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
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.
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,
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
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,
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
1 they are enslaved to sin john 8 and verse 34
and they are hostile to god romans 8 verse 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
person. Paul further describes the ones who are
spiritual and their transition from being a natural
man in this glorious passage in Ephesians chapter
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
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
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
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
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
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.