Grow Up
Messy Church - 1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsChristians mature more and more as they continue to to be built up through the gospel.
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles, please turn them to 1 Cor 3.
Tonight, we are continuing our time in our series through 1 Corinthians called ‘Messy Church’. In this letter written by Paul to the Corinthian church we read about what was arguably the most dysfunctional and messy church in Bible.
As we go through this letter, I want us to be aware of the sins that we often see within the church, and more than this I want us to see how the gospel confronts every one of those sins.
I also hope that your love for the local church will grow, despite the mess that can often come with being a part of the church.
As we go through this letter, we will see four major problems that were taking place in the Corinthian church. The first of those problems that Paul addressed was division. For those who have been tracking with us over the last two weeks, you’ll remember that the Corinthians were debating with one another over who the best preacher was… Now we all have our own opinions regarding all sorts of topics, and the diversity in opinion is not always bad. But for the Corinthians, their differing opinions about these preachers was producing all sorts of sin.
First of all, their different opinions were dividing the church. Now this might not seem like a big deal to some of us, but this division in the church is a serious and terrible sin, because when we divide the church over our differing opinions, we break that which Jesus died to unify.
Furthermore, when Corinthians debating over the best preacher also exposed their pride. When the we are marked by pride, it is owing to us giving glory to man when all glory belongs to God.
And this week, we will see that the Corinthian’s divisiveness exposed their immaturity. So the title of tonight’s sermon is ‘Grow Up’.
Let’s hear how Paul deals with the Corinthian’s immaturity as we continue going through this epistle, and as we do every week, please stand for the reading of God’s word.
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Let’s pray.
I want your honest feedback with this question:
How many of you ever you ever wished you were younger again?
Perhaps you’re like Peter Pan, and as you get older you just don’t want to grow up?
Now there are certainly days where I miss my years as a youth…
because I miss the time when I didn’t have so many financial responsibilities
I miss some of the late night summers of carefree leisure with my friends
And I even miss being able to eat whatever I wanted without any regret
But let’s be real… I’m twenty eight, and if I still acted like I was an eighteen year old, it would be really strange...
Even as a dad, I am sad in a way, to watch my son grow up…
Now, my son Peter is only two, but all the same he is growing up way too fast!
But while I say he is growing up too fast, please understand, I do want him to grow up…
I mean, seriously think about it for a moment… my son is in the stage of life that we call the terrible two’s because of the many fits he throws throughout the day… but, if Peter was a twelve year old, and he continued to throw the fits of a two year old, I would be more than disappointed…
And what would be more sad than watching my kids grow up, would be to watch them grow up physically, only for them to never grow up into maturity
So while a part of me is sad that my son is growing up, really I am very thankful that he is growing up and developing into a toddler and not just acting like a baby all of the time.
You see, we all need to grow up…
I’m twenty eight, and I can’t go on living I’m eighteen
And sure, Peter is just two, but I hope that by the time he is twelve, I hope he matures into a youth like the rest of you.
But much in the same way that we should grow up physically, the Christian is also supposed to mature spiritually.
The only problem is, often times, Christians show very little evidence that they are continuing to grow up in Christ as they ought to. Such was one of the problems that the Corinthians were guilty of.
Paul put it this way.
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
Notice, Paul says that he has to deal with the Corinthians as if they were infants in Christ…
This is a metaphor used to describe their spiritual immaturity…
Paul uses this metaphor as a response to what he said back in ch 2
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
There is a secret wisdom that is given to those who are mature…
But here Paul says that such wisdom cannot hardly be given to the Corinthians, because they are still acting like infants in Christ… they claim to have wisdom, but in their claim, they are revealing that they are much like their old self
The Corinthians claim to have this wisdom and maturity, but they look more like children who are playing house with a fake oven making phone calls using calculators not real phones
While they were claiming to be wise and spiritual, the reality was Corinthians that they were operating according to their flesh… that is, they were hardly showing any evidences the Spirit’s work in their life.
Paul continues…
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Much in the same way that a child cannot have solid food, so too, Paul says, the Corinthians are not ready to receive the wisdom that he has to impart to those who are mature… because the Corinthians are marked by are jealousy and strife. They are operating according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit of God.
Paul reiterates the specific issue that they were debating:
4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
Paul is not saying that being human is in and of itself wrong… (although every human is a sinner in need of grace) but when he says that they are being merely human… he is saying that they are acting as if the Sprit of God has not redeemed them and transformed them into a new creation.
Here’s what I want us to see:
1. Maturing in Christ is evident when we look less like we did before Jesus saved us.
1. Maturing in Christ is evident when we look less like we did before Jesus saved us.
Make no mistake, it is God’s design, that those whom he saved, would look different from the rest of the world!
It is true, that Jesus died and rose again, so that we would be saved from the penalty of sin. We talk about how we will not die, but instead we will reign with God for eternity… this is a wonderful truth
But Jesus didn’t die in our place only to free us from the penalty of sin… but Jesus also dies so that we would be delivered from the power of sin…
This is what we call sanctification…
Sanctification is the ongoing process of becoming more and more like Jesus…
And here’s the deal, in this life, we will always sin… we will never be perfect or sinless… and because of this, we will always be dependent on God’s grace
but here is what will happen… in this life, if you have in fact been saved… that is to say, if you have been justified, then you will also be sanctified…
Which simply means, you will show signs of spiritual maturity…
This happens, because the sins we once struggled with, will no longer have the same power over us as they once did.
This is the power of the gospel…
If you are a Christian who is prone to pride… you will grow in humility from one degree to another. You will never be perfect. So you will need to depend on grace and seek forgiveness… but make no mistake, you will look different.
If you are a person who struggles with lust…then by God’s grace, you will be delivered from this sin from one degree to another. In this life you won’t be perfect, but you will look different as you grow in Christ.
If you are a jealous person… then you will grow in contentment… not always looking for the next thing you can get, but instead seeking Christ and his righteousness as your reward.
In this life, you will always need to fight sin and put it to death, but as you do, you will see the Lord changing and transforming day by day…
You see, those of us that have been redeemed, should look different. And you should look different in a year from now than you do today. And for those who have been saved for more than one year, you should look different today than you did a year ago.
Just as 12 year olds aren’t doesn’t look like a two year old
and just as 28 year olds isn’t supposed to act like 18 year olds…
so too, is it fitting, and right for Christians to mature, and grow up into Christ…
So then, how does a Christian grow?
Paul continues in v 5
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
The Corinthians were so busy boasting and arguing over which preacher is the best… put Paul frames this out with an analogy from agriculture or farming....
Paul compares himself and Apollos, these preachers, to servants who work for the Lord…
And while each of them play a role in planting and watering seeds so they might grow. In his preaching… Paul is casting out seeds… and in Apollos’ preaching… he is watering
But Paul says, God produced the all of the growth!
So their debating over who is the best preacher, is like debating who the best farmer is… it’s a silly and foolish argument isn’t it? What we should recognize and celebrate is that God is the one who produces growth!
This is the way every Christian grows up…
yes through planting and watering… That is, through the hearing the word and reading the word… but ultimately, all growth comes from God who is the author and sustainer of all life…
7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Paul is saying in effect, all glory goes to God! Yes, Paul and every other servant of Christ will receive their payment, but that payment comes from God not man… So to each person who is thankful for the work of any preacher, give all glory to God!
Paul in v 9 changes his illustration from that of a farmer, and a field to that of a builder who is building God’s temple… he continues with this new illustration in v10-15.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Earlier Paul said he is the one who planted seeds, here he says he is the one who laid a foundation… you see, Paul is the one who started the Corinthian church… what is the seed that was planted? Or to change analogies, what was the foundation that was laid? Paul says in v 11… the foundation is Jesus Christ…
That’s why back in chapter 2 Paul said
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
This is how Paul founded the church in Corinth… and this is how every church is made, for it is through the gospel of Jesus Christ that every person comes to a saving knowledge of God…
For where Christ is is not preached, there will be no faith in him, and if there is no faith there is be redemption from sin, and if there is no redemption, then there is no church.
So if it is through the gospel that we we come to faith, how then do we grow up in our faith?
Well go back to 3:10-11
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Note hose Paul urges the person who is building on the foundation to do so with care… to not go beyond the foundation… and not to lay another foundation... Paul continues to talk about the building up the church with various materials
Listen to him:
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
Notice here that there are six materials that Paul lists in v 12
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw
Here, these materials are all used to build the church upon the foundation of the gospel
Of those six, three of them would be destroyed if they are burned with fire… and three of them will survive if put into fire…
What’s the point of this?
The point is this: not all work that is done in the church will endure....
Busyness does not equal faithfulness
I see this happen in churches all the time…
they get busy doing all sorts of activities and programs
they do all sorts of events, retreats, conferences, and the like
Hey some of them even open up a full time cafeteria in the church, and hire baristas to make coffee throughout the week…
They turn the church into something that looks more like the shopping mall than a church…
And in all their busyness they think they are being faithful (and to be clear, you can still be a barista and be a faithful servant of Christ… so don’t misunderstand me)
What I’m trying to say, is busy work in the church is not necessarily faithful work unto the Lord
Please understand, that not all work that is done in the name of the Jesus is work that has eternal value…
That’s why back in v10, Paul urged them to be careful with what they build onto the foundation of the gospel…
Paul continues
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Not everything that is built up in the church will last Paul says…
and while there are many implications to these verses, let’s stay focused on the topic at hand…
What does all this have to do how Christians grow up?
2. The church grows up when it is built upon foundation of the gospel, but it will not grow if it departs from the gospel.
2. The church grows up when it is built upon foundation of the gospel, but it will not grow if it departs from the gospel.
How did the plants grow back in v 6 do you remember... they grew through the means of planting and watering, planting and watering… and God produced the growth
So planting watering… what does that mean… it means we preaching Christ, and the gospel… time and time again.
And when that happens, God produces life, and growth and maturity
Oh the Corinthians were busy people…
They were busy trying to gain wisdom and power… but all the work that they were doing was being done was with wood, hay, and straw… all things these works would be consumed by the fire of God’s judgment
Listen carefully, Christians don’t mature by seeking wisdom and power from outside of the gospel… as if the gospel was only what saved you, but in order to mature you need to learn the more advanced things of the faith…
Yes the gospel of Jesus Christ is what saves you…
But make no mistake, the gospel does so much more than just saving from sin. For it is by the gospel that you are also sanctified, so that you would grow into maturity, so that you would lack nothing in Christ Jesus.
Just as a tree continues to need water so that it can live and grow,
so too does the Christian always need the gospel
But what happens when a Christian stops being watered by the word of God…
well, what happens when a tree is chopped down and can no longer take in water? It dies!
So too, if a Christian is not planted in word, he will die
You will never graduate from your need for the gospel, for by it you have been saved, by it you are being saved, and by the gospel, you will be saved!
St. Jerome, one of the early church fathers said it this way:
“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for a theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom"
do you understand what this means?
Yeah children come to Christ through the Scriptures…
but as those children grow and mature, they don’t move into a deeper pool… as if the Bible is the kiddy pool for infants and the adult pool is found elsewhere
Listen… we should not grumble upon hearing the same stories from the Bible time and time again… for some of you, though claiming to be wise, are more like infants showing very little evidence of the Spirit working in and through your life…
Instead of grumbling about the same old stories that you have heard 100 times… go to the Scriptures, and dig in them, and mine them time and time again so that you might grow into maturity.
And as we grow in wisdom, be careful not to grow in your pride as well… listen to these sobering words
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
If you want to know why division in the church is so heinous… look no further than these two verses
That word ‘you’ here, is not singular… it is plural…so we can understand you as you all… meaning, the gathered church with each person together that has been redeemed, is the temple of God where his Spirit dwells
So consider the care that we ought to take when we build upon the temple of God… far be it that we divide the temple over such trivial matters…
who’s the best preacher
to wear masks or not to wear masks
Which political party is the right one…
All of these arguments are fleeting and will not stand in the last day
Listen, we are all a part of the temple of God if we have in fact recieved Christ… for the one Spirit of God dwells with us all who believe… so do not destroy God’s temple by dividing it over any of your petty preferences… And do not polluting or defiling God’s temple with anything that might distort the gospel
But instead, be built up on Christ… the solid rock…for he will never shift nor change… and if you are built up in him… you will grow into maturity with all who believe.
Let’s finish this chapter.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Paul tells the Corinthians, ‘all things are yours’
They are so divided over which preacher is best…
And Paul tells them… why be divided
Paul all belong to you!
Apollos belongs to you!
but before the Corinthians get a chance to be inflated with pride, Paul says and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
Do you understand what this means?
it means you belong to Jesus… and dividing the church, is dividing something that does not belong to you.
So instead of becoming wise in your own eyes, and making your agenda known… Paul says:
Become a fool… so that you might become wise.
3. If we depend on anything beyond Jesus for wisdom then we will be immature fools, but when we depend on Jesus for wisdom then we will grow into maturity.
3. If we depend on anything beyond Jesus for wisdom then we will be immature fools, but when we depend on Jesus for wisdom then we will grow into maturity.
Do you know what a mature church looks like?
It’s not simply a church that knows a bunch of correct doctrine…
doctrine - what we believe
Believing the right things isn’t the mark of maturity
A mature church isn’t even a church with a bunch of people built on all sorts of foundations… no the mark of maturity is not popularity
Rather, a mature church and mature believers, are those who are unified by the gospel… who delight in the truth of God’s word… and who take in his word day by day so that they might be built up on Christ
May we grow into maturity as we take in the word… and even now as we all hear the word… through my planting and watering… might God produce growth in us.
So to that end, let us pray and ask God to do what only he can do…
And as he works in us, let us give praise and glory to him.