The Natural Man, the Spiritual Person, and Babes in Christ, 2/22/26

It is a joy and delight to come again to the

congregation today and to continue our study

in the book of 1 Corinthians. I hope the study

thus far has been of interest to you and one

of edification, where that you are growing from

it as you are hearing the word and reading this

important book, very important book in the New

Testament. Today we're going to go back. and

review a few things from chapter 2, and then

continue in chapter 3. So our passage today is

from verse 14 of chapter 2 through verse 4 of

chapter 3. I'm going to speak to you about the

natural man, the spiritual person, and babes

in Christ. The natural man, the spiritual person,

and babes in Christ. Hear the word of the Lord,

for these are the words of God. But the natural

man does not receive the things of the Spirit

of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor

can he know them, because they are spiritually

discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all

things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no

one. For who has known the mind of the Lord that

he may instruct him? But we have the mind of

Christ, 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? Let's pray and

ask God's blessing on this time. Father, we come

to you today and we look to you, Father, for

your grace and strength. As we seek to understand

this word, I pray, Father, that you would open

it up to us, Lord. We might see that we might

profit from it. Please grant the Holy Spirit

and illuminate this passage for us today so that

we can take heed and be obedient to you. I pray,

Lord, that we could grow, grow to a spiritual

temple, the dwelling place of God. We ask all

this, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. One of the

great challenges in faithful ministry in preaching

and in teaching the word of God is to minister

to all of the congregation, all of the flock,

to shepherd the congregation with God's word

in a way that is accessible and meaningful to

each one in the various stages of their life.

and development in maturity and understanding.

Now, God has given us this task, and we must

have the ability to break down and to teach God's

holy word to all of the different people in the

congregation. An overseer of a church must be

able to, as Paul describes to Titus, Hold fast

the faithful word as he has been taught that

he might be able by sound doctrine both to exhort

and convict those who contradict. It's in Titus

Titus 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 and verse 9. He must declare the whole

counsel of God and therefore take heed both to

himself and to all the flock. among which the

Holy Spirit has made us overseers to shepherd

the church of God, which he purchased with his

own blood. This is the charge given to the Ephesian

elders as they thought it was the last time they

would see Paul, and they knelt together on the

shore of the sea, and he gives them this charge.

Shepherd yourself, take heed to yourself and

to all the flock to shepherd the church of God.

It's in Acts chapter 20, verse 27 through 28.

Acts 20:27–28

Now, in order to do this well, we must understand

and recognize that people are in various stages

and conditions of life. God has gifted men to

shepherd and teach so that everyone comes. to

a place of unity, of the faith and the knowledge

of Jesus, and so that everyone, every person

would grow to be mature in Christ. That is the

goal, to be mature in Christ. Paul expounds on

this in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11. He says,

Ephesians 4:11

and he himself gave some to be apostles and some

prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and

teachers for the equipping of the saints, for

the work of ministry, for the edifying of the

body of Christ, till we all come to the unity

of the faith. And the knowledge of the son of

God. To a perfect man. To the measure of the

stature of the fullness of Christ. So that we

are no longer children. Tossed to and fro. And

carried about with every wind of doctrine. By

the trickery of men. In the cunning craftiness

and deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth

in love. May grow up. in all things into him

who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole

body joined and knit together by that which every

joint supplies according to the effective working

by which every part does its share, causes growth

of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

is the goal. This is the task that is set before

us, that everyone would grow up into Christ,

that everyone would become mature, and that this

beautiful temple that God is erecting would be

a glorious one, that it would be wonderful and

pleasing to him, and that each would edify the

other. Now today, in the passage, Paul speaks

of three different categories of people. The

first is the natural man. That's in verse 14.

Then he speaks to those who are spiritual. Verse

15 and 16 of chapter 2. And then thirdly those

who are carnal. That is babes in Christ. Who

though having been Christians for a number of

years. Are still people being held back. Drawn

back by the flesh. immature. In other words,

they are carnal is the word or of the flesh.

Now, I spoke briefly of the natural man last

Sunday, but I want to take a closer look at each

of these. My hope and prayer is that each of

you would not be stagnant, that you would not

just sit there and not be doing anything, not

growing and growing in grace and in the knowledge

of Jesus and building up this holy temple of

the Lord. My desire is that you would not be

stagnant, but that you would become a perfect

person. That's the word the scripture uses, but

it's in the sense of being full grown, of full

age and mature. I want to see you grow, grow

in faithfulness, grow in knowledge and in wisdom

and in stature as good and wise and faithful

men and women understanding your calling so that

you will finish the race well. That at the end

of your life, you can be like Paul who has said,

I have fought the good fight. I have finished

the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there

is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give

to me on that day. And not to me only, but also

to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 4:7

4, verse 7 and 8. My desire, this I desire for

each and every one of you. So let's now look

deeper at these three categories. Let's turn

to the word, understand these, and profit from

the exhortation that Paul wrote to the Corinthian

church. The first one, he is dealing with the

natural man. But the natural man does not receive

the things of the Spirit of God, for they are

foolishness to him, nor can he know them because

they are spiritually discerned. The natural man

is the man or the one who is the unrenewed person.

He is in his natural state. This is the one described

in the scriptures as one who is dead. In sins

and trespasses. Which describes fallen mankind.

It is the state of every person born until they

are made alive and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

They are governed and influenced by their basic

passions. As opposed to those who are influenced.

Those who are illuminated and filled with the

Spirit of God. It's the contrast. Now some might

think of this. The natural man is speaking to

the one who's like a brute or maybe a caveman

and very primitive. And that intellectual man,

thinking man, can receive the things of the spirit.

But Paul goes to great lengths to show that the

natural man equally extends, yes, to the primitive

and to like what we think of as the caveman,

but also to the worldly wise man. The word that

John Bunyan used in his great book, The Pilgrim's

Progress. The worldly, my wise man. This is the

sophisticated and the urbane. The one filled

with wisdom, so -called, that is actually foolishness

and rebellion against a holy and a righteous

God. After all, some of the most noted and notable

intellectuals have been the most hypocritical,

cruel, selfish, dishonest, irresponsible, and

vain people. Paul Johnson describes this in his

book entitled Intellectuals. And he gives examples

such as Jean -Jacques Rousseau, who has had incredible

impact even on our day. He was the French philosopher

a couple of hundred years ago. I don't have the

exact date in my head here. But he was supposed

to be speaking all these wise and wonderful words

and changing so much in the world. And in fact,

he had an incredible impact on them. A lot of

it for not for good. And yet he... Abandoned

his children to an orphanage and treated women

and benefactors in a most cruel manner. Or Karl

Marx. Karl Marx who raged against capitalism

while living off of another man's money that

he had made. How inconsistent. Or others like

them who believed that their cleverness or their

insight exempted them from ordinary moral rules

while their ideas proved destructive, absolutely

destructive when applied in reality. You take

what Jean -Jacques Rousseau did and what Karl

Marx did and others of their ilk and how many

hundreds of thousands and thousands and thousands

of people have died because of their teachings.

And great poverty and great ruin across the world.

Oh, it's incredible. And yet, They were the worldly

wise. They were supposed to have such great wisdom.

But to the natural person, the things of the

Spirit of God are folly, Paul says. They are

foolishness. They are silly. They are worthless.

To him, as Charles Hodge puts it, the things

of the Spirit are absurd, insipid, and distasteful.

They do not receive the things of the Spirit

of God. They do not give favorable reception

to the Word of God as revealed by the Spirit.

They do not embrace it, approve of it, obey it,

or take it to themselves. The natural man rejects

the truth, the authority, and the excellence

of Jesus and of God's Word. Now the natural man

is also called the old man in Scripture. To newborn

believers, Paul exhorts them to put off the old

man in a number of places in the New Testament.

The old man, he says, lives against the law of

God, living in sins like fornication and uncleanness

and passion, evil desire and covetousness, which

is idolatry. They live in anger and wrath and

malice and blasphemy with filthy language coming

out of their mouths. Colossians 3. In Titus 3,

Titus 3:3

verse 3, he describes the former state like this.

For we ourselves were also once foolish. disobedient

deceived serving various lusts and pleasures

living in malice and envy hateful and hating

one another this is the natural man the old man

the unregenerate person furthermore he goes on

to say in verse 14 neither can he know them he

cannot know the things of the spirit of god Having

judged it to be folly, he is unable to see the

truth, the beauty, and the goodness of God, and

of the word of God, and of the things of the

Spirit. Let me illustrate this in three different

ways. The natural man is like a blind man. He

cannot see the beauty that God has created in

the world. The blind man is completely oblivious

to the stunning landscapes or to the myriad of

stars on a dark night or the glories of the Milky

Way or the moonrise at full moon or the grace

displayed by a magnificent bull elk sporting

its grand antlers. The blind man cannot see any

of this. so the natural man cannot perceive the

things of God. The natural man is like a lost

man, deep in the heart of a thick jungle that

presses all around him, and he is unable to find

a way out. He is lost, interminably lost in that

wilderness. He wanders around in the gathering

gloom with no ability to rescue himself or those

with him. This is the natural man. And thirdly,

says the natural man cannot receive these things.

We're going to do a bit of a play on that word

as we think about it. Right now in this very

room, right here in the airwaves, there are hundreds

and thousands. Of radio signals going through

this room. Right now. There's a whole bunch of

stations from FM. Whole bunch of AM. There's

short wave. There's Wi -Fi frequencies. There's

even TV signals. There's infrared. There's two

-way radio. But we sit here. And we are completely

oblivious to them all. Because we do not have

a receiver that's turned on. We cannot hear,

we cannot understand or receive them because

we are completely unable to do so without something

outside of us, such as a smartphone or a radio

or a TV or some other device. In ourselves, we

are completely oblivious to it. We cannot receive

it. So also is the natural man. He cannot know

them. He cannot receive the things of the Spirit

of God. This speaks of the doctrine of what we

call total inability. Total inability. This is

the inability of natural man to save themselves,

to understand the world around them, and to discern

and judge the wisdom of God. Now, we do know,

That there is common grace that God extends.

God extends and communicates his invisible attributes

through his creation. That is through the light

of nature. So much so that all people are without

excuse. Romans 1 tells us. They know that God

exists. They know that he is created. And they

know that he is a being of immense and awesome

power. But they do not. have saving knowledge

apart from the Holy Spirit using the word of

God or the preaching of the word to lighten them

to enlighten them to make them be able to hear

they are totally unable to change themselves

or to make themselves alive and instead through

a series of progressive sins as Romans 1 says

they They suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

They judge it to be foolishness and folly. Let

me explain this just a little bit further. Due

to Adam's fall, every aspect of human nature,

the mind, the will, the heart, the affections,

and the body, everything is corrupted by sin.

There's no part that is untouched. by the effects

of sin and of alienation from God, every part

of the human nature. This corruption is total

in its extent, that is, it affects every part

of a person, but it's not necessarily total in

degree, meaning that not everyone is as evil

as is possible, or that humans lack any... or

some civic virtue or conscience. We know that

there are varying degrees. Some will do more

things that are better versus than others, even

though everyone in this total inability to save

themselves could end up being. Like the very

worst person. In other words, the very worst

person that you can think of, the seeds that

were sown in him are the seeds that are sown

in everyone else. It's just that he developed

them further. Every aspect of human nature. The

key emphasis, though, in total inability is spiritual

and moral. Natural mankind is utterly unable

by their own natural powers to love God rightly.

They are unable to perform any truly spiritual

good that is a good that flows from faith and

is pleasing to God. They are unable to repent,

believe the gospel, or turn to God in faith without

God first moving in their heart and quickening

them. They are unable to prepare themselves for

salvation. They need regeneration. They need

a divine initiative that works within them. humanity

is dead in trespasses and sins ephesians 2 verse

Ephesians 2:1

1 they are enslaved to sin john 8 and verse 34

and they are hostile to god romans 8 verse 7

Romans 8:7

This is not mere weakness, but it is a radical

bondage where the will is bound to sin and cannot

choose otherwise in spiritual matters without

God's grace and assistance, his regenerating

grace. Now, disability does not mean an absence

of volition. People still make choices and they

exercise will in earthly and civil affairs. This

is not a complete loss of all rationality and

moral sense. Humans retain their conscience and

can do outwardly good acts. And thirdly, this

inability is not making people as wicked as they

could be because degrees of sin vary. But instead,

It means that no part of human nature remains

uncorrupted enough to please God, to understand

the person and the word of Jesus, or to initiate

and contribute to their own salvation. This is

the picture of the natural man. Paul says he

cannot. know the things of the Spirit of God

because they are spiritually discerned. In other

words, it needs the work of the Spirit within

him to make him be able to discern it. He cannot

know them. So this is what we have on the one

hand. This is the reality that we face as human

beings. We need a work of grace. We need a work

of the Spirit. And so now we come to the spiritual.

Chapter 2, verse 15 and 16. But he who is spiritual

judges all things, yet he himself is rightly

judged by no one. For who has known the mind

of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we

have the mind of Christ. This is now speaking

of the person who is enlightened by the Holy

Spirit. And he is set forth here as the spiritual

one, he who is spiritual. This is the one who

has experienced God's sovereign work of regeneration,

of being made alive and thereby faith being enabled,

the understanding of God and his word with accompanying

repentance and obedience. Now in many new places

in the New Testament, this spiritual person is

called the new man. the new man. You'll see that

in a number of different places in the New Testament.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit comes through

the preaching of God's holy word. The heart is

awakened and faith comes and man repents and

believes. Indeed, all things become new and the

heart and the stony heart turns into a heart

of flesh as prophesied by Ezekiel in chapter

36, verse 26 and 27. Hear the word of God. He

says, I will give you a new heart and put a new

spirit within you. I will take. the heart of

stone out of your flesh and I will give you a

heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you

and cause you to walk in my statutes and you

will keep my judgments and do them. See how this

is a divine work? This is what Jesus was talking

about to John the Baptist that you must be born

from above. You must be born again. life and

it comes through the spirit and thus this is

a spiritual person john gill writes a new heart

and a new spirit are one in the same that is

a renewed one renewed by the spirit and grace

of god in which a new principle of life is put

new light is infused a new will filled with new

purposes and resolutions where new affections

are placed and new desires are formed, and where

there are new delights and joys as well as new

sorrows and troubles, the same which in the New

Testament is called the new man or the new creature

in Ephesians 4 verse 24. This is the spiritual

Ephesians 4:24

person. Paul further describes the ones who are

spiritual and their transition from being a natural

man in this glorious passage in Ephesians chapter

Ephesians 2:1–10

2, verses 1 through 10, which I'm not going to

take time to read right now, but he also summarizes

it in other places, and here's one from Titus

Titus 3:4–7

chapter 3, verse 4 to 7. But when... the kindness

and the love of God, our savior toward man appeared,

not by works of righteousness, which we have

done, but according to his mercy, he saved us

through the washing of regeneration and renewing

of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us.

through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that having

been justified by his grace, we should become

heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Excuse me. Now, this spiritual person, in verse

15, Paul says, judges all things. He judges all

things. But he who is spiritual judges all things.

This word judge means to examine, to investigate,

to inquire into, and to discern. This is the

same word in the previous verse, verse 14, that

the natural man cannot know the things of the

spirit because they are spiritually discerned.

Same word, they are spiritually judged. By the

spirit, the person grows in true wisdom, knowledge.

These are the ones... who then become wise, truly

wise, and have understanding through the Spirit's

illumination of the Word. I spoke about that

last Sunday, how God, by the Spirit, illuminates

the Word. And through this, then, they are able

to apply themselves to a much greater knowledge

and deeper wisdom as they study and they grow

throughout their life. They have the ability,

he says, to investigate, to discern, to examine.

That's what the word judge means. They do this

through teaching, to doctrine, and they apply

this word to all of life. And he himself, Paul

says, is rightly judged by no one. Meaning that

while unbelievers are able to recognize the faults

and sins of Christians, they are not able to

evaluate the true nature. of all those who have

been transformed into the children of God. The

Christian believers, as Paul says in Colossians

Colossians 3:3

3, verse 3, his life is hidden with Christ in

God. I think that's there, is what he is referring

to, in that he himself is rightly judged by no

one. Furthermore, the one who is spiritual, led

and illuminated by the Spirit of God, judges

all things, Paul says, all things. How can this

be? Paul answers this. For who has known the

mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But

we have the mind of Christ. This is the word

of God. We have the mind of Christ. Now the mind

of Christ is the same as the mind of the Lord.

Thus testifying again to the divinity of Christ.

Paul says here, who's known the mind of the Lord?

We have the mind of Christ. That is the knowledge

that we have. We know the Lord. We know his mind

because it is the mind of Christ, which is the

same as the revealed word of God. It is that

revealed holy word of God, the word of life,

the word of Christ. This is not only speaking

of the New Testament, but it is referring to

the entire book of Holy Scripture, both the Old

and the New Testament or the Holy Bible. Therefore,

as the spiritual person judges all things, he

or she understands that as they look into the

word and they're illuminated by the Holy Spirit,

they can understand and speak to all things.

They are able to judge all things. The spiritual

person. That's what Paul is saying. They are

capable of knowing the mind of Christ and of

receiving his teachings through the Spirit. Now,

God's word, therefore, is not just to what we

might call spiritual things or things of, you

know, having to do with the worship of God and

of things that are often commonly used as spiritual.

Absolutely, this all applies, but the word of

God goes far beyond all of those things. God's

word, God in his word speaks to everything. When

you read through the word of God, it must be

applied across the board, not just for when you

come together in church on Sunday morning. It's

not limited in that way. It speaks to all of

life. And as the spiritual person has the receiver,

that is, he or she has the Holy Spirit, which

impresses God's word to their heart and illuminates

them, and therefore they are able to judge all

things. We are able as Christians, as mature

Christians, as we grow in the word, we are given

the ability and the wisdom to understand and

interpret the word of God to everything in life.

The whole gospel for all the world and Christ

over all. For there is not one square inch in

this world that does not belong to Christ. All

of Christ. For all of life. We emphasize the

comprehensive sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Over

every aspect of existence. And we reject separating

faith from daily life. Advocating that Christ's

lordship applies to culture. To work. To family.

To government. And not only to Sunday morning

worship. The sovereignty of Jesus is total lordship.

It sets forth that Christ claims everything.

It is comprehensive in its scope, applying the

gospel to all areas, including education and

politics and business and personal life. It eliminates

the sacred and the secular divide, for Christ

is Lord of all. It is rooted in the Great Commission

wherein Jesus declares that He has been given

all authority in heaven and in earth. Tell me,

is there anything missing there? Is there any

part of the existence in all of the human world

or in all of the created world that is missing?

No. He has been given all. authority over everything

in heaven and in the earth and under the earth

therefore he then says we are commanded to go

and to make disciples of all nations to baptize

them and to teach obedience to the commands of

christ This applies to all vocations. Any legitimate

profession and calling from the trades to professional

work to motherhood and teaching and preaching.

All are forms of service and obedience to Christ.

I'm not holier than you because I stand in the

pulpit and preach the word of God. You are just

as holy in all of the vocations that you are

doing. And God has given it to you and he equips

you to do it for his glory. And it's just as

much part of building his kingdom when you do

it for his glory and it pleases him. Now God

gives different gifts. And those gifts are quite

wide. So do not be ashamed if you are given a

gift and you think, oh, it would be better to

have this one. This one's on a higher plane.

No, if it's not a sinful gift. And yes, there

are sinful professions out there. But if it's

a legitimate one, then do it for the glory of

God and do it for the glory of Christ. It is

what He has given you. He has equipped you for

it. And do it for Him. Therefore, we do not retreat

from this world, but we seek through right worship,

through obedience, and through humble and faithful

service and witness to see this world transformed

by the power of the gospel. impacts everything

all of life we are able to judge everything he

says all things this is the spiritual person

and there are many gifts as we know we look elsewhere

in the scripture do not sell yourself short by

the power of the spirit of god Do what God has

given to you to do for his glory and for the

advancement of Christ's kingdom. This is the

work of a spiritual person. Too often, we think

of the spiritual person as one who's a missionary

or a pastor or something like that. No, the spiritual

person is the one who takes the gifts God has

given them. in whatever it is and uses it for

the glory of God. But Paul goes on, now in chapter

3, in verse 1 to 4, he says, And I, brethren,

could not speak to you as spiritual people, but

as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you

with milk and not with solid food. For unto 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 in behaving like

mere men? For when one says, I am of Paul, and

another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal?

Alas, not all spiritual people are yet able.

to do what Paul has just described back in chapter

2. There are some who, though born again and

renewed by the Spirit, as the Corinthians were,

are stunted and infantile and have remained so

for years. The image Paul gives is that he could

not speak to them as to spiritual people, but

note that he still calls them brethren. They

are Christians. He speaks to them as Christian

believers. They are brethren. Remember that back

in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul said that the

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Corinthians were enriched by Christ in everything

and all utterance and knowledge, that the testimony

of Christ was confirmed in them, that they came

up short in no gift, and that they were eagerly

waiting for the revelation of Jesus who would

confirm to the end. They are brethren, but something

is drastically wrong. And Paul is addressing

them as a father in the faith. You know, we need

fathers in the faith. We need those who are venerable,

those who have long experience, who can speak

with great wisdom to us as fathers in the faith.

And that's what Paul was doing here. He was speaking

to them as a father. They were carnal. They were

fleshly. They were enamored with worldly wisdom.

He said, they are babes in Christ. Now this is

understandable at the beginning of the church

when Paul first came and lived there for a year

and a half. And Silas and Timothy and Aquila

and Priscilla were there. But then they stayed

there. Paul said, I fed you with milk and not

with solid food. For until now you were not able

to receive it. Even now you are still not able.

For you are still carnal. You are still of the

flesh. The image is that of a nursing baby who

grows up but is still nursing at six or eight

or ten years old and is not eating solid food.

Something is drastically wrong. This letter was

written approximately five years after Paul first

came to Corinth and they were still acting like

babies. Now these are not the only ones to have

this problem. In Hebrews, the word of God says

to the Hebrews, in chapter 5, verse 11, Of whom

we have much to say and hard to explain, since

you have become dull of hearing. For though by

this time you ought to be teachers, you need

someone to teach you again. The first principles

of the oracles of God. And you have come to need

milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes

only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness,

for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those

who are of full age, that is, those who by reason

of use have their senses exercised to discern

both good and evil. So he is speaking to them

about immaturity, about pettiness, and about

sins of the flesh and spirit, such as envy, strife,

and division. The Corinthians did not know how

to judge all things. They kept residual effects

of the natural man that had not yet been sanctified

and brought to maturity. Babies need training

of which they had received, but they had not

embraced. Now in using the analogy of milk, Paul

is not disparaging milk. The basics are very

important. Milk is very important. It is needed.

It is good. Peter tells to the ones he's writing,

he says, Therefore, laying aside all malice,

all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the

word that you may grow thereby, if indeed you

have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Babies

need milk. And they need milk in the form of

Christian doctrine and teaching as well. They

need the very basics of the Christian faith.

But they need to grow. They need to mature. There

must be growth, a coming to full wage, able to

eat solid and nourishing food with all of its

nutrients. And this describes the process that

Christian believers need to grow, to mature.

To be able to discern good and evil. And to grow

in their understanding of biblical doctrine.

And put it to good use in practice. It is not

just the knowledge. It must be able to be put

into practice. To be lived out. Carnality and

babyhood should be temporary states. Short term.

That the person grows and develops in soundness.

Note that meat and milk or solid food and milk

does not refer to different doctrines. It simply

refers to the basics or a simplified version

of the truth. It says here in Hebrews 5, Everyone

who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the

word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But

it's still the very basic elements. We need the

basic elements. God provides the basic elements.

They need to be taught from time to time. It's

one of the things that we're doing in the foundations

class is we're going through and just looking

what the Apostles' Creed affirms and we're looking

at every sentence, every word out of the scripture

to understand the very basics of the Christian

faith. And we'll be looking at God being almighty,

Lord willing, on Wednesday night. But we must

grow. We must grow and develop it further. They're

not different doctrines. It's just that solid

meat is the development of greater maturity and

understanding and depth in the word of God. Now,

the Corinthians showed their carnality and babyhood

by still believing, Paul says, like mere men,

verse 3 and 4. For where there are envy, strife,

and divisions among you, are you not carnal and

behaving like mere men? For when one says, I'm

of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, are you not

carnal? The pettiness and the factions and the

divisions were proof of their immaturity in the

way that they practiced it. It showed their need

for sanctification. It showed up their carnality.

Paul rebukes them for this, but then he goes

on to develop a very rich practical theology

of Christian ministry in the rest of this chapter

and in chapter four, which Lord willing, we'll

dig into next week. But he rebukes them. Alas,

in far too many churches, milk is on the menu

all the time in the pulpit. Sometimes it is because

babies are leading babies. Scripture specifically

forbids putting a novice into leadership positions

because he is not skilled in the word. So sometimes

it's just babies are leading babies. Other times

it's because that's what the people want. They've

been so used to milk that they just want it.

So they demand it. Even some long established

churches are still in this stage. How is this

evident? Watch for these things. Entertainment

instead of faithful preaching of the word. Entertainment

instead of the faithful preaching of the word.

Or extensive biblical knowledge. but little application

that makes a difference in the life of the preacher

and of the congregation. This includes the lack

of discipleship and mentors in the congregation.

Extensive biblical knowledge does not automatically

translate into discipleship and faithfulness.

The word must be applied. It must get down into

the very stuff of life. Third, we also have seminaries

that are teaching academics to the neglect of

good discipleship of the aspiring pastors and

teachers. Now, academics are important. A good

knowledge of Greek and Hebrew is excellent. I

wish I had more of that myself. It's a good thing,

but it must also be coupled together in the training

with... with discipleship, faithful discipleship,

and leading in that way by older godly men. This

is urgently needed. And I thank God. Some of

that is taking place. I praise God for that.

There are some where they're doing the teaching,

and the teaching is by pastors, and they are

applying the word of God. Or it's done together,

coupled together with the congregation, where

the young men that are brought in, and they're

taught, and they start serving in the congregation

together with the older men. That kind of mentorship,

like a Paul and a Timothy, is excellent. But

just to go and get a degree does not necessarily

mean that you are ready for pastoring God's people.

There needs to be discipleship, teaching. And

so that's one of the problems. And then fourth,

the other way this is evident, I think, and this

one is understandable, but it's a problem. And

that is where worship services, the Sunday morning

worship service, is always... evangelistic in

its focus the worship service is for the edification

of the people of god thank god when sinners come

in and they see and perceive and are converted

that does happen but that's not the whole intent

of the sunday morning worship the time of gathering

together to hear the preaching and teaching of

the word of god is to build up the body and when

we make the sunday morning service just to focus

on evangelism then we're continually feeding

everybody at a milk level Milk level. Rather

than equipping the saints for the work of the

ministry and edifying of the body, what does

Paul say that pastors and teachers are to do

in the congregation? Go back to Ephesians 4,

which I already read. And he gave some to be

apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and

teachers for the equipping of the saints, for

the work of ministry, for the edifying of the

body of Christ. Till we all come to the unity

of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son

of God to a perfect man. God has charged your

elders here to equip you to be able to go out

and do the work of ministry to the world around.

To serve Christ in all that you do and to disciple

the nations. And that starts right in your own

community. Right in your own community. Well,

let's close. This is now the carnal person which

we've talked about in depth. Let's close with

just a few more applications. First of all, I

want to make sure everybody knows we love babies.

We love babies. We delight in children and many

of them. One of the signs of a healthy church

is that there is a future because there are lots

of children around and they are loved and they

are discipled. And? We are told to be like children

in a few things. Jesus said, assuredly I say

to you, unless you are converted and become as

little children, you will by no means enter the

kingdom of heaven. So this is why food for babies

is given to those who are newly converted. They

need the milk of the word. They are to be as

children in receiving. From Jesus and entering

into the kingdom of heaven. He goes on and he

says, therefore, whoever humbles himself as his

little child is the greatest in the kingdom of

heaven. Later on in Matthew 19 verse 14, Jesus

Matthew 19:14

said, let the little children come to me and

do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom

of heaven. We welcome and delight in children,

but we don't want them to stay as babies. They

need to grow. And that means physically, in your

physical children, and that means also babes

in Christ. Second, we are to be like babies in

malice. In other words, we don't have malice.

A baby doesn't have malice. So in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14:20

14, verse 20, Paul then tells them, Brethren,

do not be children in understanding. However,

in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

So we're to be like babies in malice. That is,

we don't have it. We put it to death where we

don't walk in malice toward one another. But

in our understanding, we are not to be children.

We are to be mature. Thirdly, let us deal with

personal sin and immaturity that resides within

us. Ask God to reveal it to you if you have it.

And more than anything else, study the word of

God with a hunger and a desire to grow and ask

God for the power of the Holy Spirit to open

it up to you. But dig into it in every way that

you are capable of doing. Read good books or

read commentaries. Ask the Spirit for guidance.

Pray over the word. Pray the word. Just so you

know where it's one of the great things to do

in the book of Psalms. Take a psalm and pray

it to the Lord. Let the word of God dwell in

you richly and make you mature. But deal with

personal sin and immaturity. As we will see in

the next passage of scripture, Christ's church

in each congregation is described as God's field,

God's building, and God's temple. God's field,

God's building, and God's temple. The field is

to be cultivated, planted, and watered so that

much is produced. The building is to be built

with solid material so that the edifice is not

only sound and strong, but that it is beautiful.

Let us then, as Christian believers in this congregation,

being fitted together, grow into a holy temple

in the Lord, built together for a dwelling place

of God by... The Spirit. Let's pray.