1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Well, our sermon text this morning is 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 1 through 9.

1 Corinthians 3:1–9

That's page 953 in the Pew Bible.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

Let me read our text for us.

Paul writes to the church in Corinth.

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.

And even now, you are not yet ready, 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?

For when one says, I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos, are you not being merely human?

What then is Apollos?

What is Paul?

Servants.

Through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

For we are God's fellow workers.

You are God's field, God's building.

Let's pray together.

God, we acknowledge that our eyes are closed to spiritual things, to the things of you.

Unless you, by your spirit, open our eyes for us.

So God, we ask that you would do just that now, as we consider the message of this passage.

That you would open blinded eyes.

That you would soften hardened hearts.

That you would awaken us from our sleep.

So that we might see you in your son, Jesus Christ.

And then we might turn from selfishness and waywardness and worship and trust you alone.

Father, we pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Well, imagine with me a man named Phil.

Phil has all the right theological books in his library.

On a day like today, Reformation Sunday.

Did you know that?

It's Reformation Sunday.

Is that actually right, John?

Is today Reformation Sunday?

I think it is.

Well, Phil could show you a whole section devoted to the reformers in his library.

Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, even Melanchthon, and Bucer.

He's read and digested them all.

It seems.

And he's got a great stock of commentaries on every book of the Bible.

Works from every period of the church.

Phil really knows his stuff.

Spiritually speaking, he looks like a pretty mature person.

And then there's Wendy.

Wendy loves her local church.

After all, it's a growing, vibrant place.

People are coming to know Christ.

People care for and love each other.

And she's there every Sunday.

Singing from her heart.

Taking notes on the sermon.

Serving in children's ministry every few weeks.

Heck, she even comes to the evening service sometimes.

Wendy loves her church.

Spiritually speaking, she looks like a pretty mature person.

And of course, then there's Marcus.

Marcus has an incredible conversion story.

He was running headlong away from God.

Worried about no one but himself and his own aspirations.

Until one day, a friend invited him to church.

It was a well-known church in a big city with a faithful, godly, well-known pastor.

And over time, God's grace got a hold of Marcus.

Pretty soon, everyone could see the difference.

He had stopped chasing success and fame.

And now he was humbly pursuing Christ.

That was a number of years ago now.

And Marcus's job has taken him to another city.

But he's still following Jesus.

He's still running the race after Christ.

Spiritually speaking, he too looks like a pretty mature person.

But what would you say if I told you that in fact, each of these three Christians were still dangerously immature in their faith?

What if I told you that they were still, to use the Apostle Paul's words in verse 1, infants in Christ?

You'd probably wonder, how could that be?

I mean, we'd love to have more Phil's and Wendy's and Marcus's in the church, wouldn't we?

In fact, maybe you see yourself in one of them.

Maybe some of the people you know are just like them.

What could possibly be wrong with them?

After all, aren't genuine conversion like Marcus and active fellowship in a local church like Wendy

and an understanding of the faith?

Like Phil, aren't these the telltale signs of growing healthy Christianity?

What could possibly be wrong?

It would utterly shock us to think that they could be dangerously immature.

And you know, in the same way, that's probably how the Christians in Corinth felt.

Shocked.

When they first heard, read to them this section of Paul's letter.

Six times in these four verses of chapter 3, these first four verses,

Paul calls them more or less dangerously immature in Christ.

But wait a second, some of them must be thinking,

us?

Infants in Christ?

Us behaving in a merely human way?

Us, not spiritual, but of the flesh?

Paul, come on.

That can't be.

I mean, think of what we know about the church in Corinth.

By the time Paul wrote this letter, the church at Corinth had been around for a number of years,

probably five or more.

And for the first year and a half, the apostle Paul himself was their pastor and teacher.

And then after that, they had Apollos, who was known for being a great teacher in the early church.

So these weren't some newly planted, half-baked in the faith Christians.

They seemed to have a good foundation, and they'd been around for a while, relatively speaking.

And on top of all that, we know that they were not lacking in any spiritual gift,

as Paul himself said back in chapter 1, verse 7.

In other words, the Holy Spirit was visibly active in their midst.

What we might call today miraculous gifts were perhaps a regular thing for them.

So here it seemed was an established, vibrant, and yes, we would say spiritual church.

Seminary students from all around were dying to get their internship credits at Corinth.

Corinth.

Church growth magazines were always calling for interviews.

Corinth was the it church.

But Paul says,

I could not even address you as spiritual people.

You're so woefully, dangerously immature.

So what did Paul see that the Corinthians didn't?

Look at verse 3.

Less than halfway into that verse, he says,

For while there is still jealousy and strife among you,

are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

There it is.

Jealousy and strife.

Or perhaps we could put it this way.

Comparison and competition.

What this text is telling us is that if our hearts are ruled by jealousy and strife,

if they're riddled with comparison and competition,

if our minds are constantly asking,

where do I fit?

Am I ahead or falling behind?

How can I make myself look a little better?

Then we are still, friends, infants in Christ.

Then we're still living out of our old, fallen nature.

And at the general level, that's certainly true.

Jealousy and strife in any form are signs that we need to keep growing in our walk with Christ.

But at Corinth,

this comparison and competition took a specific form,

a particular shape.

Look at verse 4.

For when one says,

I follow Paul,

and another,

I follow Apollos,

are you not being merely human?

Now we've seen this problem in previous weeks,

haven't we?

The church in Corinth was becoming divided into factions

based on which leader or teacher they identified with.

And literally they were saying,

not I follow Paul or Apollos,

but literally I'm of Paul.

I'm of Apollos.

I belong to this or that leader.

And that makes me something special.

That makes me a cut above.

And that kind of comparison,

that kind of competition,

Paul says,

proved that they were still infants in Christ.

Immature.

Merely human.

But is this a specific problem that we deal with today?

I mean,

maybe not in the same way, right?

But it still crops up

in some less obvious forms.

Think about Phil with his great theological library.

Of course,

a deep understanding of the faith is a good thing.

We should all strive to grow in our biblical knowledge.

Remember the church in Acts?

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.

And so should we.

At one point in Israel's history,

God even said through the prophet Hosea

that my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.

Growing in our understanding of the faith

is incredibly important.

But when Phil,

with his great theological library,

hears about some of the books

that his fellow church members are reading,

he sometimes can't help but look down his nose.

And you should have seen his face

when someone recommended he read a new devotional

that just came out.

Devotional?

Really?

He thought.

That's a little beneath me.

I mean,

I'm reading Calvin's Institutes.

Again.

In the Latin.

And in the French.

I don't think I'll have time for your quaint devotional.

But here's the thing.

That devotional could have been full of the gospel.

Full of Christ crucified.

Phil wasn't rejecting it

because it was full of errors or heresy.

He was rejecting it because in his mind

he only reads big important Christian books,

the real theology.

In other words,

he had propped up his identity

in the church

among other Christians

over against other Christians

with his reading habits

and preferences.

And in so doing,

he was setting himself over

against his brothers and sisters in Christ.

Just because they recommended something

a little less weighty and academic.

And just like Corinth,

the church is divided.

Or think about Wendy

who loved her local church.

That, of course,

is a great thing.

Healthy Christianity

is always lived out

in a concrete,

face-to-face body of Christ

that we call the local church.

Again, remember the church in Acts.

They devoted themselves

to the fellowship.

Not to the podcast.

To the fellowship.

But Wendy,

while she's thrilled

about her own church,

she isn't so thrilled

about the fact

that there's a new church

starting up in town.

Some of her friends

visited the other Sunday

and they told her

that the gospel

was really clearly preached.

Wendy even went

and checked out their website.

And there doesn't seem

to be anything wrong

with the church.

But that just makes her

all the more uneasy

and upset.

Because people should want

to come to her church.

church.

Not some other place.

She wants her church

to grow,

not theirs.

She wants her place

to be doing the exciting work

and getting the new visitors

and starting the new programs.

Of course,

she might not

consciously admit

to all that.

But the pit in her stomach

says it all the same.

Wendy,

without even thinking of it,

had been comparing

and competing

with other believers.

Pitting her own congregation

against another one.

Even though they both

preach

Christ crucified.

Lastly,

what about Marcus?

In his new city,

Marcus has been faithful

to find a new church.

But you know,

he can't help

always feeling

a bit disappointed.

The pastor of his old church

always seemed to speak

right to him.

And in his new church,

he has a harder time

connecting with the sermons.

In his old church,

he had a great group of guys

who discipled him.

But now,

these guys,

they all seem to be

in different stages

of life than him.

And he's not sure

he has a lot to learn

from them.

Nothing seems to measure up

to his old church.

In fact,

he still listens

to the podcast

from his old church

on Saturday nights.

But then every Sunday morning

in his new church,

he just feels more

and more disappointed.

So you see,

friends,

even if today,

our churches

might not be

ripping into factions

around specific leaders,

we can still

let that same

spirit of comparison

and competition

creep in.

Whether it's pride

over which Christian authors

we do or don't read,

or jealousy

over whose church

is attracting

the most new visitors,

or disappointment

over a new church

that doesn't match

the memories

of an old one.

And when we let

these sorts of things

grow,

according to this passage,

we're living like infants

in Christ.

In fact,

Paul is so bold

even to say

that we're acting

as if we're still

of the flesh.

Now that's really

strong language.

The flesh

in the New Testament

means our old,

selfish,

sinful,

unredeemed nature.

This text is saying

that when we let

that kind of

jealousy and strife,

this sort of comparison

and competition

creep in,

it's as if we're living

like we don't even

know Christ

at all.

It's as if we're living

like the Holy Spirit

isn't living

inside of us

in any way.

Now Paul clearly

addresses them

as believers,

right?

He calls them

brothers and sisters.

He says they're

in Christ

even if they are

infants in Christ.

In other words,

he considers them

to be Christians.

But then he turns

around and says

they're of the flesh.

So is Paul

contradicting himself?

Are they Christians

or not?

Well,

I think in some sense

that's the point

he's trying to make.

Paul's saying

that when you

and I

as believers

live like this,

riddled with

comparison and

jealousy,

caught up with

strife and competition,

it's like we're

walking

contradictions.

Walking

contradictions.

We know Christ

but we're not

living like it.

We have the spirit,

we're a new creation

but we're acting

like mere humans,

like our old

sinful selves.

God's.

Now as an aside,

some people have

thought that in this

passage Paul is

teaching that there

can be such a thing

as a genuine

Christian who

never really

pursues holiness

and lives just

like the world

their whole life

and yet will still

be saved in the end.

this was sometimes

referred to

as a carnal

Christian

as opposed to

a spirit-filled

Christian.

Carnal being another

way of translating

of the flesh

in our passage.

But I think it's

clear

that Paul's

actually

not teaching

that here.

Isn't it?

He's not trying

to introduce

two sort of

categories of

Christians here.

No,

he's saying

there's one

sort of Christian,

the growing

kind.

And if you're

not growing,

something is

horribly wrong.

Beth and I

just had

an infant.

And friends,

if our infant

never grew up

and started

eating solid

foods,

if Owen

always hit

himself in the

face like he

does now,

if he always

pooped his

pants like he

does now every

two to three

hours,

friends,

you wouldn't

say,

oh,

that's just

a normal

human being.

No,

something would

be dreadfully

wrong.

In fact,

Paul will go

on to say

in 2 Corinthians

that if you

persist in

blatant,

unrepentant sin

and disobedience,

then perhaps

your conversion

wasn't genuine

to begin with.

Examine

yourself,

Paul will

say in 2

Corinthians 13

5.

Examine

yourself

to see

whether you

are in

the faith.

But Paul's

not quite

there yet

with the

Corinthians.

Here he's

still addressing

them as

believers.

He's still

trying to

jolt them

awake to

get them

to grow

up by

helping

them to

see how

contradictory

their lives

have become.

Now,

if we take

a step

back,

it's worth

asking,

isn't it?

Is all

this really

so bad

as Paul

makes it

out to be?

I mean,

come on,

the Corinthians

haven't killed

anybody.

They're just

squabbling

and one-upping

each other

through their

petty little

factions.

It's foolish,

sure,

but is Paul

just a little

overreactive

here?

I mean,

who cares

if I get a

little jealous

at the church

across the

street?

And who cares

if I look

down my nose

at those

fluffy,

foolish books

that those

people are

reading over

there?

And who cares

if I put

my previous

pastor on a

pedestal that

no one can

reach?

Does that

really mean

I'm a walking

contradiction?

Well,

friends,

if we take

the gospel

seriously,

then the

answer is

yes.

On the

one hand,

at the very

basic level,

these kinds

of divisions

in the church

misrepresent

the God

who saved

us.

Amidst

the three

eternal

persons of

the Trinity,

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit,

there is

perfect

unity.

So perfect

that Christians

believe not in

three gods,

but in one

God,

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit.

And if the

church is

meant to be

a reflection

of the

glory of

the God

who saved

us,

then that

partly happens

through reflecting

God's

supreme,

beautiful,

lovely

unity.

Divisions

in the

church are

serious

friends because

they tell

a lie

to the

watching

world about

who God

is.

God is

not a

God of

strife

and conflict,

but a

God of

perfect

unity.

But pushing

a little

deeper,

there's another

reason why

divisions are

such a

contradiction to

the gospel.

people.

Because

underneath all

the jealousy,

the strife,

the comparison,

the competition,

what I'm

doing in

all that is

putting my

identity and

my significance

in a

human person

and in so

doing trying

to make

much of

myself.

When the

Corinthians

said I'm

of Paul or

I'm of

Apollos,

don't you see

what they were

doing?

They were

getting their

self-worth

and their

status from

their attachment

to those

human leaders

and they

were trying

in doing

that to

make themselves

better than

each other

through some

sort of

connection to

this or

that popular

teacher.

And in

the same

way,

when you

are jealous

or suspicious

of another

local church

or ministry

across town,

when you

only read

certain books

and not

others,

when you're

unimpressed

by your

current church

or even

more generally,

when you

compare yourself

to someone

else in

any way

and when

you see

yourself as

being in

competition

with them,

then your

focus

and your

praise

is on

you,

is it

not?

how

significant

you are,

how you

can be

better than

someone else.

You're

consumed

with

yourself

and whether

you're

succeeding

and you

feel great

or whether

you're failing

and you feel

horrible,

you're still

all about

you.

and when

we do

that,

we've

completely

lost

sight

of the

truth

of the

gospel

because at

the center

of the

gospel

is not

me

and it's

not you

but Jesus

Christ

and him

crucified.

we preach

Christ

crucified,

Paul said

in chapter

one.

That's the

central

message of

Christianity

that we

were so

helpless

and sinful

that only

the death

of God's

perfect

beautiful

son

could save

us.

But at

the same

time,

God loved

us so

much

that he

willingly

gave his

son

and that

the son

willingly

came to

do just

that,

to die

on the

cross

for the

sins of

absolutely

everyone

who will

turn and

trust in

him.

We

bring

him

nothing

no matter

who

we are

and he

gives us

everything

no matter

who.

we are.

That's the

good news

of the

gospel,

friends.

And when

God by

the Holy

Spirit

causes that

reality to

sink down

into your

heart,

it will be

the death

knoll to

all comparison

and competition.

Why?

Because now

instead of

having to

belong to

this leader

or that

leader to

prop yourself

up with

theological

tomes,

to get

your

significance

or your

worth,

instead of

needing to

build yourself

up and prop

yourself up in

this way or

that way,

you can rest

on the great

and glorious

fact that

now you

belong to

God.

You're God's

field,

Paul says

at the end

of our text.

Christ,

you don't

belong to

Paul or

Apollos,

you don't

even belong

to yourself,

whether you're

a total success

worldly speaking

or a total

failure.

And the

gospel were

all the

same.

You belong

to God.

He defines

you now.

Just like

Isaiah saw

so many

years ago

that God

would pour

out his

spirit and

we would

be writing

on our

hands,

the Lord's

and we

would grow

up like a

field in

the desert

full of

life and

beauty.

Verses

five through

nine,

the end of

our text

are there

to give

us some

much needed

perspective.

Christian

leaders aren't

celebrities,

Paul says,

they're servants.

They're field

workers and

God has sent

them out each

with their own

task, each

in their own

time.

One plants,

one waters,

in and of

themselves,

they're nothing.

Ultimately, it's

only God who

gives the

growth.

And these

laborers,

they're on the

same team.

They're one.

They're fellow

workers.

Yes, they'll

receive their

individual wages

for the work

they've done,

but ultimately

they work

together in

the field that

belongs to

God.

Brief side

advertisement,

if you're

thinking about

going into

ministry,

this is the

calling,

not glamour.

Pick up your

shovel and

hit the

fields.

So friends,

if you're

tempted to

make too

much of a

Christian

leader,

to get your

significance

through your

connection to

them,

you need to

remember that

they're merely

servants,

they're farm

hands,

and it's

God who

gives the

growth.

pastors and

teachers are

means.

Be thankful

for their

faithful labors.

Yes,

honor them

appropriately.

Yes,

but don't

worship them.

And when we're

tempted to pit

my leader over

against your

leader,

or my local

church over

against that

local church,

or my campus

fellowship over

against your

campus fellowship,

or my favorite

Christian writer over

against your

favorite Christian

writers,

remember that

they're all

one.

Insofar as they

hold to the

biblical gospel,

they're all on

the same team.

Yes,

God will

ultimately hold

them accountable

individually,

but ultimately

they're all

playing their

part.

They're all

doing the

work God

assigned to

them.

And friends,

if we really

internalize this

vision,

it means that

we can be

genuinely

thankful

for the

plurality of

gospel-believing

churches in

New Haven,

we're not

competing,

we're cooperating.

We can

encourage each

other without

unhealthy

comparison,

as long as we

preach Christ

crucified,

we're on the

same team.

After all,

if we're really

going to see our

whole city and

our region reach

for Christ,

wouldn't you

agree that we'll

need God to

raise up a

lot more

sowers and

a lot more

waterers.

We'll need God

to raise up a

lot more

healthy local

churches.

And as you

think about your

own story in the

faith,

friend, be

thankful for the

teachers and

pastors you've

learned from in

the past.

Praise God for

them.

But don't use

them as the

gold standard

whereby you

negatively judge

all the teachers

in your life

right now or

in the future.

In God's

wisdom, one

sowed and

now by God's

same wisdom,

another is

watering.

Trust the

owner of the

garden that he

knows what he's

doing and that

his timing is

always perfect.

So friends, if

you see comparison

and competition

lurking in your

heart, if it's

coloring your

relationships, then

I hope you

listen to the

rebuke of this

passage because

that's what it

is.

And I hope

you'll set them

aside along

with the rest of

your old sinful

nature.

Stop living as a

walking contradiction

and start living

the beauty that

God has ushered

you into.

That you are a

part of his

field.

The one

awesome church

of God

that he bought

with his own

blood and that

he will see

forth into

glory.

Let's pray.

Amen.

God, we pray that

you would convict

us now of

these things in

our hearts.

Lord, we know

that we need

your Holy Spirit

to do that.

We're so quick

to excuse

ourselves otherwise.

So, Lord, would

you show us in

very practical

ways now how

we've been

comparing ourselves

to one another,

how we've been

competing in

ungodly ways

even in your

church.

church.

And, Lord, we

turn to the

work of Christ

for forgiveness.

We pray, God, that

we would have a

new sense that we

belong to you,

each and every

one of us,

that we're equal

before the cross,

that you love us

all, that you've

shed your blood for

everyone who

believes.

And, God, give us

a vision for

ministry in our

time that embraces

not just our own

little tribe, but

all those who

take the name of

Christ crucified.

And, would you

raise up in this

field of yours

many new plants,

many oaks of

righteousness,

many lush gardens,

many fruitful

trees.

God, would we

see in our day

great growth.

God, would we

not thank

ourselves or

exult in

ourselves because

of the work that

we've done, but

would we look to

you, God, and

praise you and

say that it's you

and you alone who

gives the growth.

Father, we pray

this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.