Quote by D.A. Carson

“But although he does not tell his readers that they do not have the Spirit, what he does say is shocking: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual [i.e., as those with the Spirit]” (3:1, emphasis added). Instead, Paul had to address them “as worldly.” The Greek word behind “worldly” is sarkinos, literally “fleshly.” (The word Paul regularly uses for “flesh” is sarx.) The Latin equivalent of “fleshly,” rendered into English, is “carnal,” the word used in the King James Version. And that is how we have come to speak of the “carnal Christian.” There is no doubt there is such a thing. But what is a “carnal Christian,” a “worldly Christian”? It will help us to see what Paul means if we take four steps.”