Infants in Christ

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

September 28, 2008

As you are aware, Paul is writing to a church in Corinth

That has some major problems.

To say they were carnal is to put it mildly.

Paul actually first addressed their problems back in chapter 1.

1 Corinthians 1:10-12 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."

The 1st issue Paul addressed was the widespread division in their church.

· The Charter Members (“I of Paul”)

· The Contemporary Members (“I of Apollos”)

· The Circumcised Members (“I of Cephas”)

· The Consecrated Members (“I of Christ”)

If we knew of no other problem, this would be enough.

Christ came to separate us from the world, not from one another,

And therefore division is one of the absolute worst things

That can exist in a body of believers.

AND THEREFORE PAUL ADDRESSED THAT FIRST.

However, Paul then left to chase a little bit of a rabbit

(which Paul has been known to do)

He wasn’t off theme, for he has been addressing their arrogance

But he did leave the subject of their division before he fully dealt with it.

Well tonight, having concluded his dissertation on wisdom,

Paul returns to the specific problem that was plaguing Corinth.

He returns to the problem of their petty little division.

And tonight Paul is going to give you the single cause behind it.

Many times people have an improper view of division.

If you approach a person who is in the midst of a church that is struggling

with division and ask them, “What is the problem?”

Many times they would say something like, “That is difficult to answer” or

“It’s really a number of things” or “It is not all that easy to define.”

But every one of those answers is not true.

DIVISION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST HAS ONLY ONE CAUSE.

SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY

If a Church has division it is because

That Church has some bonafied cry babies in their midst.

Certainly if you have a church that has a large mixture of non-believers masquerading as believers, you will have division,

For it is impossible for light and darkness to dwell in unity.

But we are not talking about that here.

Corinth was a body of believers.

Paul even calls them “brethren” in verse 1.

Corinth was a divided church,

But it was not because they were not saved,

It is because they were babies, and they were acting like babies.

And anytime people start acting like babies, division is sure to follow.

That is precisely Paul’s point tonight

As he returns to address the issue he first exposed in chapter 1.

2 points tonight.

#1 THE CONDITION OF IMMATURITY

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Paul most recently dealt with how he is truly a preacher of wisdom.

1 Corinthians 2:6 “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;”

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

Paul says that when he is in the midst of the spiritually mature,

He speaks about the deep things of Christ.

He likes to take people into the very deep things of God.

But that is not how he initially came to the people at Corinth.

When he first came, he did not preach like that.

In fact, when he first came he did not go deep at all.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Paul did not initially come with the intention

Of disclosing all the deep truths of Christianity.

And why did Paul not come like that?

Because they couldn’t handle it.

Many of them were not even saved,

And those who were had a very limited understanding.

Paul was dealing with people who could not handle the deep things yet.

Look at what he says:

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it.”

Paul uses two very descriptive illustrations

Of what the Corinthians were when he first came.

“men of flesh”

“infants in Christ”

AS FAR AS THE FLESH WAS CONCERNED THEY WERE MEN.

They had grown far too seasoned in the things of the world.

We would call them today people who had “lost their innocence”,

And that is not hard to imagine in such a vile and pagan city.

As far as worldliness and debauchery was concerned

They were seasoned veterans.

In fact later Paul will say of them.

(6:9) That they were fornicators, idolators, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.

He actually says in (6:10) “such were some of you.”

As far as the world was concerned:

They were “men of flesh”

They were not innocent of sin.

BUT AS FAR AS CHRISTIANITY WAS CONCERNED.

“infants in Christ”

Talk about being wet behind the ears.

They did not know anything.

Simple truths like the ones we learn in Bible school, they had no clue of.

Paul could not start them out on teachings of:

· The Trinity

· The Sovereignty of God

· The inner work of sanctification

They were not ready. They were babies.

And so what did Paul do?

(2) “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it.”

When you bring a baby home from the hospital,

You don’t throw a piece of chicken fried steak in the crib

And expect them to survive. They can’t handle it yet.

And that is precisely how Paul dealt with the Corinthians.

“I gave you milk to drink, not solid food,”

· I can imagine Paul talking about how God created them…

· I can imagine Paul talking about how God loves them…

· I can imagine Paul telling them that sin is bad…

· I can imagine Paul telling them that Jesus died for our sins…

He covered the same basic, elemental truths

That we cover with our children,

Because at that point, they could not handle anything else.

And for a season there is nothing in the world wrong with that.

When a person has absolutely no knowledge of God

You have to start with the basics.

WHEN YOU GO TO THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD:

You don’t start with Romans 9 and the sovereignty of God.

You start with Romans 5 and the tremendous love of God.

And so for a season that is acceptable and understandable.

BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM AT CORINTH.

It has been about 5 years since that visit

And notice what Paul says next.

“Indeed you are still not yet able,”

If you have a five year old that is still sucking on the bottle,

You have some serious problems.

I DON’T KNOW A SINGLE PARENT WHO WOULD TOLERATE IT.

And yet that is precisely the problem at Corinth.

THEY ARE STILL BABIES IN CHRIST.

They don’t want any heavier doses of the word of God.

They don’t want to be forced to think.

They don’t want to endure long periods of intense Bible study.

They don’t want to think out the deep things of God.

They like the children’s sermon.

It’s short… It’s funny…

It doesn’t require any work at all, and for the most part,

It is absolutely void of conviction.

THERE ARE TONS OF CHRISTIANS WHO WANT TO STAY THERE.

Bible preaching is too boring…

Bible preaching is too intense…

Bible preaching is too long…

BUT DON’T WORRY, IF THAT IS YOU, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

My 4 year old, my 3 year old, and my 20 month old don’t like it either.

They think it’s too deep…

They think it’s too long…

And they don’t think I try hard enough to keep their attention…

That was Corinth, and you can hear Paul’s disgust with them.

It had been five years and they still were not able

To handle the meat of God’s word.

WHY?

(3) “for you are still fleshly.”

They were still worldly.

They were still living to gratify the sinful nature.

They were spiritually immature.

Spiritual immaturity is when a person refused to grow spiritually.

Instead of applying themselves and sacrificing

To discover where God would have them to go,

They seek to remain in the nursery

Were entertainment takes precedence over discipline.

Let me give you an example.

Jesus has been talking about what a great preacher John the Baptist was.

Matthew 11:16-19 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ' He has a demon!' "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

That is precisely what Corinth was.

They were babies, they were “fleshly”

HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY WERE FLESHLY?

“For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

Here Paul gives the TWO SYMPTOMS of spiritual immaturity.

“jealousy and strife”

If you walk into the NURSERY you will notice

That these are the two main attributes of every child in there.

DO YOU KNOW THE MOST POPULAR TOY IN THE NURSERY?

It is the toy that someone else is playing with.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF THAT PERSON DOES NOT GIVE UP THAT TOY TO THE PERSON WHO WANTS IT?

A fight breaks out.

“JEALOUSY

A JEALOUS person is only concerned about getting what they want,

And what they think is best for them.

· I want to sing choruses?

· I want to sing hymns?

· I want the sanctuary to be cooler?

· I think the sanctuary is too cold.

· I want…

· I want…

· I want…

They take absolutely no concern for what someone else wants.

The truth is they cannot see past their own desires.

jealousy.

But I suppose that if it stopped at that, we could probably deal with it.

For jealousy is purely internal.

But the problem is that jealousy

Always reveals itself through it’s outward colleague.

And that is “STRIFE”.

They are so concerned with what they want and pleasing themselves

THAT EVENTUALLY THEY CAUSE A FIGHT.

That is what James said happens.

James 4:1-2 “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”

There you have the same two motives.

“jealousy and strife”

And Paul says, “For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

If those two things exist, how can it be concluded

That you are anything other than a spiritual baby?

If all you can think about is getting your way,

And you are willing to fight to get it,

Then you are indeed a spiritual baby.

That is what they were at Corinth.

In fact Paul gives the specifics of the problem.

(4) “For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?”

If you would actually divide based on who your favorite preacher is,

And how you want to do church,

What else can be deduced but that what really have here is not a Church sanctuary, but a church nursery?

The Condition of Immaturity

#2 THE CURE FOR IMMATURITY

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Now these five verses do say various truths,

And truths that are important,

But the cure for immaturity is seen by pulling the main theme from them.

Throughout these 5 verses Paul continually does the same thing.

He minimizes human importance (namely himself)

And emphasizes Godly importance.

(5) “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul?”

Who are they to be esteemed or followed?

“Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.”

Yes you were saved under our preaching, but it was not because of us.

We were mere vessels that God used to save you,

And that only occurred because God first gave us an opportunity.

The focus should not be on us, but on God.

(6) “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”

Of the two jobs that Paul and Apollos did, neither was the miracle.

Everything miraculous that occurred in your midst was the work of God.

Jesus gave a similar parable.

Mark 4:26-29 “And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he himself does not know. "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. "But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

While farmers work hard, the miracle of the crop

Is reserved to the hand of God.

(7) “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

And there is the verse that every preacher ought to have on his wall.

In the great scheme of things, I’m not really anything,

And I can’t really accomplish anything.

It all depends upon God.

I once heard a preacher say, “The donkey that carried Jesus during the triumphal entry knew the applause was not for him.”

It is God who deserves the praise.

(8) “Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

In other words, yes we are being used by God,

And yes it is ok to appreciate what we do.

But our reward, our praise, does not come from you.

(9) “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

All we are is servants of God, working his field.

You shouldn’t follow us.

“you are God’s field, God’s building.”

You need to know that it is not us,

But God who is trying to work in your lives.

DO YOU REALIZE THAT CHURCH?

God has a plan for your life…

God has expectations for your life…

God desires for you to be usable…

God was not just trying to get you saved,

And then move on to someone else.

God planted the seed, and He expects you to grow.

God expects for you to grow, and then to bring forth fruit.

Remember the vineyard?

Isaiah 5:1-6 “Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. "I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it."

WE MUST REALIZE THAT GOD WANTS FRUIT FROM OUR LIVES.

THIS IS THE CURE FOR IMMATURITY

You have to come to a place where you realize

It is not ok for you sit in diapers, drinking milk,

And fighting to get your own way all the time.

You must look past yourself, and look to God’s will for your life.

You have to be more concerned with what God wants from you

Then with what you want for yourself.

AS LONG AS YOU ARE A BABY…

You are UNDERDEVELOPED,

You are UNDERPREPARED,

You are UNUSEFUL to God.

That has to change.

In closing, turn with me to a great passage of Scripture.

TURN TO: 2 PETER 1:5-11

This is the Christian growth chart.

Every time we take one of our kids to the pediatrician he looks at his age,

And then tells us where he ought to be in his development.

At 12 months he ought to weigh so much…

At 12 months he ought to be so long…

At 12 months he ought to be exhibiting certain motor skills…

At 12 months he ought to be saying X number of words…

We use the chart to help us know if our child is growing up properly.

GOD HAS ONE FOR YOU, IT IS FOUND IN 2 PETER 1:5-11

(EXPOUND ON THAT PASSAGE)

Tonight I just want to ask you if you are growing up into the Christian that is useful to God, or if you are still stuck on the bottle?

Tonight I want to challenge you to take that chart Peter gave us,

And use it to measure your life.

Faith – Moral Excellence – Knowledge – Self-Control – Perseverance – Godliness – Brotherly Kindness – Love

Where are you, and what is your next step?

If you can honestly say you have grown into a mature Christian,

Then make sure that these qualities “are increasing” in your life.

But tonight I want to challenge you to but the baby aside

And determine to grow into a mature and useful Christian.

2 Peter 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”