How To Be Spiritually Healthy (part 2) - 3:3-4
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Introduction
There is a verse in Scripture that I thought I understood.
Looking back I realize that it wasn’t until I had know the Lord for 22 years that I really understood it.
Why did it take 22 years?
Because I didn’t have children until I was 26.
When I was 26 years old we had Joseph.
He was probably a month old and had woken us up in the middle of the night dozens of times by that point.
It was the middle of the night and Jess was preparing to feed him when a verse of Scripture suddenly became clear to me.
Here is the verse. 1 Peter 2:2.
1 Peter 2:2 NKJV
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
I thought I understood this verse, but I really didn’t.
You see, what had never occured to me until that night was exactly how much a baby desires milk.
All of our children have woken us up in the middle of the night because they were hungry.
As mom is holding them, getting everything ready, they begin to cry with this panicked desperation.
You can tell by their cry that they are convinced if they don’t get milk right now, they are going to die.
That’s what they think.
That, brothers and sisters, is how we are to desire the Word of God.
We are to have a panicked desperation for the food of Scripture!
We must know and believe that if we don’t get the Word of God we are going to die.
Why should we be like this?
Because we cannot be healthy if we are not eating.
We cannot grow without food.
Our food is the Word of God.
Last week we began our discussion of how to be spiritually healthy.
We noted that…
Failure to grow past the baby stage and into maturity indicates that something is wrong.
John MacArthur puts it well in his commentary.
1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Cause of Division: The Flesh
A baby who acts like a baby is a joy; but an adult who acts like a baby is a tragedy.
Paul is writing to a group of adults who are acting like babies.
Today we will continue to discuss growth in the Christian life.
We are dealing with some controversial issues.
These are topics that often come with heated debate.
Last week we journeyed through 1 Corinthians 1-3 to demonstrate that the people Paul is addressing are indeed Christians.
They are carnal Christians.
They are Christians whose lives and behavior look more like an unbeliever than a believer.
Let’s define carnality once again.
Carnal is the Greek word σάρκινος (sarkinos) meaning fleshly; merely human. worldly. Characteristic of this world and its attributes and concerns as opposed to the supernatural; conceived of as being composed of flesh.
Now let me briefly remind us of how Paul addresses those in Corinth.
They are sanctified, called saints, and are calling on the name of Jesus as Lord. The testimony of Christ was confirmed in them! They have received Spiritual gifts! They have been called into fellowship with Christ! Baptized, called, in Christ Jesus, righteous, sanctified, and redeemed in Christ. In 3:23 Paul sates that they are Christ’s.
They are believers.
To say anything else is to deny the clear meaning of the text.
Allow me to again reference Thomas Constable’s chart.
CHART
I said this last time and I am going to say it again so we all understand.
To be clear. It is not acceptable to be a carnal Christian. A carnal Christian is not healthy. A carnal Christian will be disciplined by God. A carnal Christian brings shame and dishonor to the name of Christ.
What we are saying is simply a matter of interpretation.
Paul is addressing believers and he is calling them carnal.
What does this tell us?
The Corinthian church is unhealthy.
We don’t want to be unhealthy.
How can we be healthy?
Last week we say 1 and a half characteristics of a spiritually healthy person.
Today we will look at the other 1 - 1/2
Characteristic #1…
1. A Spiritually Healthy Person Is Maturing v. 1
Spiritually speaking there are two guideposts that let us know maturity is happening.
Guidepost #1…
a. You have the Spirit v. 1a
Look at what Paul says here.
1 Corinthians 3:1 NKJV
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
We know someone has the Spirit when they are producing Spiritual fruit.
A Spiritually healthy person is maturing.
To mature we must have the Holy Spirit.
You cannot be spiritually healthy if you are spiritually dead.
That is guidepost #1.
Guidepost #2.
You are maturing only if…
b. You are growing v. 1b
1 Corinthians 3:1 NKJV
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
These are our two guideposts.
We can only be spiritually healthy if we are maturing.
Maturity first requires that we have the Holy Spirit.
It also requires that we keep growing.
How do we keep growing?
That is where Paul goes next.
Characteristic #1. A Spiritually healthy person is maturing.
Characteristic #2…
2. A Spiritually Healthy Person Eats Healthy vv. 2-3
We need to eat healthy spiritual food.
What does it mean to eat healthy?
Let’s look at 2 requirements for healthy eating.
Requirement #1.
To eat healthy we must…
a. Have proper nutrition v. 2
1 Corinthians 3:2 NKJV
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;
We made several points here that we need to re-emphasize as we get into this.
Here’s the first point.
The natural progression of the believer is from immaturity to maturity.
When we are mature, we share the truth we have learned with others.
Here’s the second point.
The natural progression of the believer is from easily grasped truth to truth that is difficult to understand.
We start with milk and we move to solid food.
This is how babies grow, right?
They start with milk and slowly move toward solid food as a mature person, invested in the relationship, feels they are ready.
This brings us to point three.
The natural progression of the believer is facilitated by accurate Bible interpretation.
When all we know about the Bible are the easily digestible tidbits pulled out here and there, we are unskilled in the Word of righteousness.
To grow in our walk with Christ we need the nourishment of God's Word.
Once we know how to accurately handle Scripture, we can feed ourselves and grow.
This brings us to point four.
The natural progression of the believer is determined by the practice of discernment.
We are to grow from immaturity to maturity, from the easy to the difficult.
To do that we must know how to rightly interpret God’s Word and we must put the truth we learn into practice.
As we grow we move past the basics (the milk) and into the more difficult things (solid food).
This is why we place so much emphasis on Bible reading and prayer.
That is how you grow.
Okay, that’s requirement #1.
To eat healthy we must have proper nutrition.
Requirement #2.
To eat healthy…
b. Don’t eat poison v. 3
This might seem obvious.
However, most of us probably ingest a little bit of Spiritual poison each day.
We must learn how to spit it out and stop eating poison.
Read verse 3 with me.
1 Corinthians 3:3 NKJV
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?
Again we note that carnality means exactly what Paul mentions at the end of this verse. They are behaving as mere men.
These are saved people. Men and women redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
And yet amongst them there is envy, strife, and division.
The evidence of these attitudes in the church demonstrates their immaturity.
The reason they are not able to understand the more difficult truths of Scripture is their failure to live in obedience to what they have been taught.
When we do not live as Christ commands, we will not be trusted with more truth.
Maturity isn’t just about what you know. It is about what you practice.
When we get to 1 Cor. 13 Paul will make this even more clear.
Knowing all mysteries and knowledge means nothing without love!
If we know truth but do not practice it, we are spiritual babies.
We need to understand that these are not sins that happened once and were repented of.
These are things that have become characteristics of the Corinthian church.
Paul is confronting them because he wants them to change their behavior.
Here’s the reality.
The presence of sin in our lives is a poison that prevents us from growing.
What is the solution?
Understanding and applying Scripture.
It is not enough to know Scripture. We must put it into practice.
I want to take us to a passage that demonstrates this truth. The passage could also be seen as something that contradicts what Paul is saying.
I want us to understand what’s really going on.
Look with me at 1 Peter 2:1-3.
1 Peter 2:1–3 NKJV
1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
What could be an issue here is that Peter says to desire the sincere milk of the Word.
Yet here in 1 Corinthians Paul seems to imply that milk is bad.
Then the passage we looked at in Hebrews demonstrates that milk is essential.
Here’s the thing. When we are babies, we need milk. It is necessary for our development and growth.
However, there comes a point when we need to move past the milk.
As babies grow, the expectation is that they will reach a point when they eat solid food.
What Paul is talking about here is growth that is abnormal.
He is talking about someone who is older and should be more mature, but can only handle milk.
Remember the MacArthur quote from earlier. “A baby who acts like a baby is a joy; but an adult who acts like a baby is a tragedy.”
When Peter says we need to lay aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and evil speaking, he mentions some of the same things as Paul.
Growth in the Christian life means we have moved past these things and into the fruit of the Spirit.
They need to stop drinking poison.
Envy, strife, division. These are poisons. Stop drinking them.
Behind this is the idea that they are in need of a transformation.
They are reasoning as mere men.
Since they have the mind of Christ (2:16) this shouldn’t be their reasoning.
It is impossible to be spiritually healthy if you are still eating poison.
We must grow and mature. We must eat a balanced diet.
Poison is not a balanced diet.
Here’s the tricky part.
We can’t change if we don’t admit we were wrong.
It is difficult to own up to envy, strife, and division.
The Spirit of God must do His work in us through the Word of God.
If we are going to be spiritually healthy we must have a healthy diet.
That means we have proper nutrition and we avoid poison.
Characteristic #1. A spiritually healthy person is maturing.
Characteristic #2. A spiritually healthy person eats healthy.
Characteristic #3…
3. A Spiritually Healthy Person Seeks Unity v. 4
I am not a medical doctor. So there are a lot of things about the body and diseases that I don’t understand.
However, I was reading an article about cancer the other day and a section of it really impacted me.Here’s what the article said.
“Cancer cells... ignore signals that should cause them to stop dividing. For instance, when normal cells grown in a dish are crowded by neighbors on all sides, they will no longer divide. Cancer cells, in contrast, keep dividing…”
The article goes on to explain that one of the reasons cancers grow is that the cells basically never stop dividing.
The thing about cancer is that, if left untreated it will inevitably kill its host.
Cancer has to be removed or attacked to stop it.
Division in the body of Christ is a cancer.
For the body of Christ to be healthy, division must be resisted or those who cause division must be removed.
If we are spiritually healthy people, we seek the unity of the body of Christ.
How do you seek unity?
The final verse we will consider this morning gives us two requirements if we are to have unity.
Requirement #1.
To seek unity…
a. Avoid intentional division v. 4a
Doesn’t that sound obvious?
And yet, when we get upset with a brother or sister in Christ, our first thought is not to keep the unity of the body.
Look at what Paul says here.
1 Corinthians 3:4 NKJV
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
What strikes me here is how intentional this division is.
It reads like an argument between 5 year olds. “My dad can beat up your dad. No my dad can beat up your dad! Can not! Can too!” And on and on we go.
Paul is going to explain why following a person is a bad idea. We will get to that next week.
What I want to focus on in this verse is our need to do the opposite of what the Corinthian believers are doing.
The division here is intentional.
What do I mean? They are knowingly and deliberately choosing to divide over this issue.
This is the opposite of what we are called to do as Christians.
We have unity in Christ. This is something that has already been given to us. It is our responsibility to maintain it.
Go with me to Ephesians 4:1-6.
Ephesians 4:1–6 NKJV
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Notice everything that Paul connects to unity.
Unity is a part of walking worthy of our calling.
Unity is about treating one another with grace, peace, and mercy. We are to bear with one another!
We have unity, we must strive to keep it.
Just in case we doubt it, Paul lists all the areas of unity we have.
One body, one Spirit, one hope, one calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.
God indwells us, is in control of us, and is working His will through us!
We have unity.
When we intentionally divide the body of Christ, we grieve the Holy Spirit and wound the heart of God.
A spiritually healthy person works with others in the body of Christ to preserve unity.
Intentional division is a sign of immaturity.
How do we change this attitude of division?
That’s where we are going.
First, I want to make this point.
Unity is something that must be sought after.
In order to have unity, we must want it.
So here’s our lesson.
How do we do that?
By seeing what Scripture reveals unity to be.
Requirement #1. Avoid intentional division.
Requirement #2.
To seek unity…
b. Be filled with the Spirit v. 4b
The last four words in the verse are “are you not carnal?”
The problem in the Corinthian church was a failure to live as what they were.
They were saints who were not acting saintly.
They were living like people who do not have the Spirit.
What is needed is a change in behavior.
Transformation in the child of God happens only as we are filled with the Spirit and submit ourselves to Him.
How does someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit treat others?
Go with me to Romans 12:9-21.
Romans 12:9–21 NKJV
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This is how we are to treat one another. With love, service, prayer, practical care, blessing, grieving, and doing good.
This is what a Spiritually healthy person does.
A spiritually healthy person is filled with the Spirit.
A spiritually healthy person seeks unity.
That means we avoid intentional disunity and we are filled with the Spirit.
Conclusion
We want to be spiritually healthy.
Without these disciplines in place, Spiritual health is impossible.
What do these things look like in our lives?
Personal: There is pretty much direct application here. If we want to be spiritually healthy then we need to be maturing. This means we first must trust Jesus as Savior, then we need to grow. Growth will happen as we feed ourselves on the nourishment of God's Word. As that happens we will pursue unity. The commitment here hinges on the Word of God. Start a reading plan. Join a Bible study. Get into the Word consistently on a daily basis.
Friendships: Have you noticed how healthy people care about helping others get healthy? Spiritually speaking, this should be us in our relationships. Practically, what does this look like? Encourage your friends to get into the Word of God. This will happen in two ways. 1 - as they see you getting into the Word. 2 - as you discuss what God’s Word is teaching you. A commitment here could look like talking to your friends about the Bible.
Parenting: Just like our children need to be physically healthy; they need to be spiritually healthy. The first way for this to happen is coming to Christ. Our children will never be spiritually healthy until they are believers. Once they are believers, get them into the Word. Scripture doesn’t just teach us truth, it exposes our hearts and gets us to deal with the things that shouldn’t be there. A commitment here could look like making a plan to help our kids be in the Word.
Marriage: Strong, lasting marriages are those built on the solid foundation of Scripture. We cannot build on a foundation we don’t have. To have the foundation of Scripture in our marriages, we need to make Bible reading a part of our marriage as well. Commitment - take time to be in God’s Word together. This could be just a time of discussing the sermon or what you have read in your devotions. Or, it could be something more; a Bible study or reading plan that you do together.
If you do not know Him, trust in Him today.
Move past the basics and deal with the deeper things of God's Word.
As we are healthy, we are filled with the Spirit and able to interact in a way that glorifies the Lord.