1 Corinthians 3:3

3 for ye are yet carnal. For whereas [there are] among you emulation and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk according to man?

1 Corinthians 3:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 3:3

For ye are yet carnal
The Syriac reads it, (Nwtna robb) , "ye are in the flesh": a phrase the apostle elsewhere uses of men in an unregenerate state; but this is not his meaning here, as before explained, but that carnality still prevailed among them, of which he gives proof and evidence:

for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions,
are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
They envied each other's gifts and knowledge, strove about words to no profit, entered into warm debates and contentions about their ministers, and went into factions and parties, which were distinguished by the names they were most affected to; in all which they gave too clear evidence of their prevailing carnality, that they too much walked as other men, who make no profession of religion; that they were led by the judgment of men, and were carried away with human passions and inflections; and in their conduct could scarcely be distinguished from the rest of the world. The things that are here mentioned, and with which they are charged, are reckoned by the apostle among the works of the flesh, ( Galatians 5:19 Galatians 5:20 ) the phrase, "and divisions", is omitted in the Alexandrian copy, and in some others, and in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions.

1 Corinthians 3:3 In-Context

1 And *I*, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ.
2 I have given you milk to drink, not meat, for ye have not yet been able, nor indeed are ye yet able;
3 for ye are yet carnal. For whereas [there are] among you emulation and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk according to man?
4 For when one says, *I* am of Paul, and another, *I* of Apollos, are ye not men?
5 Who then is Apollos, and who Paul? Ministering servants, through whom ye have believed, and as the Lord has given to each.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Sarkinos: as Rom. 7.14; Heb. 7.16; 2Cor. 3.3. This word is said to mean properly the material -- the composition of a thing. 'Carnal,' twice in verse 3, is sarkinos, a form used, in some places, to express either material or physical or moral ideas. It occurs also in Rom. 15.27; 1Cor. 9.11; 2Cor. 1.12; 10.4; 1Pet. 2.11. This last passage, 'fleshly lusts,' shows how the material and moral thoughts run into one another.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.