THE PORTRAIT OF THE FLESH – chosen to conform
What is a Portrait: a format of printed matter or screen display that is higher than it is wide:
The scripture gives us several portraits
The natural man receive not the things of the spirit neither can he know them
1 Corinthians 2:13-15 KJV
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
So the scriptures gives as an image or a portrait of the Natural man
- Cannot receive( decomai – accept, take) the things of the Spirit of God
- Spiritual things are foolishness ( absurdity or foolishness) to him
- He cannot know( ginosko ) them
- He cannot discern( anakrino ) them
He also give a vivid description and a portrait of the Spiritual Man
Verse 15 ( Pneumatikos move by the spirit)
- He Judges all things – There are those who don’t want us to Judge things especially spiritual things but if you are going to be a man or woman of the spirit, you must develop the metric for judge. In your spirit is the inbuilt platform for judging things.
- He move by the spirit
- He is moved by the spirit
- He does not Judge by the seeing of his eye nor reprove or decide according to the hearing of his ears – Isaiah 11:3. He does not judge by appearance nor make decisions based on hearsay
- He’s of quick understanding – Meaning he knows when the spirit is speaking verses when flesh is speaking
- That which he hears he proclaim – John 16:13
This is the portrait of a spiritual man. The one in whom God delights
The Carnal man – 1 Corinthian 3:3-9 ( Carnal meaning Fleshly, that )
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. God seeks a transition from natural to Spiritual, Carnal to Spiritual, which ever state you are, he seeks a transition to the spiritual dimension.
The Carnal man ( He’s born again, he can be compared to one who devour another)
- He is envious – Search your heart, are you envious. If you are then you must repent
- He’s full of Strife
- He’s under the control of his appetite
- He’s bodily ruled
- He is divisive, loves division
- He walks as a mere man
- Carnally minded and not spiritually minded
- Lust after the spirit
- He is sensual and operates from a sensual wisdom which is not the wisdom of God. It is a kind of Wisdom that is sensual, earthly and devilish. James 5:13
PORTRAIT OF JESUS
He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and Fire
He shall reveal the father unto you
He’s the first begotten of the father full of grace and truth
He pre-existed the beginning. He was not from the beginning
He’s alpha-omega. Beginning –end
All thing were made by him and without him was anything made that was made
He is the image of the first born amongst many brethren
He’s the head of the body which is the church that in all things he might have the pre-eminence
He’s the image of the invisible God
He is eternal life
He’s been made heir of all things