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Lost (Natural) Man versus Fleshly Man versus Spiritual Man
by Rene Brown
In the scriptures, Paul the apostle speaks of three kinds of men:
1) First there is the Natural Man or Lost Man.
2) Second there is the Carnal Man or Carnal Christian
3) Third there is the Spiritual Man
The Natural Man is one who does not believe and trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for the
remission of our sins. His sins have not been washed away by the blood of Jesus. He is “lost”.
Eph 2:1 (RSV) "And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins"
Such a man has the same problem as Adam had following his sin in the Garden of Eden: He is
separated from God. In God’s vocabulary, to be separated from God is to be dead - in this case the
man is spiritually dead though his body and soul are very much alive. He has no contact with God and
cannot relate to God because he has not received Jesus Christ as his Savior.
This man definitely is controlled by his Adamic nature. He has no sense of spiritual things of God and
cannot understand spiritual things. Even if he tries, he cannot understand them. In the gospel of John,
Jesus tells us that such a man has the devil (or Satan) as his father: John 8:44 (RSV) "You are of your
father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires…”
Such a man may be rather moral and in the best cases, some would see him as a very good man.
Some lost men can be even more moral than some believers. Some men follow Judeo-Christian ethics
better than some believers. They do not lie, cheat or steal. They do not harm their neighbor; they keep
the 10 commandments. They may be kind, considerate and compassionate.
Such a person may find it hard to believe that if there is a heaven, he is not going there! He knows he
is “good”, follows the dictates of what he sees as his ethics and morality, and feels he is quite as good
as other people. It may be quite difficult to convince such a one that he needs a Savior - especially if
the Christians he knows are rather not like himself but have questionable morals and ethics.
What is the problem? Such a “good” man may be comparing himself with what the scriptures call a
“fleshly” man or man who is walking in the “flesh”. In many cases it is difficult to tell the difference
between a worldly or Fleshly Christian and a lost or Natural man.
Rom 8:5-6 (NNAS) "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6For the mind set on the flesh
is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace," 7"because the mind set on the flesh is hostile
toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8and those
who are in the flesh cannot please God."
1Cor 2:14-15 (RSV) "The unspiritual man [natural man or lost man] does
not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is
by Rene Brown
In the scriptures, Paul the apostle speaks of three kinds of men:
1) First there is the Natural Man or Lost Man.
2) Second there is the Carnal Man or Carnal Christian
3) Third there is the Spiritual Man
The Natural Man is one who does not believe and trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for the
remission of our sins. His sins have not been washed away by the blood of Jesus. He is “lost”.
Eph 2:1 (RSV) "And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins"
Such a man has the same problem as Adam had following his sin in the Garden of Eden: He is
separated from God. In God’s vocabulary, to be separated from God is to be dead - in this case the
man is spiritually dead though his body and soul are very much alive. He has no contact with God and
cannot relate to God because he has not received Jesus Christ as his Savior.
This man definitely is controlled by his Adamic nature. He has no sense of spiritual things of God and
cannot understand spiritual things. Even if he tries, he cannot understand them. In the gospel of John,
Jesus tells us that such a man has the devil (or Satan) as his father: John 8:44 (RSV) "You are of your
father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires…”
Such a man may be rather moral and in the best cases, some would see him as a very good man.
Some lost men can be even more moral than some believers. Some men follow Judeo-Christian ethics
better than some believers. They do not lie, cheat or steal. They do not harm their neighbor; they keep
the 10 commandments. They may be kind, considerate and compassionate.
Such a person may find it hard to believe that if there is a heaven, he is not going there! He knows he
is “good”, follows the dictates of what he sees as his ethics and morality, and feels he is quite as good
as other people. It may be quite difficult to convince such a one that he needs a Savior - especially if
the Christians he knows are rather not like himself but have questionable morals and ethics.
What is the problem? Such a “good” man may be comparing himself with what the scriptures call a
“fleshly” man or man who is walking in the “flesh”. In many cases it is difficult to tell the difference
between a worldly or Fleshly Christian and a lost or Natural man.
Rom 8:5-6 (NNAS) "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6For the mind set on the flesh
is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace," 7"because the mind set on the flesh is hostile
toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8and those
who are in the flesh cannot please God."
1Cor 2:14-15 (RSV) "The unspiritual man [natural man or lost man] does
not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is
