Living understanding, Pt 47: Solid food

1Corinthians 3:1-3                1Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.  3You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere humans?

Acts 17:10-12                         10As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.  On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.  11Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  12As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

The letter we know as 1 Corinthians wasn’t the first letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians, but the earlier letter has been lost to time, so the designation sticks.  Paul had been in Corinth for about 18 months establishing the church there but left for other cities.  He stopped in Ephesus a short time, left, and later returned for an extended stay.  He spent 3 years in Ephesus, and it was from there that he wrote the letter we call 1 Corinthians.  We don’t know the time between the stay in Corinth and the writing of the letter, but possibly it was up to 3 years later. 

Infants in Christ

That time frame seems important because Paul is revealing frustration with the believers in Corinth in the writing of this passage.  Apparently, controversy had arisen among the believers, and it seems they were ‘ranking’ each other.  He is more mature, she is not, he is not, and so forth.  Paul was upset about this, “No!” he said, “All of you are equally mature in Christ!”  They were all his brothers and sisters, and they were all members of the same household of God.

The problem though is that the believers at Corinth were not acting very maturely.  Although they were secure in their relationship in Christ, they were certain of eternity with him, and had no risk of falling away, they were nonetheless behaving as thoroughly immature believers.  They were acting as if they were still part of the world system, and Paul clearly thinks they should have progressed further in their spirituality by now.  Paul calls them babies which surely must have conflicted with their self-assessment and must have injured their pride.  How do infants act?  They are self-centered and care not a twit about the other’s feelings.  Certainly small children have not yet works and doesn’t work with regard to other kids; they are inconsiderate and even aggressive in their interactions.  As every parent understands, much of the parent’s time is spent on teaching their kids how to ‘play fair’.

Milk or solid food

The use of the milk/solid food metaphor should not be taken to have anything at all to do with physical nourishment.  To carry the metaphor slightly further, the Corinthians couldn’t stomach the intensity of teaching which can be found in the deep study of the Word of God.  Paul was still, possibly three years after their coming to Christ, giving the believers at Corinth only the basic teachings.  It seems the believers there had not grown sufficiently to handle deeper meaning.

Worldview

What was the problem then?  Although NIV uses ‘worldly’, the original Greek word is ‘fleshly’ which to the modern ear usually brings up connotations of immorality, but then simply meant ‘sin-nature’.  In any case, Paul was confronting the believers about the way they thought.  This is kind of a difficult concept, but bear with me.  Although fully reborn and fully secure in the family of God, these believers thought as if they were unbelievers.  There is a point, a sort of critical mass, in the development of one’s understanding of the implications of Christ’s sacrifice where a person changes his thinking. 

Prior to that change, a person thinks intellectually sort of at a distance, about the wonderful thing Christ did for the people of God.  It’s impersonal and academic.  But at some moment the realization occurs that Christ made that sacrifice personally for them—that Christ would still have made that sacrifice if the believer was the only person on the planet.  At that point that person’s mindset is changed by the Holy Spirit,

Prior to the point of change, the person is living in just as worldly a fashion as he always did but pondering the selfless sacrifice of Christ.  Still thinking in a worldly way, he is considering another way.  After, the person’s whole way of life is altered.  Now, the believer begins to ask himself, “What can I do to please God?  Holy Spirit, show me the ways I push God away.  What do I do that offends him?”  At that point a transition from infant to adult occurs which is completely revolutionary in one’s relationship with God.

Paul was upset that the Corinthians had not yet made that transition, but I think we must allow for everyone to grow at a different pace.  People mature at different rates, but the Holy Spirit is in our hearts for that very reason—he is steadily, constantly, steering us away from our worldly thinking towards a worldview that embraces Christ as a personal, transformative Savior.  The Bereans had achieved that critical mass; they were daily searching the Scriptures seeking to learn what God had to say to them.  This is something we should all strive for,

What about me?

When I first read these verses back in the day, I understood the milk metaphor but did not yet grasp the worldview implications.  I’ve heard many sermons that didn’t address the worldview aspect either.  Nonetheless, attaining this understanding is fundamental to our growth in Christ.  When we understand God is personal and loving of us as individuals then our approach to him changes.  James describes it well:

7Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  8Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  9Grieve, mourn and wail.  Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)

There is great security in being close to God.  If we purify our hearts of worldly thinking, if we attain singlemindedness in our search for him, if we grieve for our sinfulness and worldly ways, if we recognize the seriousness of our commitment to him, then our entire approach to life changes.  This is an endeavor well worth the taking, my believing friend, and I hope you do so.  Today you can take the first step.