January 22, 2025

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (HCSB)
The Problem of Immaturity
3 Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still fleshly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and living like unbelievers?
4 For whenever someone says, “I’m with Paul,” and another, “I’m with Apollos,” are you not unspiritual people? The Role of God’s Servants 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now the one planting and the one watering are one in purpose, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

Caleb Doolittle
Paul continues his letter with a gentle rebuke. He addresses the Corinthians as "infants in Christ," unable to receive solid spiritual food. He had to feed them "milk” because they lacked spiritual maturity to grasp deeper truths. Why were they still spiritual babies? Because of their jealousy and quarreling. These worldly behaviors hindered their growth in Christ. Paul reminds them that they are still "of the flesh," demonstrating that their focus is on human leaders and worldly wisdom rather than on Christ and the Spirit. He uses the metaphor of planting and watering to illustrate the role of different servants in God's kingdom. Apollos and Paul, though different individuals with different styles, were both working towards the same goal: the growth of the Corinthian believers. It is ultimately God who gives the growth. This passage challenges us to examine our own spiritual maturity. Are we growing in Christ, or are we stuck on "milk," unable to digest deeper truths? Are jealousy, strife, and worldly concerns hindering our spiritual development? Today, commit to spending more time in God's Word and prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you need to grow and to give you the strength to put aside worldly concerns that hinder your spiritual development.