Antioch Odessa
part 2 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
  • All Creatures Of Our God And King
  • I Will Follow
  • O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer
  • Good morning, grab your Bibles and turn with me to James chapter 3. Today the title of our message is “dealing with children of the flesh.” Why was Paul dealing with infant baby Christians? The simple answer is that they were divided over a silly matter that came down to envy and jealousy. They were living in the flesh and of the world’s wisdom instead of godly wisdom.
    James the half-brother of Christ tells us in James chapter 3 some remarkable things about earthly wisdom.
    James 3:14–16 ESV
    14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
    James here explains to us that earthly wisdom looks at the world with no reference to God and His ruling and reign. In other words, the people of this world think they are in control not God. James also talks here about unspiritual, which refers to the human will and the human reason operating as its own final authority. Demonic here gives the origin of such wisdom in Satan and his demons. This helps us to see that the believers greatest enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil. I want you to know this today because worldly wisdom is false wisdom that leads to sinful conduct. True godly wisdom on the other hand is submissive to the Holy Spirit and comes from God. Matthew Henry comments here that, “true wisdom is a gift from God.” Wisdom from above is first pure, peaceable, gentle, and open to reason. It is also full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. (James 3:17) So may we ask God to help us walk in His wisdom. I know that it is not always easy because we face many difficult problems, so we must pray and ask the Lord to guide us and give us wisdom.
    *Illustration of Biking with Jaida.
    Several years ago my daughter and I were doing a bike ride up in my home state of Iowa. We had practiced down here in Texas on some relatively flat roads, and had got in some decent mileage before we headed up for our bike adventure. On the first day of our bike ride we hit a really big hill and I remember thinking as soon as we get to the top of this hill its all down hill from here, no pun intended. But when we got to the top of the hill I noticed that there were many more hills to come as I looked out at the horizon. Jaida later on told me this was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but we both finished the ride even though it was a very challenging day.
    I tell you this today because the longer we are Christians the more difficult and demanding things can get. Our journey in the Christian life is not just a downhill easy coast. Even though the Lord gives us joy, peace, and many blessings as we follow Him the Christian life will not always be easy. Why is this? Well because there is a very real enemy. We are constantly facing the things of this world and even our own flesh. When I talk about worldliness this goes much deeper than just bad habits. Worldliness is a way of thinking and believing for many people. What I mean by this is that so many people today who claim the name of Christ have also bought into the world’s philosophies. Many folks look to the world’s leaders and to popular people for their standards, attitudes, and meaning to life. Worldliness is accepting the world’s terms, goals, and ideas. The other obstacle for believers is our own flesh. Just because we are believers does not mean that our flesh nature is removed. That will not happen until we are with Christ. Until then we will all battle with our fleshly nature. The world and the flesh are very closely related and this is why these Corinthians fell into one serious sin after another including being divided.
    At the end of Paul’s year and a half stay in Corinth he had expected for these believers to grow in their faith and be mature believers, and yet now a full three years later he is dealing with children of the flesh. Their immaturity resembles that of adults acting like infants who are still eating baby food. Paul points out the reasons for their sinful problems and yet he also addresses the solution to the problem. Let’s take a look at our text. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 3.
    1 Corinthians 3:1–9 ESV
    1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
    When dealing with the children of the flesh Paul shows believers several lessons to be learned.

    1. Believers must be on guard against living in the flesh.

    1 Corinthians 3:1–3 ESV
    1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
    ​
    Paul addresses the people here as brothers so we know that they are truly saved however they are not acting like it. Is this how we behave church? Are you guilty of living in the flesh? Every day we each face many worldly pressures around us, but the problem is that these believers were carnal and living in the flesh. Paul was not able to talk to them as spiritual brothers and sisters. He had to talk to them as people in the flesh or spiritual infants. This must have broke Paul’s heart as their spiritual leader. Why? Because it is exciting to see your people hunger and thirst for God and His Word and to grow in their faith.
    Verse 2 is one of the saddest verses here in this short letter because it explains to us and shows us the reality that this church was not able to receive the solid food that was really good and beneficial for them.
    *Illustration = It’s like when you have a juicy steak you don’t want to go back to a microwave dinner to tied you over. If you have had a wonderful or extravagant desert you don’t want to go back to a box of cookies.
    Church, if we are truly saved and have been changed by God then we should have a desire to love God and love His word. We should have a desire to be obedient to Him and not live in the flesh.
    Romans 8:9 ESV
    9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
    There was nothing wrong with Paul giving the believers milk for a short time when they first came to know Christ because they were spiritually weak. But as Leon Morris comments here these Corinthians should have outgrown the milk phase long since then. This church had no excuse for not being mature. They had wonderful, godly leaders, and they were very intelligent, however they refused to give up their fleshly ways. We are going to see in just a moment the root issue here, however if we are not quick to see the problems in our lives then it is often then that we miss out on God’s good blessings for our lives church.
    Several years ago I worked at a church where the sole focus was on evangelism in the church and I often wondered what happens when people come to know Christ? How in the world will they be discipled or know how to grow in their faith? They will either leave the church and go somewhere that will teach them the solid food of God’s Word, or they will leave the church all together and never come back. Now this is not to say that the church should look for opportunities to be evangelistic and of course share the gospel, however this cannot be the main focus. Many churches don’t want their pastor to preach on tough things because it would convict them of their sin, so what we see happening today in many churches is a steady diet of milk. A godly healthy church is built on a steady diet of God’s Word that is being exposited each and every week. Why? Paul talks to Timothy about this.
    2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV
    16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
    So, this was the first problem. Now we look to the second issue.

    2. Believers must be aware of the serious signs of division in the church.

    1 Corinthians 3:3–4 ESV
    3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
    Here we learn that Paul now begins to pinpoint or narrow down the main problem or symptoms of the churches lack of maturity and infant stage. Why does every believer need to watch out for living in the flesh?Because this often reveals the root problem and for the Corinthians they were dealing with jealousy/envy and strife. Paul says here that this type of attitude is unfitting for any person who says that they know Christ and have been changed by Him. We see here that envy and jealousy will lead to strife anger and division. This is why Paul calls them out, and says plainly that they were acting like worldly humans do.
    It is interesting to note here that Paul actually lists the sins of jealousy and strife among the deeds of the flesh in Galatians chapter 5.
    Galatians 5:20 ESV
    20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
    When my eyes are on myself or I am even looking at what others have I can become jealous and envious of their possession or talents. If not confessed quickly in my own life this can lead to anger and frustration.
    MacArthur comments here, “that jealousy is a severe form of selfishness because we wish what someone else has is ours. He also says that Division can only occur where there is selfishness. Fleshly, immature people cooperate and look to people who will agree with them or who will flatter them.”
    ​
    So, the next time you struggle with jealousy and envy what should you do? Get on your knees and confess this sinful attitude to the Lord. Ask him to give you wisdom as you move forward and then remember this Scripture found in 1 Peter. What is the solution to us fighting the flesh?
    1 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV)
    1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
    We must put away the flesh and along with it jealousy and division. We now turn to the solution.

    3. Believers must work together as servants of God.

    The cure for being divided is to serve God and give praise to Him.
    1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV
    5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
    ​
    The point here is that we must get our eyes off of ourselves and others, and focus our attention on Christ. This is not always easy especially in our world today. As believers we do this by serving and following Christ. Ultimately God is honored and glorified when we serve him and follow Him, which helps us not to be divided. We don’t have time to knit pick and become envious because we are busy serving along side of each other.
    Notice here in verse 5 that Paul asks the question, “What is Apollos? What is Paul? They are God’s servants, or God’s workers as we see in verse 9. But what does this really look like? What does it mean to serve God?
    -We share the gospel and teach it to others.
    -We help disciple others.
    -We pray for others.
    -We come together and fellowship.
    -We help serve each other.
    Church, it is important that we understand that we are all working toward the same end and purpose. Here in verse 8 we see the essential unity between the planter and the waterer. Paul wants us to understand that we are all on the same team. May we see the extreme importance of being unified and not trying to compete or be divided against each other. We are to be allies and not rivals.
    The other key point here is that Paul tells us in verse 6 and 7 that it is God alone who gives the growth. He is Lord of the Harvest. It is only through God that growth will happen. As servants of the Lord we are to help in planting and preparing the soil or telling people about God, but only God can bring the growth. In other words, salvation can only come about through the work of God. We can’t save ourselves through our own good works or someone else cannot save us. So, God does use us as His means to help people know Him and it is still our job to tell others the good news about Christ. My point here is that Christ has called each and everyone of us to be His faithful servants. We are to work together in order for God’s kingdom to grow, not to be divided. Verse 8 tells us that both the one who plants and the one who waters are to work together.
    This is so important church! We see a lot of competitions within the church today. I hear people say well Pastor, “I like the way the church does this. I like that churches music and worship. I like the modern church music. Well I like the old hymns. I like the way this pastor teaches or how he relates to me. I like the way the church feels and looks.” We see a lot of personal preferences, and it is easy to compare and be divided. This is why we must come together and serve the Lord and praise His name.
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    It is important to remember here that Paul planted the church in Corinth and got things off to a good start through the ministry of his gospel preaching. Apollos then came in after Paul to help water and disciple the church through his teaching ministry. These men did not have separate ministries. The ministry of both planting and watering were one and the same because they both realized that they were servants of Christ and only God could bring the growth.
    Church, when we think about the preaching, teaching, evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual formation that happens in ministry, these are different aspects of a unified ministry which is to make disciples. This is exactly why Paul was stressing here the importance of unity as we work together to help people know Christ and grow in Christ.
    Will we be committed to work together? Will we see the importance of being spiritually mature so that we might get along and as the world watches us? Why? So that they might see Christ in us. Let us point people to Christ and make His name famous.
    In Ephesians chapter 4 starting in verse 17 Paul tells his readers to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. As believers today I want to remind us that we have been transformed. We have been made new. Don’t try to hold onto the old fleshly nature any longer. The old self is corrupt, decaying, and nasty. Remember what Christ has done for you and keep your focus on Him.
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    (Close in Prayer)

      • 1 Corinthians 4:1–5ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:1ESV

      • 1 Timothy 3:1–6ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:2ESV

      • James 3:1ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:3ESV

      • Acts 25:11ESV

      • Romans 1:18–23ESV

      • Proverbs 16:2ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:4ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 4:5ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 11:2–3ESV

      • Colossians 1:28–29ESV

  • Take My Life And Let It Be
  • God Is Faithful (Psalm 114)
  • We Give Thanks (Psalm 107)
Antioch Odessa
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