There were quarrels and
divisions reported in the church at Corinth. In Christ, it is always wrong to
have any form of quarreling and jealousy in the church. However, they are found
everywhere in the churches both the first century and twenty-first century.
Chapter 3 of the Epistle starts with the reason why quarrels and divisions
happen in the church.
“Brothers and sisters, I could
not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still
worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were
not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly.
For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are
you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and
another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?” (1 Corinthians
3:1-4)
First of all, the quarrels
arise when the people in church do not live by the Spirit. They are still worldly,
mere infants in Christ. There are three steps in the growth of faith—child, young
man, and father (1 John 2:12-14). Christian birth in Jesus Christ resembles physical
birth. A new born babe is a perfect human and yet shall grow physically,
psychologically, mentally, and emotionally in due course. A new born Christian
shall grow spiritually as well. The regenerated Christians need to learn how to
walk and live by the Spirit. It’s a process which takes time, sometimes long
painful years. The goal of calling is to become mature, attaining the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ.
“So Christ himself gave the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his
people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until
we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:11-13)
As babies grow naturally through
food and proper exercise so do born again Christians. If not growing there must
be something wrong. The most probable cause of not growing is not being fed
properly and timely. It’s called malnutrition which can happen when no proper
food is supplied. Babies need milk but grown-ups do solid food. The Epistle of Hebrews
further reveals why the new born Christians don’t grow into maturity. It’s
because they no longer try to understand solid food, so that by this time they
ought to be teachers but they need someone to teach them the elementary truths
of God’s word all over again. The mark of immature Christians is to take only
the elementary teachings, saying “Amen” to them while rejecting the hard
teachings.
“We have much to say about
this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to
understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You
need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is
not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the
mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from
evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14)
Spiritual milk is called the
elementary teachings which are listed out here.
“Therefore let us move beyond
the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not
laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of
faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the
resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” (Hebrews 6:1-2)
These are the ABCs in Christian
faith but there are much more to learn in the faith and in the knowledge of the
Son of God. But the mature eat solid food like distinguishing good from evil.
One notable mark of the mature is the constant usage of solid food, the word of
God. Loving one another is solid food because it is what God did for the
sinners like us through the Son Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ
is our solid food, the real food. Jesus declares Himself to the crowd of Jews, saying
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) Our Lord Jesus plainly says anyone
who eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life. It means we live by
means of Christ Jesus now and forevermore.
“No one has seen the Father
except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell
you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your
ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread
that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living
bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue
sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly
I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and
my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in
me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the
Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread
that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever
feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum. (John 6:46-59)
The Corinthian Christians were
just like mere infants in Christ, still worldly since there are jealousy and
quarreling among them. They were acting like mere humans, carnal Christians not
mature. Some said, “I follow Paul,” and others, “I follow Apollos.” Now Paul
expounds why they were acting like mere humans.
“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. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has
been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one
who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their
own labor.” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8)
Paul and Apollos were only the servants
of God the Lord who put to each to His task. Paul planted the seed and Apollos
watered it, but God made it grow. Neither Paul nor Apollos is anything but only
God who makes things grow. Each has one purpose and God will reward each
according to their own labor. God is the center in the process of growth and
the servants do menial jobs the Master has appointed. What the Corinthian
Christians missed and failed to see the main thing that is God. Like any other mere
humans do, they valued highly on the people according to their preference and
partiality. In the beginning of the letter, Paul said that he was called to be
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. No one chooses God by human
will. But God chose us to bear the fruit of righteousness (John 15:16).
Prayer: Thank you Father for
calling us to be Your instruments, being part of the redemptive program of
salvation from sin and condemnation. Thank our Lord Jesus Christ who is our
living bread and true drink and gives eternal life to anyone who lives by means
of Christ, eating Him and drinking of Him. Father, have mercy on us not to
remain in mere infants in Christ but to grow to maturity in the faith and the knowledge
of the mystery of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ’s name. Amen.
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