Grow Up!

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

¹ 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?

This passage is a clear call to maturity in Christ. The Corinthian believers had brought their culture into the church instead of allowing the Spirit to develop ‘God-culture’ in them. In Corinthian culture, there is a focus on who is the most well-spoken and gracious orator or leader, and people choose to follow their favourites. But bringing that same culture into the church was causing disunity and squabbling, prompting Paul to describe them as being stuck in infancy.

The call to maturity is not just for the Corinthians. Our culture may differ from theirs, but it is equally pervasive. How do we mature and develop God-culture? In chapter 2, Paul described the difference between human wisdom and God given wisdom. The Holy Spirit, who was given to us when we believed in salvation through Jesus’ death, explains spiritual truths to us (1 Corinthians 2:13) and gives us “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16b).

I see the process of maturing in Christ as a partnership with the Spirit. We can ask him to show us in which areas we need to mature. We can endeavour to change, knowing that he is also helping us to become more like Christ.

 Lord, I want to mature and be more like you. I want my behaviour and attitudes and love to reflect you, so that others can see you in me. Holy Spirit, show me where I need to change, and help me to do that. I invite you to show me and help me change today and for the rest of my life. Amen

Written by Megan Cornell