Transcript

On an old episode of “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” one grammar school youth explained what his father did for a living. He said, “My dad’s a cop. He catches crooks and burglars and puts cuffs on them and takes them down to the station and puts them in the slammer.”

The host replied, “Wow, I bet your mother gets worried about his work, doesn’t she?” The youth assured him, “Oh no, he brings her lots of watches and rings and jewelry.”

On another episode, the host told a young boy, “Now let me give you a situation. You’re the pilot of a commercial airliner. And you’ve got 250 passengers. And you’re flying to Hawaii. You’re out over the ocean and all four engines go out. What would you do?”

The boy thought for a moment and then he said, “I would press the fasten-your-seat-belt button, and then grab my parachute and jump out.”

The old expression, “Out of the mouth of babes,” comes to mind with these two examples. And that expression actually originates from the Scriptures.

Paul teaches about “babes in Christ” in 1 Corinthians 3, and he challenges the church to not remain as a child in the faith, but to grow and mature in Christ and in His grace.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.”

When we trust Christ as our personal Savior, we experience “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) or new birth; we are born again. At that point, we are a babe in Christ.

Paul addressed the Corinthians as “brethren.” Having been born again, they were part of the family of God, and they were brothers in Christ.

The Corinthians had come through the door of faith in Christ and were saved eternally, but the issue was that they had progressed no farther.

The Corinthians were failing to grow in Christ, and this grieved the heart of Paul. He longed for that joy of watching babes in Christ, whom he had led to the Lord, “grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ,” as Ephesians 4:15 says.

Paul observes here that when he first visited Corinth, during the 18 months that he originally ministered among them, he could not speak unto them as spiritual men.

In the context of chapter 2, a few verses earlier, Paul compared the natural man with the spiritual man.

And Paul stated that the “natural man [or unsaved man] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Whereas, as Paul wrote, “But he that is spiritual judgeth [or discerneth] all things.” The spiritual, saved man, unlike the natural man, is able to know, understand, spiritually discern, and apply what the Spirit reveals in His Word.

The spiritual man is one who not only possesses the Holy Spirit but also walks in the Spirit. The spiritual man is sensitive to and guided by their spirit and the spiritual and the Holy Spirit, rather than their flesh or the soul.

But when Paul ministered among the Corinthians in the past, he could not speak unto them “as unto spiritual,” or as a spiritual man, “but as unto carnal.” The word “carnal,” means fleshly and being under the control of the flesh.

So, Paul first gave a comparison between the natural, unsaved man and the spiritual, saved man. And then here in verse 1, he makes a further comparison between believers, showing that there are spiritual believers and there are carnal believers.

The “natural,” unsaved man in 2:14, is one who “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Here in chapter 3, Paul teaches that the “carnal” believer is also one who “receives” not the things of the Spirit of God too. However, the carnal believer does this by choice, because they could receive and know God’s Word and grow in it.

The spiritual believer, on the other hand, is one who has made the choice to live by the Holy Spirit and according to the spiritual part of their being. They are those who walk (still imperfectly) but in the enablement of the Holy Spirit by the truth of His Word.

The carnal believer is one who lives by the flesh and their soul, whose thinking and actions are rooted in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. They are heavily influenced by their emotions and self-will, and the fleshly habits and desires of the old nature.

Paul told them that, although they were no longer the “natural man,” or unsaved, they were not spiritual, and he could not teach or speak unto them in this manner. They had the Holy Spirit, but they were not spiritual people.

Paul had taught them according to them being carnal, fleshly new believers, “even as unto babes in Christ.” Their carnality, he shows, was indicative of their spiritual immaturity.

Real babies and “babes in Christ” have similar characteristics. Babies are dependent and unable to feed themselves. They often get into trouble and make messes.

They need to be watched closely and demand a lot of time and attention. They have no control and no concern for others. They fuss, cry, and want their way.

These are natural things that are typical and expected of babies, but when believers like the Corinthians, who were no longer new to the faith, continued to exhibit characteristics like this, something was wrong, and it was time for them to grow up.

A babe, or an infant, is also one who has no strength and needs the assistance of their parents. Although they had the indwelling Spirit, the Corinthian believers had not tapped into the power that was dwelling in them by grace.

As Paul reminded them later in this letter, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Instead of living spiritual lives that glorified God in the strength of the Spirit, the Corinthians were continuing to live carnal lives according to the weakness of their flesh.

In the past, because the Corinthians were newborn babes in Christ after their regeneration and new birth in Christ, Paul wrote, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat.”

The Word of God is our spiritual food. God’s Word is called “milk,” “bread,” “meat,” and “honey” in the Bible. We receive spiritual nourishment through taking in God’s Word by reading, studying, and hearing it taught.

As needed as it is for us to have physical nourishment to live and grow, we need spiritual nourishment through the regular intake of God’s Word to live and grow.

Like newborns, babes in Christ begin with milk. The milk of the Word is the “first principles of the oracles of God,” as Hebrews 5:12 explains, or the elementary things of God’s Word, the more easily digestible elementary truths of doctrine, the ABC’s of the faith.

Just like we don’t expect a baby to eat a steak, babes in Christ cannot be expected to digest the meatier doctrines of the faith right away.

So when Paul first visited Corinth, he’d rightly fed the believers with the elementary milk of the Word because they were young and weak in the faith. This was normal and proper in the course of ministering to new believers, who at first do grow on the milk of the Word.

The teaching which had been given to them by Paul at that time was suitable to their condition. Because at that point, the Corinthians were not yet able to bear or consume the “meat” of the Word, or solid food, the deeper spiritual instruction of God’s Word.

As newborns grow, however, they need solid food. So it should be with babes in Christ, that they should grow and begin taking in the meat of the Word and be able to receive “the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10) and develop their Christian lives to be more spiritual.

As John Stott said: “The great privilege of the child of God is a relationship [with Christ]; his great responsibility is growth…“Our heavenly Father’s purpose…is that ‘babes in Christ’ should become ‘mature in Christ.’ Our birth must be followed by growth.”

The problem was it was now 3-4 years later since Paul had ministered among the church in Corinth, and Paul wrote, “neither yet now are ye able,” to take in the “meat” of the Word.

The writer of Hebrews stated that “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age…”

The Corinthians remained unskillful in the Word of righteousness, content to know and practice only the most elementary truths of their faith. They were not making the effort to do what was necessary to grow spiritually to the point that they could take in strong meat.

When they should have been able to take in more advanced teaching of the revelation of God in His Word to further their spiritual growth, they still were not able to do so.

Thus, we find another contrast between carnal and spiritual believers. Carnal believers are those who often have not grown to be able to be taught any depth in the Scriptures beyond the surface-level, basic principles of the Word. And thus, they have not allowed the Spirit through His Word to change them like the Spirit could if they grew in their faith.

On the other hand, spiritual believers seek to plummet the depths of the wisdom of God revealed in His Word through the help of the Holy Spirit. Further, they seek to apply the teachings of the Scriptures through the enablement and power of the Spirit.

It grieved the heart of their spiritual father in the faith, Paul, that the Corinthians were still carnal and still babes in Christ who were still on a spiritual milk diet.

He longed for them to grow in Christ, and to mature into strong, spiritual saints because that’s what was best for them and would bring the greatest joy and blessing to their lives.

God calls each believer to grow and mature in Christ. And it is when we spend time with the Scriptures, which are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” that “the man of God” then is made “perfect [or mature], thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

And our spiritual growth is something where we should never think that we’ve arrived.

“When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter threw him a question: ‘Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?’ And Mr. Casals answered, ‘Because I think I’m making progress.’”

And so too, the believer should never stop growing and making progress in Christ and His Word. The desire to continue to grow is actually a sign of spiritual maturity, because we will never reach an end to growing in our understanding of God’s Word and Christ-likeness is the goal for our growth. And none of us will ever fully reach that goal.

Thus, we need to have the mindset of our apostle, when he wrote in Philippians 3: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 3:3-4: “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”

Paul points out here that the Corinthians were carnal when he was with them 3-4 years before, and they were still carnal after this time.

And by their carnality, it showed Paul that they had not grown spiritually, that they were still babes in Christ who needed the milk of the Word.

The reason Paul did not feel he should and could give them meat or more advanced instruction was that their flesh still dominated them and they were still carnal.

The evidence of their carnality was three things: envying, strife, and divisions.

In Galatians 5:19-20, Paul pointed out that “the works of the flesh are manifest which are these…Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, EMULATIONS [same Greek word translated as envyings], wrath, STRIFE, SEDITIONS [same Greek word translated as divisions]…”

These deeds of the flesh indicated that they were not walking in the Spirit as mature, spiritual believers, but were walking according to the desires of the flesh and the soul.

The Corinthians possessed the indwelling Spirit, but they were failing to let Him possess them and to give them the strength to live a godly life.

These evidences of carnality are rooted in selfishness and thus shows they are fleshly.

The word “envying” refers to an envious and contentious rivalry. The root word for envying means “to be hot, to boil,” showing that there is heat and zeal behind this kind of jealousy and rivalry.

It’s a word that makes me think of sports rivalries like Alabama vs Auburn, or Packers vs Bears, or Yankees vs Red Sox, or Lakers vs Celtics. There is definitely some heat behind these rivalries!

This kind of heated, emotional rivalry was taking place in the church at Corinth. And it in turn led to “strife.” The word “strife” refers to contention and quarreling. They were having heated debates and arguments as a result.

And then the envying and strife in turn led to “divisions,” or disunion and dissension.

They were split up into separate parties, and those groups were embittered toward the other groups in the church.

And Paul pointed out that “are ye not carnal, and walk as men,” or doesn’t this prove that you are living by your flesh, apart from the will of the Spirit? Are you not living as unsaved men and the world and are lacking spiritual discernment?

This is a rhetorical question by the apostle. The answer was an obvious one. Believers have a higher call than living according to their flesh and like the rest of humanity.

The Corinthians’ conduct, however, indicated their carnality, not lack of eternal life. They were saved people by the grace of God.

And when we read about the Corinthians and then we look at the church today, we find similarities: prolonged immaturity in the faith, those who can only be fed the milk of the Word, and envy, strife, and divisions as a result of carnality are all very prevalent.

And then Paul wrote about what they were zealously arguing about and what led to their divisions: “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (1 Cor. 3:4).

Apollos was an eloquent preacher who was from Alexandria, Egypt. Later he traveled to Ephesus in Asia Minor, where Paul’s co-workers, Aquila and Priscilla helped him to understand the “way of God more perfectly” according to God’s program of grace with the nations today.

From Ephesus, Apollos went to Corinth. The saints in Ephesus sent a letter of commendation of Apollos to the Corinthians. And Acts 18:27 says of Apollos’s ministry in Corinth, “who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace.”

Many in Corinth appreciated Apollos’s ministry in the Word, but others appreciated Paul’s ministry more in establishing their church and teaching them the truth.

And the Corinthians then became divided over Paul and Apollos. Some boasted that they were followers of Paul, and others that they followed Apollos.

They were lifting up human leaders and favoring one teacher over another. There was a Paul Party and an Apollos Alliance.

And regarding these factions that had formed, Paul asked again, “are ye not carnal,” or doesn’t this prove that ye are living in carnality and by the flesh?

But as the Corinthians did, we still find members of the Body of Christ championing one spiritual leader over another. This continues to produce division and contention in the Church. Many attach themselves to preachers with the message of Christ when we should each attach ourselves to Christ and the reality of our personal relationship with Him.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7: “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

The point of Paul’s question in verse 5 is to arrest their thoughts and to help the saints at Corinth see the foolishness of these factions. And he then goes on to explain why their boasting and factions were improper.

Paul asked, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?”

The word “ministers,” refers to one who is a servant. Paul says that he and Apollos were only servants of Christ who were each serving in their own way under the Lord’s direction and calling, “even as the Lord gave to every man,” as he says.

Paul and Apollos were servants, not leaders of competing parties or groups. Paul and Apollos were not the ones they believed in for salvation. They were men that God used to bring the truth to them that they might believe in Christ and in the gospel of grace.

The term “ministers” was used for those who served tables in Acts 6 or were table waiters.

Paul wanted them to readjust the way they thought about himself and Apollos. In the use of this word to describe him and Apollos, they’re not the honored guests at the table.

They’re not at the head of the table. They’re not the owner of the house. They’re not the makers of the food for the table. They were the table-waiters.

They were the ones we find at restaurants who come up to us and say, “Hello, my name is John, I’ll be serving you tonight. Would you like to start with something to drink?”

Paul was saying that Apollos and I are just servant-waiters whom the Lord used and sent to bring you spiritual food from His Word.

Preachers and teachers of the Word are “ministers” or servants to bring people to Christ and establish them in the faith. It’s unwise to raise servants to the rank of master.

While we should esteem pastors, teachers, and spiritual leaders “very highly in love for their work’s sake” (1 Thes. 5:13), our devotion belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we follow a mortal man, we are headed for disappointment. But we will never be disappointed when we keep our eyes on the Lord.

On the other side of the coin, sin, selfishness, and pride can lead some pastors and teachers to desire a following and set themselves up as THE only authority on the Scriptures. We should watch for this kind of attitude among spiritual leaders.

The true shepherd is someone who points people, not to himself, but to the Lord, “that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). Godly leaders desire God’s people to follow Christ, His Word, and sound doctrine.

Paul wrote that “I have planted,” as Paul planted their church. He was the one who had trail-blazed and opened up new territory. He brought the gospel to them, they had believed, and he established their church and established them in the faith.

Paul added, “Apollos watered.” Apollos came along after Paul had left Corinth, and he ministered the Word to them. He preached and built up the saints in God’s grace, and he watered the truth that Paul had taught them.

Like planting a seed, Paul says I planted it, Apollos came along after me and watered the seed, but neither of them could give that seed life and make it grow. Only God can do that, only God could make it grow and give the seed life. God alone gives the increase.

Some years ago, a study was done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from 1 acre of land required 4 million pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulfur, and other elements too numerous to list.

In addition to these ingredients, rain and sunshine are required at the right times. Although many hours of the farmer’s hard labor are needed, it was estimated that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to the efforts of man.

So it is in the spiritual realm, God gives the increase, He gives life to our labor, God causes the growth, and He produces the fruit.

God worked through Paul and Apollos and He used their labor. He gave the increase to their labor, He gave life to it, and He produced the fruit that came from their service, and thus God deserved all the glory.

And Paul is pointing the Corinthians toward the God of the increase, because it is He Who would bring the spiritual growth that they needed in their own lives, to bring them out of their carnality and immaturity into greater spiritual maturity in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:21 says, “Therefore let no man glory in men.” And in verse 7, Paul points out why we should never glory in a man in the ministry. He teaches that the servant who plants the seeds of the gospel and God’s truth is nothing. Likewise, the servant who waters the seeds of the gospel and God’s truth is nothing.

Paul’s point is explained well by one commentator, who wrote, “What was the use of fighting which of two nothings was the greater?”

Like no man, no farmer, no horticulturist can give physical life or growth to a plant. No man, no preacher, no teacher has the power to bring forth spiritual life or growth. Only God can do that.

All farmers can do is provide the right environment for growth, and trust in the miracle of life that comes from God. The most that men can do is to prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and water it. And then God is the God of the increase.

And likewise, in the ministry, He is the One who brings the life and the fruit to our labors in our planting and watering for Him. And He deserves all the praise.

The person whom God uses to plant the seeds and water them in the ministry is not anything. They are just servants and instruments in the hand of God, doing His work.

Thus, in the Church, instead of being divided over following that leader or this leader, we are called to be ONE in our desire to follow the Lord and to give the God of the increase the honor and glory He rightly deserves.