NO TO SPIRITUAL CHILDISHNESS

1 Corinthians 3:1-2

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.
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,

Imagine having a child who having been given birth to, stops growing, remaining in that statue, in size, intellect and action - it is terrible, a real pain. So is it when believers refuse to grow.

Let us look at Paul's first evidence of lack of growth in the church at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 3:3-4
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?
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?

* jealousy: envying one another, usually birthed by unholy competitions and pride;

* quarreling: unnecessary strives, one wanting to take advantage of another, lack of love and mutual respect;

* hero worship: my pastor this, my pastor that, when we become carried away by human personality and allow a human take God's place in our lives (we must have spiritual leaders, but we must know who is boss, Christ Jesus).

Remember you cannot bear fruit if you are not growing, thus you should not expect any result from the Heavenly Father: "John 15"

1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

We surely need spiritual leadership, however we must be careful not to put them in Christ's place:

1 Corinthians 3:21-23
So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you,
and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

For:

1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

You must get this right then you can follow wisely.

Everyone including that person you follow will give account. No one is too big or that special.

Thus we must all be careful how we build. What are our intentions, our motives, that is what the Heavenly Father would consider.

Is it eternal? -  gold, silver, precious stones

Is it carnal? - wood, hay, straw, paper.

It will all be tried, yes, by fire and the fire would prove the material. The carnal material will burn but the eternal material will remain.

What have you been building on, what are you building on? Is it eternal, good motive, or is it carnal?

Remember it determines your reward in heaven. Will your file be empty or will it be filled with good report to receive reward?

1 Corinthians 3:13-15
But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.
But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

We must be mindful of how we build.

See it doesn't matter if the world praises you, for being accepted by the world does not translate to the Lord accepting you. Yes you must not be found guilty, however do not expect love from the world.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20
Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness.”
And again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”

May we all mature as christians, we will not be a nuisance to the Lord, we will also not put our spiritual leaders in trouble. We will maintain the foundation and we will build well. So help us good Lord.

He calls us blessed.

Love
@the watcher.