What does it mean to be carnally minded?

Romans 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally mindedis death; but to be spiritually mindedis life and peace.”

To be carnally minded means to understand and strive for the things of the flesh rather than the spirit.  Or it means to seek, judge and understand the tangible things rather than the intangible things (spirit).

1 Corinthians 2:14 “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.”

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “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 ableto bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereasthere is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

From 1 Corinthians above, we see that Paul could not explain things spiritually or speak spiritually because they could not understand it that way. He uses “milk” or carnal concepts and carnal words to speak because if he just threw the spiritual meaning out there the reader could not grasp it [because we are carnal or a physical natural man].  And when we are carnally minded we cannot see or comprehend the spiritual concept of it until we first see and understand it carnally. Paul also implies that we may never be able to move on from the carnal understanding to the spiritual understanding.  The spirit is difficult if not impossible to understand because it is intangible and not physical.  The spirit has to be explained through an analogy with the carnal interpretation or tangible being explained first so we can understand it.  In other words, the spiritual concepts have to first be taught through carnal (milk) concepts, as Paul says.  So Paul is saying his teachings (feedings) to us are milk or carnally spoken so we can at least have the carnal way of seeing it and understanding it.  But once we understand it physically it may not always be possible to move on the spiritual understanding. It may not be impossible for us to see the analogy of it all.

It also says here that another thing which reminds us we are carnal is the envying, fighting, striving, and divisions that we still have because we are carnal men.  We have to be carnal because we are all born into the carnal mind when we are born into this world in the flesh.

The Bible itself is a carnal document until it transforms to a spiritual document.  Our carnal mind can only understand it as carnal word until our mind changes or until we can begin to see the analogy of it, which is the carnal or physical to the spirit (milk to meat).  Also see previous post on May 24, 2014 and on June 24, 2014 concerning the transformation of the word as a flaming sword.

Hebrews 7:16-19 “Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thouart a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.”

Here is says the law of the carnal commandment is unprofitable and weak. And there will come a time to disannul it.  Therefore there must also be a law of the non-carnal or spiritual commandment which disannuls or voids out all things we have learned through the carnal words of the law [and the Bible]. In Corinthians Paul does say he speaks with milk. Milk of the Word is carnal. Therefore, the milk of the Bible is carnally spoken. This milk needs to be disannulled as well.  Remember from Romans, the carnal way is “death”. What once brought death will bring life, which means the transformation of the milk of the word to meat.

2 Corinthians 10:3-7 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfareare not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as heis Christ's, even soare we Christ's.”

Here is says we live in the flesh but we shouldn’t strive over it. The knowledge of God is against the flesh. And to strive over the flesh is to remain carnally minded and to focus on the physical.  When all thoughts are under the captivity of God, who is spiritual, we begin to be spiritually minded.  When we look on things and analyze them from their outward appearance, this is being carnally minded.   It is carnal mindedness when we can only solely understand and see our lives [and the Bible] as physical tangible happenings (flesh).  But we must begin to see how our lives [and the Bible] as actually having a spiritual meaning or implication (non-physical).  This is the true meaning.

1Corinthians 15:46 “Howbeit thatwas not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”

However, everything starts out as natural or carnal because we are born carnal first.  We are first born into this world and have our five senses to gather information that is carnal. These five senses are the pathway to our carnal mind.  We do not directly use our five senses to see or understand the spiritual which is of God.  We have our five carnal senses to experience this world and the tangible things of this world and the outward appearance of things (2Corinthians 10 above).  But if there is an outward appearance what is the inward appearance that cannot be so easily seen because it is not understood through the five senses?  The tangible knowledge gained through the five senses simply help us to begin to understand the intangible.  The tangible (carnal) is an analogy of the intangible (spirit). The information we gather through our five senses symbolize something in the spiritual.

Galatians 4:24 “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.”

Here is says that a story in the Bible is an allegory.  An allegory is something that symbolizes something else. But the story itself is just a story.  There is the something else to be understood which is the hidden spiritual understanding.

1 Corinthians 2:6-7 “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,even the hiddenwisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:”

What is this wisdom that is spoken in a mystery?

How can we get past the carnal understanding and solve the mystery that is not of this world?