Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 362

December 27;   I Corinthians 3:3;   136/260(II);   ‘Not Mere Men’

1 Corinthians 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

There is a powerful minister, who the church brings in every year, to bless the congregation.  I love one of the things he teaches, “Once you become a Christian, you have no right to consider yourself human.”  How true that is.  Think about that statement.  Eternal life (eternity with Jesus) has been given to us.  The love of God and the character of Jesus (the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23), have been deposited into our spirit.  The Holy Spirit comes into our spirit to lead us and help us.  When we become baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes upon us to empower us so that we can continue the supernatural ministry of Jesus.  Knowing all of this and reinforcing these truths by the Word of God, prayer and fellowship with the Lord, we can live our lives in a way that is far above those who do not know Jesus.  A believer can have everything we have been talking about and yet live no better than a ‘mere man.’  Maturity in Christianity is the determined decision and effort to walk in love with people.  There were Christians in Corinth who were jealous, full of strife and division.  Conduct like this will nullify the supernatural equipping received when we become a Born Again, Spirit filled Christian.  Until a person becomes a Christian, much of life without Jesus is negative.  Resentment about things that have happened in your life, coveting what others have and siding in with those you identify with, to the exclusion of others, opens the door to bitterness and anger.  As Christians, the Lord has given us the opportunity for a life so abundant.  Refuse not to have this due to carnal actions.