Are You Still A Baby?

1 Cor 3:1-9

Rhyann is at that interesting age of not sure if she is a little girl or a preteen. One day she wants me to carry her to bed and the next day she wants to go get a coke with the teenagers. As mixed up as this time is for her, it is a natural part of growing up. I would be concerned if she was 9 years old and still acting like a 2 year old or something.

What I fail to understand is why we would find it unacceptable for a person to act this way physically, but don’t blink an eye when they act that way spiritually. If we are still acting like we did when we first became a Christian and have been one for several years, we are not where we should be.

If our understanding of scripture is still at the milk stage we need to figure out what we need to do to be growing to more spiritually meaty understanding.

PRAYER

I. Acting Like Babies - READ v.1-3

A. We’re still brothers

1. It’s interesting to note that although Paul is about to come down very hard on them he begins this section by calling them brethren

2. We may not always agree with each other.

a) Some of those disagreements may even be over doctrinal or theological matters.

b) However, no matter what, we are still brothers.

c) We still belong to the same father.

d) In the end we need remember that as we deal with each other.

B. Milk

1. Paul begins this passage talking about them feeding on spiritual milk.

a) What Paul is talking about is dealing with the basics of Christianity.

b) These are good and important issues to be dealt with, so Paul isn’t condemning them for eating spiritual milk.

c) However, just like a baby cannot continue to grow on just plain milk, neither can a Christian continue to grow on spiritual milk.

2. There is another aspect of him referring to spiritual milk

a) simple plain immaturity

b) Paul had established this congregation about 5-6 year previously to writing this letter.

c) He ministered to the congregation for about 18 months before moving on to Ephesus for 3 years.

d) He knew many of these people very well.

e) He imparted spiritual gifts on many of them.

f) Between his work and God’s gifts, the spiritual maturity of this congregation should have been much more accelerated than what it appears to be.

3. Modern Christians overlook spiritual immaturity

a) We seem to be too willing to overlook people’s immaturity.

b) It doesn’t seem too bad to throw temper tantrums.

c) It doesn’t seem too bad have minimal understanding of the scripture.

d) It doesn’t seem too bad to act like a child.

4. Paul tells this church that type of attitude is totally unacceptable!

C. Worldly behavior

1. In fact he calls this immature behavior worldly and carnal

2. Those are tough words to use.

3. It could be expected of new Christians. We all need time to grow.

4. But by this time, it was a disgrace that they were still babies in Christ.

5. What were they doing?

a) Jealousy and quarrelling

b) Want to see a miserable church? To one that is fighting.

c) Want to see a dying church? Go to one that is fighting.

d) In an old monastery in Babenhausen, Germany, you can see 2 pairs of deer antlers interlocked. There were found by someone many years ago and the story was told all over the land to show an important point. Two bucks had gotten into a territorial fight common to animals. What makes this story unique is that they couldn’t separate themselves after the fight and eventually both starved to death.

e) I was talking to a new minister in town who just moved here from Texas. He was telling me that the tiny town of less than 5000 had 5 churches of Christ in it. Not because the town was predominately church of Christ, but because they fought so much that each church had about 25 members in it. My guess is by the next generation, they will have all starved to death.

f) Another town of 18,000 had 10 congregations in it.

(1) 3 mainline

(2) 2 non institutional

(3) 2 no class, one believes in located preacher, one doesn’t

(4) 1 black church

(5) 1 Spanish church

(6) 1 one cup church that believes it is okay for each person to break the communion bread verses 4 other types of one cuppers

(7) 2 of those churches have more than 50 members.

(8) They sure understood Paul’s letter to the Corinthians didn’t they.

6. offer to sell everyone here a penny for $10.

a) why no takers?

b) No different than any one else’s pennies

7. How can a church ever hope to make an impact on the lives of worldly people when we are no different than they are.

II. Growing Up

A. Solid Food

1. We need to move beyond spiritual milk to solid food.

2. We need to be studying deeper Bible understandings as we grow as Christians.

3. We need to act more like God wants us to act as we grow.

4. We need to learn patience with each other

5. We need to learn to treat each other as God would want us to.

6. We need to practice Agape love.

7. If we start doing those things, people will see us as different than the world.

8. Then we have a chance to show them how the gospel can make their lives better.

B. Understand your role

1. Starting in v. 5 Paul talks about how both he and Apollos had 2 different roles, but served the same master

2. We all have different roles in the kingdom

a) My job as the preacher is different than what the elders do.

b) Deacons have a different role from either of us.

c) Teachers, encouragers, everyone here has a different role.

d) We don’t have to be carbon copies of each other.

e) Simple fact is, we all serve the Savior no matter what our role in the kingdom is.

3. We need to understand our role and do it to the best of our abilities so that God may be glorified.