1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? 1 Corinthians 3:1–4
If you study people like I do, there are tell tale signs of disengagement, that they’re a hundred miles away. For example, a nervous laugh, wandering eyes, or banal conversation. Then there are those seething below the surface, who show their true colors with a sharp tongue or sarcasm. These have a burr under their saddle. At best, the jealous, the spiteful, bite their tongues and let their body language do the talking.
Preachers can see all this from their perch on the platform. They can see who’s getting it and who’s biding their time. I will give a pass to sleep-deprived parents, who can’t stay awake unless you yell at them!
Where I sit in church it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who respond to nature’s call when the Lord is actually calling. When you’re convicted, head quickly to the restroom.
Paul was addressing the elephant in the room in the Corinthian church, jealousy and strife. I like what my pastor says about these elephants. His response is not to tip toe, or tap dance, but to get the high-powered rifle out and shoot them.
What should have been cleared up by now in the Corinthian church was still on a rampage, allowed to intimidate by men of flesh, infants in Christ, mere men. Paul describes it this way, “For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”
One of the problems was that the church appeared divided into two camps, one led by Paul, and one by Apollos. Since the latter was considered to be an orator, and this was a Grecian church influenced by Athens 45 miles away, perhaps the style and substance of Paul’s messages did not hold a candle to the lofty rhetoric of Apollos.
Not to take anything away from the latter, but Paul was striving for maturity in the body, to whet the appetite of spiritual men and women, but was reduced to delivering sippy cups of milk, not solid food. It is very possible to look and talk like you’re godly, but be a baby inside. The discussion after church focused on the craftsmanship of the preacher, not the gut punch he’d just delivered.
Paul would go on to say this later in his letter.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4–7
Right out of the box, Paul deals with the tough issues, and there are more to target as we read on. For now, if you’re starting to squirm in your seat, perspire, and feel the need to run away, or at least to answer nature’s call, stay put and hear what the man has to say.
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