“The Sickness of Stunted Growth” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

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“The Sickness of Stunted Growth” – 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 Pastor Jason Dennett’s Notes

I. God's BABES - Mixed among the Church: (v.1-4) "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?.." "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. " These people are part of the family of God (he calls them brethren), and that is the problem. Though they have the Holy Spirit (unlike the natural man of 1 Cor 2:14), they are not behaving like spiritual people, but like carnal - that is, fleshly -people, like immature Christians (babes in Christ). 3 different levels of spiritual growth: - Natural man - "psuchikos" - Spiritual man - "pneumatikos" - Carnal man - "sarkikos" Fleshly or "sarkikos" means a person "characterized by the flesh." It speaks of the one who can and should do differently - but does not! Paul says that the Corinthians were "sarkikos". "The carnal Christian is a child of God, born again and on his way to heaven, but he is traveling third class." (Redpath)

"I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;

for you are still carnal." Paul kept his teaching on the basics, even though they had an inflated view of their spirituality. They believed they were ready for the "deeper things," but were not living any deeper in the basics Paul had already preached to them. The difference between milk and solid food is one of degrees, not kind. Every doctrine that can be taught in seminary can be taught to children, though not in the same words. There are not two gospels, one for the learned and one for the unlearned; there is no part of the gospel that we are authorized to keep back from the people. Hebrews 5:11-14 - " There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong." Hebrews 6:1-3 - " THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God, With teachings about purifying, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment and punishment. [These are all matters of which you should have been fully aware of long, long ago.] If indeed God permits, we will [now] proceed [to advanced teaching].

"For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says,

“I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? " Here we see the Evidence of "Christian Carnality": - Matt 7:15-20 - "..by their fruits.." - Envy - Greek "zēlos" meaning "jealousy; zeal; eager rivalry" - Strife/Division - Gk "eris" -"strife; quarrel; fighting" In churches, many times this happens regarding disagreements over ministry decisions that are made, the way situations are handled, or ministry changes that take place. James 4:1-3, 6-8 NLT - "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure... But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." The problems they had in their relationship with God manifested itself itself in their human relationships. Instead of focusing on the Lord and doing things according to His Word and Spirit, the Corinthians were absorbed in selfishness, addicted to an ego centered-ness, and simply a mentality of "It's all about ME!!". This lack of humility and love, resulted in an outer life of carnality, and a fleshly way of thinking and living. We could biblically say: "If division is the FRUIT, then sin is the ROOT!"

ILLUSTRATION: There was an old, contentious Quaker who went from one meeting to another, never finding the "true" church. Someone once said to him, "Well, what church are you in now?" He said, "I am in the true church at last." "How many belong to it?" "Just my wife and myself, and I am not sure about her sometimes."

1 John 2:10-11 - "Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. 11 But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [* in Christ] is in darkness and walking (living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 1 John 3:14,15 - "We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death.15 Anyone who hates (abominates, detests) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding (persevering) within him." Every family house has rules and ways of doing things that are unique to that home. These are principles that the parents have decided on and feel comfortable with. A Church family/house also has particular RULES for functioning, PROCEDURES for operating, and GUIDELINES for handling situations that arise. These are things that the Lord has led them to adopt, based upon His Word, for their situation. Just as in your home, these procedures and guidelines need to be followed and submitted to by the members of that church body. "Satan hates Christian unity and fellowship. It is his policy to keep Christians divided and apart. Anything which can divide saints from another, the Devil delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly fellowship then we do. Since Christian union is strength, Satan does his best create separation." (Spurgeon)

Hebrews 13:17 AMP - "Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either]." 1 Peter 5:5-8 AMP - "5 Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)—[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble. [Prov. 3:34.] 6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [ in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Romans 16:17-18 - "I appeal to you, brethren, to be on your guard concerning those who create dissensions and difficulties and cause divisions, in opposition to the doctrine (the teaching) which you have been taught. [I warn you to turn aside from them, to] avoid them.18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites and base desires, and by ingratiating and flattering speech, they beguile the hearts of the unsuspecting and simpleminded [people]. Titus 3:10,11 - "[As for] a man who is factious [a heretical sectarian and cause of divisions], after admonishing him a first and second time, reject [him from your fellowship and have nothing more to

do with him],11 Well aware that such a person has utterly changed (is perverted and corrupted); he goes on sinning [though he] is convicted of guilt and self-condemned. 1 Timothy 5:19 - "Listen to no accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. [Deut. 19:15.] Matthew 18:15-19 - "If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he pays no attention to them [refusing to listen and obey], tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector. [Lev. 19:17; Deut. 19:15.]

MESSAGE APPLICATION??: • Are you growing consistently as a Christian? Is your growth STEADY in prayer, the Word, your giving, love, humility, service...? • Or are you STUNTED in your spiritual growth? Are you "sick" with the "Corinthian Cancer" of envy, strife, and division? • If so, look again to the words of James 4: "..As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world."