1 CORINTHIANS 2-3

Question:
Growing in the Spirit: what does that mean to you?
    – Becoming more submissive to God’s will;
      maturing as a Christian?

    – Growing closer to the Lord?

    – Worshipping; fellowshipping with other Christians?

    – Relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance
      and remolding you to be more like Jesus?

    – Spending more time in prayer and bible study each day?

Question:
How can we tell if we are growing in the Spirit?
    – We see a change in our attitude, prayer life, use of talents,
      church attendance, appreciation for God and the things
      of God, desire to share the Gospel with others, etc.

    – We have an eagerness to share the gospel with others.

    – We find that our conscience bothers us more,
      when we yield to temptations (sin).

    – We discover that we have an unusual peace
      and joy that we have never experienced before.

Question:
How can we tell if others are growing in the Spirit?
    – By their actions when they are not in church;
      their attitudes, the way they respond to situations, etc.

Question:
What can help Christians to grow Spiritually?
    – Prayer, Bible study, controlling emotions (self-control).

    – Fellowship with other Christians.

Question:
What prevents Christians from growing Spiritually?
    – Sin, selfishness, jealousy, uncontrolled emotions, avoiding
      other Christians, anger, refusal to surrender to God’s will.

Note:
The word “sin” will cause controversy;
as a result, mankind uses other words
in an effort to hide it or soften it:
    – Sensuality / fantasy (instead of sexual lust).
    – Affair (instead of adultery).
    – Sleep with / make love (instead of illicit sex).
    – Happy hour (instead of getting drunk).
    – Tricked / misled (instead of cheated / robbed).
    – Share with someone (instead of gossip).
    – Take someone out / exterminate (instead of murder).
    – Relieved someone of something (instead of stealing).
    – Correcting my parents
      (instead of dishonoring and disrespecting my parents).
    – Pro-abortion (instead of anti-life / murder).
      Note:
          Also, ‘ANTI-abortion’ (negative)
          (instead of ‘PRO-life’ (positive)).

Question:
What should be a Christian’s motivation
for wanting to grow Spiritually?
    – A desire to please God and become more like Jesus.

Question:
Is it possible to be a Christian
and not be growing in the Spirit?
Question:
How? Why would a Christian not be growing?

1 CORINTHIANS 2:

VERSE 2:
Paul had one goal in mind – to make Christ known to others.

VERSE 3:
Paul expresses his fear as he arrived in Corinth.

Question:
What was he afraid of?
    – Persecution? (No, he had faced that before).

    – He was afraid he might not allow himself
      to be used by God in the best way.

    Note:
        Do we have that same intense concern about our own lives?

VERSE 4:
Paul didn’t worry about how his message would be received.

He knew the power of the Holy Spirit was with him
and consequently, whatever he said would be right.

Question:
Is there a lesson for us here?
    – Live close to God; have courage
      to say things that may feel uncomfortable.

VERSE 5:
Paul wanted to arouse faith in the hearers;
not faith in human wisdom, but faith in Jesus Christ.

Question:
What is the danger in having faith in human wisdom?
    – Faith will be in the most persuasive person;
      if a more persuasive person comes along,
      then faith will be altered, and focused on that person.

VERSE 12:
Paul mentions two spirits:
    – A spirit that comes from God.
    – The spirit of the world.

Question:
What does ‘spirit of the world’ mean?
    – Satan, right?

Question:
What is the by-product of the Spirit of God?
    – Insight and appreciation of God’s blessings.

VERSE 13:
With the Spirit, we tend to speak more about Spiritual things,
we teach Spiritual things, and we explain Spiritual things
to others with the Spirit.

VERSE 14:
Those without the Spirit have trouble
understanding the things of the Spirit
(which includes wanting to share the Gospel,
wanting to witness to others, church attendance).
All of these appear as foolishness to them.

Only a person with the Spirit has the desire
to be personally involved in reaching the lost.

VERSE 15:
A Spiritual person:
    – Examines everything that relates to God.
    – Looks at the truths of God with the help of God’s Spirit.
    – Looks at his own life and sees where growth is needed.
    – Is not deterred by how others may judge him or her
      as result of his or her faith and their related actions and attitudes.

VERSE 16:
The Spiritual person tends to think more like Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:

VERSES 1-3:
Paul was saying:
    – They had not grown Spiritually.

    – They were not Spiritually mature enough
      for an in depth message.

    – He had to preach to them as if they were still lost.

    – When they were unsaved, they could not understand
      in-depth messages, and as Christians, they still could not
      because they had not grown Spiritually.

        – They were still clinging to carnal things.
          Question:
          How did Paul determine this?
              – He detected envy, strife, and in general, carnal actions.

             Note:
                  This should help us to avoid judging whether or not
                  someone is saved – the person may be a Christian
                  who has not grown Spiritually.

Summary:
    – As Christians, we should be growing and maturing Spiritually.

    – As we grow, more of God’s truths will be revealed to us;
      we will find it easier to discuss Spiritual things openly
      with Christians and non-Christians.

    – We should examine our lives, determine areas where
      we need to grow, and pray for growth in those areas.

    – Our Spiritual growth can be measured
      by the amount of carnality in our lives.

Note:
    Paul mentions “strife” as a sign of “carnality”.
    Challenge:
        Plan to get along with everyone in all things this week.
        (even if we feel the other person is wrong).