The Natural Man: Understanding the Difference Between Carnal, Natural, and Spiritual

Being spiritual is not defined by religious activity, but by supernatural revelation, life-giving words, and love that reflects the grace you have received.

There is a critical and often overlooked distinction between being carnal, being natural, and being truly spiritual. Many believers assume that because they pray, read Scripture, and speak well of God, they are operating in the Spirit — yet they remain in a natural state, lacking supernatural manifestation and divine encounter. True spirituality is measured not by external religious practice, but by the presence of revelation, spirit-empowered words, and a love for others that flows from an awareness of God's grace.

---

---

Teaching Overview

1. Carnal, natural, and spiritual are three distinct states — and the natural man, who believes he is close to God through his own works, is just as spiritually deficient as the carnal man.
2. A truly spiritual person lives in constant revelation and divine encounter, and prayer alone does not make a person spiritual.
3. What comes out of a person — whether their words give life and whether they extend grace to others — is the true measure of spirituality.
4. Love for God and for neighbour is the summation of all spiritual law, and anyone who does not walk in love is not walking in the Spirit.

Key Distinctions

---

The Three Distinct States: Carnal, Natural, and Spiritual

• A carnal person is a worldly person who is away from God and away from Scripture.
• A natural person is not trying to be carnal — they believe they are close to God, but they have no supernatural manifestation in their life.
• The natural person is works-oriented: what they do and believe makes them feel spiritual, yet they remain unconscious and inactive in the spiritual world.

"A carnal man is a man that is away from God. A natural person is a man who thinks he's close to God. Both of them are bad."

The Pharisees as the Model of the Natural Man

• The Pharisees studied the Word, prayed, and observed the Law of Moses — yet they were natural men.
• The Sadducees took away from the Word of God; the Pharisees added to it — both remained natural despite their engagement with Scripture.
• Natural men do not recognise their need to draw close to God because they are convinced they are already there.

"There's a difference between God being close to you and you being close to God. The Bible says, Draw close unto me and I would draw close unto you. So, a natural man does not see they need to draw close to God because they think they are already there."

Why the Natural Man Cannot Receive Spiritual Things

• The natural man finds spiritual things foolish because he requires God to operate within the boundaries of his own understanding.
• Demanding that God make natural sense is a functional denial of God's divinity — since God is Spirit, to reject spiritual things is to reject God Himself.
• If something does not add up to the natural man's reasoning, he dismisses it as not being of God — but God's ways are higher than human ways as the heavens are higher than the earth.

"If it does not make sense to them, it cannot be God. Why do you need to blow on people? That is foolish. Why do you need to lay hands on people? That is foolish. Why do you need to pray in tongues? That is foolish. But all these things is the denial of spiritual reality."

Prayer Does Not Make You Spiritual

• The Pharisees prayed, yet when Jesus came they did not recognise Him — prayer alone produces no spiritual discernment.
• Hindus pray, Buddhists meditate — external religious practice is not the distinguishing mark of a spiritual person.
• Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He is still speaking and still giving instruction; if a person is receiving no revelation, something is spiritually off.

"Prayer doesn't make you spiritual. I'll prove it to you. The Pharisees prayed. But when Jesus came, they didn't recognize Him."

True Worship Produces Supernatural Encounter

• God seeks those who worship in spirit and in truth — not everyone who sings worship is truly worshipping in a way God can receive.
• Intentional worship in the spirit produces an encounter with God, not merely an emotional experience.
• When the high priest worshipped in the Temple of Solomon, the cloud filled the room and priests fell under the presence of God — supernatural manifestation is the mark of genuine spiritual worship.

"Whoever truly worships becomes aware of the spiritual realm. Why? Because they are worshipping intentionally in spirit. And if they worship in spirit then there will be an encounter with God."

Natural Men Miss Their Visitations from God

• Abraham's spirituality caused God to stop at his house even though God was passing by on the way to Sodom and Gomorrah — God did not announce His intention, He simply passed by.
• It was Abraham's spiritual alertness that caused him to run and say, "My Lord, come into my house" — natural men lack this perception.
• Self-assessment is necessary: if a person is not receiving revelation, insight, and foresight from God, they may be carnal or natural in that area.

"Natural men miss their visitations from God."

Life-Giving Words Versus Good Words Versus Carnal Words

• A carnal person curses and destroys with their words; a natural person speaks good, positive words; a spiritual person speaks words that give life.
• A good person says good things and is not negative — but good words alone do not make a person spiritual.
• Spiritual words revive people to chase after God, wipe tears, restore dreams, and bring new life — what a motivational speaker stirs in the flesh collapses under hardship, but spirit-empowered words hold.

"A spiritual man brings out life-giving words. There is good people who say good things, they are not negative, but they are still not spiritual. Saying good things is good. But it doesn't make you spiritual, until your words can give life."

Speaking About God Does Not Prove Spirituality

• Speaking well about God is not the test of spirituality — even Satan and demonic forces acknowledge the existence and power of God.
• Occultic systems such as Freemasonry require belief in God and provide a King James Bible to initiates, yet they operate in spiritual darkness — consciousness of God is not the same as being spiritual.
• The real test is not what a person says about God, but what they say about their brother or sister who has made mistakes.

"Speaking good about God doesn't make you spiritual. Do you know even Satan can say good things about God? They know there is God."

Grace Received Produces Grace Extended

• Anyone who has truly received mercy and grace will give grace to others, because they are conscious of their own errors and shortcomings.
• God may be working on someone whose outward life looks problematic — the spiritual person treads carefully, knowing they cannot see what God is doing inwardly.
• Those who behave as if they are in God's seat, deciding who is worthy, have forgotten their own failures and were never truly spiritual — they have only justified themselves.

"Anyone that has received mercy, or anyone that has received grace will also give others grace because they know where they are, they know their errors, they know their shortcomings, they behave differently."

Love as the Summation and Proof of Spirituality

• All the law is summed up in two commandments: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself — Jesus Himself reduced the entire law to this.
• Treating your neighbour with understanding — knowing that God is watching and that God has shown you mercy — opens you to seeing God.
• Anyone who truly walks in the Spirit will walk in love; anyone who does not walk in love is not walking in the Spirit.

"If you truly work in the spirit you will work in love. Anyone that does not work in love is not working in the spirit."

---

Key Definitions

Carnal — A worldly person who is away from God and away from Scripture entirely.

Natural Man — A person who is not carnal but who believes they are close to God through their own works and religious effort, yet has no supernatural manifestation in their life and cannot receive the things of the Spirit.

Spiritual — A state of being in which a person operates in constant revelation, recognises divine visitations, speaks life-giving words, and extends love and grace to others as a result of having received God's grace.

Life-giving Words — Words spoken by a spiritual person that revive people to chase after God, restore their dreams, wipe their tears, and bring new life into them — distinct from good words, which are positive but remain natural and do not produce spiritual transformation.

Revelation — Supernatural insight and foresight received directly from God, which a truly spiritual person experiences consistently — its absence is a signal that a person may be operating in a natural or carnal state.

Worship in Spirit and Truth — Intentional engagement with God in the spiritual realm during worship, which produces a genuine encounter with God rather than merely an emotional or religious experience.

---

Key Takeaways

• Carnal, natural, and spiritual are three distinct and non-interchangeable states — assuming you are spiritual because you are not worldly is one of the most dangerous spiritual blind spots a believer can have.
• True spirituality is measured by supernatural manifestation and revelation, not by religious practice — prayer, Scripture reading, and speaking well of God are not themselves proof that a person is spiritual.
• Natural men miss their divine visitations — because they are not spiritually alert, God can pass by and they never perceive it, losing encounters that could change their lives.
• The words you speak about others reveal your true spiritual state — life-giving words toward those who have made mistakes expose whether you have truly received grace or are merely performing righteousness.
• Walking in love is not optional for the spiritual person — it is the proof — the entire law is summed up in love, and anyone who does not walk in love is confirming they are not walking in the Spirit.

---

Reflection Questions

1. When you assess your own spiritual life, are you measuring yourself by religious activity — prayer, church attendance, speaking well of God — or by whether you are receiving genuine revelation and encountering God?
2. Think about the last time God may have been "passing by" in your life — a divine encounter, an unusual person, an unexpected moment. Did you recognise it, or did you miss it because you were not spiritually alert?
3. When you speak to others who are struggling or have made mistakes, are your words truly life-giving — do they revive, restore, and draw people closer to God — or are they merely good, natural, or even quietly judgmental?
4. Is there an area of your life where you have been operating in your own strength and calling it spirituality? What would it look like to stop working from your own effort and begin drawing close to God in that area?
5. How do you respond when you see God working through someone whose life or methods do not fit your expectations? Does your response reveal grace received, or a natural man sitting in God's seat?

---

Scripture References

• Deuteronomy 29:29 — "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." (KJV)
• 1 Corinthians 2:14 — "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (KJV)
• Amos 3:7 — "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (KJV)
• Joel 2:28 — "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." (KJV)
• James 4:8 — "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (KJV)
• Luke 18:10-14
• Matthew 12:35 — "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." (KJV)
• John 4:23-24
• Matthew 22:37-39 — "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (KJV)
• Hebrews 13:2 — "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (KJV)
• John 6:63 — "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (KJV)
• Psalm 14:1 — "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." (KJV)
• Isaiah 55:9 — "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (KJV)
• Ecclesiastes 3:11 — "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." (KJV)
• James 2:19 — "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (KJV)

---

Golden Nuggets

"A carnal man is a man that is away from God. A natural person is a man who thinks he's close to God. Both of them are bad."

"If it does not make sense to them, it cannot be God."

"Prayer doesn't make you spiritual. The Pharisees prayed. But when Jesus came, they didn't recognize Him."

"Natural men miss their visitations from God."

"Saying good things is good. But it doesn't make you spiritual, until your words can give life."

"Speaking good about God doesn't make you spiritual. Do you know even Satan can say good things about God?"

"What proves that you're spiritual is not what you say about God, but what you say about your brother and sister with mistakes."

"Anyone that has received mercy, or anyone that has received grace will also give others grace because they know where they are, they know their errors, they know their shortcomings, they behave differently."

"If you truly work in the spirit you will work in love. Anyone that does not work in love is not working in the spirit."

"God has never needed anyone to be perfect because who can."

---

Resources and Further Reading

• Recommended Books →
• Study with a Recommended Bible →