1 Corinthians 3:1-15 CARNAL MINDED CHRISTIANS 3-12-11
Today I want to talk for a little while to do with Christians that never seem to grow in the things of God, and yet they may have been saved for many years, often times their bible is never opened from one Sunday unto the next when they go to church, and even then not always opened.
And many are sitting under a Preacher that’s not very deep in the things of God himself, according to Paul here in verse one of our text these people are saved-
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
And these that are saved are just as saved as they’re every going to be, but there’s many saved people that are much like little babies when it comes to understanding the things of God and especially Gods Word, and I must confess that I certainly don’t understand it all either, but I do believe it all, I believe that we’ll still be learning when the Lord calls us out of this world.
It’s not necessary for us to be bible scholars to be saved, but our desire should be that we want to grow in the knowledge of the things of God.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Now we can be certain that not all that come to the Corinthian church was saved, its that way in most churches, the bigger the number of the congration in an assembly the more likely it is that there’s lost church members.
Ø What we find in this passage that we’re about to read is not about a person’s relationship to Christ, but on service to Christ.
Ø LISTEN as I read today’s text.
1 Corinthians 3:1-17 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal,** even as unto babes in Christ. (Carnal==fleshly desires--governed by human nature, instead of by the Spirit of God)
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. --- Paul cannot talk to such folk about spiritualities in very much depth, as they’re not yet ready for it. First he must talk to them about their carnalities.
This is a consequence of a babe in Christ; he has a carnal understanding to the Word of God. This unnatural man, this carnal Christian, is a babe in Christ. He has ability but no desire. A baby has the potential to become a learned man, but he has to start out by drinking milk.
Peter refers to it as the sincere milk of the Word;
1 Peter 2: 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
In Hebrews we read;
Hebrews 5:12 –14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
- even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
NOTICE:-- by reason of use—
In other words the more we read and study and hear the Word of God the more we’ll be able to understand what God wants us to know, and to recognize error when we hear it.
Romans 10: 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Not by what Doctor wiggle jaw says about it, but what the forever settled Word says.
Once a subject or thought is explained and settled in our mind and heart from the Word of God we will never waver from these truths.
We found out from Gods Word that all mankind are sinners and must be saved, we found out from the Word of God Who the Savior is and that we need to receive Him as our Savoir, and then we found out from the Word of God how long this salvation will last, and we will never have a change of mind about these matters because it is all told to us in Gods Word, it is settled.
Well our common sense tells us that a newly born baby, a baby just arriving into this world can not sit down at the table with a T-bone steak and start eating it, he begins with milk, the very basics of his young life, and as he grows over a period of time he will gradually be able to digest stronger food, the same applies to the new born Christian, it would be very unusual to start teaching him from the book of Leviticus or Deuteronomy or Revelation because he simply would not understand.
I have always like the notion of a new born Christian to start by reading the gospel of John, and then Romans, as Romans explains to man how we become sinners and that Jesus Christ paid our sin debt, and then perhaps Galatians to understand the difference between law and grace. And be sure your reading from the OKJ Bible, it is the Bible for the English-speaking people.
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But Paul here in the church of Corinth was having a time with these carnal minded Christians, in fact he had to write them two letters trying to clear up matters, they were eating and drinking irreverently in what was to be the communion service, the Lord supper in 1st cor.11:
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3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
The carnal Christian is the one who hasn’t very much spiritually, and it is evident that he lacks spiritual discernment—not because he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, but because he is not growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ.
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
He wants them to realize that himself nor Apollos are nothing more than instruments in the hand of God to lead people to the Lord, that their bragging about who led them to be saved amounts to nothing, both Paul and Apollos had a part in getting the message to these Corinthians but it was the Lord that did the saving, it was the Lord that gave the increase.
Its kind of like a garden if you will, first you sow the seed, and then water the seed, and then God will cause it to come to life, of coarse preparing the soil first is very important.
I remember a preacher some time back telling in his message about a man that come to him as he
had returned to this town to preach another revival years later. He said the man smelled like a liquor keg and was about drunk, he ask the preacher if he remembered him, he told the preacher that he’d saved him at a meeting years earlier, --the preacher said that he must have saved him because God sure didn’t.
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8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. (The planter & waterier) For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. husbandry ** (carries the idea much as a farmer would till the land,- suggestive of the diligent toil of the apostle and other ministers and of coarse with God giving the increase) --
10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
A person may sit under gospel messages a number of times, he may not be saved the 1st time he hears Gods Word, but the SEED has been planted, and then perhaps at some time in the future he’ll hear another Gospel message from another Preacher, (this time this Preacher is watering what the 1st Preacher sowed,) and he may saved at this time or perhaps in another meeting, after a while the Holy Spirit will draw that person to Himself and the Lord will give the increase.
Let me say that a person is not saved like some one might stop off at McDonalds for a hamburger, the Holy Spirit must convict the lost sinner and draw that sinner, as the old saying goes a person must 1st realize that he is a lost sinner.---Jesus said in-
John 6: 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:--
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11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
It is very important for people to understand that JESUS CHRIST is what the gospel message is based upon.
Ø Paul explains just exactly what the gospel is in;
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
So the death, burial, and resurrection is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is.
Jesus must always receive the preeminence in every thing, He is to be first, and if people don’t understand that Jesus is what this entire bible is centered around they’ll never be able to fully comprehend its message.
Colossians 1:18-- that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Ø KJ Bible –Rom.1:16— For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;--
NIV—says in that verse—I am not ashamed of the gospel--
It leaves Jesus Christ completely out of the power of God unto salvation.
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12Now if any man build upon this foundation (JESUS CHRIST) gold, silver, precious stones, (good works will not burn) -wood, hay, stubble; (bad works will burn)
13Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
The day is the day of the judgment seat of Christ.
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Fire is figurative for judgment, more specifically, the absolutely righteous judgment of God. Fire is used here to denote, not enlightening power, but consuming power.
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
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14If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, (on the foundation of Jesus Christ) he shall receive a reward.
15If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Such a person as this does not suffer the loss of his salvation, but the loss of reward.
2 John 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
We understand from this verse that there is such a thing as a full reward, and with that in mind we need to also understand that there is such a thing as a partial reward.
Look to yourselves—not to your Preacher or church, or your spouse, but look to your selves, no one will be standing before the judgment seat of Christ with us, we’ll be standing by our selves, and God will have our record book opened before Him.
There’ll be no excuses as to this or that, the record will speak, and I believe we will be humbled as never before, I’m sure we will not say a single word other than praise. I don’t believe that this will be a very happy occasion either, as we will then wish that we had done more and a much better job for Him.
As the old saying goes, the tree lies where it falls.
We need to keep short accounts to God, we should confess our sins every single day, it much better to get these sins under the Blood of Christ now than to have to deal with them at the Judgment seat of Christ.
Ø You may say that you don’t sin; well it’s a sin for you to say that,
1 John 1: 7-10 -- and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
And let me remind us that you and I will not be there to determine if we’re saved or not, we wouldn’t be at this judgment if we were not saved, this judgment is for saved people to determine our reward.---the white Throne judgment of the lost will be after the 1000 year reign of Christ, Rev.20:11-15
I believe that what we do for Christ now on this side of the rapture will have a big bearing on what He will allow us to do for Him on the other side of the rapture, in the Kingdom and even the New Heaven and earth.
COL. 3: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Ø I don’t believe Christians will lose all their reward because we’re told in
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
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