The Spiritual Man

Today, we often think of "spiritual" as vague, gentle, or mystical—but Paul meant something far more powerful. In Romans 7:14, when he says “the law is spiritual,” the Greek word pneumatikos points to divine power—God-backed, heaven-filled authority. The spiritual man isn’t weak or detached; he’s empowered by God to act, overcome, and lead. In contrast, the “carnal” man (sarkikos) is not powerful, but weak—tied to the physical, ruled by sin. We've flipped this in our thinking, seeing the carnal as strong and the spiritual as soft. Paul says the opposite. True strength belongs to the spiritual man.