Immaturity Hurts (1 Corinthians 3)

Have you ever watched a group of children playing together? At first, they seem to enjoy each other's company, working together to build sandcastles, dig tunnels, play house, etc.. But suddenly, an argument breaks out over a favorite toy, and the once peaceful scene dissolves into chaos, with hurt feelings and tears. This scenario, familiar to many of us, illustrates how immaturity can lead to conflict and division, even among those who were initially united.

Now, imagine this scene translated to our spiritual lives. What happens when we, as believers, approach our faith with a similar level of immaturity? How does spiritual immaturity impact our relationships within the church, and how can it drive a wedge between us and our fellow believers?

In 1 Corinthians 3, we will delve into the fascinating and often misunderstood topic of spiritual immaturity and its role in causing division within our faith communities. Together, we will uncover the hidden pitfalls of spiritual immaturity and explore the transformative power of growing in our faith, moving toward spiritual maturity, and fostering unity within our church.

"Bunch of Babies"

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 (ESV) — 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 says, "I can't talk to you like adults in Christ. I have to speak as though you are children because you still are." Can you imagine hearing this? After being a Christian for years, imagine a preacher who taught you initially saying, "I still can't talk to you about the more meaty stuff because you haven't moved past the milk." We would balk at a teenager with a steady milk and baby food diet. We would wonder what has gone wrong with them.

Here, Paul says, "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?" It is fascinating that Paul doesn't call them of the flesh and condemn them for sexual immorality or drinking. He condemns them for being jealous and fussing with each other. Only babies have to deal with those issues. Spiritually mature Christians aren't locked into that kind of divisive behavior.

So, here, in the first four verses, we learn that divisiveness happens because we have failed to grow as we should. When we gather together for Bible classes and the Sunday PM sermons, the goal is to go deeper into more complex topics. We need to have an appetite for that. I plan to cover Isaiah in the PM sermons later this year. We are studying Revelation in Bible class. Are you excited about that? Do you enjoy learning about the deep things of God, or are you satisfied with milk? Paul says being satisfied with milk hurts us spiritually as a group.

Who Are We Again?

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 (ESV) — 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Then, Paul explains everything in a very foundational way. He tells them, "Me and Apollos are nobodies. We are servants who plant and water, but God is everything. He provides the increase, and he expects to see you grow." Paul reminds them that they are God's field and God's building. God created them for his glory, not for the glory of Paul or Apollos.

Overall, Paul wants to shift their attitude and perspective from a sense of pride in the wisdom and power of men to awe and amazement in God. He wants them to recognize who they are and their purpose again. They, in their immaturity, have lost sight of that.

What Are We Building?

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (ESV) — 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

‌Paul says, "You are God's building." Now, he adds, "What are you made of?" This is a very piercing question for the Corinthians and us.

First, notice that Paul laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. No other foundation can be laid than Jesus. Men do not make a good foundation for salvation, even men as faithful as Paul and Apollos. It breaks my heart to see men be lifted as the foundation of a church. They take pleasure in being made much of, but Jesus is the only foundation that stands. A foundation built on Jesus is a rock foundation.

Then, he says that men build with different materials on top of that foundation. These materials represent the kind of spiritual diet we enjoy and the type of spiritual work we engage in. If we are spiritually immature, our diet is milk, and our work is superficial. We are building with wood, straw, or hay. This building won't last. It will be tested by fire and burned up. Paul is saying that the spiritually immature don't stand in the trials. They fall and suffer significant amounts of pain. The tests and trials of life are too much for them to endure, so they lash out, bite, and devour their brethren. They become a source of division instead of a source of good.

But those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones can endure the tests and react with spiritual maturity. Those with spiritual maturity receive a reward, while those who remain spiritually immature suffer loss. They remain saved because their foundation is Christ, but they suffer loss.

This illustration encourages us to dive deeper into God's word and grow spiritually. As long as we insist on being distracted by shallow things that don't matter, we will continue to fail when the trials come, and God's church will dwindle instead of flourishing.

What Is The Building?

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (ESV) — 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

When we look at the church as a building, we must realize that Paul isn't talking about just any building. He's talking about God's temple, where God's presence dwells. Paul says we are that temple and must seek to build it up, not destroy it! It's incredible that people fight and argue with one another to the point of destroying God's people's faith and believing God is so pleased with them. God doesn't want us to destroy faith in our brethren. He wants us to establish and multiply faith. God's temple is not a monument to our achievements and ability. It is a monument to God's grace toward us as sinful and wretched people who are being transformed to be like him.

God's Spirit is with us and working through us for good, not evil. So, we must make it our goal to work alongside and not against him. If someone offends you, seek to restore them with gentleness and love. Help them develop an understanding of truth by forgiving them and explaining the way of God more clearly.

This last week, I had a very ugly email sent concerning my lesson on musical instruments. Instead of arguing with the guy through email, I simply told him that regardless of who is right, God is not glorified when we speak to one another this way. I pray that you will consider what it means to fulfill the second-greatest commandment and love your brother. It's not our goal to come out on top. It's our goal to lift other people who are sinking.

How Can We Glorify?

1 Corinthians 3:18–23 (ESV) — 18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Paul says that the issue of spiritual immaturity stems from us deceiving ourselves into thinking that we are more intelligent than we are. As believers who see the light, we can feel as though we are wise when we are fools who have been blessed. This is a trap that Satan tricks us into falling into. I've fallen into this trap on multiple occasions. Perhaps you have as well.‌

Paul says that God catches us in our craftiness. We think we are so wise, but he lets us fall flat on our faces so that we are shown to be fools. Have you ever had that happen to you? I've had that happen a few times, making me want to speak my mind less and try to speak God's word more. God has a beautiful way of bringing the spiritually immature to maturity. But it hurts. So we must develop a thick skin and learn from the discipline to be humble.

The Message

Paul wants us to see that no one should boast about men. That has been the theme throughout these chapters. Men are just vessels that God uses to transfer information. The source is God. Paul is not the source, Apollos is not the source, and I am not the source. God's word is the source of all spiritual blessings. We must devote ourselves to it and not overthink ourselves. No one has a right to boast about themselves. We have everything, not because we are so wise or great, but because God is so wonderful. Why can't that be enough for us? Do you see the problem? We have to enjoy the blessing and give God the glory, but we are often deceived into thinking that we can't enjoy it unless we are responsible for obtaining it. That's flat-out wrong.

We must learn to stop being spiritually immature and start seeing how foolish we are. We have to learn that we are here to do the work of the kingdom for God's glory, not our own. No one is more important or valuable than anyone else. So, we must stop trying to be the greatest like the disciples did and start aiming to serve as God has given us the ability to serve.

Application

I'm so grateful to be a part of a congregation that reminds me to be humble. We have servants here. We have men and women who are spiritually mature leaders in this congregation, and I'm blessed with the privilege of seeing the fruit of the work they are involved in.

If you are here tonight, you probably aren't satisfied with milk. Instead of resting at home, we are here because we want to move into the meat. I hope you will focus your life on becoming more spiritually mature for God's glory and not your own. Learn from the godly examples around you and engage in the work. Every part of the body is essential, and we ought to lift one another to do good works and beautify the temple of God.

If you have been engaged in spiritual sabotage of your brethren, I pray that you will repent of that this very night and start building and beautifying God's temple with love. We need patience with one another, and we need to continue our struggle toward spiritual maturity and humility.

Make Jesus your foundation, and don't trade him for anything. He is the source of all these spiritual blessings. Without him, we would be nothing. He is the one thing we can hold on to and find hope through all our failures. Please don't lose sight of him, and trust in yourself or anyone else to save you.