The Apostle Paul had made clear to the Corinthian believers that God had given his children his Spirit “that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (I Corinthians 2:12). In spite of that blessed privilege, they had remained spiritually immature so Paul found it necessary to rebuke them for their lack of spiritual growth. “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ” (I Corinthians 3:1). Yes, they had been born again by faith in Christ having believed the gospel. But they had remained babes in Christ.
Paul did not question the reality of their faith here, but he did express genuine disappointment that they had not grown in the Lord. To become a Christian is to become a follower of Jesus Christ. We enter into a living relationship with him through the new birth and grow in likeness of him by living out our faith. The believers in Corinth had not grown as they should have and this was made plain to Paul by their behavior. They were given over to “envying and strife and divisions” (I Corinthians 3:3).
Just as newborn babies are expected to grow and develop, so, too, Christians are expected to grow in their likeness of the Savior. When infants do not mature (gain weight, learn to sit up, crawl, walk, speak) parents grow rightfully concerned and seek medical help. Growth is the greatest evidence of a healthy new life. This is true in the spiritual arena as well. God expects his children to grow, but this was not the case with the believers in Corinth. Their striving and envying and causing divisions betrayed a selfishness that was inconsistent with the testimony of Christ. Because of this Paul ministered unto them “as babes” and fed them “with milk and not with meat” (I Corinthians 3:2)
Growing in Christ is a lifelong pursuit for the believer. It means learning of him in every venue of life – my role as an employee, as a parent, as a spouse, as a neighbor, as a citizen, etc. We grow as a result of obeying what we know from God’s word concerning Christ.
The writer of Hebrews encountered believers who were not where they should have been spiritually. Listen to his burden for his audience. “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. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But 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” (Hebrews 5:12-14; emphasis added). Clearly, his audience had been Christians long enough to be teaching others of Christ, yet were not. Note the phrase “by reason of use.” The key to growing is doing!
We must be “doers of the word and not hearers only” as James told us (James 1:22) if we are to mature in our faith and bear fruit for God. What does your growth chart look like? Are you a doer or a hearer only?
From the Chaplain 