When the gospel of Jesus Christ does not permeate our lives to change the way we live, we are mere infants spiritually. Let’s see that in our passage today:
“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.”
1 Corinthians 3:1-5
Question 1. From 1 Corinthians 3:1-5, how do you see that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not influencing how the Corinthians were living amongst each other?
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Paul stated that the Corinthians were living in the flesh, not walking by the Spirit. They were quarreling and jealous, dividing into factions, pridefully following humans rather than Christ. They were Christians but “mere infants in Christ.” They needed to learn how to live and grow in the gospel.
Paul wrote that the Corinthians lived like the world, which always divides and separates based on beliefs, appearance, preferences, etc. Worldly people proudly follow their favorite political party, social cause, or preferred speaker, making that the stand they take in life and what they’re known for.
What happened to the Corinthians? At one time, they heard of the death of Jesus for their sins and His resurrection on the third day, “received it,” and took “their stand” on it (1 Corinthians 15:1), but then they turned away from the gospel and their spiritual growth not only halted but regressed. They began living as infants, ignoring the Holy Spirit, living in the flesh like the world. The message of the cross is not heard from them or seen in them.
The Corinthians need to remember their suffering Savior, their bleeding Lamb, their atoning Sacrifice, and refocus their lives around the cross. They had to learn how to apply the gospel in their daily lives. 1 Peter 2:24 summarizes how to do this:
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds, you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24
Peter calls us to look at the cross, to behold the Savior suffering and being wounded for our transgressions, carrying all our sins in His own body, dying to remove them from us. We should look at this scene of Calvary often, beholding the death of our Savior and Substitute, and see the end of our sins! And rejoice!
But then notice how Peter applies the message of the cross to our daily living, explaining that Jesus died “so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.” The result of our beholding Christ dying with our sins in His body is that we might learn to die to the sins that put Him on the cross.
In the case of the Corinthians, Paul called them to refocus their lives on the cross and learn to apply it to their lives. Because if they did, they would die to their prideful factions, jealousy, quarreling, all their infantile behavior, and begin living righteous, holy lives as mature believers.
John reinforces this message in 1 John chapter 2 when he describes "little children" who only know of their forgiveness, much like the Corinthians who had received the gospel but were not applying it in their lives by dying to sin. Then he describes "young men" who have grown and become strong and are defeating Satan. How? "The Word of God lives in you!" (1 John 2:14). The "young men" were applying the message of the cross, as taught throughout Scripture, to die to sin and live for righteousness. The gospel message of power actuated them, lived in them, affecting their daily decisions, etc. This application of the gospel is what produces growth and maturity!
Question 2. How would the Corinthians refocusing on the message of the cross grow them out of their immaturity?
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