I could not speak to you as spiritual, but as “fleshly”, (I Cor. 3:1).
I recently began teaching through I Corinthians on Sunday mornings. Of all the churches in the New Testament, the church in Corinth might be the most interesting. Corinth was “Sin City” of the ancient world. It was such a wild place that there was even a Greek word that meant “to live like a Corinthian”. It is no wonder that being a Christian in their culture seems to have been more difficult than in other places that Paul visited. The letter Paul wrote (contained in our Bible as I Corinthians) addresses a number of the problems the believers were struggling with. But the key to their problems, (and many of ours) is found in this simple statement Paul makes at the beginning of chapter three.
As a new believer in Jesus, I was fortunate to have people who helped me get grounded in good theology. (Not that I always applied it!) After learning that I needed to make a personal decision about Jesus, I was taught a simple tool that I can honestly say I have used almost every day for the last forty-five years. (Has it really been that long?) It is based on the above text and the verses that immediately precede it. It has to do with who, or what, occupies the “throne” of our lives.
In his comments regarding the way many people view the message of Jesus and the cross as “foolishness”, Paul makes reference to the “psuchikos one”. In many of our bibles the word that appears in the Greek text is translated as “the natural man (or woman)”. The particular version of the Bible I use translates this as “the man (or woman) without the Spirit (as in Holy Spirit). This is the person who has never made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, and as a result, Christ is outside this person’s life and ego or self is in control. Self sits on the throne of this person’s life. Paul says this person does not, and can not, understand biblical things. (see the left-hand circle in the graphic)
Paul immediately goes on to refer to the person who does understand what he calls “the wisdom of God”. He calls this person the “pnuematikos one”. The word used here translates as “the spiritual one”. The NIV again amplifies the one Greek word in the text as “the man (or woman) who has the Spirit”. This is the person who has willingly dethroned ego or self and invited Christ to come into their life and be Lord. Christ is now on the “throne” of their life. As long as Christ stays enthroned, the Holy Spirit becomes a dominant influence in this person’s life. (see the center circle in the graphic)
But Paul writes that he could not speak to the Corinthian Christians (who had made the above decision) as “spiritual ones”, but as “fleshly”. The word used here, sarkinos, translates as “fleshly one”. This is the person who has received Christ, and experienced spiritual re-birth, but has somehow managed to “dethrone” Jesus and allow the old ego or self to take control. The word used here is based on the Greek word “flesh” which Paul uses to refer to the old unredeemed nature that is till present in our lives even after Christ has come and created a new nature. Paul will go in the chapter to say that because this is their spiritual condition they are acting like “mere men and women”. In other words, there is little difference between the Christians and unbelievers of Corinth. (see the right-hand circle in the graphic)
I was lucky to have been taught that I am always operating out of one of these three states. Actually, once you have made the move from being “natural” or “without the Spirit” to “spiritual” or “with the Spirit”, you will always be operating out of two potential spiritual states depending on who or what occupies that “throne” (an image of the control center or heart). If I have usurped the throne through sin, neglect, or a lack of understanding, I am a “fleshly” or “carnal” Christian. When you are oblivious to this possibility, you spend most of your time in this state. Billy Graham once estimated that 95% of all Christians in America were “carnal”. If this is true, then most true American Christians (in the biblical meaning of the word) are probably not growing spiritually, probably not producing spiritual fruit, and probably not very effective in ministry. The tragedy of this reality is that it takes less than one second to move from the “carnal” mode of being back to the “spiritual”.
I was taught to do a “throne check” on a regular basis. That involves simply evaluating if Christ is in control of your life, or if ego has ascended once again and Christ has been dethroned. Once you are aware of this, you can stop…acknowledge to God that this is the case…ask Christ to take control (or using the metaphor, to take the throne)…and repeat this process as necessary.(Note: sincerely asking Christ to take control effectively “dethrones” ego.) I begin each day by going through this exact process. The more you use this tool, the more it will become second nature and the less time you will spend in the condition Paul labels “in the flesh”. And the more this process becomes second nature, the more consistent your spiritual life will become.
So here is the big question: “Who is on the throne of your life?” And a second question: “Who do you want to be on the throne?”
To hear more on this subject, check out the audio of the teaching at: http://highlinecc.org/?page_id=196.