Grow Up!
-3-
We expect babies to grow up. But there is a difference between aging and growing up. Aging is automatic. Growing up is a learning experience.
Little children … babies … are expected to behave in a way that we would call 'normal' for their age and ability.
If they continue to behave in a way that would be totally unacceptable after aging for a few years, we get concerned. The child is aging … but not growing up. It is at that point we could expect a parent to say to the child, Grow up!
For a baby to 'mess' in his diaper is acceptable (not desirable). For an older child to do the same thing is not acceptable. To tell a baby to 'grow up!' is a waste of breath. To tell someone who is 'acting like a baby' to grow up … makes more sense.
In the section of First Corinthians that we are studying, we are discovering the meaning of spiritual growth, or lack of it. We will see that new believers are considered 'baby Christians'. We will discover what is normal behavior for a baby Christian and we will discover that baby Christians are expected to grow up, and we will discover that some older Christians need to “Grow up!”
Spiritual immaturity can result in poor behaviour. Immaturity is expected for new disciples. New disciples can be expected to make some very poor choices and say things that are not 'christian'. When older Christians are making poor choices and saying things that are not 'Christian', what do we do?
Denominational divisions, in this case, the grouping of churches based on who is their favorite preacher, is childish behavior. It is the result of spiritual immaturity.
To help the Corinthian Christians to get over this division, Paul has to tune up their understanding regarding the importance or non-importance of a particular preacher.
He begins chapter 2 by removing the belief that the style of preaching and sermon delivery is important, and that it really carries no weight at all. How much weight do you place on how well the pastor speaks? His style. His use of an educated vocabulary? His wealth of personal experience?
So in this section, verses 1-16, Paul is comparing preaching which that is based entirely upon 'the power of God' with the type that is 'the power of convincing speech' (1-5)
The 'power of God' that Paul is referring to includes the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, specifically works with the 'word of God', the Bible. In Paul's case the word of God took on two sources.
The first source of the Power of God for Paul included the available Bible of the time, the Old Testament. This was the 'written word of God' up to that point. We read this in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
And it is a tool of the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 6:17 And take …. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Therefor, in Paul's day, the old Testament was the Sword of the Spirit and as he preached the word, it had a powerful effect, because it is God's living word.
But Paul also had another source of 'God's Power', and that is this; God spoke directly to him at times. This is called the 'Gift of prophecy' and Paul apparently had this gift. We will expand our information regarding this and other gifts in chapters 12-14.
So any 'new Testament' truth that Paul would need in his teaching and preaching came directly from God through the Holy Spirit1.
But what Paul is emphasizing here, is that his power was all from God and not from an earthly university training. Is Paul criticizing the preaching of Apollos here? It certainly seems so. Are the 'Paul Followers' denomination in the right? Not really, because divisiveness and pride are still an issue, regardless of how 'right' a person is.
In verse 6 Paul states that his preaching did have an element of wisdom, but the 'wisdom' that was contained in his preaching was only understood by born again believers. (read to verse 14). Paul is not necessarily saying that Apollos preached entirely with Man's Wisdom. But he seems to imply that some of it was.
How can you tell if you are listening to teachings that are accurate? Are the teachings the result of a 'smart mind' or are they from God? The answer is in verses 15 and 16 . He is saying, A spiritually tuned-up mind will be able to distinguish between the two.
In Chapter 3 we come to the 'Grow-up!' part of our study. (Read 1-4)
Paul is now referring to the past, he is referring to the days, months and years that he spent with the new church when he was there in Corinth. He said, “At that time you were all baby Christians”. And so he did the appropriate thing, he gave them milk. That's all they were able to take. Nothing wrong with that.
Then he says … “But you still cannot take solid food.” There IS something wrong with that.
Paul introduces us to another term for 'growing up'. Up to now we are comparing two thoughts, mature versus immature.
Now he is comparing Spiritual with Carnal. The word carnal literally comes from the word 'flesh'. (The Spanish use a similar word 'Chile con Carne.' it means Chile with meat.)
But the way we are to understand it is to contrast truth and behavior that comes from our understanding of God's Word … or behavior that is based on human natural instincts.
Envying, strife and divisions are 'normal' to a mind who has been trained to think … 'It's all about me'.
The desire to be a part of a group that is better then the other group ...simply because of which preacher that group extols (praises or 'lifts up') is basic human nature, and it can be expected in a baby Christian.
Paul gives the bottom line of what the difference is between him and Apollos. Who pointed you to Christ in the first place … was it me or what it Apollos? Does it matter? No.
Then Paul adds some very important truth … God places preachers is churches. Their function with a church is unique. Each pastor, in his turn, has an important part to play in the overall growth of that church.
He goes on to say, we worked together … 5-8
“I came first … I did the planting. Apollos came along … and he watered the seeds”. So which one of the workers produced the new Christians that became the church? Neither one. God did it. - to verse 9
From sower and waterer, Paul changes his terms and now talks about builders. A building has a foundation. And it has a structure. (The church is not a building, but he is using a building to illustrate a point.)
He adds, “I laid the foundation and Apollos built on it. Verse 10. But builders need to be careful in how they build and their choice of building material”.
Paul says, the foundation I laid when I was there … was Jesus, plain and simple. He had said in chapter 2 and verse 2, For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
As Paul continues his building analogy he says there are two classes of building material that a pastor can use when he is building the congregation … material that is combustible or material that is not. He is not saying that Apollos built with bad material … but he is saying … any preacher needs to be very careful that what he is sharing comes from God and not from some other 'wise' earthly source.
He says any material that we used (preached) that was not from God will burn up in the end. Suppose a preacher spent his whole ministry sharing things that were deemed smart and wise by human standards … Paul says it will all go up in smoke. The church, the people who were taught all these worldly wise 'truths' will only have salvation when it comes to the final judgment. Only? Salvation is wonderful … but God wants believers to 'grow'. Salvation, with a burnt structure can mean that a person was still a baby Christian and remains a believer right up to the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment is to be a time of awards or rewards. The baby Christian (that did not try to, or want to grow) will end up disappointed.
The builder himself will be embarrassed and suffer 'loss' as well.
If a builder uses combustible material … and as such creates a substandard 'building' … he is doing something very serious in God's eyes; he is literally defiling the temple of God. (16-17)
What temple? Does Paul mean that each of us, our bodies, is a temple of God? That may be taught elsewhere in scripture, but that is not what he is saying here. In this context he is saying that the 'collective church' made up of all of the people, is the temple. So if any pastor 'destroys' the temple, the church, by using fancy human teaching and concepts, he is destroying God's temple and God will destroy that preacher.
Again Paul compares God's wisdom with that of the world and urges us to 'turn around' in our thinking.
Baby Christians sometimes boast a lot. Sometimes their 'boast' is their choice of which 'preacher' they like follow. Chapter 3:21 … Don't boast that you have 'the best ' preacher.
And then in a little reverse twist … he puts it this way
Why limit yourself to only one preacher … you would be better off to say that they are all yours. (21-23)
Preachers and teachers … they are all yours. The world you live in … is yours to experience. Living a healthy life … and then dying, the present and future … are things that are yours. But they are not only yours. So don't boast. We all have them. Therefore grow up, quit trying to be better than someone else and start rejoicing in what others have.
Chapter 4:1-7
Preachers are servants of God. The main requirement if faithfulness. Staying true and sharing what God called them to share. Making plain the 'mysteries of God'.
By picking Apollos over Paul, those people were making a judgment. Their action is saying, Apollos is a faithful minister, Paul is not. So Paul says … “Your judgment of me means nothing. I don't even judge me. And suppose I do judge myself … I take an honest inward, heart-searching look … and find nothing wrong. But guess what, that doesn't prove anything. It is God who judges me. He is the only one that can judge.”
“So, Grow up! And quit making judgments about who you think is the man of God. Leave that up to God. It will all come out into the open then. Quit your boasting! Grow up!”
Taking sides over preachers, tv evangelists, or our own pastors may not be an issue at all in our local situation. So what can we take home from Paul's whole lecture on favoring one preacher and thereby putting another?
We discover that pride applied to who we are, what we have accomplished, who we can influence, what we have, what we have done and experienced in the past, is described as being 'puffed up'. It takes the credit away from the One to Whom it is due … God Himself.
We need to take a new look at who we are. Who we were, and who has made us what we will become.
Titus 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared,
5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
1 Today we believe the written New Testament is also the Word of God. (2 Peter 1:21)
Little children … babies … are expected to behave in a way that we would call 'normal' for their age and ability.
If they continue to behave in a way that would be totally unacceptable after aging for a few years, we get concerned. The child is aging … but not growing up. It is at that point we could expect a parent to say to the child, Grow up!
For a baby to 'mess' in his diaper is acceptable (not desirable). For an older child to do the same thing is not acceptable. To tell a baby to 'grow up!' is a waste of breath. To tell someone who is 'acting like a baby' to grow up … makes more sense.
In the section of First Corinthians that we are studying, we are discovering the meaning of spiritual growth, or lack of it. We will see that new believers are considered 'baby Christians'. We will discover what is normal behavior for a baby Christian and we will discover that baby Christians are expected to grow up, and we will discover that some older Christians need to “Grow up!”
Spiritual immaturity can result in poor behaviour. Immaturity is expected for new disciples. New disciples can be expected to make some very poor choices and say things that are not 'christian'. When older Christians are making poor choices and saying things that are not 'Christian', what do we do?
Denominational divisions, in this case, the grouping of churches based on who is their favorite preacher, is childish behavior. It is the result of spiritual immaturity.
To help the Corinthian Christians to get over this division, Paul has to tune up their understanding regarding the importance or non-importance of a particular preacher.
He begins chapter 2 by removing the belief that the style of preaching and sermon delivery is important, and that it really carries no weight at all. How much weight do you place on how well the pastor speaks? His style. His use of an educated vocabulary? His wealth of personal experience?
So in this section, verses 1-16, Paul is comparing preaching which that is based entirely upon 'the power of God' with the type that is 'the power of convincing speech' (1-5)
The 'power of God' that Paul is referring to includes the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, specifically works with the 'word of God', the Bible. In Paul's case the word of God took on two sources.
The first source of the Power of God for Paul included the available Bible of the time, the Old Testament. This was the 'written word of God' up to that point. We read this in Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
And it is a tool of the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 6:17 And take …. the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Therefor, in Paul's day, the old Testament was the Sword of the Spirit and as he preached the word, it had a powerful effect, because it is God's living word.
But Paul also had another source of 'God's Power', and that is this; God spoke directly to him at times. This is called the 'Gift of prophecy' and Paul apparently had this gift. We will expand our information regarding this and other gifts in chapters 12-14.
So any 'new Testament' truth that Paul would need in his teaching and preaching came directly from God through the Holy Spirit1.
But what Paul is emphasizing here, is that his power was all from God and not from an earthly university training. Is Paul criticizing the preaching of Apollos here? It certainly seems so. Are the 'Paul Followers' denomination in the right? Not really, because divisiveness and pride are still an issue, regardless of how 'right' a person is.
In verse 6 Paul states that his preaching did have an element of wisdom, but the 'wisdom' that was contained in his preaching was only understood by born again believers. (read to verse 14). Paul is not necessarily saying that Apollos preached entirely with Man's Wisdom. But he seems to imply that some of it was.
How can you tell if you are listening to teachings that are accurate? Are the teachings the result of a 'smart mind' or are they from God? The answer is in verses 15 and 16 . He is saying, A spiritually tuned-up mind will be able to distinguish between the two.
In Chapter 3 we come to the 'Grow-up!' part of our study. (Read 1-4)
Paul is now referring to the past, he is referring to the days, months and years that he spent with the new church when he was there in Corinth. He said, “At that time you were all baby Christians”. And so he did the appropriate thing, he gave them milk. That's all they were able to take. Nothing wrong with that.
Then he says … “But you still cannot take solid food.” There IS something wrong with that.
Paul introduces us to another term for 'growing up'. Up to now we are comparing two thoughts, mature versus immature.
Now he is comparing Spiritual with Carnal. The word carnal literally comes from the word 'flesh'. (The Spanish use a similar word 'Chile con Carne.' it means Chile with meat.)
But the way we are to understand it is to contrast truth and behavior that comes from our understanding of God's Word … or behavior that is based on human natural instincts.
Envying, strife and divisions are 'normal' to a mind who has been trained to think … 'It's all about me'.
The desire to be a part of a group that is better then the other group ...simply because of which preacher that group extols (praises or 'lifts up') is basic human nature, and it can be expected in a baby Christian.
Paul gives the bottom line of what the difference is between him and Apollos. Who pointed you to Christ in the first place … was it me or what it Apollos? Does it matter? No.
Then Paul adds some very important truth … God places preachers is churches. Their function with a church is unique. Each pastor, in his turn, has an important part to play in the overall growth of that church.
He goes on to say, we worked together … 5-8
“I came first … I did the planting. Apollos came along … and he watered the seeds”. So which one of the workers produced the new Christians that became the church? Neither one. God did it. - to verse 9
From sower and waterer, Paul changes his terms and now talks about builders. A building has a foundation. And it has a structure. (The church is not a building, but he is using a building to illustrate a point.)
He adds, “I laid the foundation and Apollos built on it. Verse 10. But builders need to be careful in how they build and their choice of building material”.
Paul says, the foundation I laid when I was there … was Jesus, plain and simple. He had said in chapter 2 and verse 2, For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
As Paul continues his building analogy he says there are two classes of building material that a pastor can use when he is building the congregation … material that is combustible or material that is not. He is not saying that Apollos built with bad material … but he is saying … any preacher needs to be very careful that what he is sharing comes from God and not from some other 'wise' earthly source.
He says any material that we used (preached) that was not from God will burn up in the end. Suppose a preacher spent his whole ministry sharing things that were deemed smart and wise by human standards … Paul says it will all go up in smoke. The church, the people who were taught all these worldly wise 'truths' will only have salvation when it comes to the final judgment. Only? Salvation is wonderful … but God wants believers to 'grow'. Salvation, with a burnt structure can mean that a person was still a baby Christian and remains a believer right up to the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment is to be a time of awards or rewards. The baby Christian (that did not try to, or want to grow) will end up disappointed.
The builder himself will be embarrassed and suffer 'loss' as well.
If a builder uses combustible material … and as such creates a substandard 'building' … he is doing something very serious in God's eyes; he is literally defiling the temple of God. (16-17)
What temple? Does Paul mean that each of us, our bodies, is a temple of God? That may be taught elsewhere in scripture, but that is not what he is saying here. In this context he is saying that the 'collective church' made up of all of the people, is the temple. So if any pastor 'destroys' the temple, the church, by using fancy human teaching and concepts, he is destroying God's temple and God will destroy that preacher.
Again Paul compares God's wisdom with that of the world and urges us to 'turn around' in our thinking.
Baby Christians sometimes boast a lot. Sometimes their 'boast' is their choice of which 'preacher' they like follow. Chapter 3:21 … Don't boast that you have 'the best ' preacher.
And then in a little reverse twist … he puts it this way
Why limit yourself to only one preacher … you would be better off to say that they are all yours. (21-23)
Preachers and teachers … they are all yours. The world you live in … is yours to experience. Living a healthy life … and then dying, the present and future … are things that are yours. But they are not only yours. So don't boast. We all have them. Therefore grow up, quit trying to be better than someone else and start rejoicing in what others have.
Chapter 4:1-7
Preachers are servants of God. The main requirement if faithfulness. Staying true and sharing what God called them to share. Making plain the 'mysteries of God'.
By picking Apollos over Paul, those people were making a judgment. Their action is saying, Apollos is a faithful minister, Paul is not. So Paul says … “Your judgment of me means nothing. I don't even judge me. And suppose I do judge myself … I take an honest inward, heart-searching look … and find nothing wrong. But guess what, that doesn't prove anything. It is God who judges me. He is the only one that can judge.”
“So, Grow up! And quit making judgments about who you think is the man of God. Leave that up to God. It will all come out into the open then. Quit your boasting! Grow up!”
Taking sides over preachers, tv evangelists, or our own pastors may not be an issue at all in our local situation. So what can we take home from Paul's whole lecture on favoring one preacher and thereby putting another?
We discover that pride applied to who we are, what we have accomplished, who we can influence, what we have, what we have done and experienced in the past, is described as being 'puffed up'. It takes the credit away from the One to Whom it is due … God Himself.
We need to take a new look at who we are. Who we were, and who has made us what we will become.
Titus 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared,
5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
1 Today we believe the written New Testament is also the Word of God. (2 Peter 1:21)