1^st Corinthians 3:1-4

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as 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 quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

The church needs spiritual people. I’m afraid we have too many infants.

Do you get the idea that this thing called faith in our lives lifts us up above ourselves? Lifts us up to a higher level than the natural, “worldly” man that we tend to be when left to our own inclinations.

When we allow jealousy and quarrelling to be a part of our lives. When we begin to argue over who’s the best teacher.

Paul says when we are behaving like this we are acting like mere men. As opposed to acting like what? Well… spiritual people!

What is this saying about the way spiritual mature people should behave themselves? One of the commitments that I teach in membership class at our church is the membership commitment of, “I will give up my right to demand my rights.” That doesn’t mean that you are not entitled to an opinion, or that you are not going to have your own personal taste about many things. But what it does teach is that for the good of the kingdom of God, I will not stomp my foot and stick out my lower lip and demand that things be done my way, or I’ll hit the highway. It takes spiritually mature people to behave that way!

When infants don’t get their way—well, they be come jealous, they fuss and fight, pull each others hair—you know the drill. Now we have become much to mature to behave like that—right?

I must admit that I still have to fight the urge at times to act down right childish! I want my way. After all, I think my way’s right! But I am a part of something that is far bigger than my own personal taste, I’m a part of the church, and the church needs spiritual people. People who see beyond themselves to the people that need to be reached with the message of the gospel.

Spiritual people eat spiritual food. So I must stay in his Word. I must stay broken before him in prayer. I must worship and listen to the Spirit as he teaches and guides me.

When God looks at my life—may he see a spiritual man. Not a juvenile.