FLESHLINESS, INFANCY, AND GROWTH IN CHRIST: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Big idea: The shame, cause, signs, and cure of Christians who are perpetual infants in Christ.

I. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR LIVING SAINTS TO ACT, FOR A TIME, LIKE DEAD SINNERS (v. 1a)
I) The true Christian, when he is backslidden, will be miserable at best (Proverbs 14:14)
II) If a backslider does not repent and turn again to faithfulness to Christ, he is simply revealing that He never did belong to Christ (1 John 2:19)
III) The hope for the backslider is not in his repentance but in the Lord’s mercy which will cause the backslider to repent (Jeremiah 14:7)
IV) The true Christian, though he may backslide, will renew his repentance in time because God will preserve him (1 Peter 1:5; Luke 22:32; Ephesians 1:13-14)
(I) The true Christian will renew his repentance in time because God the Father is guarding him (1 Peter 1:5)
(II) The true Christian will renew his repentance in time because Christ prays for him (Luke 22:31-32)
(III) The true Christian will renew his repentance in time because the Holy Spirit has sealed him (Ephesians 1:14)

II. IT IS SHAMEFUL FOR SAINTS TO BE PERPETUAL INFANTS (v. 1b)
I) It is shameful for saints to be perpetual infants because they ought to grow up to maturity and then be able to teach others (Hebrews 5:12a)
II) It is shameful for saints to be perpetual infants because they should not have to be repeatedly taught the basic principles of the Word of God (Hebrews 5:12b)
III) It is shameful for saints to be perpetual infants because adults are skilled in righteousness and children are skilled in sin (Hebrews 5:13)
IV) It is shameful for saints to be perpetual infants because adults are trained to discern good from evil and children cannot (Hebrews 5:14)

III. FLESHLINESS IS ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES OF PERPETUAL INFANCY (vv. 2-3a)
I) Beloved, If you want to grow up to maturity in Christ, you must wage war against your flesh
II) If you would wage war on your sin, see the evil of it by looking at the price paid for it

IV. JEALOUSY AND STRIFE ARE SURE SIGNS OF FLESHLINESS AND INFANCY (vv. 3b-4)

V. APPLICATION AND EXHORTATION (Jude 20-21)
I) If you would grow up to maturity in Christ, you must build yourself up in the faith (Jude 20a)
II) If you would grow up to maturity in Christ, you must pray (Jude 20b)
III) If you would grow up to maturity in Christ, you must stand firm in the love of God by obeying Christ’s commandments (Jude 21a)
IV) If you would grow up to maturity in Christ, eagerly and confidently wait for Christ’s merciful second coming (Jude 21b)

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION

1. Read verse 3. What could Paul not address these Corinthians as, and what does he mean? What could he, in fact, address them as, and what does he mean?

2. What did Paul feed the Corinthians with, according to verse 2? What did he not feed them with, and what does he mean? Why did he not feed them with solid food, according to the end of verse 2?

3. Read verse 3. What does Paul mean by “you are still of the flesh”?
According to the second half of verse 3, what does Paul specifically have in mind when he says the Corinthians are “behaving only in a human way”? How does verse 4 help clarify what Paul has in mind in verse 1-4?

Ekklesia Muskogee is a reformed baptist church that gathers for worship in Muskogee, Oklahoma. We confess the 1689 second London baptist confession of faith. We affirm the five solas of the Reformation as well as the doctrines of grace (otherwise known as the five points of Calvinism), and each of our pastors would not be ashamed to be called a Calvinist. We are a church led by elders, of which there is a plurality (also called pastors and overseers in the Scriptures). Our mission is to make disciples, love cities, and plant churches.