The Diet of a Growing Christian

I Corinthians 3:1–9
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Up to this point, Paul has been talking about two kinds of people in the world:  those who are natural (unsaved) and those who are spiritual (saved). Now he says there are two kinds of saved people:  those who are mature and those who are immature, which he calls carnal (vv. 1-4). The Corinthian Christians, who should be spiritual, were carnal and because of this, they were not able to understand the things of God. The fact that there were among them people who were filled with envy, strife and divisions was proof that they were carnal.  Paul referred to them as “brethren” and babes in Christ (v.1). They were truly saved but still allowing the old nature to control them. 

It may be difficult to determine a believer’s spiritual maturity, or immaturity, unless you discover what kind of “diet” he enjoys. The “babe in Christ” lives on “Bible stories” and not Bible doctrines. If he is not hungry for the Word of God, he is either spiritually dead (not saved) or he is spiritually sick (carnal). The church is pictured as a field that ought to bear fruit (vv. 5-9). The task of the ministry is the sowing of the seed, the cultivating of the soil, the watering of the plants and the harvesting of the fruit. While men can be used to plant and cultivate only God can make things grow.

Paul referred to the Corinthians as infants because they were drinking the milk of the Word when they should be more mature and eating the solid food of the Word that brings spiritual growth. The proof was that they quarreled like children, allowing divisions to distract them. Basically, they were controlled by their own desires rather than being in tune with God’s desires.

Application

Carnal Christians are controlled by their own desires, while mature believers are in tune with God’s desires. The question for me to ask myself is, how much influence do my desires have on my life? I need to continually pray that Christ will give me a spiritual appetite for His Word.