Growth in God's Garden 1 Cor 3:1-9
Introduction
Many of them thought that Paul's message of the Cross was immature, basic, foundational but not very spiritual. The Corinthians, as the society they were saturated in, thought they were made mature by their greater wisdom. Some forms of Greek Philosophy taught that to be super-spiritual, you had to live above the material plane of the present world. Some of these Corinthians believed that the 'not yet' had become the 'already', that by combining their Greek Wisdom with some semblance of Christian Truth, they were already experiencing the blessings of the Spirit, and the fullness of heaven and the powers of the age to come, here on earth now. That likely was tied to their obsessive focus to the miraculous and the more spectacular spiritual gifts, because the more ecstatic the more it would prove their Divine Spiritual Power. Paul will address those issues later in chs.12-14.
If you recall the last sermon, Paul concluded ch. 2, by reminding these Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ.” Yet, Paul is disturbed that they don't seem to be thinking with the mind of Christ. Their outward manner of life, revealed to Paul that their field was the field of the world [& not God's Field] and their building was a building of the flesh [& not God's Building]. These worldly attributes more characterized them than the Spirit ever did. And so, in ch.3, Paul will remind them that they no longer belong to the wilderness of this world, but they are now in God's Garden, where they are to grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of Christ'. That is Paul's point in the 1st 9 verses of ch. 3. The other thing he will remind them of, in vs. 9b-17, is that they, as a church of the Living God, no longer live in the temple of the flesh, but now they are God's Building. We will cover those verses next week.
Paul is grieved that this church was virtually indistinguishable from the pagans of around them. He points out to them that they have the look and the actions of those who are of the flesh. And to be Biblical about it, what Paul has been saying is you are either characterized of the Spirit, spiritual or you are characterized by human nature, natural! You are either a Spiritual man or you are a natural man. He reminded them back in ch 2:12 “ Now we have received not the spirit of ...the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” You either have one spirit or else you have the other. As one preacher said it, "There's only two kinds of people: the Saints and the Aints, and either you is or you ain't." Paul was convinced that they were saints, which is why he calls them, 'brothers'. Yet, their bickering and fractioning showed that they weren't being led by the Spirit. So, Paul will show them in ...vs.1-4 that Paul- Confronting the Stunted and in ...vs.5-9 he will show them that God- Conscripting the Servant
Paul- Confronting the Stunted ...vs.1-4
Before Paul can point out where the Corinthians are now in there spiritual life, he first has to go back to the point of their conversion. They began, as everyone began, spiritual babies. When Paul first came to Corinth, he didn't find a full grown church awaiting him. He didn't find a church of any kind. What he did find were those whose hearts had been prepared to hear the message of the gospel. He simply preached and they believed. It's for this reason that he begins this chapter by calling them "brothers." 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.”
Paul is not upset that they had begun as infants, everyone does. But that they haven't grown out of it. Notice the last phrase of verse 2: "And even now you are not yet ready." Even now they're not ready for solid food. In fact what causes a word of hope in this text to become a word of serious warning is this shift from the past tense to the present tense. Everything up till this last phrase in v.2 is past tense. "I could not address you as spiritual . . . I fed you with milk . . . You were not ready . . . " That's not a terrible accusation. They were brand new Christians when Paul first came to them. But now comes the bad news ...the dangerous news ...the upsetting news. "And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still fleshly." v.3a But then come the most serious words of all at the end of v.3 and v.4. Literally: "And are you not walking according to man? You are still walking with worldly footsteps! Have you not heeded to the words of the 1st Psalm, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked...”?
And here is the indictment of worldly walking: “For when someone says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not (merely behaving as) men? ...Natural men ...Adamic men" Notice, he doesn't say they are 'natural men'. He leaves it as a question, because he has called them 'brothers'! They had a genuine experience with the power of the H.S.! Yet, he still asks, “Could it be that the reason you have not made any progress beyond those early days is that you really are no different than ordinary natural men?” He doesn't want to believe it. And he doesn't treat them that way. He gives them the benefit of the doubt. But the warning is sounded! To not Grow in Christian maturity is dangerous! So, what characteristic made it evident to Paul that they were still spiritual infants?
“For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way [as men ...as natural men as men in Adam]?” v.3b 'Jealousy and strife'. Attitude and Action. The attitude is jealousy, envying, bitterness; and the action, is strife, fighting, wrangling! What is the source of jealousy and strife? Is it not human pride, where each person is so convinced that they are right, “Don't confuse me with the facts, I already have my opinions!”, that they cannot and will not listen to reason. Their minds are set. How does that saying go? “Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.” That's a bad combination, to be convinced in your confusion. If you are confused I would suggest that you admit it and just be open to instruction. Some people have been in the Christian Faith for a long time, and they still don't understand the substitutionary death of Christ. On one level, this is the basics ...the milk ...the ABC's of the Christian Faith. However, that is not to say that, that the greatest scholar in history can't plumb that Truth to depths none of us have dared to dive. John Owen, has done such a job in his classic book, 'The Death of Death in the Death of Christ'! That is the meat that Paul is speaking of. The same Truth can be milk or meat. And little children were not designed to eat meat. They will choke on it. Unconditional Election & Predestination can be such a doctrine that many immature Christians choke on, because they haven't studied the milk side of it. Someone has simply shoved a large piece of meat down their throats and they gagged on it. Most Biblical Truth has this milk/meat distinctiveness.
Yet, these babies were spoiled in the spiritual diapers [not soiled! Spoiled!]. hadn't grown out of the favoritism stage. They were enthralled with the externals and the differences between the great leaders that God had blessed them with. They should have been humbled by such provision and for 5 years. 2 years of Paul, and 3 more between Peter & Apollos! Thessalonica only had 3 months, and look at the wonderful letters that Paul wrote to them! Who could ask for a better seminary? The Corinthians were misguided by men! v.4 “For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human ...fleshly ...worldly?” Now, Paul is not saying here that all forms of dividing are carnal or worldly. Sometimes it is necessary to take a stand when it comes to Important Theological differences, such as Ordaining women Pastors or the Inerrancy of Scripture. The Presbyterian Church has gone through many divisions, and some of it is justified. But, in fact they have gone through so many, that one pastor friend of mine in NY called them the Split P's. Yet, more often than not, Christians are at odds with one another over very minor differences.
I heard a story of a man who was about to end his life by jumping off a bridge. But another man ran over to rescue him and said, "Hey, Don't do it!" And the man who was about to jump said to him, "Nobody loves me." The man approached him and said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." "Me, too! What Denomination? " He said, "Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." "Me, too!"
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region [Council of 1879], or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region [Council of 1912]?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." "Die, heretic!" And he pushed the man off the bridge. Unfortunately there is a ring of Truth to such a ridiculous scenario. The immaturity of the Corinthians had them fighting over who they wanted as their Leader. Yet, what does Paul say of God's Leaders?
God- Conscripting the Servant ...vs.5-9
He tells us what he thinks by asking questions like a typical Jew.“What, then, is Apollos? What, is Paul?” Notice, Paul doesn't say “Who, then, is Apollos?” or “Who is Paul?” No, instead he says “What is Apollos?” and “What is Paul?” He removes even the personal qualities that the Corinthians may have been focusing on, so as to pull out the props from under them; “Paul was my founder & teacher. He is an apostle, and he met Christ! Apollos is my hero. He preaches with great power and eloquence! I was baptized by him.” Paul says, “No, what are we? We are tools in God's Garden! Paul says, “I'm just a Scott's Seed Spreader, and Apollos is a Toro Water Sprinkler! We're just tools! God is the Gardener! When you yield a great crop, you don't praise the spreader or give thanks to the hose! Paul says, we are only 'dia-konoi', deacons, Servants, We are ...table waiters, ...bell hops, ...landscapers “through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.”
“I planted the seed, Apollos came along & watered it, ...but God ...gave the growth.” What is Paul telling them in these metaphors? He is saying that the New Covenant church is the Garden of God, just as the Old Covenant Church was the Garden of God! God said that through Isaiah,“Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines...” Isa 5:1 Isaiah's point is that Israel began with real faith in Abraham. God dug it with that! He cleared it of stones, through Jacob, who wrestled in faith with God, and then planted choice vines through Joseph in Egypt, through Moses & the Exodus, through the wilderness with Joshua & Caleb, men filled with the Spirit, through judges like Gideon, through prophets like Samuel, through Kings like David, men of faith! Israel was ...God's Work ...God's Possession ...God's Planting! In v.7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, ...an outcry!” Grumbling complaining ...strife and quarreling! “Corinthians, don't make the same mistake! It didn't end well with Israel! Don't create unhealthy & unnecessary divisions by thinking that we leaders are worth fighting over.”
Get this straight, we are dispensable ...we are nothing! “neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only ...God who gives the growth.” We work together. But we aren't anything to focus on! “He who plants and he who waters are one”, they are united in purpose, they are united in will, they are united in faith ...their goal is the preparation for God to do the work. But even though we are one in goals, we will receive our rewards ...separately ...distinctively ...individually, and not according to our success, but the faithful effort we invested in it. That's what Paul means when he says,“Each will receive his wages according to his labor.” The owner of the vineyard will give out the payment, because it is His Work. It is His Plan! It is His Garden! Look at v.9“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field.” I don't think Paul is equating the work of the servants with the work of the Owner, as if they both contribute on some equal basis, like we are working with God. No, they are working for God, because God owns them. It seems more fitting, then, in the context that Paul is saying, “For we are ...God's! We belong to God! ...we work for God! We are united in God! We are brothers in God!, Apollos & I, and we are fellow workers, we are fellow workers ...in God's field ...in God's vineyard ...in God's Garden!” And you are that Garden! You are God's field, God's Garden!” You don't belong to Paul. You don't belong to Apollos! You don't belong to Calvin, or Edwards or Van Til or Sproul. You belong to Jesus Christ! Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentence and faith in His Great Atoning Work ...not the work of His instruments!
Closing
Let's summarize with 2 points for our consideration:
1] Growth in God's Garden means we recognize that we exist under the Sovereignty of God. You are God's field, God's Garden! He will also refer to them as God's Building, God's temple. Growth in God's Garden means we will celebrate that the work is God's Work & to His Glory. in the congregation. 6 times Paul refers to the Lord's work. “We are His Workmenship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10 The church is God's idea. Its never been an afterthought. Its always been central in God's planning for the advance of God's Kingdom. Local churches belong to God. He is a Farmer determined to produce a certain type of crop, a certain quality of crop. He started with Perfect Seed the prototype in His Only Begotten Son. And He is duplicating that Seed throughout the earth. That is His Plan. May we line up with Him on this here in Grangeville, and not be part of the famine for hearing the Word of the Lord.
2] Growth in God's Garden means we will refuse to tolerate Spiritual immaturity. You have to see the problem to address it. If you have been a Christian for more than 5 years, and you haven't grown ...you haven't grown in Grace and in the knowledge of Christ, Paul would be very disappointed in you, and he would tell you that you act like people who don't have the Spirit of God dwelling in you. If you would call Jesus your Savior, but you don't submit to His Lordship, you are acting like an unbeliever., even though you may have made a profession of faith, and in point of fact, may be a believer. Yet, I would ask you to question whether or not what you have, is the real thing? I don't say that to shame anyone. But only because I am responsible to oversee this garden, and gardens are only useful when they produce something. Think of Paul's Words of indictment- "And even now you are not yet ready." Selfish behavior, is what D A Carson calls “wretched unacceptable spiritual immaturity”. Lets not be characterized by such immaturity. Lets refuse to participate in strivings and divisions. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we can live like the rest of the world. We have to show that our faith is real, and that we have been liberated from the spiritual wasteland ...the spiritual desert of this world to become a Spiritual Oasis, God's Garden.
Let's celebrate that God is a Great Gardener, and He is cultivating a beautiful & fruitful Garden ...a Farm, and we are that garden ...that farm! May He continue to harvest a large and healthy crop. Lets pray!
Introduction
Many of them thought that Paul's message of the Cross was immature, basic, foundational but not very spiritual. The Corinthians, as the society they were saturated in, thought they were made mature by their greater wisdom. Some forms of Greek Philosophy taught that to be super-spiritual, you had to live above the material plane of the present world. Some of these Corinthians believed that the 'not yet' had become the 'already', that by combining their Greek Wisdom with some semblance of Christian Truth, they were already experiencing the blessings of the Spirit, and the fullness of heaven and the powers of the age to come, here on earth now. That likely was tied to their obsessive focus to the miraculous and the more spectacular spiritual gifts, because the more ecstatic the more it would prove their Divine Spiritual Power. Paul will address those issues later in chs.12-14.
If you recall the last sermon, Paul concluded ch. 2, by reminding these Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ.” Yet, Paul is disturbed that they don't seem to be thinking with the mind of Christ. Their outward manner of life, revealed to Paul that their field was the field of the world [& not God's Field] and their building was a building of the flesh [& not God's Building]. These worldly attributes more characterized them than the Spirit ever did. And so, in ch.3, Paul will remind them that they no longer belong to the wilderness of this world, but they are now in God's Garden, where they are to grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of Christ'. That is Paul's point in the 1st 9 verses of ch. 3. The other thing he will remind them of, in vs. 9b-17, is that they, as a church of the Living God, no longer live in the temple of the flesh, but now they are God's Building. We will cover those verses next week.
Paul is grieved that this church was virtually indistinguishable from the pagans of around them. He points out to them that they have the look and the actions of those who are of the flesh. And to be Biblical about it, what Paul has been saying is you are either characterized of the Spirit, spiritual or you are characterized by human nature, natural! You are either a Spiritual man or you are a natural man. He reminded them back in ch 2:12 “ Now we have received not the spirit of ...the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” You either have one spirit or else you have the other. As one preacher said it, "There's only two kinds of people: the Saints and the Aints, and either you is or you ain't." Paul was convinced that they were saints, which is why he calls them, 'brothers'. Yet, their bickering and fractioning showed that they weren't being led by the Spirit. So, Paul will show them in ...vs.1-4 that Paul- Confronting the Stunted and in ...vs.5-9 he will show them that God- Conscripting the Servant
Paul- Confronting the Stunted ...vs.1-4
Before Paul can point out where the Corinthians are now in there spiritual life, he first has to go back to the point of their conversion. They began, as everyone began, spiritual babies. When Paul first came to Corinth, he didn't find a full grown church awaiting him. He didn't find a church of any kind. What he did find were those whose hearts had been prepared to hear the message of the gospel. He simply preached and they believed. It's for this reason that he begins this chapter by calling them "brothers." 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.”
Paul is not upset that they had begun as infants, everyone does. But that they haven't grown out of it. Notice the last phrase of verse 2: "And even now you are not yet ready." Even now they're not ready for solid food. In fact what causes a word of hope in this text to become a word of serious warning is this shift from the past tense to the present tense. Everything up till this last phrase in v.2 is past tense. "I could not address you as spiritual . . . I fed you with milk . . . You were not ready . . . " That's not a terrible accusation. They were brand new Christians when Paul first came to them. But now comes the bad news ...the dangerous news ...the upsetting news. "And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still fleshly." v.3a But then come the most serious words of all at the end of v.3 and v.4. Literally: "And are you not walking according to man? You are still walking with worldly footsteps! Have you not heeded to the words of the 1st Psalm, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked...”?
And here is the indictment of worldly walking: “For when someone says, 'I am of Paul,' and another, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not (merely behaving as) men? ...Natural men ...Adamic men" Notice, he doesn't say they are 'natural men'. He leaves it as a question, because he has called them 'brothers'! They had a genuine experience with the power of the H.S.! Yet, he still asks, “Could it be that the reason you have not made any progress beyond those early days is that you really are no different than ordinary natural men?” He doesn't want to believe it. And he doesn't treat them that way. He gives them the benefit of the doubt. But the warning is sounded! To not Grow in Christian maturity is dangerous! So, what characteristic made it evident to Paul that they were still spiritual infants?
“For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way [as men ...as natural men as men in Adam]?” v.3b 'Jealousy and strife'. Attitude and Action. The attitude is jealousy, envying, bitterness; and the action, is strife, fighting, wrangling! What is the source of jealousy and strife? Is it not human pride, where each person is so convinced that they are right, “Don't confuse me with the facts, I already have my opinions!”, that they cannot and will not listen to reason. Their minds are set. How does that saying go? “Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.” That's a bad combination, to be convinced in your confusion. If you are confused I would suggest that you admit it and just be open to instruction. Some people have been in the Christian Faith for a long time, and they still don't understand the substitutionary death of Christ. On one level, this is the basics ...the milk ...the ABC's of the Christian Faith. However, that is not to say that, that the greatest scholar in history can't plumb that Truth to depths none of us have dared to dive. John Owen, has done such a job in his classic book, 'The Death of Death in the Death of Christ'! That is the meat that Paul is speaking of. The same Truth can be milk or meat. And little children were not designed to eat meat. They will choke on it. Unconditional Election & Predestination can be such a doctrine that many immature Christians choke on, because they haven't studied the milk side of it. Someone has simply shoved a large piece of meat down their throats and they gagged on it. Most Biblical Truth has this milk/meat distinctiveness.
Yet, these babies were spoiled in the spiritual diapers [not soiled! Spoiled!]. hadn't grown out of the favoritism stage. They were enthralled with the externals and the differences between the great leaders that God had blessed them with. They should have been humbled by such provision and for 5 years. 2 years of Paul, and 3 more between Peter & Apollos! Thessalonica only had 3 months, and look at the wonderful letters that Paul wrote to them! Who could ask for a better seminary? The Corinthians were misguided by men! v.4 “For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human ...fleshly ...worldly?” Now, Paul is not saying here that all forms of dividing are carnal or worldly. Sometimes it is necessary to take a stand when it comes to Important Theological differences, such as Ordaining women Pastors or the Inerrancy of Scripture. The Presbyterian Church has gone through many divisions, and some of it is justified. But, in fact they have gone through so many, that one pastor friend of mine in NY called them the Split P's. Yet, more often than not, Christians are at odds with one another over very minor differences.
I heard a story of a man who was about to end his life by jumping off a bridge. But another man ran over to rescue him and said, "Hey, Don't do it!" And the man who was about to jump said to him, "Nobody loves me." The man approached him and said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." "Me, too! What Denomination? " He said, "Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." "Me, too!"
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region [Council of 1879], or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region [Council of 1912]?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." "Die, heretic!" And he pushed the man off the bridge. Unfortunately there is a ring of Truth to such a ridiculous scenario. The immaturity of the Corinthians had them fighting over who they wanted as their Leader. Yet, what does Paul say of God's Leaders?
God- Conscripting the Servant ...vs.5-9
He tells us what he thinks by asking questions like a typical Jew.“What, then, is Apollos? What, is Paul?” Notice, Paul doesn't say “Who, then, is Apollos?” or “Who is Paul?” No, instead he says “What is Apollos?” and “What is Paul?” He removes even the personal qualities that the Corinthians may have been focusing on, so as to pull out the props from under them; “Paul was my founder & teacher. He is an apostle, and he met Christ! Apollos is my hero. He preaches with great power and eloquence! I was baptized by him.” Paul says, “No, what are we? We are tools in God's Garden! Paul says, “I'm just a Scott's Seed Spreader, and Apollos is a Toro Water Sprinkler! We're just tools! God is the Gardener! When you yield a great crop, you don't praise the spreader or give thanks to the hose! Paul says, we are only 'dia-konoi', deacons, Servants, We are ...table waiters, ...bell hops, ...landscapers “through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.”
“I planted the seed, Apollos came along & watered it, ...but God ...gave the growth.” What is Paul telling them in these metaphors? He is saying that the New Covenant church is the Garden of God, just as the Old Covenant Church was the Garden of God! God said that through Isaiah,“Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines...” Isa 5:1 Isaiah's point is that Israel began with real faith in Abraham. God dug it with that! He cleared it of stones, through Jacob, who wrestled in faith with God, and then planted choice vines through Joseph in Egypt, through Moses & the Exodus, through the wilderness with Joshua & Caleb, men filled with the Spirit, through judges like Gideon, through prophets like Samuel, through Kings like David, men of faith! Israel was ...God's Work ...God's Possession ...God's Planting! In v.7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, ...an outcry!” Grumbling complaining ...strife and quarreling! “Corinthians, don't make the same mistake! It didn't end well with Israel! Don't create unhealthy & unnecessary divisions by thinking that we leaders are worth fighting over.”
Get this straight, we are dispensable ...we are nothing! “neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only ...God who gives the growth.” We work together. But we aren't anything to focus on! “He who plants and he who waters are one”, they are united in purpose, they are united in will, they are united in faith ...their goal is the preparation for God to do the work. But even though we are one in goals, we will receive our rewards ...separately ...distinctively ...individually, and not according to our success, but the faithful effort we invested in it. That's what Paul means when he says,“Each will receive his wages according to his labor.” The owner of the vineyard will give out the payment, because it is His Work. It is His Plan! It is His Garden! Look at v.9“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field.” I don't think Paul is equating the work of the servants with the work of the Owner, as if they both contribute on some equal basis, like we are working with God. No, they are working for God, because God owns them. It seems more fitting, then, in the context that Paul is saying, “For we are ...God's! We belong to God! ...we work for God! We are united in God! We are brothers in God!, Apollos & I, and we are fellow workers, we are fellow workers ...in God's field ...in God's vineyard ...in God's Garden!” And you are that Garden! You are God's field, God's Garden!” You don't belong to Paul. You don't belong to Apollos! You don't belong to Calvin, or Edwards or Van Til or Sproul. You belong to Jesus Christ! Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentence and faith in His Great Atoning Work ...not the work of His instruments!
Closing
Let's summarize with 2 points for our consideration:
1] Growth in God's Garden means we recognize that we exist under the Sovereignty of God. You are God's field, God's Garden! He will also refer to them as God's Building, God's temple. Growth in God's Garden means we will celebrate that the work is God's Work & to His Glory. in the congregation. 6 times Paul refers to the Lord's work. “We are His Workmenship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:10 The church is God's idea. Its never been an afterthought. Its always been central in God's planning for the advance of God's Kingdom. Local churches belong to God. He is a Farmer determined to produce a certain type of crop, a certain quality of crop. He started with Perfect Seed the prototype in His Only Begotten Son. And He is duplicating that Seed throughout the earth. That is His Plan. May we line up with Him on this here in Grangeville, and not be part of the famine for hearing the Word of the Lord.
2] Growth in God's Garden means we will refuse to tolerate Spiritual immaturity. You have to see the problem to address it. If you have been a Christian for more than 5 years, and you haven't grown ...you haven't grown in Grace and in the knowledge of Christ, Paul would be very disappointed in you, and he would tell you that you act like people who don't have the Spirit of God dwelling in you. If you would call Jesus your Savior, but you don't submit to His Lordship, you are acting like an unbeliever., even though you may have made a profession of faith, and in point of fact, may be a believer. Yet, I would ask you to question whether or not what you have, is the real thing? I don't say that to shame anyone. But only because I am responsible to oversee this garden, and gardens are only useful when they produce something. Think of Paul's Words of indictment- "And even now you are not yet ready." Selfish behavior, is what D A Carson calls “wretched unacceptable spiritual immaturity”. Lets not be characterized by such immaturity. Lets refuse to participate in strivings and divisions. Jesus didn't die on the cross so we can live like the rest of the world. We have to show that our faith is real, and that we have been liberated from the spiritual wasteland ...the spiritual desert of this world to become a Spiritual Oasis, God's Garden.
Let's celebrate that God is a Great Gardener, and He is cultivating a beautiful & fruitful Garden ...a Farm, and we are that garden ...that farm! May He continue to harvest a large and healthy crop. Lets pray!