Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Helpful thoughts:
- There is a time to feed the people of God spiritual milk and then, as they grow, move on to solid food.
- Paul informs the church at Corinth they are not yet ready for solid food.
- The immaturity of the people was not evidenced in their ability (Or lack thereof) to articulate biblical concepts, but in their tendency toward jealousy and strife.
- Maturity is not equal to a large theological vocabulary.
- Maturity is equal to growth in Christ-likeness. Joyful obedience and spiritual fruit.
- As an example, Paul reminds the church that he is nothing, only a servant. He and Apollos were not competing with one another for attention or acclaim. They were serving their Lord by sewing seed in the field (Verses 5-9).
Questions to consider:
- What would be the response of a member of the church at Corinth if they were humbly receiving this information from Paul? What if they were being prideful? If a person refuses milk when they still need it, when will they become ready for solid food? How could they even discern what solid food actually is?
- What types of biblical concepts and truths would you consider to be “solid food?” What truths are “milk?” How would Paul's example of immaturity in verse 3 help us to define those differently than what we might expect?
- Who is the giver of growth (Verses 6-7)? How should this truth affect our prayer? How should this truth affect our view of other people? How should this truth affect how and what we teach and preach?