Are You Still Drinking Milk?
Life Lessons from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 3
You’ve probably heard the saying “growing like a weed.” It’s true. I’ve witnessed my grandchildren “growing like weeds” over the last few years. They have grown a little taller and stronger every time I see them!
Growth is a good thing, but sometimes growth can be stunted, causing problems.
A lack of physical growth indicates a physical condition.
A lack of spiritual growth indicates a condition of the heart.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul admonishes the believers in Corinth for their lack of spiritual maturity. They should have been growing, but they weren’t. Their stunted growth resulted in issues within the church. Certain behaviors proved their lack of maturity.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?”
Just as a newborn baby needs milk before he matures to eat solid food, The believers still need milk rather than solid food. And the fact that they were still jealous of one another, and quarreling, shows they were not living by the Holy Spirit but by their sinful nature, exposing their stunted growth and spiritual immaturity.
What about us? What does our behavior reveal about us? Does it show spiritual maturity, or does our sinful nature still control us? How can we begin the process of growing in spiritual maturity?
Scripture tells us –
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.
Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Galatians 5:16
When we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, our priorities will change from pleasing ourselves to pleasing God. We will want to obey God, doing what His Word commands.
We will become doers of the Word and mature in the Lord.
Think about it: What steps are you taking to grow in spiritual maturity? Pray for God to show you where you need to mature. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey and to desire what God desires. Then determine to do what God commands.
You can find “10 Steps to Spiritual Maturity” by clicking here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mwQJUVFH7SF9SUT91VqVQcYKMvCpaZYO/view?usp=sharing
© 2022 Robin R King
