Spiritul Maturing

Introduction

So…how goes the “Adulting”? Have you heard of this? Apparently “adult” is a verb now. At some point over the past few years something that we thought was just a descriptive noun has become a verb: something that you can do. Like rain is to raining and google is to googling, we have made adult into “adulting.”

And typically you see or hear it used in an endearing way when someone is proud of the fact that they have done something that in their estimation only real adults would do. Impressive feats of strength and perseverance. Things like...mowing a lawn, filing your taxes or paying your bills. You know complex adult things that only the most capable among us could ever master. “# adulting” well done you! …hmmm.

This is such a big thing that are classes, seminars and even New York Times bestselling books out there for those who want to plunge the depths of “adulting”…Of course there are also blogs, short articles and facebook posts because…let’s face it…if you knew how to read a book or attend a seminar like a “big boy” you are already “adulting”.

And I know that many people use the phrase in a “tongue in cheek” way, but I wonder if it isn’t becoming more forming than it is funny.

Tension

Because the truth is that God designed us to grow up. No matter how much you want to be a “Toys R Us” kid, you were designed to grow up. Sure we are called to have a “Child-like faith” but it is to be “child-like” not childish. We are to exercise our faith in the maturity and faithfulness of a grown up.

We see this principle in many places in Scripture, but I love this reference right from Jesus childhood. Compared to his adult years, the Bible tells us very little about the “growing up” years of Jesus life, but there is one verse that sums this idea up very well. It is found in Luke 2:52 and it says”

Luke 2:52 (NIV) 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

I memorized it in the NIV as on the screen, but other translations like the ESV say that he “increased”, or we could use the word “matured” in these different areas.

He matured in wisdom: intellectually,

He matured in stature: physically,

He matured in favor with other people: - socially and emotionally

He matured in favor with God: spiritually

As the “God-Man”, Jesus grew up. He developed. He increased. He matured in all of these areas…just like God designed everyone of us to do.

But instead of embracing becoming a mature adult in these many ways, we often try and distance ourselves from it. #adulting

And the truth is when we fail to move toward maturity in anyone of these areas then we will not thrive in the way that we were designed to thrive because, we will be fighting against what God designed us to be.

And as we have been looking at the early Church, the Ekklesia, the Bible makes it clear that God has designed His Church to be a place where we see people grow, develop and mature in both natural and supernatural ways. So when there is an area that we see a brother or sister in Christ failing to mature in, we lovingly come along side them to point them to the better way. This is what we find the Apostle Paul doing in our text for today.

Last week we introduced the significance of the city of Corinth, and the particular challenges that Paul faced there on his second missionary journey. (map) While in Corinth, God promised him that he would not be harmed and that his work would be fruitful there. This is exactly what happened. And after investing a year and a half in Church of Corinth, Paul sailed back to Asia to the city of Ephesus.

While ministering there in this new city, Paul received word the Church that he planted back in Corinth was not growing as they should. They were not spiritually “adulting”. So he wrote the letters that we have in our Bibles called 1st Corinthians, since he could not immediately go there in person.

It’s important to remember that even though he was calling individuals to action, he wrote these letters to the Church. This has to frame our thinking when reading these books of the New Testament and considering how to apply them to our lives here almost 2000 years later.

Because when God’s people fearfully run from spiritual maturity, then they remain spiritual infants. This not only has damaging effects on them individually, but it also effects the unity, growth and effectiveness of the rest of the Church.

So turn with me to 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, page 953 in the Bibles in the chairs. I’ll pray and we will learn together of our personal and corporate need to be constantly maturing in Christ.

Truth

By way of a reminder, lets take a look at one of the only two places that Jesus specifically talked about His Church, His Ekklesia in Scripture. We will talk about the other one in a couple of weeks, but for today lets look at Matthew 16 where Jesus asked His disciples: who do you say that I am?

Matthew 16:16–18 (ESV)

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is not Peter’s person that the Church will be built on, but Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is the good news of the Gospel and everything in the Church is to be built on that solid foundation. We never leave that message, we never leave that foundation. Everything that we are as Christians is built on the foundation of the Gospel message...but it does need to be built.

It increases. It matures. It deepens. It grows. Jesus said that He would build it, and He is building it but if we are not growing and maturing then we are not a part of what Jesus is building. Even if we show up here every week.

That is what was happening in Corinth, and Paul uses three different word pictures to help us see our need to individually mature in order to be a part of the Church that Jesus is building.

First off, he uses the illustration of feeding a child so they will grow. In this we see that...

1. Spiritual maturity requires recognizing our spiritual condition (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).

The first step in growing is rightly understanding where we currently stand in terms of maturity in Christ. Paul says...

1 Corinthians 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

Every parent begins feeding their infant some form or milk, but at some point parents begin to introduce “solid food”. At first the “solid food” is not so solid, typically smashed up fruit and vegetables, and what happens is that the child will spit out more than he or she will actually digest. Looks something like this…(pic)

Why do they do this? Because in their immaturity they don’t recognize this new thing as also being good for them. The just want what they already know and are comfortable with, so the so called “solid food” becomes new decorative wall paper or hair gel while they fuss and cry for what they already know.

This is a brilliant picture of what was happening in Corinth, and what often happens even today. We all start out as “baby Christians” and so in beginning we need simple nourishment that we can easily digest. The simple truths of the Gospel where we know that Jesus loves us and send his Son to die to save us from our sin.

But as we grow and mature in God’s design, the Gospel truths get harder, more solid, more difficult to digest. We celebrate the good news that the stain of our sin has been washed away by Jesus, but then the hard work of removing the practice of sin from our lives begin. And we have to lean into the Holy Spirit as He begins to chip away at the presence of sin in our lives. And some of the sins we are glad to see go, because we see how they were messing things up for us, but some of them have become sources of comfort for us and we aren’t ready for the hard reality of letting them go yet.

Some of us have been Christians for a long time and we have never let the Gospel do anything but a baby work in our lives. That is a problem. We never leave the message of the Gospel, it is our foundation, but the nature of the Gospel message is such that it will, it must grows us. So if we are not growing, then we may not know the true Gospel. This was what Paul identified for the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 3:2-4 (ESV)

2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

This is serious business. Paul is saying that since you are causing divisions like this then you have reason to doubt whether or not you are even a new creation in Christ. Because you are not behaving like you are born-again, you are behaving like you were just born once.

Remember where we get this language of being “born-again” it isn’t a Christian culture thing. It is the language that Jesus used to teach a questioning Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him at night. It is found in John 3, where...

John 3:3–7 (ESV)

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Nicodemus only understood “born again” in the merely human way, not the spiritual way.

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

It’s not that hard to understand, Jesus says, everyone is born once - but if you would enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again?

Paul is telling the Corinthian Church that the divisions and strife that they are causing is showing that they are still in the flesh, that they were never born again. Serious stuff.

The Greek word for the flesh, is the word sarx, and Paul uses two different forms of the word in this part of his letter. In verse 1, Paul used the word sarkinos, which means “made of flesh and blood.” In essence, something that is human, born once. But in verse 3, Paul used the word sarkikos, which means “controlled by flesh.” This second usage was a rebuke. They were not rebuked for being human, they were rebuked because they were living as if they were merely human - and never born again.

I wonder...What would our Spiritual maturity say about our spiritual condition?

Of course it would be natural, if you are a new Christian that you might be more fleshly (as opposed to spiritual). But after several years of knowing Christ, there should be a difference. Paul expected a difference. He expected to see growth. He expected to see fruit. And so should we.

The second word picture that Paul uses to encourage maturity is that of tending a field so it will grow. Our second theme is...

2. Spiritual maturity requires refocusing our spiritual allegiance (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).

The issue that Paul is addressing here in chapter 3 was introduced back at the beginning of the letter in chapter 1 where Paul says:

1 Corinthians 1:10–13 (ESV)

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

The people were dividing up over which teacher or pastor they liked the best…can you imaging such a thing? If you know anything about Church history you sure can. Nothing is new under the sun, guys.

So here in chapter 3 Paul is continuing to explain how this fleshly response is not just “childish” because they should have grown up more than this by now, but it is actually a denial of the very foundation of the Gospel, giving you allegiance to men instead of Christ.

He says:

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 (ESV)

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

This is why I always throw up at least a yellow flag when someone starts using language like “my ministry”.

When God gave me “my ministry” or

Back when I began “my ministry” or

I am waiting for “my ministry”.

That kind of language makes me nervous. “Your ministry”??? What makes it yours? It is your ministry in contrast to what? or who? The rest of the Kingdom of God? The rest of those in your local Church? Everyone else who has played their part along this person’s spiritual journey to bring them into your sphere of influence in one particular moment. What makes that moment somehow more significant than all the rest in the chain?

That doesn’t mean that we don’t individually have our roles to play, we will talk more on that in just a moment, but since we are all working together under God’s guidance, empowered by His Spirit, to build His Church it seems more appropriate to me to just leave God’s name on it.

That way we can all find ourselves unified under the only one who has the power and authority to build his Church, Jesus Christ, and divisions will be much less likely.

Spiritual maturity requires recognizing our spiritual condition, then

[Spiritual maturity requires] refocusing our spiritual allegiance, and finally

3. Spiritual maturity requires remembering our spiritual purpose (1 Corinthians 3:10-23).

Beginning with the first Apostles, Jesus has been building his Church through the Spirit-led efforts of His disciples. Disciples who have gathered together in something called an Ekklesia, or a Church! But the quality of what is built varies from Church to Church. This is not to say that the people of different churches are of different quality or value, but what they have purposed to contribute to growing the Kingdom of God varies in value.

Paul explains it like this:

1 Corinthians 3:10–23 (ESV)

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, (which is always the Gospel) and someone else is building upon it.(teaching the further reaching implications of the Gospel message, but he says...) Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Care must be taken as to how we work together to build our Church, because we are building on the most precious of foundations, the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is no room to take this lightly and to build on any other foundation is foolishness, and so we much choose the quality of our building materials carefully...

12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

So apparently “everyone doesn’t get a trophy” at least not the same sized one. I can’t say I know exactly what this will look like, but there will be different degrees of reward and loss that day and that is why we much build well.

And look at the list of materials that Paul is using in his word picture. Obviously some of them seem more useful than others if we were going to build 4 walls and a roof but that is not Paul’s point.

At the top of the list we have Gold, Silver and Precious Stones, these things are meant to represent that which is permanent, beautiful, valuable and difficult to obtain

But as the list moves down we have Wood, Hay and Straw which are more passing, temporary, ordinary even ugly, cheap, Easy to obtain.

The key to understand the value difference in these materials is found in what is used to TEST them. Yes class, there will be a test. The test will be fire, and that clearly tips the scale in one direction.

And this is not just about the individual, remember Paul is rebuking the divisions and strife in the Church. So what is said here is lived individually but it effects everyone in the Church. So Paul says:

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

There are other verses that use the Temple imagery to talk about individuals, but every time it says “you” here it is plural mean “all of you”. Paul is saying that the Church, the gathering of God’s people, not the building, but the gathering is God’s Temple. As such it is protected by God himself.

So when a Church operates in merely human ways, causing division and strife because you have forgotten who you true allegiance is to - you are now going up against God himself....so you might wanna re think your position.

As he continues to say:

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men.

Paul is shutting down this boasting in men game…and why would we boast in mere men, when we have been “born again” into the Kingdom of God!

For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Gospel Application

So there are actually “Adulting” classes that are popping up all of the place because it seems we have whole generations of young people growing up outside of a family system that teaches them how to handle the basic responsibilities of being an adult. That is a sad commentary on our culture, but it is just as sad, and maybe more even damaging to see as Paul did, that same issue in the family life of the Church.

As a Church, are we satisfied with the level of spiritual maturity that we are operating at? Do we find ourselves content with just sucking down a little milk. Maybe read a little verse and a story say a quick prayer and get on with our day. That is a great way to start guys, but it is baby Christian stuff. Easy to swallow baby food. Paul was rebuking this Church for behavior like this after only a couple of years. If you have been a Christian for any amount of time then you are ready for something more…aren’t you hungry for more?

I don’t even want to be satisfied with that mashed up fruits and veggies stuff, I wanna dig my fork deep into the far reaching depths of God’s Word to get after the meat of it and understand in every way who God is and who I am in light of His great glory.

And I don’t want to stand before Jesus my King one day with just the burnt up ashes of this small little bit of my life that I invested in His Kingdom when He has given me so much. I want to lay before him something that stood more than just the test of time, it stood the refining fire of the Day. I can’t do it without God’s help, but God’s Word says that it can be done.

Landing

And this is what is so great for all of us Church: If we all go after this same thing together, we won’t have to worry about divisions and strife here. Not because we will be perfect yet, but because a church that is together seeking maturity will find unity, but a Church that is satisfied with immaturity will be left with immature fights and quarrels.

The question is, which kind of Church do we want to be? Would you pray together with me into this.