Babes in Christ

1 Corinthians 3:1: And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

So here we have the third class. He is the unnatural Christian or the unnatural man. We learned about the natural man, also we learned about the spiritual man—whom we can call the supernatural man. Here we have the unnatural man. He is unnatural because he is a Christian but is still carnal. He is still a babe in Christ. The carnal Christian is the one who hasn’t grown up spiritually, and it is evident that he lacks spiritual discernment—not because he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, but because he is not growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Again this is a consequence of his relationship to the Word of God. That is so important to see. This unnatural man, this carnal Christian, is a babe in Christ. He has an ability but no desire. A baby has the potential to become a learned man, but he has to start out by drinking milk. Paul carries this figure of speech over to the spiritual level. ¹

Application

• Are you more influenced by the immediate approval from the culture? Are you willing to be rejected by family and friends in order to be pleasing to Christ?
• Is your life more carnal or spiritual? Would you consider yourself a maturing believer?

Thought to Share

You can not grow up spiritually if you’re not growing up in grace. – TWEET IT

Prayer

Lord, teach me to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Your word.