Spiritual Living Requires Spiritual Maturity (Part 1 of 2)

1 Corinthians 2:14–3:9

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

The Big Picture: Discernment and Understanding

One of the most beautiful concepts in this passage relates to how you, as an individual, can understand and perceive circumstances in life correctly—to see the bigger picture in any situation, or life in general. The Apostle Paul addresses discernment, or properly understanding things. At the end of chapter 2, he introduces spiritual people who can discern and understand, then applies it to the Corinthian church's divisions: "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos." These camps created competition and superiority mentalities.

Following Paul, Apollos, Jesus, or Peter should unite believers, not divide them. None of those leaders encouraged division. Yet the Corinthians were inconsistent and dishonest in their positions.

The Natural Person: Blind to Spiritual Truth

Paul states in verse 14 that the natural person does not understand the things of the Spirit of God—they are foolishness to them, the Greek word moria, moronic. This applies to non-believers, spiritually dead without the Spirit, not born again. They can't grasp God's existence, a triune God, or practical biblical truths like sin's destructiveness.

Two reasons from this passage explain why someone doesn't "get it": they either lack the big picture or don't see behind the scenes. Unbelievers defend sinful lives because they miss God's better way—one man, one woman in marriage; true intimacy. They create their own reality, ignoring God's design.

Legalism arises from this: following external rules (like Judaism, Roman Catholicism, or Seventh-day Adventism) for eternal life, because spiritual concepts are incomprehensible. In John 6, Jesus says, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you." Without spiritual understanding, some take it literally as physical communion, missing the call to believe. Jesus clarifies: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." The 5,000 Jews abandoned Him; the disciples grasped it—Peter said, "You have the words of eternal life."

The natural person rejects spiritual things as foolish and lacks ability (dunatai in Greek)—total inability or depravity. They can't discern because it's spiritually discerned. Gospel preaching alone is ineffective without the Holy Spirit regenerating the heart. You became a Christian not because you're smarter or better, but because the Spirit enabled belief.

Paul raises this doctrine while rebuking Christians, possibly to convict unbelievers in the church or remind all of the gospel (2:2: "Jesus Christ and him crucified"). But it ties to spiritual maturity: spiritual people discern all things (v. 15); Corinthians cannot be addressed as such.

Spiritual Immaturity: Living Like the Flesh

Spiritual people discern all things but are not judged by others in that spiritual sense—we have the mind of Christ. Yet Paul says, "I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food... you are still of the flesh." Jealousy and strife prove it—they behave in a merely human way.

"Flesh" means living like natural, unregenerate people—devoid of spirit, nothing transcendent. Christians can live this way, stunted in maturity, distracted by jealousy and strife.

Jealousy (zelos) is intense interest: positively, desiring others' success; negatively, resentment at their achievements, especially if it steals attention. Strife is rivalry, competition for praise. Modern equivalents: not naming "Paul" groups, but envying others, seeking the spotlight in youth group or church—wanting to be the center, complaining or leaving if not.

True spiritual people focus on God, Jesus crucified—not rivalry. They contribute positively: "What can I pour into this?" God-focused churches breed generous givers (time, resources), advancing the gospel, not consumer mentalities.

Servants, Not Saviors: God Gives the Growth

What is Apollos? Paul? Mere servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned. Paul planted, Apollos watered—God gave the growth. Planters and waterers are nothing; God is everything. Elevating leaders for division ignores this—they exist for belief, salvation, growth toward Christ.

Competition over "nothing" compared to God is foolish. Spiritual maturity discerns this, living for God's glory.

Balancing Recognition of Human Leaders with God's Supremacy

Paul balances this in verse 8:

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

He recognizes that faithful planters and waterers—those like Paul and Apollos—have unity. If you truly followed them, you would be unified, just as they were. They are rewarded for their faithfulness. This isn't a full abandonment of leaders, but a balance: couple following human leadership with the reality that God is everything. If your beliefs or actions draw away from God's significance, you're doing it wrong. You can't behave in a merely human way.

Paul repeats the divisions at Corinth—"I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," "I follow Christ"—because it was a big issue. Their strife drew attention away from God and from Jesus Christ and him crucified. We must check our lives: Is what I'm doing drawing away from the gospel, God, or Jesus? Do I say things that make no distinction between me and the natural person, or do I speak spiritually discerned truths?

Encouragement: You Are God's Field and Building

We are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. Amid strong rebuke, Paul encourages: God is working in your life, building in your life. He has used men like Paul, Apollos, and Cephas to plant a firm foundation for the church God builds in you. Don't neglect God's work in your life, even if you don't see it physically. You are God's building, stretching across the city and beyond as you live your lives. The spiritually discerning see what God is doing. Grow. Let the gospel be the center of your reality and existence. Avoid jealousy, strife, and vain pursuits that distract from the gospel, so you experience what God is doing. You're his building, his field. He's not selling you off.

The Old Testament laws picture this: provisions like marrying a brother's widow to keep the field in the family. Now it's more significant—God doesn't need those provisions because you remain his field, his building. He's always working in your life, causing growth. Jealousy and strife distract from these realities.

Characteristics of Spiritual Maturity

The spiritually immature discern everything carnally. Those who avoid jealousy and strife make much of God and little of men, including themselves. The spiritually mature center their reality on God and his work. Glorifying God isn't just raising hands in worship or repeating phrases. It means God is more known and knowable in your life than you are—his reputation more prominent than yours. It's progressive, not instant.

We can still engage in jealousy and strife today, even without naming leaders. Some say "Christ vs. Paul," wanting more "red letters" (Jesus' words in red ink). But if you follow Jesus, you follow Paul, Apollos (Hebrews), Peter, and all. Others claim Paul invented Christianity. These are the same issues. Paul and Jesus say the same things—see John Piper's What Jesus Demands from the World.

If we're jealous, envious, striving, or viewing others as enemies, we're wrong. Correct it by focusing on God's sovereignty and spiritual growth, learning the mind of Christ in Scripture. Jesus speaks through apostles, prophets, the whole Bible. Prideful superiority or overemphasizing humanity causes division, missing the church's beautiful realities.

The Church as a Unified, Gospel-Centered Community

A church is a tight-knit community of Jesus followers. Unbelievers are welcome but confronted by the gospel—either converted or offended and leaving. Youth groups are part of the church: people caring, loving, focusing on each other's needs and betterment, even at personal expense. Everyone gets cared for. It's a safe community watching for sins, shortcomings, and growth—deeply involved in each other's lives.

Don't divide; unite. Be involved, but not pervert it with hormones. Dudes, protect ladies like family—shotguns and machetes for your sister vibe. Ladies, see guys as leaders who care and protect. See each other as God's children: Don't mess with God's daughter or son. That's spiritually mature thinking, seeing the bigger picture.

For romance, pursue purity now, marriage later—that's biblical. Think spiritually. This isn't a social club; fun activities build friendships, but the focus is God and the gospel. When that stops, split. Until then, emphasize spiritual significance.