Of the Spirit and the Flesh

1 Corinthians 3-4

            There are two important words in this reading: ‘spiritual’ and ‘worldly.’ The Greek word underlying ‘spiritual’ is used 21 times in the New Testament, 11 of those uses in 1 Corinthians. Couple it with hundreds of times that the word ‘spirit/Spirit’ is used in the New Testament and clearly that’s an important word for Paul. ‘Worldly’ only occurs 4 times in the New Testament, but the word ‘flesh,’ which is the root of our word, occurs about 130 times. So, it’s important, too.

            A couple of things to note, though, about these words: first, ‘worldly’ is not the best translation of the Greek word sarkinos. Something like ‘fleshly’ would capture the word better. Second, we need to re-tune our ears to hear ‘spirit’ and ‘flesh’. We tend to hear ‘spirit’ as non-bodily and ‘flesh’ as bodily, and that’s not the case at all. As a matter of fact, later in 1 Corinthians, Paul will talk about a spiritual body (15:44). No, ‘spiritual’ and ‘fleshly’ have to do with the powers that animate and drive us. Those who are animated and led by the Holy Spirit of God, who have the Spirit’s own life, are ‘spiritual.’ Those who are driven by the desires of sin, who are still dominated by this present evil age are ‘fleshly.’

            So, what Paul is saying here is that he wants to address the Corinthians as Christians, renewed by the Holy Spirit, brought to new life and being transformed into Christ’s likeness, but he can’t. The Corinthians power games and one-upmanship reveal that they are more than a little dominated and directed by the powers and values of the fallen world. Now, I don’t think that Paul really believes the Corinthians aren’t believers, but he certainly is using blunt language to call them out for their immaturity. All the more ironic and forceful because they think that they are mature and ‘spiritual.’

            The ways of the kingdom look different than the ways of the world. In the kingdom, the first is last and the greatest acts as the servant of all. Jesus made that abundantly clear. In fallen ways of the world, you look out for yourself and assert your rights. The two ways couldn’t be further apart. We could all stand to look critically at ourselves and ask “Am I behaving as one ‘of the Spirit,’ or is my life marked too much by the ways of the ‘flesh’?” Such reflection could lead us to profound repentance and a new way of life.