What does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2?

Question

1 Corinthians 3:1-2:
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

I already have an opinion, but this is for new converts and teaching purposes.

Opinions, anyone?

Answer 1

Paul's preaching was dictated by the condition of these people's hearts. Since a carnal man cannot receive spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14), Paul could not share the real meat of the gospel with these Corinthians.

All the responsibility of ministry does not rest on the minister. The condition of the people he ministers to also governs what and how he ministers.
What is a spiritual Christian? Very simply put, it is a believer who is being governed by the Spirit of God. This is not to say that his actions are perfect. But he is controlled more by the Spirit of God than he is by his flesh
Through this verse, we can see that a spiritual person is the opposite of a carnal person. A carnal person is living his life (whether good or bad) through his own ability, so a spiritual person would be one who is depending on God's ability instead of his own. A carnal person is someone who is dominated by his physical senses: what he can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel. A spiritual person is more dominated by God's Word than his own feelings.

It is incorrect to judge spirituality by some of the religious standards that are so prevalent today. True spirituality will eventually affect every area of our lives, but we must be sure that we are not using our personal convictions to judge another's spirituality.

In context, the issue that Paul is using to evaluate spirituality is an individual's ability to discern spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14-16) and what his relationships with others is like(vv. 3-4). It doesn't matter how often a person goes to church or what his dress code is, if he is contentious and not able to discern spiritual truth, he isn't spiritual.

Note at 1 Cor. 3:1: The Greek word that was translated "babes" in this verse is the word "nepios," denoting "not speaking; i.e. an infant." This is comparing a person's spiritual condition to the stages of development that we go through in our physical bodies.

This has led some people to believe that our born-again spirit starts out as an infant and must grow or mature in Christ. This thinking has birthed such ideas as, "we are trying to educate our spirits" or "get the Word into our spirits." However, that is an incorrect understanding of what a babe in Christ is.

Colossians 2:9-10 says our born-again spirit is complete. Some have interpreted this to mean complete in the sense that an infant is complete. He has all his fingers, toes, etc., but they have to grow. Yet, that is not what God's Word teaches.

The Christian's spirit man is completely mature at the time of salvation. The rest of the Christian life is not trying to mature his spirit, but rather maturing his soul through the renewing of his mind so that it will allow his born-again spirit to function.

Our new spirit already has the mind of Christ. We are now in the process of educating our minds to the truths of God's Word that are already present in our spirit.

We already have the same kind and amount of faith that Christ has. This faith is in our spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). We don't need more faith. We just need to renew our minds with the Word of God so that we can use the faith of Christ which is already present in us
So, it is not our spirit that is a babe in Christ, it is our soul. Our soul is the part of us that is growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

This is evident by observation. If a person was born again with an infant spirit that had to grow, then that would prevent him from receiving any great miracles until a certain period of time had elapsed. But that certainly is not true. Some of the greatest miracles are experienced very close in time to salvation.

This is because our born-again spirit is complete and capable of all things through Christ instantly at salvation. The only limitation is our thinking (Prov. 23:7; Rom. 8:6). When a person is first born again, he believes he is forgiven and that whatever he asks the Lord, He will do for him. That's child-like faith and miracles happen.

But sad to say, most Christians then have religion place so many conditions on them receiving from God that they lose that simple faith and degenerate into unbelief. So, many Christians actually experience more miracles in the beginning than they do as time goes on. This dispels the myth of our spirits having to mature.

Our born-again spirit is as complete now as it will ever be in eternity. We are in the process of subduing the flesh through the renewing of our minds. A person who is successful at this is a mature Christian, while a person who has a mind that is not subject to Christ is a babe in Christ.

Answer 2

Paul was referring to the way the church became factioned. In chapter 1 he said that he heard that some were saying, 'I am of Paul, I am of Apollos,' etc. They were 'carnal' because they completly lost focus on the truth, that Jesus christ was the only way into heaven, and that IF they were following the truth, there would be no need to adhere to separate teachings.

So instead of feeding them with the weightier things about God, they still needed the simple basics. The 'milk.' So that their focus could be once again taught to be in the direction of Christ.

That is why I can call myself 'Protestant', yet put little value on that word, rather knowing that I am more importantly 'The Lord's.'
I am His servant, person, man, etc. The focus is on Him, and knowing who I belong to.

Answer 3

u start out using the milk of the word as Peter spoke of ...as a true new born baby...then as they grow move on to more solid foods or in this case the doctrins of God and Jesus...be patient ask for Gods guidance,as Hes called u to teach He will also guide you...remember He dont always call the qualfied...but qualfis the called..keep up the good work!!

Answer 4

The Corinthians were new to being Christians.
They could only handle the basic concepts.
They had not yet understood what they were already told, or as yet unable to do it.
They were not ready for the more training.

Answer 5

New faith in the Christian life is a learning and growth process. People need to come to understand the basics first and build upon that. So deep theological discussions would just go over the new Christians' head.

Answer 6

it , to me, means that sometimes spiritual things must be put in wordly terms, so that people could relate to it,,,, you are like an infant, just learning , when you start /learn any new thing,,,, so its best to begin with a simplified version,,,, the basics, rather then get overwhelmed,,,, hence the milk instead of solid food,,,,
like learning math, you start with 1 +1=2,,,, not complicated algebra

Answer 7

It is a huge step to go from thinking of your self as a human being who may have a thing called a soul, to thinking of your self as spirit having a human experience.

Spirit is our primary reality. This physical reality is only a learning environment that we visit now and them to assist us in our spiritual growth.

This is a difficult understanding to attain from the narrow view allowed from our current vantage point as a physical body.

Paul was telling them that they were not quite ready to understand.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 8

They were not spiritually strong enough to accept the message,almost like babies taking solid food,he likened them.Hence the milk.

Answer 9

the people he was speaking to were not ready to take on the solid food yet of the bible, you feed a new one milk first until they are ready to handle the solid things of the bible.

Answer 10

He's teaching them things they can easily understand. He's waiting till they get the basics to start giving them the 'good stuff'.