October 19, 2025 SERMON

Live the Difference

GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO

 Open your Bibles to I Corinthians 3:1-17, keep them open, and we’ll get to it in a moment.

Have you ever found that growing up is hard to do?

We have been studying Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. The church in Corinth was near and dear to the heart of Paul. It is the only place in his entire career that he purposely stayed for a longer period of time to help get it established. 

But now that he has been away, the church has begun to run into some serious trouble. They are not living up to the calling to live differently than the world. 

In the same way, in our studies of I Corinthians, we have been challenged to “Live the difference” that the Spirit makes in us.

We have been learning this simple truth, People of the Spirit live differently. When we become believers in the Lord Jesus, we possess His Spirit.

And it is His Spirit that helps us to grow and live differently.

But there was a problem in the Corinthian church in this regard. The Corinthians had gone in reverse when it came to the growing process. They were finding that growing up was hard to do. But they didn’t realize this because they thought they were growing.

They thought that they were outgrowing Paul’s teaching about the cross. They thought they were becoming wiser, delving further into the mysteries of spirituality and the higher realms of knowledge.

What they failed to realize and what Paul exposes is that they had become victims of the world and the flesh. They had given in to the supreme instruments of Satan that keep us from experiencing the joy of the Spirit. 

They had given into the temptations of their world, and they had surrendered to their own pride. And instead of growing, their faith was beginning to shrivel.

So Paul calls a halt to this direction because Spiritual growth is essential for the believer (II Peter 3:18) Note how the apostle Peter instructs us: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We are to be a people that are growing. We are to be growing in terms of our behavior, that is, we are to be a people that consistently demonstrate grace.

And we are to be growing in terms of our knowledge. We are to be a people that know Jesus and know Him better day after day.

We live in a world where carnal desires are glorified, and spiritual values are often mocked or minimized. Yet, God has called every believer to live not by the flesh, but by the Spirit. 

A Spirit-filled life is one that overcomes the pull of the world and reflects the character and nature of Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 3: Paul expresses his disappointment in believers who should have matured but were still ruled by carnal tendencies. He could not speak to them as spiritual people because they were still worldly in their behavior. 

This reality mirrors the state of many today who profess Christ but live under the influence of the flesh.

Carnality is not just a weakness; it is enmity with God and hinders true spiritual growth.

To live a Spirit-filled life in a carnal world is to choose the higher path—the path of submission to God’s will, rejection of fleshly desires, and daily empowerment by the Holy Spirit. 

The carnal man follows impulses, but the spiritual man follows the leading of the Holy Ghost.

You see, ALL CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE GROWING CHRISTIANS.

So how do we do that? How do we get to the place that we are growing Christians and not the reverse? We will find in our study of I Corinthians 3:1-17 three contrasts that show us how to be growing Christians.

The first contrast is ENCOURAGEMENT, NOT DISCOURAGEMENT (1-4).
 

[1] But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. [2] I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, [3] 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? [4] For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human? 

Now, if you are like me, you just love babies. But there is a fact here that we must understand… A baby that acts like a baby is a joy. But an adult that acts like a baby is a tragedy. It’s a burden and a sorrow. You are only allowed to be a baby for so long. And the same is true when it comes to our faith.

We are not to be undersized spiritually. It’s not bad to begin immature. But it sure is bad to remain immature. This is the problem of the Corinthians, and many today.

Their thinking and their behavior betray them, for it is not fitting for their age. What they have been eating, so to speak, is not giving them the nutritional value that they need. They were feeding on the wrong stuff. They should have been ready for solid food, but for some reason, they still needed a liquid diet.

And there was no excuse for this. They should have been growing. Instead, they remained like babies, self-centered, concerned with only their own needs. 

Not only that, but they had also become so selfish that they had become cruel as children are apt to do, not caring how others might feel…

We are to hold each other up, not tear each other down. Paul noted that they were characterized by jealousy and strife. Jealousy was the inner emotion that they were feeling, and strife was the action.

The squabbling, quarrelsomeness, and competition that was taking place was the outward expression of the selfishness that was on the inside.
 

You see, we have to be so careful that we don’t fall into the same trap. You can be a consistent church-attendee, you can be a respected church office-bearer, you can be a ministry leader, and still not honor God!

Easily, we can become destructive, as opposed to constructive. Anytime, we desire control, Anytime, we desire superiority, Anytime, we think we have special insight on the truth, we will hurt the church.

So often, we have a desire to just say whatever we want and let the chips fall where they may. After all, we feel we are just speaking the truth and somebody has to say it.

Yes, there are times that truth needs to be spoken when people are dancing all around it. But even more, though, it is appropriate to speak the truth in a way that encourages and builds a person, instead of tearing them down.

We are called on to see the potential in each other, to point each other forward, and to spur each other to good works.

You see, we are to rise above the ways of the flesh. Paul uses a term here that he knows will get their attention. He emphasizes their humanity over against their spirituality, because they needed to face their true condition. Their flesh was dominating their thinking and their behavior.

Please notice that Paul does not consider them as unsaved. He calls them brothers. This is not a term he would use if they were outside the faith. But it is clear that they were at the lowest spiritual level. 

They were babies, easily upset and offended, quick to pout and blame others. And it was absolutely necessary that they hear this message… It was time to grow up.

We cannot have any patience for belief that does not have corresponding behavior. And remaining worldly is not an option. The Spirit must clearly be in charge.

The second contrast is LORDSHIP, NOT PARTISANSHIP (5-9).
 

[5] What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 

We follow the Lord, not our favorite leaders. We know that babies can get very attached to certain people, like their mothers! We have already noted in a previous study how divisive the people had gotten in Corinth.

Some followed Paul exclusively. Others thought Apollos was superior. Another group said that Peter was the true founder of the church. While another faction sounded spiritually superior by claiming that they only followed Christ.

But Paul was clear with his response to this. The church is not meant to be a place of competition.

It was through Paul and through Apollos that the Corinthians had come to believe in Jesus. And they were different. Paul was the dynamic leader who had been radically changed by his encounter with Jesus. 

Apollos was an intellectual and eloquent teacher who followed after Paul. Yes, they were different, but they were Christ-appointed for the common good of the Corinthians.

And here is what they needed to understand.
The focus was not to be on the servants, but on the Lord Himself. As then, and still today, we tend to be celebrity-oriented. 

We raise to a higher status someone who is an excellent teacher or someone that was a sports or media star and has now come to the Lord. But the truth is, we are all servants.

There is a fundamental equality among all of us. This is why the Corinthians’ argument among themselves was so ridiculous. 

Paul brings in the analogy of the farmer at this point, because farmers understand that their contribution to a successful harvest is rather minimal. In contrast, the role of nature, and thus God, is huge. Correspondingly, Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.

So here is what we must understand, through the diversity of His servants, God brings a unified whole. This means that we are instruments of His grace. He uses us to build the church – to build the kingdom. And so, we must remember that we are God’s work.

This place is not my church. This place is not your church. This is God’s church. It is God alone that counts, because we are His work. So, we should reflect the unity of His work, because we all belong to God.

The third contrast is IN CONCERT, NOT IN CONFLICT (10-15). 

[10] According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. [11] For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — [13] each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. [14] If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. [15] If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 

We work together, not against one another.
This is what the Corinthians needed to understand. Their division was hurting the cause. It was making the situation worse.

A sea captain and his chief engineer were arguing over who was most important to the ship. To prove their point to each other, they decided to swap places. The chief engineer ascended to the bridge, and the captain went to the engine room.

Several hours later, the captain suddenly appeared on deck covered with oil and dirt. “Chief!” he yelled, waving aloft a monkey wrench. “You have to get down there. I can’t make her go!” “Of course you can’t,” replied the chief. “She’s aground!”

It takes teamwork to make the church happen. So, Paul explains how this has happened. He had been the onsite supervisor. He had laid the foundation of Jesus, because he knew that all of Scripture had pointed to Jesus. 

So, he had done what he was supposed to, and now it’s Apollos’ turn. Paul was not jealous of Apollos, because he knew others had to build on what He had started.

Now the strife and divisions were ruining the building process. They were messing it up. You see, we are to be selective in our building materials.

Gold, silver, precious stones, there is stuff that is worth building with. There is stuff that is worthy of God. There is stuff that lasts! It’s permanent, beautiful, valuable, and of high quality. They are works that flow from faith. They align themselves with kingdom priorities and advance His purposes.

But, in contrast, we can build with inferior products, wood, hay and stubble. It is temporary, ordinary, and cheap. So, understand, one day it will be clearly understood what you have been building with.

It will come to light. If you have shoddy, sloppy workmanship, it will be known. You don’t want to appear to have made it by the skin of your teeth.

George Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a view of the surrounding area.

Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” 

Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, “That’s all mine.” 

Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That too is all mine.”

He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, “How much do you have in that direction?”

The man confessed, “I never thought of that.”

What we do is either based on the gospel, the good news, or is it based on human wisdom. We either lay up treasures in heaven, or we spend it down here. And in the end, it will be revealed! The fire will test the quality.

Please understand that what we do is too important to not care. We can not say, “Oh, I am saved; how wonderful!” and then do nothing to show the difference. It is the mark of ingratitude. You see, we should want to make a difference with our lives. We have good news worth sharing and worth living.

Paul concludes this section with…

[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? [17] If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 

The apostle Paul effectively challenges the Corinthians with this question, “Don’t you know who you are?”

We are the place that God resides. The Holy Spirit is the key to our life. It is the crucial reality that we must never miss. 

When Paul describes this, he refers to the temple, because this was the recognized residence of God. So, when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we become a sacred place, and we are not to be desecrated.

But this is what was happening in the church in Corinth. It was a church in trouble. There were power struggles in leadership. There were battles for preeminence and influence. Lax moral standards were evident. The corporate worship was out of control. It was a church characterized by self-indulgence.

Paul was desperately attempting to get them to recapture a vision of what it meant to be in Christ. 

We are to reflect His dwelling in our behavior (both corporately and individually) and be growing in both grace and knowledge.

How we think and how we behave is important. We no longer can use the excuse that we are human. It is not true anymore. We have the Spirit; therefore, we have the ability to live differently.

 We can live grace.
We can be gracious.
We can live righteously.
We can be characterized by holiness.

We can live Christ-like. Because the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in us.

Living a Spirit-filled life in a carnal world is not only possible—it is the will of God for every believer. The world may be full of temptation and distractions, but greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. To live Spirit-filled is to live victorious, fruitful, and impactful.

Refuse to be a carnal Christian in a carnal world. Rise higher. Let the Holy Spirit take full control of your mind, body, and actions. Choose the way of the Spirit, and your life will reflect the glory of God.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!