Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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*1 Corinthians 3:1-3a… *And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.
Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly.
*Commentary*
            Verse one literally says, “But as for me, brothers, I have been /unable/ to speak to you as spiritual men…” Paul has changed from saying “we” in the previous context of chapter two (where he lumped himself in with the Corinthians) to saying, “but as for me” or “but I” in verse one so as to separate himself from them and their immature behavior.
Paul was growing in his spiritual maturity, but the Corinthians weren’t.
In fact, their growth was stunted because they were behaving like babies who have not grown at all.
In essence Paul saw himself, as it were, as a calculus teacher attempting to teach advanced math to kindergartners.
As such Paul was literally “unable to speak” to them as spiritual men.
Since their minds were set on the flesh (i.e., worldly wisdom and philosophies) Paul was not even able to teach them the deeper spiritual truths they so badly needed to hear.
He calls them “men of the flesh – babes in Christ.”
This designation doesn’t imply that there are degrees within Christianity, but it does teach that Christians either grow or remain children.
These saints had the Holy Spirit, for Paul makes that very clear in 1:1-9.
But, just like children do, their spiritual immaturity was leading them into divisions within their church.
Their minds were set on the flesh (i.e., worldly matters).
In verse two Paul stays with the baby analogy.
He gave them “milk to drink, not solid food.”
The “milk” is the diet of a baby, for they cannot eat solid food.
Spiritually speaking, the “milk” represents the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Corinthians understood that, but the “solid food” they were unable to comprehend.
Solid food represents the continual growing in what the cross of Christ actually means.
It’s far more than a historical event to be recognized, it is the wisdom of God, it is the “mystery” once hidden now revealed.
Solid food increases a child’s growth, but the solid food of growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God is essential for spiritual growth.
The Corinthians apparently didn’t have the /teeth/ to chew such food, as it were.
Paul berates them in saying that they are “fleshly.”
Their conversion to Jesus Christ made them spiritual, but they continue to act fleshly by following after the ways of the world.
*Food for Thought*
            Some folks will go to their death beds believing in their own freewill to choose.
The only freewill man has without Christ, however, is the will to choose evil – to choose that which is unspiritual.
Indeed man without Christ cannot choose Christ and the salvation he alone provides.
However, when one comes to know Jesus Christ he~/she gains the ability to make spiritual decisions.
Indeed only then do they truly gain the ability to choose and have freewill.
What a shame it is that most Christians don’t choose to grow up beyond spiritual childhood.
And as a result spiritually mature teachers and preachers are left with the same problem Paul had with the Corinthians, namely, that they are “unable” to speak to audiences as spiritual men and women.
Many Christians today have attended church all their lives yet have little to no knowledge of scripture.
They came to Christ but have remained spiritual babies for years.
They don’t know the deeper issues in scripture, and when confronted they turn away like it’s a foul odor.
Make it a goal in your life starting today to grow up spiritually so that you can begin to understand the scriptures as they relate to life.
Don’t be content to be a spiritual child but strive for maturity.
Open the Bible, and let it teach you instead of you foisting your views upon it.
Your life change will influence others to do the same.
It all starts with you.
*1 Corinthians 3:3b-5… *For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos?
And what is Paul?
Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
*Commentary*
            After scolding the Corinthians about being babies in Christ and not growing onto mature adult Christians in 3:1-2, the Apostle Paul gives them an example of what he means in verse three.
He claims that since there is jealousy and strife among the Corinthians then this proves that they are “fleshly” as opposed to spiritual.
As a result they were acting “like mere men.”
This shows that believers in Christ are supposed to be a step above the way worldly people behave – those that don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord~/Savior – by getting along with each other and casting out “jealousy and strife.”
Jealousy translates a Greek word that sometimes refers to “zeal.”
Here, however, it deals with “resentment and envy.”
Of course resentment and envy almost always leads to “strife” – a word that means “to quarrel or fight.”
Basically, the Corinthians were doing what many people in the modern-day church do – they were talking behind other people’s backs, spreading gossip, creating dissention, and fighting with one another.
All of these behaviors are behaviors exhibited by worldly people who don’t know God and have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
But since these Corinthians did know Jesus Christ there was no place for their back-biting behavior.
As such Paul was “unable” to speak to them as spiritual people, for they were acting like worldly, Godless people.
Their behavior was “fleshly” instead of “spiritual,” and they were “walking” like mere men.
In the NT “walking” refers to “living” or “conducting oneself.”
These folks were living like mere men instead of the spiritual men and women they had been made in Jesus Christ.
Hence, Paul’s sharp criticism of their behavior.
In verse four Paul picks up again the problem he spoke of in 1:12-17 where these folks were choosing between their favorite preachers and creating a split in the church.
Some were following after their first pastor, Paul, and some were partial to the second pastor, Apollos.
When people do this, then and now, they simply show themselves to be “mere men” as opposed to spiritual people with spiritual maturity.
That first century issue hasn’t changed much today.
In verse five Paul minimizes his own importance and that of Apollos.
A paraphrase translation of his question might sound something like, “Apollos and I are nothing, and we’re not worth following because we’re not the point of the underlying message.”
He elaborates on their role in the lives of the Corinthians by reminding them that they were simply “servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.”
In other words, God only used Paul and Apollos to get His message to the Corinthians.
The messengers are nothing more and nothing less than those who deliver.
They were only given an opportunity to spread God’s good Word to these lost people.
Dividing over them was to miss the point entirely.
*Food for Thought*
            Divisions are common in all churches because even though Christians worship there, it’s still made up of fallen human beings.
However, we must not use our humanity to excuse our sins.
The message of the cross must never be overshadowed by our petty little problems and issues.
People get jealous of one another, gossip about people, and there is always a fight somewhere in the local church.
Splits are common, but splits must remind us of our immaturity.
Trivial disagreements ought to bring us to our knees for forgiveness and spur us on to more mature behavior.
Remember, it’s not about you; it’s about God.
Our divisions are detrimental to all.
*1 Corinthians 3:5-7… *What then is Apollos?
And what is Paul?
Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
*Commentary*
            In 3:5 Paul downplays his role and the role of Apollos as the former pastors of the church in Corinth.
He says that they were just “servants.”
While the church there was arguing over who was the better pastor, Paul says that they were both nothing but servants.
“Servant” translates the Greek term /diakonos/ which is sometimes translated as “deacon.”
This word describes both a person and an office within the church.
In verse five it has to do with carrying out the commands of another.
In this case it’s about Paul and Apollos carrying out the commands of God to both preach Christ and to help those who place their trust in him to also grow in him.
Verse six speaks of two functions of God’s servants.
First, Paul says that he “planted.”
This word is used most often in the Bible to refer to planting a vineyard.
Paul uses the word to illustrate his role in bringing the Corinthians to Christ.
He was the one who started the church, and he planted the seeds, as it were.
In other words, Paul told these people about the Christ, about the cross, and about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
This is the basic message, and it is just like planting seeds in soil except it’s about introducing others to the cross of Christ.
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