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1 Corinthians 3:1-3 - Worldly to Spiritual Transformation.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 - Worldly to Spiritual Transformation.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to 
you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 
2 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; 3 
for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and 
divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?  

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (TNIV) Brothers and sisters, I could not 
address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave 
you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, 
you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is 
jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not 
acting like mere human beings?  

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when I was 
with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had 
to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were 
infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with 
solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you 
still aren't ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful 
nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. 
Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you 
living like people of the world?  

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (TLB) Dear brothers, I have been talking to 
you as though you were still just babies in the Christian life who 
are not following the Lord but your own desires; I cannot talk to 
you as I would to healthy Christians who are filled with the Spirit. 
2 I have had to feed you with milk and not with solid food because 
you couldn't digest anything stronger. And even now you still have 
to be fed on milk. 3 For you are still only baby Christians, 
controlled by your own desires, not God's. When you are jealous of one 
another and divide up into quarreling groups, doesn't that prove you are 
still babies, wanting your own way? In fact, you are acting like 
people who don't belong to the Lord at all. 

Paul called the Corinthians infants in the Christian life 
because they were not yet spiritually healthy and mature. The proof was 
that they quarreled like children, allowing divisions to distract 
them. Immature Christians are "worldly," controlled by their own 
desires; mature believers are in tune with God's desires. How much 
influence do your desires have on your life? Your goal should be to let 
God's desires be yours. Being controlled by your own desires will 
stunt your growth.  [Life Application SB] 

Immature Christians are "worldly," controlled by their own 
desires; mature believers are in tune with God's desires. [The One Year 
Bible Companion] 

   All believers have God in their heart. But not all believers 
have given their whole heart to God. Remember, the question is not, 
how can I have more of the Spirit? But rather, how can the Spirit 
have more of me? Take inventory. As you look around your life, do you 
see any resistant pockets? ... Go down the list...  
   Your tongue. Do you tend to stretch the truth? Puff up the 
facts? Your language? Is your language a sewer of profanities and foul 
talk? And grudges? Do you keep resentments parked in your "garage"? 
Are you unproductive and lazy? Do you live off the system, assuming 
that the church or the country should take care of you? ...  
   Do your actions interrupt the flow of the Spirit in your 
life? [Grace For The Moment SB By Max Lucado re 1Co. 3:16] 

No Christian should ever give the excuse, "I'm only human," when 
he or she succumbs to some temptation. Only carnal Christians could 
give such an excuse, for the Spirit gives us the ability to do what 
"mere men" cannot. [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley] 

   God's Spirit is a unifying force in the community of 
believers. His Spirit brings people together in agreement. He doesn't cause 
division. But Paul saw the people lining up behind him or Apollos, and he 
saw division at work. This was not the work of God's Spirit. Rather, 
the people's sinful natures were still controlling them. They were 
focusing on individual men instead of on God. How could they be spiritual 
with this kind of focus?  
   When we find ourselves divided from others or arguing with 
them, we should step back and look at where our focus is. Is it on 
some man-made idea or some self-made man? Are we arguing over 
preferences and personal opinions? Most of all, where is God in our vision? 
Are we focused on him, or is he in the background, or at the 
periphery? Or is he out of sight altogether? If so, this is probably a good 
indication that we are being unspiritual, or that we are allowing our 
sinful natures to control us.  
   If you find this true in your own life, take time to adjust 
your focus. Turn your attention back to God and encourage your 
opponents to do the same. [One Year NLT SB re 1 Cor. 3:3, 4] 

Are you mourning, believer, because you are so weak in the 
divine life: because your faith is so little, your love so feeble? 
Cheer up, for you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some 
things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You 
are as much bought with blood as he is. You are as much an adopted 
child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of 
its parents as is the full-grown man. You are as completely 
justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees: your little 
faith has made you clean every whit. You have as much right to the 
precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your 
right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant 
itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of 
your inheritance in him. You are as rich as the richest, if not in 
enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that gleams is set in 
heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of 
day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are 
written with the same pen. You are as dear to your Father's heart as the 
greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender over you. You are like the 
smoking flax; a rougher spirit would say, "put out that smoking flax, it 
fills the room with an offensive odour!" but the smoking flax he will 
not quench. You are like a bruised reed; and any less tender hand 
than that of the Chief Musician would tread upon you or throw you 
away, but he will never break the bruised reed. Instead of being 
downcast by reason of what you are, you should triumph in Christ. Am I 
but little in Israel? Yet in Christ I am made to sit in heavenly 
places. Am I poor in faith? Still in Jesus I am heir of all things. 
Though "less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess." yet, if the 
root of the matter be in me I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in 
the God of my salvation. [Morning and Evening by Charles H. 
Spurgeon] 

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video] 

Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782

Power of the Gospel Testimonies: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUVyxqAV3-Y&feature=youtu.be 

Musical Devotional On Christian Living: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c 

Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/

Amazing Facts Bible Guides: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx 

Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/

Or Send Request for Bible Studies to Fred Gibbs at: 
fggibbs@aBible.com