Yes, according to Les Feldick's teaching from 1 Corinthians 1:7-8, carnal believers will be taken up when the Lord comes.
Les points out that the Corinthians were carnal believers who came out of paganism, idolatry, and immorality, yet Paul still told them they were in grace and waiting for the Lord's coming. He asks whether the Lord was going to forget about Corinth if He came, and answers, 'No. No.' The Lord will confirm believers to the end and make them blameless in His day, regardless of their spiritual immaturity.
1 Corinthians 1:7-8 — Paul addresses carnal Corinthian believers and promises that the Lord will confirm them blameless in the day of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to believers who were saved but still carnal. He calls them babes in Christ who could not receive strong meat, yet he opens his letter by telling them they 'come behind in no gift' as they wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He promises that the Lord 'shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This assurance is connected not to their performance but to God's faithfulness: 'God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.'
Les explains that a carnal believer is genuinely saved and in the body of Christ, but is still controlled by the old Adam rather than the Holy Spirit. The Corinthians are the prime example: they had recently come out of paganism, idolatry, and immorality, and they still showed divisions and fleshly behavior. Even so, Les says, these carnal believers were in grace and did not lack any gift as they waited for the Lord's coming. He insists that, in spite of their weaknesses, failures, and even gross sin, the Lord was not going to forget about Corinth when He came. The promise that they would be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ is for them as well.
Les describes a carnal believer as someone who is saved and in the body of Christ but who is still controlled by the fleshly old Adam rather than the Holy Spirit. He compares such believers to newborn babes who need milk instead of solid food. The Corinthians fit this description perfectly because they had recently come out of paganism, idolatry, and immorality and were still displaying divisions and other fleshly habits.
Les points to Paul's statement that the Lord would confirm the Corinthians to the end, making them blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says that no matter how weak, failing, or even grossly sinful these believers were, the Lord was not going to forget about Corinth if He came. Les admits this is a hard pill to swallow but insists it is what the Word of God says.
Les notes that 1 Corinthians, the letter written to the most carnal congregation Paul dealt with, is also the letter containing the profound doctrine of resurrection. He marvels that Paul gave these babes in Christ the deepest teaching on resurrection, showing that carnality does not disqualify believers from the truths and promises connected to the Lord's coming.
Why Carnal Believers Are Still Blameless — 1 Corinthians 1:8-9
Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
Carnal Corinthians Still in Grace
Les explains that the Corinthians were saved out of paganism and were carnal, yet they were in grace and did not lack any gift as they waited for the Lord's coming.
Three Categories of Humanity
Les identifies carnal believers as a distinct category alongside spiritual believers and unbelievers, and says most Corinthian believers were carnal.
Carnal Believers Are Babes in Christ
Les defines carnal believers as saved and in Christ, but still weak, fleshly, and needing spiritual milk.
What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained
We can't expect them to all of a sudden be mature and to have the same spiritual apprehensions or not apprehensions, but the spiritual discoveries or whatever that we have had as longer and older Christians. And so as you study Corinthians, keep this in mind that these were folk saved out of abject paganism, idolatry, immorality, and there's going to be a time of nurturing and growth, but only by …
Carnal Believers in the Body of Christ
Les explains from Romans 8 that a carnal believer is in the body of Christ but has mixed-up priorities and is more fleshly than spiritual.
The Lord Will Not Forget Corinth
Les insists that despite the Corinthians' weaknesses, failures, and gross sin, the Lord was not going to forget about them if He came, and he applies 1 Corinthians 1:8 as a hard-to-swallow but true promise.
Deep Doctrine Written to Carnal Believers
Les reminds readers that 1 Corinthians was written to the most carnal congregation, yet it contains the foundational resurrection doctrine, showing carnality does not exclude believers from these truths.
1 Corinthians 1:7: So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Shows that even carnal Corinthian believers lacked no spiritual gift while waiting for Christ's coming.
1 Corinthians 1:8: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God's promise that the Lord will confirm believers blameless on His day, not conditioned on their spiritual maturity.
1 Corinthians 1:9: God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grounds the Corinthians' security in God's faithfulness rather than their behavior.
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's description of the Corinthians as carnal babes in Christ.
No. Les Feldick teaches from 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 that carnal believers like the Corinthians are in grace and will be confirmed blameless when the Lord comes. Their current spiritual immaturity does not cause the Lord to forget them.
Yes. Les describes carnal believers as saved and in the body of Christ, but still fleshly and not yet controlled by the Spirit. The Corinthians are his example of believers who were genuinely saved out of paganism yet remained carnal.
Paul called them babes in Christ because they were saved but immature, showing divisions and fleshly behavior. Les says they came out of generations of idolatry, immorality, and paganism, so they had many hang-ups to break from.
Watch the Teaching: Why Carnal Believers Are Still Blameless — 1 Corinthians 1:8-9