I Corinthians 3:1-4 - No Such Thing

I Corinthians 3:1-4
¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, ³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?

Message: No Such Thing

Time: This epistle was written to the church that resided in Corinth of Achaia. First Corinthians is a response to a letter that Paul received from the Corinthian church, and that letter was probably a response to another of Paul's letters. This letter was composed in Ephesus around AD 54-55, and such topics as division, sexual immorality, lawsuits, marriage, Christian liberty, order of worship, and the resurrection are covered in this epistle.

What the Lord is Saying: 

My first glance at this passage has Paul writing that his words had to be written in a way that they could understand. He used words that were like milk and thus, easy to digest. It reminds of the people that I often speak with, at the mall or online with the online ministry I am involved in. I am reminded that my words should be simple and easy to digest, not speaking over people, with a lot of Christian language, until I understand that they can handle those words. The reason those in Corinth couldn't understand was Paul recognized that the were "still fleshly" and "walking like mere men." They had jealousy and strife among them.

This passage in a way parallels with a passage I studied two days ago: I John 2:19 -- They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. I say this because as I speak to people it is a challenge to discern where people are at spiritually. Some might have Christian language, but it is really hard to know if they are of faith. My conversations with people are rarely sitting down for long conversations, but rather are snippets of time. So, when I do speak, my word usage I think needs to sound "milk" like until I know my audience can sustain more solid food. 

The Tabletalk reading today gave the concern that many think a Christian can be carnal meaning saying a sinners prayer, but not making God Lord till much later. But, Lordship is a package deal. We are often shedding sin from our lives in varying degrees,, throughout our life, but fruit should be manifest at all times. A Christian is one that bears fruit. The passage doesn't say they are not spiritual men, but that they still act at times like they are fleshly. 

Promise: I need to be sensitive to people, realizing that all are at different stages of spirituality. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.