Episode 2820 - Lesson 3 - Tuesday July 14 - Wisdom & Maturity

Wisdom and MaturityBy and large, cliques result from too high a view of human leaders. This is very threatening to the unity of the church and to the members' spiritual health, for a distorted view of Christian ministry may lead a church to give excessive importance to certain leaders, all to the detriment of others. The consequence of such behavior is an atmosphere of competition, which can split the church. More than that, if we treat human leaders as central to our Christian identity, we risk moving Christ from the correct position in our lives.Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. How does Paul here describe the spiritual immaturity of the Corinthians?Paul makes it clear that spiritual maturity leads the believer to appreciate the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:6-7), which is communicated to us through the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13), and which contrasts with the wisdom of this age (1 Cor. 2:6), human wisdom (1 Cor. 2:13). The wisdom of God is unveiled in the Cross of Christ (1 Cor. 2:1-4). More precisely, the wisdom of God is revealed in Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection. Thus, before resuming his appeal for unity (1 Cor. 3:1-17), Paul wants his readers to acknowledge the need for true wisdom and maturity in Christ.Wise and mature Christians are spiritual people, not carnal, not like infants (1 Cor. 3:1). They compare spiritual things with spiritual things, because "the things of the Spirit ... are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:13-14, NKJV). Wise and mature Christians feed on solid food, not milk (1 Cor. 3:2; compare with Heb. 5:12). The believer "who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Heb. 5:13-14, ESV). Wise and mature Christians do not say, "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos" (1 Cor. 3:4), referring to different people.After all, these people are, like them, "God's fellow workers" (1 Cor. 3:9, ESV). We, as a church, are God's field, building, and temple (1 Cor. 3:9, 16, 17). We all belong to God through Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).What has been your experience with being greatly disappointed by someone whom you had greatly admired? If you have had this experience, what lessons did you learn from it?