Growth in God - 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Most of us have heard all the Bible stories, and our children are currently learning them. But has there been a change in your life and your walk with God that transitioned from hearing the facts to understanding and applying the truth and doctrine of our Lord?

Are you progressing beyond spiritual milk and growing in your walk with God? If not, what is holding you back?

____________________
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
¹ But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ 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? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
_______________________

Paul tells us that our spiritual maturity requires a balanced diet. The Corinthians knew the message that Paul taught. But what he sees now is that they have not matured. As new believers, we require milk because we haven’t developed our ‘spiritual teeth’ to bite into more substance. If you view it like Sunday school, we are teaching the youngest ones overall concepts, but as the age progresses, the topics remain the same, but the discussion gets deeper with more substance. Our children know the Bible stories and facts, but what are we doing to progress them, and ourselves, to understanding Biblical doctrine and truth?

Paul addresses the Corinthians as people of the ‘flesh.’ They act like they have not changed from their worldly and are still infants in Christ. He says that they were not ready. Is this true in our lives? Are we not spiritually ready to handle more substance of God in our lives? Are we acting similarly to the church of Corinth today? Do we put on our Sunday face and attitude but return to our fleshly ways during the week? If this is true, how can you make that change so that you start growing spiritually? The answer is God’s Word. A sign of maturity is the practical application of God’s word, and the result is portrayed through our actions. Mature Christians tend to use the gifts that God has given to grow and build the church instead of ‘showing off.’

Within the church, we have all seen great pastors, preachers, and teachers. We reference these people all the time, but Paul says that these individuals are just human. Paul addressed the bickering on We shouldn’t get hung up and ‘my pastor does this’ or ‘my pastor is a dynamic speaker,’ but we need to ask ourselves whether our pastor is teaching the Word of God, the truth. Yes, a good pastor is the shepherd of the congregation, being led and called by God. They should provide some ‘milk’ to those who are new believers but also a little bit of meat for the more mature Christians. It is our duty as mature Christians to help raise the baby Christians in the church. It takes a family to raise new children, and the church is no different.

As Christians, we are all on a spectrum of spiritual maturity. We are not perfect, and sometimes we stumble. As mature Christians, sometimes we get sick and require some soup that is easier to go down while God strengthens us. But we are a family in the body of Christ, and we should be uplifting and build each other instead of being divisive. I encourage all of us to expand our spiritual maturity by gaining a deeper understanding of God’s Word. It all starts with a desire in our hearts to learn more. Are you hungry for more of God, or are you content with where you currently are in your walk with God? When it comes to knowing God, we should always have the desire to know more about Him, but we also must apply what we learn and live as a witness. Let the byproduct of your walk be uplifting and edifying to Christ.