A baby is a little person
who is amused by anything, which is why they often have more fun with
the box than the toy that was inside of it. A baby will put anything
it finds lying on the ground into its mouth. And as babies get older
they will throw a temper tantrum when they don't get their way.
If you think about it, there's not much difference between a baby and
some Christians. There are some Christians who love to play around with
whatever the latest spiritual fad that is making its way through the
church. They will feed themselves on anything except the word of God.
And they are often prone to throwing a temper tantrum when they don't
get their own way. While babies are cute, there is nothing more pathetic
then an adult that behaves like a baby! How would you react if one of
your co-workers showed up for work with a pacifier in their mouth and
their favorite stuffed animal underneath their arm! You would think
that person has lost their mind! But even more ridiculous, Paul says,
are mature Christians who are still behaving like a baby-v. 1
Notice that Paul once again addresses the Corinthians by the term "Brothers."
He did this also in ch. 1 before he started to chew them out for the
problems he heard was going on in the church. In this section, Paul
uses this term to let us know that is not saying that these people are
not saved. It's just that they're not living like an adult Christian
ought to be living! He calls them brothers because he wants to show
them grace & affection before he comes and rebukes them with some of
the strongest language in the New Testament. He wants them to realize
that his strong words of rebuke are coming from a heart that has strong
affection towards them.
Let me say before I go on any further that I hope you know that whenever
I preach a sermon that may seem like a rebuke for you not living right,
or not doing all you should be doing for God's kingdom, that the words
come from a heart of a shepherd who has a great love for the sheep God
has given me to tend & feed. I hope you know that I want God's best
for you. I hope you know that I want you to enter into the fullness
of the joy of the Lord. And I hope you know that I want you to become
mature believers by growing in the grace & knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. I want all of these things because that is what God wants for
you.
Also in v. 1 Paul says he wishes they were spiritual. Let me again explain
who Paul is referring to as a spiritual Christian. This is not a person
who prays or reads the Bible more than you & I do. It is not a person
who has unbelievable spiritual insights into the complexities of theology.
Paul is simply talking about Christians who believe that the Holy Spirit
lives in their lives because they have made Jesus Christ their lord.
Spiritual Christians are those who allow the presence of the Spirit
to give them the power to walk in victory as they follow after Jesus.
It is important for us to realize that Paul is not condemning someone
who has just been born again. When Paul established this church he didn't
expect the new converts to behave like mature Christians. Instead, he
expected them as to act like babes in Christ. He knew that they would
still struggle with the things of this world because they hadn't yet
adopted an entirely Christian worldview. Therefore, Paul didn't try
share the deep things of God with them-v. 2(a). Paul started these baby
Christians on milk instead of solid food. Again there's nothing wrong
with that. No one would feed a baby a steak, because he's incapable
of chewing or digesting it. I want you to know that from God's perspective,
it's quite appropriate for someone who has just been born again to start
off on spiritual milk. He revealed this to us when he said through Peter
that: "You, like newborn babes, should long for the pure milk of the
word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (1
Peter 2:2).
However, God doesn't expect us to stay on milk for the rest of our lives.
He expresses his concern about not growing into maturity through the
author of the book of Hebrews. The author was talking about a very deep
subject of Jesus being a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Something
that's hard, but not impossible to understand. But some weren't grasping
it because they had not yet reached the level of maturity that was required
to grasp what he was talking about. But God wasn't happy about this,
because they should have had the ability to grasp this truth.
This is what God said through the author of Hebrews: "We have much to
say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone
to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You
need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still as
infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But
solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves
to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary
teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation
of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction
about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead,
and eternal judgment." (Hebrews
5:11-6:3)
From this passage we see that spiritual milk is the elementary truths
of the faith. But spiritual meat gives us the ability to discern what
is good and what is evil. God is not scolding those who were just born
again. Just those had been saved for a while.
Let me remind you again that there is nothing wrong with being an immature
Christian, if you've just been born again. But it is not okay to still
be immature if you have been walking with the Lord for some time. This
was the problem at Corinth, for notice how Paul's tone turns from affection
to criticism-v. 2(b).
When a baby is born, we expect that baby to act like a baby. We love
to watch a baby sucking on its thumb. We don't even mind cleaning them
up when it poops in its diaper. But what would you think if you saw
an adult sucking their thumb? Or worse, having to clean up after an
adult pooped in their pants. That would be gross, wouldn't it?
The same is true when you were first born again. We expect you to still
have struggles with the sins you had before you got saved. We know that
you aren't going to fully understand what it means to walk by faith.
And we don't even mind cleaning up the messes you make. Paul isn't badmouthing
those who really are babes in Christ. What got Paul so upset was that
these Christians should be acting like an adult, a mature believer,
by now! It is important to understand that what made Paul so mad was
that this stunted growth was voluntary.
They were choosing not to grow in maturity. They were choosing to stay
on milk instead of eating the meat of God's word! And although it takes
years to physically grow from being a baby into an adult, the spiritual
growth process is not as long as our biological growth process.
It has been somewhere between 3 to 5 years since Paul led these people
to Christ, and by now he expects them to be acting like spiritual adults,
not like carnal babies. He expected that by now they would have broken
out of their sinful patterns and started to walk faithfully with the
Lord. This is to be the norm for Christians, rather than the exception.
Sadly, the truth of the matter is, "The church is overstuffed with big
babies." (Watchman Nee)
We can see that in our nation today, where the corporate worship of
God is viewed as an option for far too many Christians. In seminary
I studied the fastest growing Presbyterian Church in America. It averaged
about 5,000 people every Sunday. The pastor promises that none of his
sermons will go over 13 minutes. His reason for that is, and I quote,
"The church is on the way to Lake Murray, and I don't want the Sunday
worship service to interfere with people's plans for having fun on Sundays."
So people pull up with their bass & ski boats behind their cars. They
come in for a quick spiritual fix. Then they're on the way to have fun
at the lake.
This really bothers, not because I equate length of a sermon or a worship
service with spirituality. But it bothers me people are now trying to
fit the worship God into their busy schedule. Instead of fitting their
schedule around the worship of God. It also bothers me because most
of us can watch movies that last anywhere between 11/2 to 3 hours, without
ever getting bored. But we can't give God equal time 1 day a week. We
can't sit still for 30 to 45 minutes, and listen to God's word being
taught. What is wrong with this picture?
It is very important for you to realize that from God's perspective,
there is not an acceptable category called Carnal Christians. I say
that because some of you may have already decided that you don't want
to become spiritual. Some of you may have this idea that being a carnal,
a baby Christian is okay. Yet Paul wants you to know that if you want
to have a good time by doing worldly things, then you are no different
than those who still belong to Satan-v. 3.
I find it interesting to note that Paul's definition of a person who
is carnal is not the definition most of us would give. Most people would
say that a carnal person is one who doesn't read their Bible on a daily
basis. Or it is one who doesn't attend worship services regularly. Or
it is someone who doesn't pray for at least 1 hour every day. And in
some circles of Christianity, it is men who have hair that comes over
their ears, or past their collars. And it is women who wear pants instead
of dresses to church
The reason we use these kinds of things to define carnality is because
they are easy to control. We want to believe that as long as we are
following a list of do's & don'ts then we are spiritual. We want to
believe that we are good people as long as we read our Bible occasionally,
or we pray before meals & going to bed, or even because we regularly
go to worship services. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying.
I'm not suggesting that we don't take serious the spiritual disciplines
of Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and worship. These are all to be
a major part of our daily lives. Neither am I saying that we ought to
be living sinful lives. For not only is sin harmful to our health, but
it also destroys our witness for Christ. But I am saying if you are
doing all the right things, for the wrong reasons, then you are carnal.
I say that because of the different meanings of the word "carnal/fleshly/worldly"
that appears 4 times in this passage. The Greek word that is used in
verse 1 is different from the words used in vv. 3 & 4. Both come from
the root word for "flesh," but the words have different endings. Which
means that the words have completely different meanings.
The first word means simple "to be made of flesh." In other words, a
baby Christian is one who is trying to deal with the trials & temptations
of life like an unbeliever. Let me read you a cute example of what it
means to deal with life like an unbeliever.
A woman pulls to a red light behind another car. She notices that the
driver of the car is talking on his cell phone, and appears to be shuffling
through some papers on the seat beside him. The light turns green, but
the man doesn't notice the light change, so the woman begins pounding
on her steering wheel, and yelling at the man to move. The man doesn't
move. The woman is going ballistic inside her car, ranting & raving
at the man. The light turns yellow, so the woman blows her car horn
and starts to scream cuss words at the man. The man hearing the commotion,
looks up, and sees the yellow light, and accelerates through the intersection
just as the light turns red. The woman is beside herself as she misses
her chance to get through the intersection. Then she hears a tap on
her window, and looks up into the barrel of a gun held by a very serious
looking policeman. The policeman tells her to shut off her car, and
get out of the car keeping both hands in sight. The woman gets out of
the car, and the policeman quickly cuffs her and takes her jail. After
a couple of hours she is escorted back to the booking desk, where the
arresting officer is waiting. He says to her, "I'm sorry for the mistake,
but when I pulled behind your car, you were blowing your horn, and cussing
a blue steak at the man in the car in front of you. I noticed the "Choose
life" license plate holder, the "Follow me to Sunday School" bumper
sticker, and the fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally I assumed you
had stolen the car."
The other word means to be "controlled by the flesh." And it has a couple
of nuances that help us to understand what it means to be carnal. One
of the meanings is to live independently from the power of God's Spirit.
Carnal Christians are those who only trust God for the big things in
life, like salvation. But they don't trust God with the little things
of life, like finances. Carnal Christians only come to God when they're
in trouble. They treat him like he is their maid, who is suppose to
come and clean up the mess we've made in our lives. The rest of the
time they want him to stay out of sight & out of mind. Carnal Christians
ask for forgiveness only when they've been caught in some sin and they
don't want God to punish them. Carnal Christians only obey God when
they want to earn his favor. As long as you only to try to please God
so he will perform for you, you are a carnal Christian.
The other meaning of the word means to live outside of the law. A carnal
Christian is one who consistently gives in to the propensities of the
flesh to sin. It is someone who is letting sin dominate their life,
instead of God's Spirit, who will lead us into holiness.
When we were born physically, we inherited from Adam the tendency to
sin. And when we were born again, God gave us a new spirit, and he broke
the power of sin over our lives. But our desire towards evil was not
annihilated. It still remains in us, in the region that Paul calls the
flesh. However, we have been given the power, through indwelling presence
of the Holy Spirit, to say no to sin. But a carnal Christian doesn't
even try to say no. Every time the Adamic nature raises its ugly head,
a carnal Christian will give into it. There is no victory over sin in
their lives only because they are choosing to walk in defeat.
Paul gives us some concrete examples of what he's talking about in the
last part of v. 3. You can generally tell what a person's relationship
with God is like by looking at his/her relationships with fellow believers.
Christians who are always at odds with other Christians, do so because
they are being lead by their flesh.
Jealousy and quarreling were normal for us when we were growing up.
If you grew up with other brothers & sisters you know all about sibling
rivalry. Remember those Christmases when your brother/sister got more
presents than you did, or if what they got was a little bit nicer than
what you got? Didn't you say to your parents, "That's not fair!"?
And we don't out grow this tendency. Have you ever gotten jealous because
one of your co-workers got a promotion and you didn't? There is even
jealousy in the church. Some people get jealous because God has given
certain gifts & talents to others that they wished they had.
And the shepherds of the flock are just as guilty of being jealous as
the sheep are. I get jealous every time I hear about a church that is
growing by leaps & bounds and they aren't following the pattern of the
church God set up in the 2nd chapter of Acts. And trust me, I tell God
exactly how I feel about this.
Back in the times when you told God that if he'll keep me humble, you'll
keep me poor, I used to get very jealous every time one of you went
on a vacation, or bought a new car. There are times I get jealous because
I can't stay home on Sunday morning and sleep in late. At times I also
get jealous when I hear you talk about how much you were blessed by
what Charles Stanley, or James Dobson said. I don't get jealous because
I'm afraid that you might think they are smarter then me, which they
are. I get jealous because you will make you sure you listen to them
everyday of the week. And yet you will stay at home for any reason instead
of coming to listen to a sermon that I've spent all week long preparing
just for you.
I know that it's wrong for me to feel this way. But I also want you
to know that I too struggle with the same issues of sin that you do.
The reason I share my struggles with you is because I never want any
you to put me up on some kind of spiritual pedestal. The reason why
so many pastors crash morally, burn out, and drop out of the ministry,
is because too many of their parishioners worship them instead of God.
Yet, when they preach a bad sermon, or they fail to speak to you on
Sunday morning, or God forbid, they forget to visit you in the hospital,
you crucify them. We do this because it is a childish tendency we bring
into our adulthood.
When we were growing up, our parents were either the best parents in
the world or they were the worst in the world. When our parents bought
us something, we would say to them, "I love you!" And then we'd hug
and kiss them. But the moment they disciplined us, they became the worst
parents in the world. And we would say those words every parent dreads
to hear: "I hate you! I wish I had never been born into this family!"
One moment they were our heroes, the next moment they were our arch
enemies!
That's exactly what was going on in the church at Corinth-v. 4. Paul
was the one who started this church. And at first everyone loved him.
He was their spiritual superstar, despite the fact that he was a simple
preacher. We've already learned that he didn't use the public speaking
skills of the philosophers of the day to wow his audience. Neither was
he a very physically attractive man.
All Paul was, was a man who was filled with the presence of the Spirit.
And through the Spirit's power, God used him powerfully to bring the
message of the gospel to the people at Corinth. And many people responded
and were saved & delivered out of all kinds of sins.
Then the Lord took Paul to other regions. You see, Paul's calling was
to preach the gospel, not to pastor a church. Paul was more of an OBGYN
than he was a Pediatrician. His calling was more to bring new Christians
into the world then it was to help them mature in the faith.
But then God brought them a man who had different gifts. A very eloquent
speaker named Appollos. Appollos was such a gifted preacher that he
could hold his audience's attention for hours. Nobody ever fell asleep
when Appollos preached. Nobody stayed home when Appollos preached. And
God used Appollos to teach the Corinthians the great truths of the faith.
At the time Paul wrote this letter, the church had become divided. Some
were still showing allegiance to Paul. They liked the simplicity of
Paul's teaching. Some were showing allegiance to Appollos. They liked
to listen to well put together and well presented sermons.
So in v. 4 we can almost see Paul shaking his head, telling the people
that they've got it all wrong. He doesn't want them to be worshiping
a preacher. Paul knows that God doesn't want us to have our eyes upon
a man instead of upon Him. The sad part about carnality is that it will
eventually demolish a church family. And this is what was going on in
the church at Corinth. The church of Corinth was being destroyed because
it was filled with carnal people who were arguing over who's the best
preacher.
In these first 4 verses Paul has been describing the ugliness of carnality
and how it manifests itself through jealousy, strife, and following
after a man instead of God. Problems that were about to destroy the
unity of the church family, and about to destroy the church's witness
to her community. Even today, people don't want anything to do with
the church because of all the problems she has. But I want you to know
that the problems that were going on in Corinth were also problems that
were going on in most of the other churches in the 1st century. But
this didn't cause Paul to give up on the concept of the church.
Paul was a hopeless optimist about the church because he knew that God
can do great things through a group of really messed up people who are
just like us. The good news we see from this letter is despite the fact
that the early church had the same major problems that the church today
has, it didn't destroy the organism of the body of Christ. It's been
over 1900 yrs. since Paul wrote about the problems all the churches
of his day were experiencing, and yet the church is still the most powerful
witnessing tool of all. She is still a light to the dark world in which
she lives. And her saltiness is still holding evil in check.
Instead of closing with a prayer, I want you to close your eyes as I
read what Paul previously wrote to the most carnal Christians in the
world. As I am reading, let the Holy Spirit encourage you not to give
up on the concept of the church, or in case you're still struggling
with carnality, not to give up on yourself: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9.
RETURN
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