Growing Up

​1 Corinthians 3:1-3 ~ “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 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?”
 
No one expects an infant to be able to devour a sizable steak. There is no means by which a newborn can digest the very complex foods that an adult can tolerate. They need milk, and need much of it in order to grow up and be able to consume the more intricate cuisines. The Apostle Peter would say in 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” However, if a fully grown adult only consumes the basic foods that is meant for the infant, if they have never moved away from the simple forms of food to the more complex and hearty meals, then something has gone wrong in their maturity.
 
And thus it is with our Christian walk. There are those who have been with the LORD Jesus for years and have barely begun to crawl. The Apostle Paul concerned himself with this condition in the church at Corinth and was troubled by their lack of maturity. Consider the first part of our text for today: “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.” What is an immature Christian? It is simply one who still holds on to the disposition of their former life—as people of the flesh. He describes their condition at the end of our text: “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way.” To evaluate your own growth, ask yourself this simple question: is there still jealousy and strife within your heart? In the company of adolescents, there are personality contests that cause great strife. The immature always seeks to find themselves in with the “popular” crowd. All they really know of their Christian life is the basics of their faith, and everything else is merely of their own making. Hebrews 6:1-2 describe the elementary doctrines as this: “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” Every new-born Christian knows the first two elementary doctrines, for salvation is found in them. The remaining are the basics that, once known, need to be built upon—even as a house is built upon a foundation.
 
Beloved, all Christians need to be in a state of continual growth. And though there is no final elevation that we will fully achieve while we walk in this world, the goal is Christ-likeness. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” That’s the target—to be conformed to the image of Christ. Paul told the Philippians that it was his aim to press on to take hold of it, and that the mature will think along these lines (see Philippians 3:13-15). Paul told the Corinthian church that they were not ready for solid food. So, let me ask you a question: are you ready for it? Are you ready to step up from the basics, to move away from milk and begin the growing process toward maturity? We are commanded in 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.” To grow up we must be willing to forsake our childish ways—those behaviors and attitudes that reflect back to our fleshly desires. Paul later told the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Will you give up “childish ways?” This is where maturity begins.
 
It continues with a willingness to personally practice biblical truth. Hebrews 5:13-14 states, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” To become skilled in the Scriptures you need to be trained through constant practice. It is not enough to merely read the word; you must apply it to your life. And in those places where you do not understand, God has established the church with pastors and teachers who will help you (see Ephesians 4:11-16).
 
As an infant grows into adulthood, so, my friends, let us all put behind us those former ways from our adolescent years and strive to the growing up of our lives in Christ.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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