1 Corinthians 3:3-4, "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?"
For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal: The Corinthian Christians thought of themselves as spiritual, but their divisions show that they are in fact fleshly.
The problems they had in human relationships showed there was something wrong in their relationship with God. It was evidence of carnality, of a fleshly way of thinking and living.
Divisions, envy and strife in a body are not the only signs of fleshiness, but they are the ones most evident among the Corinthians.
Are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Paul did not say that they were mere men (that is, not saved), only that they were behaving like mere men. Christians have a higher call than living like the rest of humanity!
When one says, "I am of Paul," … are you not carnal? We might have thought that Paul would be more kind to his own "fan club." Instead of letting their praise stroke his flesh, Paul denounced even his own partisans.
Dear God, let me be of Christ and nothing else!
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