul and body as their masters. Hence, they are of the flesh. If a believer is also of the flesh, then he is walking after the manner of men. Men of the world are naturally fleshly, and therefore, it may be excusable for a newly regenerated person to be of the flesh. But since according to the years you have believed in the Lord you ought to have long since been spiritual, why are you still walking after the manner of men?

To fail and sin frequently after the manner of men is an indication that a man is of the flesh. If a believer still cannot overcome his temper and his peculiar temperament and is still selfish, contentious, vainly emulative, unforgiving of others' trespasses, and short of love in speaking, then he is truly still of the flesh, regardless of how many spiritual truths he knows, how much spiritual experience he thinks he has gained, or how fervently and effectively he has worked.

Being carnal or fleshly means nothing other than to "walk according to the manner of men." We should ask ourselves if we have completely ceased to walk after the manner of men. If there are still many things in our life that bear the semblance of the worldly people, then we are still of the flesh. We should not dispute over a term as to whether we are spiritual or fleshly. If we are not governed by the Holy Spirit, what profit is there even if we are called spiritual? This is a question of life, not of name.