Spiritual Maturity

According to scripture, there are two possible realms in which we can live. There's the realm of the spirit, and there's the realm of the flesh. For example, Jesus says to Nicodemus in John chapter three, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And in Romans chapter 8, Paul writes, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. And likewise, here in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul begins by saying, but I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh. Now it's important to recognize that these two realms are not distinguished by the spiritual versus the physical. As if the spiritual were good and the physical were bad. Because scripture everywhere affirms the goodness of the physical creation. The goodness of our physical bodies. And the hope that God will one day create a new heavens and a new earth that believers will enjoy in resurrected physical bodies. Nor does scripture imply that everything spiritual is good. It says that there are spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places. These are fallen angelic beings called demons. And it's why James chapter 3 verse 15 can speak of wisdom that doesn't come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. So the realm of the spirit versus the realm of the flesh is not a spiritual versus physical realm. It's a realm characterized by the presence and power of God versus a realm devoid of it. And in fact, while I think it's true that Christians experience the indwelling of the spirit in a unique way under the new covenant, I still think we could say that the realm of the spirit is the realm that God originally created mankind to live in when he made the first man and the first woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. He made them for fellowship with himself and enabled them by his spirit to walk in holiness as his image bearers. But then, as the third chapter of the Bible tells us, Adam and Eve sinned. And ever since that time, all of us have been in rebellion against God. That's why we're separated from him, cut off from his presence, and cut off from his power. And it's why we die. And it's why sin has taken such deep hold in our hearts and even enslaved us. And this is what scripture calls the realm of the flesh. It's the realm consisting of what we can do without God, cut off from his presence and without his spirit empowering us. It's an animal-like condition in which humanity, who was created in the image of God to walk in virtue and fellowship with their creator, has been stripped of those privileges and reduced to a state that is fleshly unspiritual and so unlike God. The Bible says that we are utterly lost in this state. We could say that we've fallen from the realm of the spirit to the realm of the flesh and there is nothing that we can do to climb our way out of it. This is why Jesus says in John chapter six, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh is of no help at all. But the good news is that the rest of the Bible is the story of how God has intervened to do what we and our flesh could never do. God first promised a savior and then God himself came to be that savior in Jesus Christ. And listen to how Paul describes this in Romans chapter eight. He says, there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. And so we might say that God in Christ has reached down and lifted us out of the realm of the flesh and placed us into the realm of the spirit. He's forgiven our sins so that they're no longer a barrier between us having fellowship with him. And he's placed his own spirit within us so that we may now have power to walk in holiness as his people. And all of this is made possible by the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. And friend, if you're here this morning and aren't a Christian, you too can receive this salvation if you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus as your Savior. Now, I've gone into this discussion of the realm of the spirit versus the realm of the flesh because it's crucial background to understanding Paul's argument here in 1 Corinthians chapter three. Now, as we've seen in earlier sermons, there's division in Corinth. Back in chapter 1, verses 10 through 12, Paul says, Each of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Paulus, or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ. And we've seen in chapters 1 and 2 how Paul has combated this disunity by warning the Corinthians that they've bought into an illusion of wisdom, a worldly wisdom that's folly with God and runs totally counter to the Christian message of the cross. But now in chapter 3, Paul's emphasis shifts slightly. And he turns his attention from the Corinthians lack of spiritual wisdom to their lack of spiritual maturity. Though these things do overlap significantly. And his basic point is that the Corinthians are living as if they belong to the realm of the flesh. And this proves their spiritual immaturity. Now look again at verses one through four. Paul says, 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, another, I follow Apollos. Are you not being merely human?" Now, it's probably hard for us to imagine how much these words would have stung the Corinthians. because they esteemed themselves as eminently spiritual, eminently wise, and eminently mature. And they thought all the spiritual gifts that they had were proof of that. In fact, they so emphasized their spirituality that some of them were questioning or even denying the physical resurrection, as if they didn't need it. And others were indulging in things like pagan feasts and sexual immorality, as if what they did with their physical bodies was unimportant. And some of them seem to think that they were so mature that they were beginning to look down on Paul himself. I mean, the very one who had led them to Christ because he seemed so lacking in eloquence, wisdom, and impressiveness. But Paul here just points his finger at the division and the strife and the jealousy in the church and says, you are of the flesh. This is unmistakable evidence of that. You're not spiritual. And your behavior proves it. Now Paul's point here is not that they aren't really believers and don't really possess the Spirit of God. His point is that they do possess the Spirit, but they're living in the flesh. And that makes them a walking contradiction. He's saying this ought not be. Because spiritual maturity is about learning to live in the realm to which we belong. It's about learning to live in the realm of the Spirit. Because if you're a Christian, that is who you really are in Christ. But Paul has to say to them, I have to address you as infants in Christ. Because even now, you're still not ready for solid food. Your fleshly behavior reveals a shameful lack of Christian maturity. Now, throughout this chapter, Paul is going to continue to point them to what Christian maturity demands and what living in the realm of the Spirit looks like. And as we go along, I'd like to point out five marks of spiritual maturity. So, five marks of spiritual maturity, and the first is this, and it's found right here in these first four verses that we just read. A spiritually mature Christian has a depth of knowledge and humility at the same time. A spiritually mature Christian has a depth of knowledge and humility at the same time. Now, let's think about both sides of that. First, spiritual maturity requires a depth of knowledge and theological understanding. God has chosen to make us in such a way that we are transformed through the renewing of our minds, as Romans 12 says. And God has chosen to reveal himself through scripture, in words to be studied. And scripture itself often encourages us to grow in our intellectual understanding of God's truth. For example, 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 20, Paul says, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. And in Ephesians chapter four, it says that God has given the church pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry so that we may all grow together into mature manhood in Christ. No longer being children tossed to and fro by every wave and carried about by every wind of doctrine. So every Christian should grow in theological knowledge and not be like a gullible child who's easily deceived by false teaching or errant notions. And in Hebrews chapter six, the author urges, let us leave the elementary doctrines of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, and let us go on to maturity. And here in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 2, Paul remarks that he had to feed the Corinthians with milk rather than solid food because they weren't yet ready for it. Now, friends, there's nothing wrong with starting with milk. When we're born again, we're baby Christians. That's what we need. But it's a shameful thing to stay there. And the picture Paul points of the Corinthians is akin to a full-grown man walking around with a baby bottle. And so if we're gonna be mature, we need to grow in our knowledge of scripture and our knowledge of doctrine and theology. However, all the knowledge and doctrinal understanding in the world doesn't necessarily make you spiritually mature. As Paul says in chapter eight of this same book, knowledge can often puff up and feed our pride. And the irony of the situation in Corinth is that the very wisdom and knowledge which they thought made them so mature and so spiritual was actually contributing to jealousy and strife that was rooted in pride and boasting. And this demonstrated how immature and fleshly the Corinthians really were. And so you see, knowledge in our heads doesn't help us if it doesn't get down into our hearts. An intricate knowledge of all sorts of peripheral things doesn't really help us if we have a shallow understanding of Christ and the gospel itself. And further, fleshly behavior can actually make it hard for us to even stomach and receive the solid food that the gospel really is. And that's why I say that the first mark of spiritual maturity is to have knowledge with humility at the same time. Because if we really are gaining knowledge the way that we should be, then it will be producing humility. And humility will help us to really understand God's word the way that we should. Now just one contemporary example of this. Take the doctrines of grace. Because friends, nothing should make us more humble than recognizing and believing that we are totally depraved sinners saved only by the sheer grace and kindness of God. And yet, our sinful hearts have the tendency to take knowledge like that and twist it into a basis to actually look condescendingly on other people that we esteem to be less theologically enlightened. Or even to use it as a reason to get into arguments and create strife and division. Rather, than being full of humble praise and thanksgiving like it should. And so friends, true spiritual maturity only comes when we grow in knowledge and humility together. Now a second mark of spiritual maturity is a full awareness that God alone gives the growth. A full awareness that God alone gives the growth. Look with me at verses five through nine. Paul continues, 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. Now, the Corinthians had been aligning themselves behind certain teachers saying, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos. And Paul basically wants to help them see that this is a totally immature, faithless, and fleshly way of seeing reality. This is like a child watching a movie and being amazed at how the actor can do such incredible stunts. versus an adult watching the same movie and being more amazed at how the stunt double and the engineers and the videographer enabled such amazing footage to be captured. They're both looking at the same thing, but on two totally different levels. And in the same way, the Corinthians are looking at the human preacher and focusing on his power and his capability, and they're aligning themselves behind whichever preacher seems the most capable in their estimation. Paul's saying, no, you're seeing it all wrong. 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 nor he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only God who gives the growth. He says, look, you Corinthians as a church are like a field. God's the owner. Apollos and I are just laborers. I initially planted the seed and Apollos came along and watered it. But God's the one who made it grow and God is the one who deserves the credit. And friends, the mature Christian recognizes that. So he doesn't focus on the human instrument. He has eyes of faith by which he sees the invisible hand of God. And notice the irony here that the very thing the Corinthians were using as a basis for division, Paul and Apollos, were actually two different instruments in God's hand to accomplish his united purpose. That's why he says, verse 8 says, he who plants and he who waters are one. God used them both to fulfill one united purpose and it was for the good of the Corinthians. And that's why it's so foolish for the Corinthians to align themselves with one rather than the other. And it's also why it's foolish for the Corinthians to stand in judgment over one or the other because they're God's servants and God will determine their wages in the end. And friends, this should be a reminder to us to be very careful about judging the faithfulness of any minister by the quantity of the fruit that we can see. God uses his servants to fulfill the specific roles that he assigns to them. And their faithfulness is not necessarily proportional to the outward fruit which we can see because God alone gives the growth. In fact, as Charles Bridges said, sometimes in the providence of God, the seed may lie under the clods till we lie there and then spring up. So spiritual maturity is about having eyes to see that spiritual growth comes from God alone. Now before we go on to the third mark, I want to point out a corollary to this one. And it's that if God alone gives the growth, then true greatness comes through service. If God is the one and only sovereign who alone produces spiritual growth, then our greatness isn't measured by how many people report to us or follow us. It's measured by how faithfully we serve God and become instruments in his hand to accomplish his work. Look again at verse five. What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed as the Lord assigned to each. Now on one hand, Paul's saying, we're just servants, so don't have an over elevated view of us. But on the other, Paul knows that being a servant of Christ is the most privileged position he could ever possess. He gets to be the instrument through whom others come to believe. And Paul knows that far greater than having a single Corinthian be impressed with Paul or follow Paul, that the greatest privilege of all is being able to serve the Corinthians by pointing them to Christ. As Jesus said in Mark chapter 10, you know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." And so, brothers and sisters, the most mature Christian is the one who is most willing to serve. And that flows from his recognition that all spiritual growth comes from God. Now, a third mark of spiritual maturity. And it's to have discernment to build with the right materials. to have discernment to build with the right materials. And note that Paul shifts the metaphor a bit. He's been likening the Corinthian church to a field, but then at the end of verse nine, he calls them God's building. And then look with me at verses 10 through 15. He says, 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. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 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. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. So Paul portrays the Corinthian church as a building. He says that he, like a master builder, laid a foundation, and that foundation is Christ. And he says that others are now building upon it. especially other preachers, but also, to some degree, every member as they carry on the work of ministry. But then Paul says that different kinds of materials are being used. There's gold, silver, and precious stones, and then there's wood, hay, and straw. And he exhorts the Corinthians to take heed how they build and which materials they use. Because, he says, that a day is coming the day of judgment, when each one's work will be revealed by fire, because the fire will test what sort of work it is. So for the one who builds with imperishable materials like gold, silver, or precious stones, his work will survive, and he will receive a reward. But for the one who builds with perishable materials like wood, hay, or straw, his work will be burned up, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. I want to make a few clarifying observations about this. First, although Scripture often seems to focus on our reward being eternal life itself, this is possibly the clearest passage in all Scripture which indicates that Christians will receive some kind of reward in addition to salvation, and that that reward will not be the same for all believers. Paul explicitly says that one man's work is burned up even while he himself is saved, while another man's work survives and he receives a reward. Now we could speculate about what this reward is, and in fact it has greatly puzzled theologians. But the really important thing is simply that it's a reward that comes from God. So it will be good and we should seek it. Now second, While scripture often urges us not to live for temporary earthly treasure, but for lasting heavenly treasure, that's not the real contrast here. Because it sounds like those building with wood, hay, and straw are living for and expecting a heavenly reward. I mean, in a sense, they do have an eternal perspective. But the problem is that they're using the wrong materials. And so to their surprise and dismay, when they stand before God on the last day and they present their life's work expecting a reward, all their work burns away and the reward is lost. So obviously Paul's warning us and the Corinthians, don't let that happen to you. Now third observation. It's rather striking that all the construction taking place here is actually taking place on the foundation of Christ. In other words, it's evidently possible to build on the right foundation with the wrong materials. And if the metaphorical foundation of the Corinthian church is Christ, Then I take when Paul says, let each one take heed how he builds to concern how we go about ministering, our ministry methods. And then the materials themselves would represent the outward fruit of our ministry, whether evangelistic fruit or the fruit of discipleship. And so what this passage teaches us is that no matter how big our church grows, no matter how outwardly impressive our ministry may be, no matter how many programs we have or how much activity is taking place, It's the quality of the work that counts. That's what will be tested and that's what will matter on the last day. And Paul's exhorting the Corinthians not to be childish and fleshly in the way they minister or evaluate the ministry of others. Because all the outward show that dazzles them is going to burn away. It's the inner quality that counts. And friends, I think this shows us that one of the marks of spiritual maturity is having the discernment to tell the difference. And as I reflected on this, I couldn't help but think of one of the most influential preachers in American history, and that's Charles Finney. He was a leading figure during the Second Great Awakening from the early to mid-1800s. He was a zealous and passionate evangelist who was involved in many revivals and who saw tremendous outward results from his preaching. However, he was controversial because he was a strong advocate of certain new measures aimed at promoting conversions and revivals. For example, he promoted something called the anxious bench, where those under conviction of sin could come forward before the watching eyes of a large crowd and receive special care until they found peace. He promoted praying publicly for unconverted people by name, even if they were present in the room. And he held large protracted camp meetings which generated tremendous excitement and emotional fervor. And behind all of that was a strong emphasis on human willpower. And the idea that the right kind of preaching and methods could cause people to make the right decision and even generate revival. In one sermon, he said, some persons associate God's sovereignty with conversion in a way that they associate it with nothing else. So, for example, we acknowledge that God is sovereign over our children's behavior. And yet, we also recognize that parents, especially when kids are young, can pretty well train them to be things like well-mannered. And Finney's saying, God's sovereignty and conversion works the same way. In fact, elsewhere he said, with the addition of believing prayer, pious parents can render the salvation of their children certain. Then he also said, if Christians would only give themselves to the task that is of evangelism, they could convert the world and bring on the millennium in three months. Now as Finney was gaining popularity, some older ministers tried to warn him of some of the excesses and dangers they saw in these new methods. But he rejected all such advice, calling them enemies of revival and claiming that the results he was seeing validated the methods. But in later years, It seems that even Finney himself came to realize something of the lack of quality in his results. In 1845, he noted a great falling off and decline in revivals. And in 1856, he was preaching on the training of children when he suddenly stopped and exclaimed, brethren, Why am I trying to instruct you on the subject of training your children in the fear of God when I do not know that a single one of my children gives evidence of having been converted? And all six of Finney's own children had apparently drifted from the faith. And so friends, whether we begin to recognize it in this life or not, if we build with wood, hay, or straw, it's not going to last. No matter how big the structure, no matter how impressive the ministry, it won't merit a reward. And friends, spiritual maturity is about having the discernment to avoid worldly methods and to rely instead on the word of God and the spirit of God so that we might build with materials that last. Now a fourth mark of spiritual maturity. And it's to have deep appreciation for the sacredness of the local church. Deep appreciation for the sacredness of the local church. Look at verses 16 and 17. Paul says, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. Now take note here that Paul is not talking about the Corinthians as individual believers, nor is he talking about the church universal. He's talking about the Corinthians as a local church. Do you not know that you, plural, are God's temple? and that God's spirit dwells in you, plural. In fact, this is really just an extension of the building metaphor from verses 10 to 15. The gold, silver, and precious stones, and by the way, that's not gemstones, but, you know, hewn, well-cut stones, are reminiscent of the prominent building materials of Solomon's temple. And if you've read the Old Testament, you know how holy and sacred God's temple was. The penalty for trespassing within it or profaning it in any way was death. So Paul knows that the Corinthians know that anyone who destroyed God's temple could expect nothing less than destruction from God. But Paul's point is that that is exactly what the Corinthians risk doing to the church. By quarreling, strife, and jealousy, they've already divided the church and they risk tearing it apart altogether. And therefore, he's warning them here that far worse than the loss of heavenly reward is the potential destruction of their very souls if they will not repent. And the challenge for us is clear. Do we appreciate the sacredness of the local church? Do we realize that when we come together corporately, God intends for his spirit to be present with us in a special way and that we collectively form a temple of God on earth? I mean, do we think about the fact that when we gather in corporate worship, we're standing on holy ground just as much as Moses at the burning bush or Aaron entering the holy of holies. And will we therefore take great care in what we say and how we act so as to preserve and protect the unity of the body and to edify one another rather than tearing the body down and sowing seeds of division or complaint? And friends, the more we grow in spiritual maturity, the more we'll grow in appreciation for the sacredness of the local church and live accordingly. A fifth and final mark of spiritual maturity. And it's to be a fool in your own eyes, but content in Christ. to be a fool in your own eyes, but content in Christ. And this covers verses 18 through 23, but look first at verses 18 through 20. Paul says, let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, he catches the wise in their craftiness, and again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile. Now from a fleshly or worldly perspective, maturity tends to go hand in hand with self-confidence. The more mature we are, the more we know, and the more we know, the more confident we feel in our ability to figure things out. But Paul's saying that spiritual maturity works in the opposite direction, because the spiritually wise person recognizes that self-confidence always leads to spiritual rashness and a failure to depend on God. That's why Paul says, let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise in this age, wise according to human standards, wise according to your own ingenuity, Let him become a fool that he may become wise. Because our own wisdom is nothing but folly before God. It's a snare that leads only to pride and self-deception. And the spiritually mature person realizes that. And so he considers himself a fool in his own sight. And friends, two questions for us to consider. First, Whenever you have a decision to make or an endeavor to pursue, how careful are you to study scripture and do exactly what it says? Or does self-confidence cause you to rashly or even willfully ignore scripture at certain points as if you knew better? You remember David when he wanted to move the ark to Jerusalem. And rather than having the priests carry the ark on poles like the Bible commanded, he thought it'd be a good idea to put it on an ox cart, because surely that's a more efficient way of doing it. And friends, we remember how disastrously that panned out. And so may we not rely on our own wisdom, but carefully and precisely obey God's word. Secondly, whenever you have a decision to make, do you pray? And do you pray expecting God to actually give you wisdom to help you see how his word applies to your situation and to help you in your tendency to folly? Or is your first instinct to just rely on your own understanding to try to figure it out on your own and then maybe pray as a bit of an afterthought? Remember Joshua and how the Gibeonites came to him pretending to be from a far off land. And instead of pausing to seek counsel from the Lord, he just rashly went ahead and said, okay, this makes sense. He believed them and he was deceived. And so friends, spiritual maturity is not about growing in wisdom so that we can be self-confident. It's about growing in wisdom to see how foolish we are and how utterly dependent we are on God and his word. And that's why Paul continues in verse 21. So let no one boast in men. How foolish you are, O Corinthians, to boast in man or man's wisdom or to boast in Paul or Apollos or any other human preacher. How deceived you are to let the instruments which God is using for your good become a source of boasting or division or strife among you. And how narrow and short-sighted and pathetic your fleshly wisdom is compared with the riches of what God has for you in Christ and the riches of the wisdom that God has revealed in the gospel. As Paul said back in chapter two, verse nine, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. These things God has revealed, not by human wisdom, but by his spirit. And listen to how Paul continues here. He says, second half of verse 21, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. And Paul is telling the Corinthians that in Christ, All things, whether preachers or apostles or life or death or present or future or the world itself, are theirs. They have all been made servants to the Corinthians for their good by God. Friends, God is working all things together for our good in Christ. He's using all things to serve us for our good according to the riches of his grace. How foolish we would be to let these things divide us. And further, God is reconciling all things to himself through Christ. And he has, as Ephesians 1 tells us, exalted Christ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one that is to come. And, He has put all things under his feet and given Christ to be head over all things for his body, which is the church, the fullness of him who fills all in all. And so friends, in Christ, God is reconciling and redeeming all things and even putting all things under his feet, but he's doing this for the good of the church that we may, with Christ, inherit this everlasting kingdom of God's beloved son. And friends, how much greater this is than anything human wisdom could have ever expected or even imagined. I mean, how this reality should fill our hearts with joy and gratitude and wonder and awe at God and how this should free us from such carnal divisions and strife and envy that would threaten to pull and tear the body apart. You see, spiritual maturity is about letting go of our own wisdom and receiving by faith this unspeakable grace and wisdom of God which he has lavished upon us in Christ. And so, brothers and sisters, our overarching exhortation this morning is to grow in Christ, not to remain spiritual infants. but to realize that in Christ we have been lifted out of the realm of the flesh and placed into the realm of the spirit, where all things are ours, where God himself is with us and where we may know him and be enabled by his power to walk before him and be blameless and have eyes to see and hope for this unbelievable heavenly inheritance. And so friends, as we do that, let's strive to grow in both knowledge and humility. Let's realize that all spiritual growth comes from God and our highest privilege is to offer ourselves to him as his servants. Let's seek discernment to build with the right materials. Let's appreciate the sacredness of the local church. And let's consider ourselves fools in our own sight, but find all our contentment in Christ. And friends, take note that as we do these things together, the unmistakable result will be unity. Because one of the things that all of these marks of spiritual maturity have in common is that they should produce unity between believers and simultaneously distinguish Christians from the world. Friends, God wants the line between the church and the world to be bright and clear. That's the way he's designed it for his glory. And that's the way it ought to be because there are only two realms in which to live, the realm of the spirit and the realm of the flesh. And spiritual maturity is about learning to live in the realm of the spirit because that's the realm to which every Christian belongs. So may God give us grace to do so. Amen. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we are so overwhelmed by your grace to us in Christ. So in awe of the wisdom that you have displayed and how it confounds our own wisdom and exceeds our every expectation. God, we confess that so often we, like infants in Christ, live as if we still belong to the realm of the flesh when you, by your grace, have lifted us into the realm of the Spirit. We ask, Lord, that you would help us to grow, that you would help us to apply these things to our hearts and to live these things out. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.