I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

1 Corinthians 1:2-4 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul exhorts the Corinthians to mature in their faith in Christ. Despite being taught the gospel and receiving it with joy, they never quite mature in their understanding of it. This spiritual immaturity caused them to behave like squabbling kids who can't get along.

He instructs them to sincerely examine themselves in order to grow in the grace and understanding of God.

The root cause of spiritual immaturity is a diet problem.

Instead of consuming solid food like mature adults, the Corinthians continued to sip milk like babies. Because of their delayed growth, Paul must re-teach them the fundamental truths of the gospel. There is nothing wrong with studying the fundamentals, but if we want to cultivate a healthy spiritual life, we must go beyond our basic understanding of the gospel.

If you are not growing, then you are stagnant!

There is a connection between spiritual immaturity and toxic faith.

Faith becomes toxic when it is not grounded in scriptural truth and guided by spiritual discernment. We are acting like the Corinthians when we approach the pursuit of faith with a consumer attitude and self-centred thinking. It is the inclination to hear what we want to hear rather than what God wants us to hear. This is why Paul referred to the Corinthians as carnal babies because they were more concerned with satisfying their physical and emotional appetites than with fully developing their trust and knowledge in Christ.

 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)

Let us bear in mind whatever God says is trustworthy and truthful, and His truth frees us and empowers us to live righteously.

Instead of remaining shallow or stagnant in your spiritual walk, seek a deeper desire to learn and live the gospel. Develop a sense of holy dissatisfaction and not be contented with just "being saved". Grow in your true identity as a son or daughter of God and pursue Him wholeheartedly with the power of His grace. All of God is in you, and as you learn to walk in the reality of this truth, you will grow and become closer to God. It is through a childlike faith that we will flourish and become fully mature in Him.