Infantile Behavior

1 Corinthians 3.1-23

Nobody likes being called a baby, but that's exactly the description Paul gives to the Corinthians in chapter three. Paul was appalled their quarreling and fighting, and had no patience for the hostile groups that had formed in the church. He laments that he now has to address them as diaper wetting milk drinkers, rather than the mature meat-eaters they should have become.

A person of faith should be making progress toward maturity, growing in character and holiness, and becoming more like Jesus. Does that describe you? Are you becoming an adult in the faith? Or are you still being spoon fed baby food?

Paul recommends two things. First, make a commitment to cooperation in the church. Realize that you have a role to play, and then humbly play it. We are all servants, no more, no less. So, be humble and don't think you are hot stuff.

The second thing he recommends is to realize that it is Jesus who is the hot stuff. He is the foundation we build on. He gets all the glory.

There is no place for arrogance and self-centeredness in the church. To engage in either is to act like a Gerber baby.

Wisdom of this Age

1 Corinthians 2.6-16

In the passage today Paul tells us that a large percentage of people go through life blinded to the spiritual world. They cannot understand the things of God. For them the world of the Spirit is a hidden wisdom, a secret wisdom, an unknowable wisdom. God is a big mystery.

The cause of this, according to Paul, is that like a fish swimming in the ocean, we swim in a sea he calls "the wisdom of this age." This wisdom keeps us dulled to all that the spiritual world can offer.

What is this "wisdom of this age?" Well, it involves things like consumerism, self-centeredness, hyper-competitiveness, status seeking, power-mongering, insecurity, etc. But at heart the "wisdom of this age" involves two main tenets.

1. This world is all there is. Some people believe there is no God. We call them atheists. Others are not sure and live as if there is no God. We call them agnostics. Far greater people affirm there is a God, but live each day without prayer, without guidance, without any reference to the God they say they believe in. We call them functional atheists.

If you believe that this world is all there is, then you will not to be open to the world of the Spirit. It will be hidden to you.

2. Therefore, its all about me. We all must worship something, and many worship self. If your world is totally self-focused, then there will be no room for God. God will essentially be crowded out. In our narcissistic culture this attitude runs rampant.

So, what do we do? According to Paul, there is only one way to move away from an orientation that follows the wisdom of this world. And that involves the Spirit of God chipping away at your worldview.

Everything good that happens to us involves the initiative of God towards us. The Methodists call this prevenient grace.

Would you be open to the Spirit of God changing the way you think? He might just open up a whole new world for you.

Uncool

1 Corinthians 1.18-2.5

Everyone wants to be cool. Cool is normally thought to be good. But cool is bad when it leads to style over substance, compromise of moral principles to be like the group, arrogance, self-centeredness, groupspeak, etc.

Paul started a church in a town called Corinth. They were big into cool. This led to divisions, hostilities, and lots of people thinking they were wiser, better, and cooler than the others.

Sounds like high school. Sounds like work. Sounds like family.

Paul didn't think cool was all that important. In fact, he debunked this whole way of thinking by reminding the Corinthians of three things.

1. They themselves were not cool (1 Corinthians 1.26-31) There were not many rich, powerful, influential people in the Corinthian church. There's not many in your church either.

2. He was not cool (1 Corinthians 2.1-5) Paul was not a world class orator like some of the public speaking superstars of his time. He was a simple preacher who relied on the Spirit's empowerment.

3. The message he was preaching was not cool (1 Corinthinas 1.18-25) The cross was a hard concept for Jewish people to embrace. And the Greek world considered the idea of the cross total foolishness.

The world will never understand a savior who dies a humiliating death. The world is all about self-enhancement and getting to the top. The message of the cross is radically uncool.

It is also the most powerful message the world has ever heard.

Related scriptures: Galatians 6.14, Ephesians 5.15-16, James 3.13-18, 1 Corinthinas 3.18-25