Walking Through Corinth 3
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From Milk to Maturity: Growing Up in Christ
From Milk to Maturity: Growing Up in Christ
Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:1–16
Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 3:1–16
1. Weakness: Living Like Infants
1. Weakness: Living Like Infants
Brothers, I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to worldly, even as to babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with solid food. For to this day you were not able to endure it. Nor are you able now, for you are still worldly. Since there is envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not worldly and behaving as mere men? For while one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not worldly?
Immaturity is weakness.
Spiritual immaturity reflects an undeveloped faith that struggles to handle trials, temptation, and deep truths. 5 Signs of Spiritual Immaturity
Lack of Self-Control: Reacting with anger or getting offended easily. A Spiritually immature person takes everything personal. There is no room for correction because you are always offended.
A person who lacks self control is someone who is easily targeted and swallowed up by the devouring ravaging lion that is the adversary. Self Control is one of the fruits of the spirit, and when you lack it, you lack spiritual maturity.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Your feelings drive your decisions: A Spiritually immature person allows what they feel to be the deciding factor on the decisions they make.
When we let those things happen, we tend to run out of church, or leave fellowships because our feelings got hurt.
The heart is more deceitful than all things
and desperately wicked;
who can understand it?
Listen, immaturity reacts while maturity responds. try not to react to things, but rather to respond to things, responses take more time than reactions take. Reactions are knee jerks, while responses are more carefully planned and put together.
Inconsistent Spiritual Disciple: is a result of spiritual immaturity. Spiritual Maturity has people engaged in the church, it has people reading their Word, following a prayer pattern.
Spiritual immature or anemic people are inconsistent in all of these. They come to the fellowship when they feel like. Read when they’re bored, and pray when they’re in trouble.
Negative, Critical, and Comparison Based: This is such a hard thing to get over when you have been in the world for so long, and everything in the world is always about the negative, or being critical.
This happen a lot from Immature Christians, “Why don’t we do it this way?” “Oh no, we have to sing that song again?” “I don’t like the way the Pastor’s Wife dressed this Sunday.” Nothing every positive, always negative, I expect this out of teenagers and children, not out of grown adults.
Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things.
Unwilling to be corrected or Disciplined: Just while studying for this message writing this point, I had to correct and discipline Ainsley. She let her emotions get the best of her and screamed at one of her sisters, valid reason or not, I disciplined her I corrected her.
She does not want the Discipline or correction she’s staring at me expecting me to lift my judgement. A loving Father disciplines their children, the jails are full of people who were not properly disciplined as a child.
An immature person doesn’t like discipline, and can’t stand to be corrected. But we are told in the Word to Love correction.
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.
Paul equates their behavior to infants in Christ, still needing milk, not solid food. IF we are to be a body of believers that are building up to the body, we need to mature and start eating solid food.
The King James version puts this passage like this
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Carnal Christian, Fleshly Christian.
A Christian that is only out to satisfy themselves, will always be more like the world and less like the world we were adopted into. There is such a thing where supposedly spiritual people live in the carnal.
Paul is addressing just that here, the Corinthians were not operating like a spiritual person but like a fleshly person.
Rather than living from a spiritual perspective they were continuing to live in accordance with their worldview that they had before they were saved. The Carnal Worldview.
My question to you today is this, are you living in a similar manner.
We are called to be out of the world, therefore the worldview that we have is supposed to be different, yet we are continuing to walk and talk in the same manner we were once in.
Romans said to be transformed not conformed.
Are you a carnal Christian?
This is called Living Like an Infant.
Paul said they were like babies in Christ, they couldn’t eat the solid food, they were not mature enough to receive it. Paul spoke it but they preferred the milk instead of the meat.
Little known fact about myself, I do not drink milk, at least without it being doctored up by coffee, or chocolate, right after I was a year old my mom will tell you I through the bottle down and never picked it up again and refused to drink milk from that point forward.
I was a baby who liked to eat real food, and when I discovered meat, I never looked back.
The church at Corinth was the exact opposite of me, they wanted to be fed the milk, they chose the milk, they didn’t want the meat because it meant having to give up certain things that they loved to do and live in a certain way, and not cause envy and strife.
Paul knew that they were not growing in the Lord because of some of the stuff we have covered already, they were saying things like I follow Paul, Apollos etc. This is a worldly worldview, this is carnality at best.
Purposeful division.
Purposeful strife.
Purposeful envy.
These are markers of someone who is stuck in their Christian walk. Who have come to a form or platea or stagnation. What’s interesting is, we tend to think of Plateuing as we can’t go any further and it’s outside of our control.
Paul is indicating here, that they were choosing to be this way.
A Carnal Christian chooses to operate in that worldview.
Sometimes they do it to bring attention off theirselves. Sometimes it is because they haven’t developed past that. I read something interesting about this, it said.
Paul knew they could only handle spiritual milk, because he was there 5 years prior giving them that milk, so he expected them to have matured in that 5 year time span. What this suggests is that a New believer can attain a basic level of spiritual maturity in five years if he or she prioritizes spiritual development.
I think we can draw two conclusions from this thought, if we are still desiring spiritual milk and we have been a walking confessing Christian for 5 years or longer we need to grow up.
We need to move on to some meat.
Babies need milk. However, if a 5 year old is still consuming nothing but milk there’s a serious problem.
The second thing that we can see in this thought is this. We have some people some families that have not even hit it to that 5 year mark, they’re still drinking from the milk and milk only because they’re still babies, they’re still learning, some are far more advanced than others, but overall they’re still learning.
Give them a break.
Give them some slack.
Not all babies develop at the same timeframe, and not all people develop as fast as you or I did.
How do you grow, and how do you accelerate your growth?
The Tony Evans Bible Commentary A. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)
A spiritual person seeks to think about a matter as Christ would think (see 2:16)—he or she is biblically informed and spiritually illumined—and then applies that perspective to life decisions. Without such an orientation, life will lead to chaos at the personal, family, and church levels.
Be Mindful of the things of Christ.
Think about what He thinks about.
When He corrects listen.
2. Work: United in Growth
2. Work: United in Growth
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he who plants nor he who waters anything, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: You are God’s vineyard; you are God’s building.
Unity is essential.
Look closely at the language Paul chooses here, because it's loaded with meaning.
He doesn't say Paul and Apollos are rivals he says they are "one."
One in purpose,
one in mission,
one in reward,
even though their tasks were completely different.
Planting and watering are not the same job.
They require different timing, different skill, different patience.
But Paul refuses to rank them.
Neither the planter nor the waterer gets the credit, because "God gave the increase."
The Greek word behind "increase" carries the idea of growth that happens organically, from the inside out something no human hand can manufacture.
You can till soil, you can drop a seed, you can pour water on it every single day, but you cannot make that seed crack open and reach for the sun.
That is God's work alone.
Paul is stripping away human pride at the root so that no one can stand up and say "I made that person a believer."
We are laborers together WITH God, not laborers FOR our own reputation.
Then Paul shifts the metaphor: "You are God's vineyard; you are God's building." Notice it's not Paul's vineyard, not Apollos' building. It belongs to God.
We are tenants and workers on a plot of land that was never ours to begin with, contributing to a structure whose blueprint was drawn up long before we ever picked up a tool.
Paul continues to double down on attacking the ideology that we should follow certain people. He also encourages each one of us as well.
Sometimes we will get so caught up witnessing to a Co-Worker or friend/family member and we really want them to accept Christ, rightfully so who wouldn’t, that we push and we push and we get upset when we walk away and they haven’t prayed the sinner’s prayer right then and there.
This is something that we all have dealt with in some form or fashion at some point in our lives. I want to encourage for a second, Paul is clearly talking about division, and strife causing because of people clinging to other people and not going to church because that person wasn’t preaching, we talked about that couple of weeks ago, but there is also a nugget here.
Sometimes when you witness you are just the one tilling the ground, sometimes the next person is the one who plants the seed, and sometimes it takes another to water, and then another to walk them through the sinner’s prayer, but every time God is the one who gets the increase.
Maybe you were the one who watered, or planted, or tilled wherever you were on that person’s spiritual walk and growth, just be joyous that God is receiving a child home, whether now or in the future.
We used to call peoeple’s names out in prayer and thank Him for their salvation before anyone ever even planted a seed in that person’s life.
IF someone is laid on your heart the best thing you can do is pray for them.
So what does this look like practically, this week, in your own life?
First, stop keeping score.
If you're the type who tallies up how many people you've "led to the Lord," release that number to God.
It was never yours to count.
Second, be willing to play a small part. Maybe your whole assignment with a person is one kind word, one invitation to church, one honest conversation over coffee — and you'll never see how it ends. That's okay. Faithfulness in the small part is still obedience.
Third, guard your heart against comparison inside the church itself. When you see another believer's ministry, class, or gift being celebrated, resist the urge to measure your worth against theirs. You are laborers together WITH God, not competitors against each other.
Fourth, pray by name. Bring the people God has laid on your heart before Him specifically and regularly, even before you've said a word to them — that alone is planting.
Paul is clearly talking here about Unity, and we need unity. WE need to come together and pray and encourage and build up.
If a believer is to align themselves with anyone it should be the Lord, not the one who labors.
Leaders are instruments and God is the ultimate source of growth.
There is a greater work happening within our church, it is not about the leader or preferences that you have, but it is about the community the family, and this church God is doing great things in it we need to focus on being a part of that!
3. Wisdom: Building on Solid Ground
3. Wisdom: Building on Solid Ground
According to the grace of God which has been given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, but another builds on it. Now let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no one can lay another foundation than that which was laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble, each one’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.
IT is so important to have a strong foundation to build upon. A Solid Ground.
To live like a Christian is like constructing a building.
First thing is making sure your foundation is correct. What are you building upon?
My pastor friends and I were discussing a few things the other day and a few pastors who some would consider celebrities were brought up. One could make the argument that if you build your foundation on what we hear the majority from those guys from, our foundation is laid with wood, hay, and straw.
What is your foundation on?
The Greek word for Wood here intends to be a wood that is cheap, temporary, perishable, not meant for lasting.
Things like, I followed Apollos because he preached in this way or this manner.
Feel good messages that get you through the week because they hit the spot for the moment that you were in, only to not stand the test of the fire and get burnt up.
Hay and straw should never be a building material it’ll get you out of the cold, but would never work and stay for the tenure of a building.
Pray this prayer and you will receive $1000 by the end of it.
I can live like I want and still make it to Heaven.
I don’t have to have fellowship or get into my Word or have a relationship.
If I do this certain amount of good things in this certain amount of time then I will make it to Heaven.
All of these things are building your house upon things that will burn and fall to the wayside.
We are told by Paul to build on the things that are gold and precious jewels.
Build your life with eternity in mind.
Keep yourselves in the love of God while you are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which leads to eternal life.
He who loves his life will lose it. And he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Do not work for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Paul warns us that the quality of each one's work will be tested by fire.
The Tony Evans Bible Commentary A. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)
To seek to obey God’s Word and be faithful with what he has given you is to build wisely using precious metals and stones. But to disregard his Word and live for yourself is to build foolishly using worthless materials. Such work just won’t stand the test.
Church seek strength in genuine commitment to Christ, Ensure that your contributions to the church are enduring and meaningful.
The Tony Evans Bible Commentary A. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)
The day will disclose everyone’s work (3:13)—that is, “the day” when Christians stand before the judgment seat of Christ (see
4. Witness: Dwelling Together in Spirit
4. Witness: Dwelling Together in Spirit
If anyone’s work which he has built on the foundation endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, still going through the fire.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Paul tells the Corinthians that God's own Spirit dwells among them but don't let that truth stay abstract or distant.
Bring it home to yourself.
If the Spirit of God dwells in His people, He dwells in you.
Not in a building, not in a program, not in someone else's ministry — in you, specifically, personally, right now.
The place where God has chosen to dwell isn't out there somewhere;
it's your heart,
your mind,
your daily choices.
That is an enormous privilege, and it comes with enormous personal weight.
And notice the picture right before it the testing by fire. You are building something on the foundation of Christ with your life: your choices, your words, how you spend your time, how you treat the people in front of you.
Some of what you build is gold and silver and precious stone things done for God's glory, in His strength, for eternal purposes.
Some of it is wood, hay, and stubble things that looked fine in the moment but were really about your own name, your own comfort, your own kingdom.
Paul says a day is coming when fire will reveal which is which.
You are saved either way, but what you built, whether it lasts or burns up, is very much in question.
This is personal.
Your growth isn't something you can outsource to someone else's faithfulness, and it isn't something you can hide behind a crowd.
When you mature spiritually, when you actually build with lasting material, that's a decision only you can make, day by day, in the small moments nobody else sees.
So what do you do with this?
First, take an honest inventory of your own life.
Ask yourself plainly: is what I'm building right now my time, my habits, my relationships, my private thoughts gold, silver, and precious stone, or is it wood, hay, and stubble?
You don't have to wait for the fire to ask yourself that question now.
Second, remember that the Spirit lives in you specifically, and that changes how you treat other people.
If God's presence dwells in you, then gossip, bitterness, refusing to forgive those aren't just bad habits, they're things you're doing while carrying God's presence inside you.
Let that reality shape your words before they leave your mouth.
Third, let the presence of the Spirit inside you be your personal filter for temptation. When you're tempted, when you're drawn back to the things of the world, remember: God's Spirit resides in me — would I take Him around that?
Would I want Him here when I commit that sin?
If you run your decisions the "can I do this" and "should I do that" moments through that one question, you'll find yourself pausing a lot more often before you act.
Fourth, invest in what lasts.
Pour your own time into prayer, the Word, and genuine service to others — not because it's flashy, but because it's the kind of building material that survives the fire, and it's material only you can lay down with your own life.
The work built on Christ will endure.
Make sure what you're building with your own choices, your own time, your own heart is worth enduring.
