Mere (wo)men

For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 1 Cor 3:3 ESV

For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? NKJV

For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? NIV

Mere men...Paul does not mean men as in males but men as in humans. What is he saying? When there was fighting, conflict and strife he says they were living in the flesh rather than the spirit. In other words, people living in the flesh are living as mere humans. Mere humans. We live in the flesh with no outside help. We are good at it all by ourselves. We are behaving as mere humans. However, to live in the Spirit requires the Spirit of the Living, Eternal God dwelling within us to manifest Himself in and through us.

I trust that you, like me, would much rather live by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God than like a mere (wo)man.

Diane