Christians must continue consuming the delicious health food staple of milk. In it is found the love of Christ in His work for us, and through us to others as the supreme attainment. So called “solid food” is simply a supplement.
The Important Task Of Examining Ourselves For The Two Marks Of The Spiritually Juvenile Christian Who Acts As A Mere Man
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
(Children's Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes for young children to answer are throughout sermon)
Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 3. I am going to read all of chapter 3, going into verse 7 of chapter 4, but I will primarily be focusing upon the section of 3:1-4. To get a general idea of the contextual framework, we can look back at around 1:10 and we see that the Corinthians were quarreling. Seemingly they had divided into cliquish factions centered around teaching personalties. Some were saying that they were of Paul, or Apollos, or Peter, or even of Christ, 1:12. But there was more going on than migrating to a particular group. There was jealousy and strife involved. Paul quickly tells them to get along and not allow divisions among themselves. In the meantime, Paul's own apostolic ministry had been scrutinized. Apparently two reasons prompted this. One was Paul's unimpressive appearance and manner of speaking. The second is something we will study in this sermon. It was Paul's propensity for mainly sticking with and dwelling upon one primary message from person to person; preaching to preaching. Paul’s focus was Christ. His message was the mystery of the cross as God's means of salvation, which includes the resurrection of Christ as victory for all who embrace Him by His grace through faith. This is the foundation. Paul knows that this is the pure wisdom of God. Paul knows that it is the message which demonstrates God's Spirit and power. Unsaved people think it is foolishness. But the elect experience the power and are saved. Paul wants them to recognize that whenever these things are proclaimed, they are not in words taught by human wisdom. It is God’s wisdom taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But the Corinthians wanted more. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more spiritual knowledge. But they thought that there must be something grander than the foundation. They were looking for deeper mysteries to be revealed. In doing so, the mystery of the gospel was becoming secondary in importance. The very attitudes they were having simply demonstrated that they had become distracted from proper reverence for the greatest importance of all which is the essence of the fullness of the grace, love, sacrifice, redemption, and rescue of the cross for their own selves and all the other Christians around them. This is the setting. Keeping this in mind, I'll read from 3:1, Paul says,
"1 And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; because you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; 20 and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS." 21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
(4) 1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. 5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God. 6 Now these things, brothers, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. 7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
Prepare your heart to learn with me in this sermon with the theme,
The Important Task Of Examining Ourselves For The Two Marks Of The Spiritually Juvenile Christian Who Acts As A Mere Man
[prayer]
As I begin, I want to clarify my working statement. When I say that the important task is to examine ourselves for the two marks of the spiritually juvenile Christian who acts as a mere man, I am talking about the fact that jealousy and strife are the paternal twins of Adam who rule in the hearts of all who are void of the Spirit. All you have to do is be around people of the lost world culture, whether in the work place, in the family arena, in politics, or just about anywhere, and you see that jealousy and strife are attributes that are as natural as breathing, eating, and sleeping. When the unsaved (the lost) manifest jealousy and strife, they are showing what their leader is. They are manifesting that they are slaves of their sin. If we Christians operate in jealousy and strife, we are not actually ruled by those things. We may become jealous, and we may become strifeful, but jealousy and strife are not our masters. Christ is our Master, which means as Paul puts so well in Romans 8, that righteousness is our master. Nevertheless, when Christians manifests jealousy and strife, the Holy Spirit is hidden.
What do I mean by hiding the Holy Spirit?
I mean that the Christian is disobeying his Master.
The result is that Christ and His righteousness which rules our hearts, is hidden away in there. This leaves the saved looking more like the deadness of the lost than they look like the Christ Who is their life. When this happens, seasoned, stable, spirituality is not being manifested. Instead, something akin to stunted spirituality is being expressed. The result is hurt, and ungodly division in sin. I want us to keep this in mind as we explore a first principle aspect of this.
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Namely we need to recognize that there is a difference between spiritual men, men of flesh, and those who are “as” infants in Christ. Without properly understanding Paul's unique language that he chooses for this contextual flow, we will not understand what he is saying. Misunderstanding can lead to misuse, misinterpretation, and misapplication. So, this first principle is to identify what each descriptive category means;
"1 And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. ... 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Notice how Paul identifies the people in his immediate point. He calls them "brothers." Paul previously used this family term in 1:26,
"26 For consider your calling, brothers," 1 Corinthians 1:26
This is the family language of the children of God who are adopted in Christ. Paul is talking to the people who have been regenerated by the Spirit. The point is that everyone who is spiritually saved is either a brother or sister in Christ. Once they were purely natural--lost and perishing in sin. Now they are supernatural--saved and living everlasting spiritual life in Christ. This means that all brothers and sisters in Christ are spiritual men and women. They are alive by the Spirit. If you are a true Christian in the salvific sense, then you are my family member. Everyone around you who is spiritually saved, is either your brother, or sister, in Christ. Our familyness is not natural. It is supernatural. In Paul's context, he just explained the natural person of the family of fallen Adam,
"14 ... a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things," 1 Corinthians 2:14-15
With this contextual language in mind, we know that Paul is speaking to spiritual men and women in our passage under study. But then Paul says something startling. Notice that Paul says,
"1 And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual men ..." 1 Corinthians 3:1
This is a shocking identification. They are brothers in Christ. They are not natural men who do not accept the things of the Spirit of God. They are the supernatural spiritual people of 2:14-15. In a couple more verses in 3:5 Paul refers to them as believers. Now Paul makes that odd sounding statement. He says that he could not speak to these spiritual brothers in Christ "as to spiritual men." In other words, though they really are saved spiritual men, Paul could not speak to them like he generally speaks to men who accept the things of the Spirit of God. If this is not amazing enough, the next comparative designation should move us to ask, "What in the world is going on here?" Paul goes on and says that he could not speak to them as to spiritual men,
"but as to men of flesh." 1 Corinthians 3:1
Remember, men who are purely of flesh are the unsaved natural men of 2:15 who do not understand the things of the spirit of God. They are natural because they do not have the spiritual life of Christ. They are of the flesh because they are void of the Spirit. But Paul is clearly telling the Christians that he could not speak to them as to spiritually saved people who show that they understand what is important. Instead, he had to speak to them as if they were spiritually dead people who do not understand. Paul has a reason for saying all of this. But first he must go on to clarify with another magnifying and humbling designation. Notice,
"1 And I, brothers, could not speak to you, ... but as ... to infants in Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:1
We remember that back in the contextual flow, Paul refers to the supernatural spiritual people as those who are "mature." In other words, mature people in the context of Paul's opening statements in 1 Corinthians are God's elect initiates who have been ripened by God to be His supernatural children in Christ (saved people). Paul said,
"6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature [Saved people]; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away [lost people];" 1 Corinthians 2:6
Mature ones are the called and gathered Christians of 1:2 who understand the gospel as the wisdom of God. They are the set apart ones by calling in being called out by God into fellowship with Christ 1:2, 9, 24, 26. They are those who call on the Lord which are "us who are being saved" in 1:18. He who is mature is anyone "who is spiritual who appraises" the wisdom of God properly in 2:14. Those who are mature are all who have the mind of Christ in 2:16. In other words "those who are mature" in Paul's point, is Paul's clear designation of someone who is saved spiritually. To be completely undeveloped in absence of the necessary spiritual maturation that the Spirit creates, is to be lost as a dead seed with no life in it to sprout at all. But again, Paul is speaking to those who are mature in the Spirit of Christ, yet is speaking as to "infants in Christ."
What is Paul doing?
Paul is clarifying his description of a Christian who could not be taught like a spiritually appraising person who understands. The problem is that even though they are saved, they must be talked to like to fleshly men who seemingly lack the ability to fully make the appraisal of the Spirit that they should be making. Paul is using spiritual sarcasm. It’s like saying,
"You are acting like unsaved, spiritually undeveloped, mere men. Therefor I could only speak to you as to someone fleshly. Though you are mature because you are in Christ, and though you think you know and live what you need to know and live, you act and think more like a hybrid. You act like some sort of immature baby who is in Christ."
So Paul makes it clear--
"I am finding it necessary to still teach you as to infants in Christ."
"In Christ" is the important clarifier. Remember, they are in Christ already. Why? Because all the mature-initiates who are made complete and perfect in regeneration are in Christ in salvation,
"2 ... to those who have been set apart in Christ Jesus, set apart ones by calling," 1 Corinthians 1:2
This is you too. But if you have not been set apart by the miracle calling of God, then you are purely natural. You are purely “in” the flesh--you are not saved. But if saved, God called you into Christ as a miracle action. Notice,
"9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9
The point is that it is an odd designation to be referred to in such a manner that you have to be approached as fleshly--as an infant, though you are in Christ. This tells us something about ourselves as Christians doesn't it? It tells us that though we are saved as miracle works of God, and even though we have the Holy Spirit, we can still look and think more like natural men than we look and think like the supernatural Christ. So in this first principle this morning, we need to always consider what we are in respect to Paul's unique language in this particular point;
Are you a spiritual man or woman?
A spiritual person has received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior by grace through faith. If you have done so, then you have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer you who live, but Christ lives in you as your supernatural life; and the life which you now live in the flesh aspect of your nature, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself up for you, Galatians 2:20.
Or, are you are a man or woman of flesh alone?
If so, then you are void of the Spirit. You are undeveloped, uninitiated incomplete and imperfect spiritually. You are lost in sin. You are dead spiritually. You are separated from God to perish forever. Further, you can not understand the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually appraised. They are foolishness to you. But maybe you are that last category;
Are you one who is like an infant in Christ?
Before answering that, we need to look at some further principles for the important task of examining ourselves for the two marks of the spiritually juvenile Christian who acts as a mere man.
/2/
The next principle is the deceptive trend toward considering the basic life changing good news of Christ and His work on the cross and in resurrection, as less than the deepest and most amazing spiritual wisdom of all. It is a deceptive trend because the pursuit of so-called deeper, higher, fascinating, and even mystical teachings can become lures (not always, but can be) that draw us into thinking of them as more worthy of pursuit and focus than the big life changing reality they are built upon. Notice,
"2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; because you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 because you are still fleshly.
The milk that Paul shared was the precious wisdom of God in the crucifixion and resurrection.
"1 ... when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with superiority of speech or of [human wisdom], proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
"1 ... I make known to you, brothers, the good news which I preached to you, which also you received ... the word which I preached to you, ... 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Notice that Paul says that this milk was, and is, Paul's main focus as that which is of first importance. Both Paul and Barnabas more than likely deviated very little from what was of first importance. Other spiritual truths were not their main agenda in their initial ministry among the Corinthians. Paul and Barnabas' main task was to go to Corinth to preach milk. Their primary task was evangelism. Other teachings built upon it. From the context, it seems that Apollos built upon the important foundation. Unfortunately, this was part of the problem. Remember the problem,
"I have been informed concerning you, my brothers ... that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' ..." 1 Corinthians 1:11-12
Later, Paul explains that he was a planter who brought the important seed. Apollos came along and watered what Paul had sewn. Corinthians believed through the ministry of Apollos too, but Apollos was also adding to the foundation,
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it." 1 Corinthians 3:10
Building upon Paul's foundation with truth, in itself, was not a bad thing for Apollos to do. What was bad was how certain Corinthians viewed the work. The main point is that the foundation is what was, and always is, of first importance. The reason that Paul and Barnabas focused upon the simple but powerful milk of the gospel with people who were already saved, is because they discerned the overall atmosphere of adolescence of the Corinthians. Like wise master builders, Paul and Barnabas realized that they needed to re-explain, re-orient, and remind the Corinthians of the foundational wisdom of the mystery of the cross over and over again. Other teachers taught all kinds of things. Those things may be interesting. People are drawn to them. Yet Paul recognized that they still needed grounding in the greatest need. This is the way it is with all of us. We may think that we are beyond the basic grounding because we've been saved a while. Our tastes can become sophisticated, but the question is,
"Are we acting fleshly and baby like in manifesting the gospel in our lives?"
We must be careful. The simplicity of Christ is always our utmost need. His life is the test of true maturity. In other words, everything in Christianity is about Christ. Another huge aspect of the problem is that the Corinthians really thought they had advanced to some other level. But they were wrong,
"because you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able," 1 Corinthians 1:3:2
Until we continuously drink from the supreme first importance of the foundation of the love gospel of the cross where its love work was applied to us when we all started out on an equal playing field, equally in the flesh, and equally separated from God in sin; and until we recognize it's application in salvation, in which we Christians are recreated equal again, but equal in the resurrected Christ as brothers and sisters in the same social class of the Spirit, with His love and mind governing all our reactions in humbleness, unity, and brotherly love, then there is no need to go on to other so called solid food teachings that build upon the life sustaining staple of the milk. If the fullness of the gospel is truly the gemstone of God's wisdom, though it seems so elementary when all kinds of fascinating teaching jewels come along, we must appraise it as the deepest and most amazing wisdom insight of all. There will be times when the wisdom of the crucified and resurrected King of kings and Lord of lords who adopts people to be his children, is recognized as the necessary milk, but it will not be honored as what else it is, which is what? It is the ultimate nutrition that makes us truly grow. This reminds me of when my niece was a little girl. Naively she would say concerning most any subject,
"I know, and you don't."
But there was a problem. She only thought she knew, but she did not yet have the basic knowledge to realize that she was wrong in saying,
"I know, and you don't."
She was a little girl. True seasoned stable spirituality, on the other hand, not only recognizes that the milk of the good news is the ultimate nutrition, but lives as if it knows that it is the main fact--the ultimate theology--the doctrinal life sustaining power for manifesting the seasoned stable maturity of the work of the cross out of our lives. What this means, then, is that the Corinthian Christians do not need a change of heart. Their heart was already changed in Christ. They also did not need a new more complex diet. What they needed was a change in perspective and attitude. Instead of seeking the next ultimate gourmet experience after another and another, and following all these different teachers, they need what we all need. The great need is to recognize the rare, rich, sweet taste of the gospel for what it is--the true gourmet experience of life. The great need for Christians in every generation is to stay appreciating and consuming the delicious health food staple of milk. In it is found the love of Christ in His work for us, and through us to others as the supreme attainment. This is true spirituality. So called “solid food” is simply a supplement. The fact that some in Corinth are still fleshly though spiritual beings in Christ, simply demonstrates Paul's point, which leads to
/3/
one last principle in respect to the important task of examining ourselves for the two marks of the spiritually juvenile Christian who acts as a mere man. Essentially God has revealed the two marks for us to look out for,
"For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? 1 Corinthians 3:3-4
@1 Jealousy and strife among Christians is a mark of being __________________. 1 Corinthians 3:3
When Paul asks this question of the Corinthians, he is making them look into a spiritual mirror. In doing so, he makes them see themselves in light of spiritual reality. This pressed them to admit that they had not arrived to some point of progression that puts the foundation behind them to move on to higher spiritual insights. The fact that they are jealous of a brother or sister in Christ, and the fact that they have any sort of strife with a brother or sister in Christ, shows that they really have not advanced at all. In fact, they are stuck in the place in which they are acting as infants in which they are making no progress whatsoever. Notice that the first staining mark of a spiritually juvenile Christian is jealousy. As we consider this, each of us needs to look at this spiritual barometer in our own selves. In Paul's context, this jealousy (Gk. noun zelos) is to nurture an attitude of envy accompanied by unloving actions toward one another. The second marring stain is strife (Gk. noun eris). This means that they were quarreling, fighting, and contending among themselves. The result is not unity of mind that is centered in the solidarity of the gospel. The result is divisiveness. Let me explain to you why this is so serious; Any Christian who is purposefully jealous and strifeful is thinking and acting like the lost world culture. So the answer to "Are you not fleshly when you have jealousy and strife?" is "yes;" and the fleshliness is rotten. This is serious. What is going on is that real saved people are taking the love of Christ that has been shed abroad in their hearts and they are purposely eclipsing it so that they can act like unsaved people. The unsaved do not have the love of Christ at all. So it isn't even there. Jealousy and strife are supposed to be in the unsaved. It is part of their common link in spiritual death. But for Christians, jealousy and strife are foreign invaders that wound the body. They do nothing but halt growth and edification. The insidious problem, though, is that it is easy for a Christian to try and justify jealousy and strife. The Corinthian's reason was their pursuit of grander spiritual insights, and supposed honor allegiance to exclusive teachers. But God sees things differently. God knows what is really going on. Far from justification, jealousy and strife actually demonstrates that Christians have cataracts clouding the spiritual insight that matters. The point is that God does not allow a spiritual person to justify such things. The fact is that jealousy and strife are the affinity deeds of the lost. Even if the unsaved will not admit it, and even if they do not manifest it in dramatic ways, jealousy and strife is the accepted survival instinct of all who are perishing in their sins. No matter how subtle, the spirit of fleshly malicious envying, and fleshly contentiousness, will never be a fruit of the Spirit. They are always fruits of the flesh. Paul points this out in Galatians,
"19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ... 20 ... enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions," Galatians 5:19-20
@2 The deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: enmities, __________________, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions," Galatians 5:19-20
All of these fruits in Galatians 5:19-20 apply to the problem that Paul is addressing for the Corinthians. He singles out the two fleshly problems in Romans,
"12 ... let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly ... not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its desires." Romans 13:12-14
Paul's point is that we Christians are more than mere men of flesh who are void of the Spirit. You are the temple of the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 3:16. You have received the Spirit from God, 1 Corinthians 2:12. To be fleshly, then, is to be manifesting more of the ways of the mere men of the world that you once were, than of the Spirit who gives you life right now. The question that we all need to ask ourselves is,
"How do I know whether I am living in stunted growth?"
You know you are stunted and are in desperate need to focus upon the pure milk of the gospel when you admit that you have jealousy concerning other members of the body. Examine yourself and your relationships. Be honest with God. We must not try to smooth over the facts;
Are you jealous of another Christian's knowledge?
Are you jealous of another Christian's gifts?
Are you jealous of another person's ministry?
Admit it.
Do you have strife in your relationship with another member of the body?
When you have strife marking any of your relationships with the other members of the body, admit it. If the Spirit is revealing to you any area where you are stiff necked, then admit it. If there is something that you have not forgiven someone for, then you better admit it. If you have an area in your relationships where you lack grace, then admit it. If you are not absorbing the friction, but instead you are part of the fiction, then admit it. This is the overarching principle we want to glean in the important task of examining ourselves for the two marks of the spiritually juvenile Christian who acts as a mere man.
The overarching principle is that we need to identify the marks.
Then what?
We need to adjust by doing something about it.
The first step is to humbly go to God. Agree with Him about the sin that you previously did not identify as the serious sin that it really is. Tell God that you know that you have harbored jealousy toward others in the church. Tell God that you have nurtured division between yourself and whoever the others are. Don’t blame other people. Blame yourself for your own attitude. Agree with God, and then what? Immediately submit to the Spirit. Look to the cross as the milk of your life. Consider how Christ humbled Himself there to deliver you from the sinful world of jealousy and strife. Consider how bloody, humiliating, and painful, the torturous sacrifice was. Think about the privilege you share in being called into fellowship with that same Christ who decided to be your friend, Savior, and Lord. Take on the attitude of the cross in respect to others, including yourself. This is the milk that is your solid food to grow you through all of this. Make the words of Philippians 1 and 2, your marching orders. It is where Paul wants focus upon the good news milk as our foundation in manifesting the humble love of Christ out of ourselves,
"1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news of Christ,
[The good news of Christ is the milk. So what is the manner of conduct?]
"... standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving in togetherness for the faith of the good news; ... 2:1 Therefore [since] there is ... encouragement in Christ, ... consolation of love, ... fellowship of the Spirit, ... [and] affection and compassion, 2 ... [be] of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” Philippians 1:27-2:2 {"since" is supplied as a first class condition}
@3 Since there is encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and affection and compassion, be of the same mind, maintaining the same _____________, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Philippians 2:1-2
[These are our marching orders for advancing beyond fleshliness while we trample over any remnant of jealousy and strife that has crept into our lives like a bitter root. But Paul goes on with what it takes,]
"3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" Philippians 2:3
@4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more __________________ than yourselves; Philippians 2:3
[Right there is the twenty word sermon that preaches volumes. Drink it in right now. The Spirit is saying to learn this, love this, and live this. To truly advance with the superfood of the milk, we are all going to have to look at one another as more important than ourselves. Ask yourself "Is this what I am doing?" "Is this what I am doing with that person who irritates me?" "Is this what I am doing with that person whose appearance is unimpressive and whose speech is contemptible to me?" But there is more,]
"4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
[This desolates jealousy and strife. The Spirit always wants us to go the extra mile in manifesting His fruits. This will do it. It is were the doing side of the fruits come out and bless others in the unity God is looking for. But there is more,]
"5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-slave, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8
5@ God wants us to have the ____________________ attitude of Christ Jesus in which He took on the form of a slave and gave Himself for death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8
Folks, this is the milk of life. It is the essence of the cross. It is to manifest Christ out of your heart. This is why Paul and Barnabas focused upon Christ and Him crucified. The essence of salvation is in this milk. The essence of the man as our model and method is in this milk. When you do this, then you are living out the good news by being good news to others. Then what? You know that you are going from rolling and crawling, and toddling, to a mature man or woman, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Let's recap: This morning we have been gleaning vital principles from 1 Corinthians in respect to the important task of examining ourselves for two marks of the spiritually juvenile Christian who acts as a mere man. We have learned the biblical difference between spiritual men, men of flesh, and those who are as infants in Christ. We saw that each is Paul's special term that he chose for his contextual flow of his point. Spiritual men and women are all people who are saved. All saved people are supernatural in being called out, regenerated, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. On the other hand, men of flesh are those who are void of the Spirit. They are merely natural--spiritually dead. Christians who are as infants though in Christ, are fleshly. They are acting like the lost world culture. Worse, they think they have progressed but they really have not. Consequently they can not be taught like a spiritually appraising person who understands. They must be taught as if to fleshly baby-adults who seemingly lack the ability to fully make the appraisal of the Spirit that should be made. In respect to ourselves, we need to humbly, honestly ask, “Am I a spiritual man; or woman?” Ask yourself; “Have I embraced Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior by grace through faith in His work on the cross, and in His resurrection in which He is working in me as my life?” Or are you merely a man or woman of only flesh?--meaning that you have not received Christ as the full payment for your sins in His work on the cross by grace through faith. Or are you an infant in Christ who is fleshly as a babe in Christ? We need to assess ourselves in pure honesty. It is the only way to progress. If you have embraced the deceptive trend toward considering the basic life changing good news of Christ and His work on the cross and in resurrection, as less than the deepest and most amazing spiritual wisdom of all for life and godliness then you are also as an infant. Though you think you are at a higher height in your pursuits of knowledge and even Christian practice, you have bought into a deceptive trend. Your pursuit of so-called deeper, higher, fascinating, and even mystical teachings have become lures that have drawn you into thinking of those things as more worthy of pursuit and focus than the big life changing reality they are built upon. It is your opinion, but it is only the opinion of a baby who thinks they know. Finally, do you see any of the accompanying marks of the soiled diaper on yourself? Remember what they are; jealousy and strife. The remedy that washes those marks away is to continuously feed on Christ the covenant and His work in the mystery of the good news. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. Amen
@1 Jealousy and strife among Christians is a mark of being __________________. 1 Corinthians 3:3
@2 The deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: enmities, __________________, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions," Galatians 5:19-20
@3 Since there is encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, and affection and compassion, be of the same mind, maintaining the same _____________, united in spirit, intent on one purpose." Philippians 2:1-2
4@ Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more __________________ than yourselves;" Philippians 2:3
5@ God wants us to have the ____________________ attitude of Christ Jesus in which He took on the form of a slave and gave Himself for death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8
