Sept 3 2017 The Pain of 2nd Chair Living I COR 2

The Pain of Second Chair Living                                                       1 Corinthians 2:10-3:4       

How could redeemed sons and daughters of God fall so short or the joy-filled, abundant, overcoming life that He promises for those who belong to Him?  The word is ______________________! 

Who and what do you Love?  First Chair believers love _____ and are most interested in ___________. Second Chair believers love ____ and are most interested in something else: success, pleasure, or status.  What a contrast. So let’s look at them briefly:

The Spiritual Believer 3:1-4                                                                   According to the Apostle Paul, a spiritual Christian is a mature Christian who has learned to ______ in dependence upon the __________________over a long period of time.

A mature Christian is one who knows the ______ and ___________ it over a long period of time so as to discern good from evil on a regular, consistent basis.                                                                                          “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” Heb. 5:12-14.

What are the Marks of a Spiritual Christian?  First, he can take in strong ____________ (teaching). Second, the mature person is able to ___________ the Bible either publicly or one on one.  Third, the spiritual man can ___________ good and evil.  Fourth, the mature man is constantly discerning, judging, examining, evaluating all things. Fifth, the mature man knows how to ______________ with the brethren. “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently” Gal. 6:1.  Sixth, a mature person has great wisdom and operates on divine, _____________________, displaying the mind of Christ.

THE FLESHY BABY CHRISTIANS 3:1b-2a                                                                                     But as worldly.  A better translated “fleshy” or as “carnal.” The Greek word denotes nature, substance or constitution and speaks of being “made of flesh.”  but of a babe in Christ who has ____________ into maturity.                                                                                          Mere infants in Christ. Paul equates “worldly” or “fleshy” with infants in Christ. All babes in Christ are fleshy in that many of the ___________ from the unsaved life and a lack of discipline are still in the life.                                                                                           

Some marks of a babe in Christ are: 1) he __________ on strong doctrine; 2) he is always getting off the ___________ because his attention span is short; 3) he must be ____________ or you lose him; 4) he wants to talk about the fascinating and the spectacular; 5) he follows _______ rather than Christ; 6) he has a difficult time learning to _______________ for Christ; 7) he gets his feelings ________ easily; 8) he wants to talk rather than listen; 9) he wants _________ rather than persevere through difficulty; 10) he tends to compromise the truth when the chips are down, and 11) he throws ____________ tantrums when he does not get what he wants.

THE FLESHY CHRISTIAN (Carnal-Rebellious) 3:2b-4                                                                                                The Greek word here means “according to the flesh.” It is one who is ________________ by flesh and has a willfulness toward sin. They were carnal-rebellious.  Their rebellion led to sin in their own lives and in the life of the local church.                                                                                  This is the work of the flesh or sin nature.                                                                              “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious; sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I had before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” Gal. 5:19-21.                                                                                                            The carnal-rebellious Christian is one who is so assertive, so aggressive, so envious, so divisive he is out of step with _____, out of step with ___________, and out of step with everyone about him.                                                                                  The specific problem for which the Corinthians were carnal-rebellious was ___________________ and this caused divisions in the church. CONCLUSION                                                                                                                                                                    How long can a person stay in a carnal-rebellious condition? A carnal condition is always temporary.                                                                       What happens to a carnal-rebellious Christian?  He may cover the sin but inwardly he is ______________.                                                        God has a word for each. If you are an immature, God says to you, “Let us go on to maturity.” If you are a mature, God says to you, "Press on to take hold of Christ more.” If you are a carnal-rebellious Christian, God says, “Repent and confess your sins, for He is faithful and just to forgive you for your sins.” If you are a natural, He says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.”