A carnal Christian is a saved believer in the body of Christ who has not grown spiritually and is still controlled by the flesh rather than the Holy Spirit.
Les Feldick shows that Paul uses the word carnal in two ways: for unsaved people who are still under old Adam, and for believers who are saved and in Christ but spiritually weak, fleshly-minded, and unable to handle the deeper things of Scripture. These believers are like babes who still need milk.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 — This passage directly describes believers who are carnal and babes in Christ, which is the heart of the question.
Romans 8:7-8 — It shows the carnal mind contrasted with those in the flesh and helps distinguish the two uses of carnal.
The Bible shows that Paul used the word carnal for believers who were not yet spiritual. In his letter to the Corinthians, he writes: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Romans 8 shows the other side of the word. The Bible says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." When the Bible speaks this way of the carnal mind, it is describing those who are in the flesh and do not have the Spirit of God. Yet in 1 Corinthians, the same word is applied to people Paul calls "brethren" and "babes in Christ."
Les Feldick teaches that Paul uses the word carnal in two distinct ways. When speaking of the unsaved, carnal describes people who are still under the control of old Adam and have no eternal life. But when Paul refers to a carnal Christian, he means someone who is genuinely saved and in the body of Christ, yet not spirit-filled or spirit-directed. Such a person's priorities are mixed up and he is still more in the flesh than in the Spirit. Les points to the Corinthian believers as the classic example. They were believers, but for the most part they were carnal. They were still fleshly and were not growing as Paul expected. Because they were babes in Christ, Paul could only feed them milk, not the meat of the Word. Les explains that God divides the human race into three categories: spiritual believers, carnal believers, and unbelievers. The Corinthians were believers, but their carnality showed in divisions and in favoring their pet teachers.
Les Feldick teaches that the Corinthian believers were, for the most part, believers, but they were carnal. They were still fleshly and were not growing as Paul expected them to. Their carnality showed up in the divisions among them because they had favorite teachers and wanted to follow certain people. Paul had to deal with that as the first thing in 1 Corinthians 3.
Les explains that Paul uses the word carnal two ways. In Romans 8, the word can describe an unsaved individual who is still under the control of old Adam and is headed toward eternal spiritual death. But in 1 Corinthians, it describes believers who are saved and in the body of Christ, yet still spiritually weak and more flesh-concerned than spiritual. They are babes in Christ needing milk.
Les compares carnality to a newborn baby: you don't give solid food to a newborn; you start with milk. In the same way, carnal believers cannot handle the deeper doctrinal things of Scripture. Paul told the Corinthians, "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat," because they were not yet able to bear strong meat. Les sees the same problem among many professing Christians today.
Addressing the Assembly of Called Saints
Les shows that Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth as those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called saints, establishing that the people later called carnal are still true believers.
Carnal Believers Are Babes in Christ
Les explains that in 1 Corinthians the word carnal describes saved believers who are still under the control of the old Adam rather than the Holy Spirit and are so weak spiritually they must be fed milk.
Defining a Carnal Christian
Les defines a carnal Christian as a believer in the body of Christ whose priorities are mixed up and who is still more in the flesh than in the Spirit.
Carnal Used for the Unsaved
Les contrasts the carnal Christian with the ordinary use of carnal for lost people who are still under old Adam, have no eternal life, and are headed toward spiritual death.
Two Uses of the Word Carnal
Les repeats that Paul can speak of a carnal Christian who is saved but fleshly-minded, or of carnal people who are totally lost.
Milk of the Word for Carnal Believers
Les says carnal believers are not ready for the deeper doctrinal things of Scripture, and many professing Christians today are still down on the milk of the Word.
Three Categories: Spiritual, Carnal, Unbelievers
Les teaches that God divides believers into spiritual and carnal, with the Corinthians being believers who were carnal, shown by their divisions and favorite teachers.
A Carnal Congregation
Les reminds readers that the entire book of Corinthians deals with the problems of a carnal congregation that Paul had to feed as babes.
1 Corinthians 1:2: Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Paul addresses the Corinthians as sanctified in Christ Jesus and called saints, showing that his words to them are written to believers.
1 Corinthians 3:1: And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Paul directly tells the Corinthians he could not speak to them as spiritual but as carnal babes in Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:2: I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
This verse explains what carnal believers could receive — milk, not the meat of the Word.
1 Corinthians 3:3: For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Paul identifies their envying, strife, and divisions as evidence of carnality.
Romans 8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
The carnal mind is set against God, a truth that applies to those in the flesh.
Romans 8:8: So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God, distinguishing the lost person from the believer who is carnal.
Yes. Les Feldick explains that when Paul speaks of a carnal Christian, he is describing a believer who is saved and in the body of Christ, but whose priorities are mixed up and who is still more in the flesh than in the Spirit. The Corinthians are his example — believers, yet carnal.
Paul used the same human analogy of a newborn baby: you don't start with solid food but with milk. Carnal believers needed milk because they were not yet able to bear the deeper doctrinal things of God's Word.
Les points out that their carnality surfaced in divisions. They had their pet people they wanted to follow, and Paul had to address those divisions first in 1 Corinthians 3.
Watch the Teaching: What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained