And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NKJV)

 

Be childlike, but not childish.

The Apostle Paul was chastising the Corinthian church for its lack of spiritual growth. Although they have joyfully received the gospel, they have never fully matured in their understanding of it. Because of their spiritual immaturity, the Corinthians made poor judgements and decisions.

The root cause of spiritual immaturity is a diet problem.

Instead of consuming solid food like mature adults, the Corinthians continued to drink milk like infants. Because of their delayed growth, Paul must re-teach them the fundamentals of the gospel. There is nothing wrong with learning the fundamentals, but if we want to enjoy a healthy spiritual life, we need to go beyond our basic grasp of the gospel.

If you do not grow, you become stagnant!

Stagnation breeds spiritual complacency and self-satisfaction. It is when you appear spiritual on the outside but quite the opposite on the inside. What is on the inside will eventually disclose how deeply rooted you are in Christ. This explains why Paul referred to the Corinthians as carnal babies. They were more concerned with satisfying their fleshly needs than with strengthening their faith and knowledge of Christ.

Paul, however, refused to give up on the Corinthians, and he was rewarded for his labour of love (cf.2 Corinthians 7:9). He reassured the Corinthians that, despite their carnality, God continues to work in them through the power of the gospel. When the Corinthians came to a better understanding of Christ, they repented for their deeds rather than simply regretting them.

Personal condemnation and self-effort will never lead to spiritual growth and maturity. A childlike faith in Jesus, on the other hand, will enable you to blossom and bear fruit in the Lord.