I Corinthians 3:1-15
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1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
Spiritual people: pneumatikois- to spirit as inner life of a human being
Carnal: Sarkikois- flesh made of flesh
Or dominated by the flesh
This is a rebuke to the Corinthians
He had to bottle feed them this stuff cause they were spiritually immature
2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
Jase eating solid food
Choking on it
Quite ready
You have to gauge where people are at spiritually
You can’t just unleash heavy spiritual things without proper foundations
What are they being Carnal about?:
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
Envy: A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
Trying to run other people’s races
The enemy will try and distract you into thinking you need someone else’s life
That you would be happy if you had their things
You’ll start trying to reach other people’s goals instead of your own
My kids often want to play with whatever anyone else is playing with
2. Strife: bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension
not able to handle their emotions
bitter arguments that don’t have resolve
keeping grudges without forgiveness
quarreling
Strife continues when people can’t lay aside their pride
Sarah and I’s arguments
3. Divisions: the condition or an instance of being divided in opinion or interest : DISAGREEMENT, DISUNITY
Division creates barriers
Usually rooted in pride
Division creates more divisiveness
Division wants to ostracize to pull people closer to themselves
PRIDE
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Dividing themselves into teams
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
That word for misters is Servant
The ultimate spiritual maturity is realizing that none of this is about you
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
WE sow, water and repeat
Nothing about the process of sowing and watering is actually the miracle
The miracle is that you put a seed in the ground and it produces a tree
God gave the increase cause he created the seed:
In all of our labor and watering we like to take credit for the miracle
God cannot do things without you on this earth
It takes our obedience and faithfulness
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
But we are apart of the process, not the creator!
That takes humility
It should humble you
Spiritual maturity is about humility
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
We’re his field
1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Everything that they labored for they bring it the feet of God
The world only cares about the crowns that are perishing
While we labor to offer something Him more than what He gave us
The parable of the talents:
They used what God gave them to create increase and give it back to him
He says well done good and faithful servant
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Wherever Paul went He laid a foundation:
It was the same one at that
It was Jesus and in him alone they can find three things:
Forgiveness of Past sins:
In a new relationship with God
Once we were built on sand rubble that when storms hit, they could take us out
When we’re born again it says he brought us out of a mirey clay
Set our feet on a foundation
Everything is stripped away and we start fresh building upon Jesus
2. Strength for the Present:
That foundation that we build our lives upon keeps us stable through the fire
we have strength to endure fire, hardships things that would normally consume us
without Christ we fight isolated battles in loneliness
The enemy tries to convince us that we’re alone
Anyone ever felt that way?
Now nothing can separate us from the love of God
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. We have a hope for the future:
Why are we so afraid of the future
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Do we trust God or not?
We no longer can be afraid to look foreword
We have an immovable foundation
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.