Daily Bread 2011 - 1 Corinthians 3
Daily Bread 2011 – 1 Corinthians 3
On Divisions in the Church
1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul confronts the spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he uses the metaphor of milk and solid food (or meat). He also uses the analogy of “infants in Christ”. Although there are no “better” Christians than others, Paul clearly delineates the process of spiritual formation or maturity in Christ through the use of these metaphors. At the heart of their immaturity was the fact that they were choosing personalities and favoring one messenger over the other, rather than focusing on the message and person of Christ.
There is a temptation when we are young in our faith to equate those who brought us the faith or “discipled us” with the Lord himself. As one grows in the reliance on Christ versus human personality, their faith deepens and becomes more mature as it looks to the true source of their faith, Jesus Christ. Many of our divisions in the church come when we start idolizing things that are worldly, above things of eternal and spiritual value. The more we grow, the more we realize that it is only God who makes things grow. Our only task is to be faithful to plant and water.
What Does This Mean For Us?
As followers of Christ, it reminds us to be careful to put our faith in mere humans or we will surely be disappointed. As leaders for Christ, it reminds us to remember that we are leading people to Christ alone. As John the Baptist, one of the early leaders in the church said, “I must decrease so you can increase.” As Matthew says in the Sermon on the Mount, when we do things to receive credit here on earth, we have received our reward in full.
Paul refers to this as the “wood, hay and stubble” that will be burned up in the fire. But as we truly seek to serve Christ and lead people to Him, we are using gold, silver and costly stones. On the Day of Judgment (when Jesus returns), the quality of our work will be revealed. (Don’t confuse this with the judgment for salvation based on faith in Jesus Christ). This is the sense in which we will be accountable for the gifts and talents we have been entrusted with here on earth to advance God’s kingdom.
Dear Jesus, we thank you for the Good News of the Gospel and that you have entrusted the task of proclaiming it to us. As we transmit this message of inestimable value may we remember to point people to you only as the author and perfector of our faith. Amen.
On Divisions in the Church
1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
What Does This Mean?
As Paul confronts the spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church, he uses the metaphor of milk and solid food (or meat). He also uses the analogy of “infants in Christ”. Although there are no “better” Christians than others, Paul clearly delineates the process of spiritual formation or maturity in Christ through the use of these metaphors. At the heart of their immaturity was the fact that they were choosing personalities and favoring one messenger over the other, rather than focusing on the message and person of Christ.
There is a temptation when we are young in our faith to equate those who brought us the faith or “discipled us” with the Lord himself. As one grows in the reliance on Christ versus human personality, their faith deepens and becomes more mature as it looks to the true source of their faith, Jesus Christ. Many of our divisions in the church come when we start idolizing things that are worldly, above things of eternal and spiritual value. The more we grow, the more we realize that it is only God who makes things grow. Our only task is to be faithful to plant and water.
What Does This Mean For Us?
As followers of Christ, it reminds us to be careful to put our faith in mere humans or we will surely be disappointed. As leaders for Christ, it reminds us to remember that we are leading people to Christ alone. As John the Baptist, one of the early leaders in the church said, “I must decrease so you can increase.” As Matthew says in the Sermon on the Mount, when we do things to receive credit here on earth, we have received our reward in full.
Paul refers to this as the “wood, hay and stubble” that will be burned up in the fire. But as we truly seek to serve Christ and lead people to Him, we are using gold, silver and costly stones. On the Day of Judgment (when Jesus returns), the quality of our work will be revealed. (Don’t confuse this with the judgment for salvation based on faith in Jesus Christ). This is the sense in which we will be accountable for the gifts and talents we have been entrusted with here on earth to advance God’s kingdom.
Dear Jesus, we thank you for the Good News of the Gospel and that you have entrusted the task of proclaiming it to us. As we transmit this message of inestimable value may we remember to point people to you only as the author and perfector of our faith. Amen.
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