Are We Growing Up?

I Corinthians 3:1-9

Everyone loves a newborn baby!  They are small and adorable, and everyone loves to hold and rock the baby.  Nobody, though, wants the baby to remain a baby. The parents eagerly watch for their newborn to achieve the next growth milestone, such as rolling over, beginning to crawl, signs of the first tooth, etc.  As the child gets older, parents still look for signs of growth. Many parents make marks on a wall showing how tall their child is getting. They also expect their child to learn to read, and advance from grade to grade in school.  If their child fails to learn to stand and walk, or learn to talk, they know something is wrong. No one wants their child to remain a baby or little child forever. This is true, not only in the physical world, but also in the spiritual world.  Believers each have a time and day when they came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. That is when they were spiritually born. From that time onward there should be signs of spiritual growth. Our Scripture passage today from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians addresses this issue with the church there.  Let’s take a look at what he says.

Paul begins this chapter with some scolding of the Corinthian believers.  He had founded the church several years earlier, and many of the believers there had been saved for a number of years, yet they had not matured much during this time.  They were like children who had stunted growth and development. Paul compares them to babies who could only take milk, and now several years later, instead of advancing on to solid food and meat, they are still only on milk (vs. 2-3).

If a young child doesn’t advance from milk to soft food, then to more solid food, and eventually to eating meat, something is wrong.  The same is true in the spiritual realm. The Corinthian believers were spiritual infants, even though the church was several years old.  They were not spiritually healthy or mature. Immature Christians are worldly, allowing their desires to control them. Mature Christians seek to follow God’s desires.  Many of those at the Corinthian church were saved, but they were not spiritual.  They were not fully controlled by the Holy Spirit.  They were “carnal”, controlled by their fallen flesh nature.  They were spiritually immature. The “milk” that Paul and his companions gave the new believers were easily understood, easily “digestible” truths and doctrines given to new believers.  The “solid food” would be deeper doctrines of Scripture.

To grow as a Christian,  one must read and study their Bible on a regular basis.  This would entail more than just a casual reading of a chapter every so often, but getting into the Word, digging into the Scriptures with a reputable teacher or study guides.  It includes hearing the preaching of the Word by men and women of God. It includes spending time in prayer and communion with God. This will advance us beyond milk and on to the solid food and meat.  Signs of being spiritually immature include jealousy and quarreling between fellow believers (vs. 3), being lured by false teaching (Ephesians 4:14), and failing to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14).

One issue that Paul brought up that showed that the Corinthians were spiritually immature was their arguing among themselves over their favorite preacher (vs. 4).  Some were calling Paul the greatest, some claimed Apollos, some others. Paul was the one who had founded the church, Apollos was their pastor (vs 5-6). Paul had planted the seeds of the Gospel.  He was a missionary. He started churches. Apollos’ role was to water, to pastor the church, to help the church grow. Paul laid the foundation, Apollos built upon it.

God’s work involves many different individuals who have a variety of gifts and abilities (vs. 7-9).  There should be no superstars, only fellow team members doing the work of the Lord. Don’t be looking for praise from people.  Instead, look for approval from God. God promises He will not overlook either the sower, the one who plants, the one who waters, or the one who reaps.  All will be rewarded.