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Bible Dictionaries
Carnal, Carnally
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or from sarx, "flesh," signifies (a) "having the nature of flesh," i.e., sensual, controlled by animal appetites, governed by human nature, instead of by the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 3:3 (for ver. 1, see below; same mss. have it in ver. 4); having its seat in the animal nature, or excited by it, 1 Peter 2:11 , "fleshly," or as the equivalent of "human," with the added idea of weakness, figuratively of the weapons of spiritual warfare, "of the flesh" (AV, "carnal"), 2 Corinthians 10:4; or with the idea of unspirituality, of human wisdom, "fleshly," 2 Corinthians 1:12; (b) "pertaining to the flesh" (i.e., the body), Romans 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:11 .
(a) "consisting of flesh," 2 Corinthians 3:3 , "tables that are hearts of flesh" (AV, "fleshy tables of the heart"); (b) "pertaining to the natural, transient life of the body," Hebrews 7:16 , "a carnal commandment;" (c) given up to the flesh, i.e., with almost the same significance as sarkikos, above, Romans 7:14 , "I am carnal sold under sin;" 1 Corinthians 3:1 (some texts have sarkikos, in both these places, and in those in (a) and (b), but textual evidence is against it). It is difficult to discriminate between sarkikos and sarkinos in some passages. In regard to 1 Peter 2:11 , Trench (Syn. lxxi, lxxii) says that sarkikos describes the lusts which have their source in man's corrupt and fallen nature, and the man is sarkikos who allows to the flesh a place which does not belong to it of right; in 1 Corinthians 3:1 sarkinos is an accusation far less grave than sarkikos would have been. The Corinthians saints were making no progress, but they were not anti-spiritual in respect of the particular point with which the Apostle was there dealing. In 1 Corinthians 3:3,4 , they are charged with being sarkikos. See FLESHLY , FLESHY.
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Carnal, Carnally'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/c/carnal-carnally.html. 1940.
