Sign of Immaturity

They are not acting spiritual (being guided by the Holy Spirit or God’s wisdom) in a particular matter that he must address further (because he already mentioned it 1 Corinthians 1:10–12).

What is the Corinthians’ Problem? (vv. 1-4)

1 Corinthians 3:1 ESV

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

“Spiritual” and “flesh” are contrasted.

“Spiritual” are those who have the Spirit (2:12-16).

Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

Galatians 3:2–3 “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Titus 3:5–7 “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

So, they do have the Spirit. They are by definition, spiritual. Paul will even later address their spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

If they were not believers, then why correct them. Late we will say they are God’s field/building (v. 9). Plus, Paul anticipates teaching them more, as believers. He wants them to grow, not believe.

“Flesh” - “pertaining to being material or belonging to the physical realm...human” (BDAG) - NOT spiritual

Romans 7:14 “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.”

The Corinthians may have thought that they were spiritual, and in one sense they were. But, they were also in a sense fleshy, or thinking and acting as mere humans.

They are believers (“in Christ”), but there are 2 natures at war within believers.

Ephesians 4:22–24 “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Galatians 5:17 “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The Corinthians were acting independent of the Holy Spirit not dependent on the Holy Spirit. So this is how Paul must address them.

So, they are “brothers” but “of the flesh.” They are “infants” but “in Christ.”

What does he mean that they are “infants”? He explains in the next verse.

1 Corinthians 3:2 ESV

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

“Fed” coincides with “address” (v. 1), which means to speak - teaching.

They are not ready to move on to the next teachings, like an infant moving on to the next food that is to be introduced. It is figurative language/metaphor (a picture that must not be pressed too far). The difference between “milk” and “solid food” is like the difference between initial teaching and additional teaching. It is a growth metaphor.

Hebrews 5:12–14 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 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.”

But Paul’s additional teaching is most often deeper thinking on and application of gospel truth. It’s not radically different or new information, but deeper implications and applications of the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ. Paul wasn’t going to give them something above and beyond scripture. He didn’t want them to know more than other Christians, like some highly or more impressive knowledge.

Paul had just begun to teach then when he was with them, like a baby’s first food. It was right in that time. The reports he has heard since having left (1 Corinthians 1:11), suggests that they are still not ready to move on from that, though they should be. They have not grown in the way that they could/should have. He taught them what they first needed when he was there, he now wants to give them more, but he must first deal with some immature/unspiritual thinking that

He has to deal with their fleshly thinking before he can give them more to spiritually think on. In fact, in this letter Paul WILL move on to more truth and the deeper implications and applications of truth. He IS going to give them solid food. His language is a sort of slap in the face or wake-up call to their dramatically wrong/immature thinking (they may have thought they were something special).

How does he know their thinking is primarily fleshly? What is the evidence of their fleshly thinking? Next 2 verses.

1 Corinthians 3:3–4 ESV

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? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

Jealousy (selfish/prideful zeal/envy) is the internal motive (v. 3).

Strife (quarreling/contention) is the external action (v. 3).

The division over leadership is the outlet/expression (v. 4)

1 Corinthians 1:10–12 “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.””.

They were thinking of their leaders and their following of those leaders in a purely human/earthly/fleshly way.

It was man-centered thinking (“human” - ἄνθρωπος - man/mankind).

An incorrect perspective of other people such as leaders contributes to an incorrect perspective of one’s self. If I can think of leaders as better than others, then I can think of myself as better than others.

So, Paul then tells them what their perspective should be.

What is the Correct Perspective? (vv. 5-9)

1 Corinthians 3:5 ESV

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

What is the correct perspective of these human leaders? They are nothing more than servants - someone who works for/lives for someone else.

They were servants for the Corinthians, and for the Lord.

“Assigned” - give. The means by which the Corinthian believers came to faith in Christ (i.e. the preaching of Apollos, Paul, and others) was a gift from God to them personally.

Then Paul illustrates...

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 ESV

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Paul uses a metaphor of something humble and even possibly despised in their Greek culture (i.e. farming).

Planting and watering are really not that impressive. Anyone can do them.

What’s impressive is what God does with the planting and watering. He grows the crop.

Think of what is truly impressive here, and therefore WHO is really impressive.

God is the One who should stand out here. All the servants are in essence the same. See the next verse...

1 Corinthians 3:8 ESV

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

“One” - in contrast to more than one, not different parts but one, not different but the same.

“Wages” - reward, recompense, result of labor.

So there are differences in the labor and the results. One will labor in this or that way and see result in that way. Another will labor in this or that place and will see results in that place. Another will labor to these or those people and will see results in those people.

But the result (wage, reward) is always due to God. One labor for apples and enjoys apples, but God gives the apple. Another labors for corn and enjoys corn, but God gives the corn.

Same is true of God’s servants and the benefactors of that service. Notice the our final verse...

1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

So Paul has acknowledged the differences, but makes emphasis here of the ONE Who is behind it all - God.

“Fellow workers” - co-laborers - the same in labor.

“Field” - the same product of God.

And though there be many fields, all together it’s basically one building built by One Person - God Himself.

So, only one person deserves to be exalted - God.

This is the spiritual perspective that a spiritual person should have.

This perspective (vv. 5-9) is a solution:

This is a humbling perspective - solution for their arrogance and ours.

This is a unifying perspective - solution for their divisiveness and ours.

Grow Up

Spiritual maturity is directly related to your perspective of people and circumstances.

To see past the earthly to the spiritual...to see past what people are doing to what God is doing “behind the scenes”... that is spiritual maturity.

We need the constant reminders of God’s ways and God’s work in all things.

We need to constantly adjust our view - spiritual/unspiritual, reverence for God/reverence for mankind, heavenly/earthly, eternal/temporal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”