“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6, NKJV)
The life and peace God grants the spiritually minded is set in sharp contrast to the outcome of being carnally minded. Eternal death is its ultimate reward. Even in this life, the person who lives for the indulgences of the flesh is already spiritually dead (1 Timothy 5:6). Carnality is living by and for the flesh. It is antagonistic to God and His will both in mind and conduct. To be carnally minded not only fails to be spiritual, it produces anti-spiritual behavior. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, the apostle said the Corinthians were carnal rather than spiritual because they had not matured in Christ; they were still babes who were not partaking of the solid food of truth. Their carnal thinking produced “envy, strife, and divisions” toward their fellow Christians. By doing so, they had become anti-spiritual. Their display of conflict showed their nature and character was being controlled by the flesh instead of by the Spirit of God (whose fruit is “love, joy and peace,” 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:22). Our conduct will show whether our mind is on the flesh, or on the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
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