Are You Growing Spiritually? (1 Corinthians: part 5)

1 Corinthians: Part 5

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Are you more like Jesus today than you were a year ago? That's the question at the heart of this message as we continue our journey through the book of 1 Corinthians. In chapter 3, verses 1–9, the Apostle Paul confronts a church full of genuine believers who have completely stalled in their spiritual growth. They have the Spirit of God living inside them — and yet they're still living like they don't. Sound familiar? In this sermon, we walk through Paul's three-part framework for diagnosing and addressing spiritual immaturity: the Problem, the Proof, and the Prescription. Paul's assessment of the Corinthian church is direct and convicting — these are people who have been Christians for five years and are still drinking milk when they should be eating solid food. They're jealous, quarrelsome, and divided — proof positive that they've been walking in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. But this message isn't just about ancient Christians in a Greek city. It's about you and me, right now. Paul's words land with just as much weight today as they did 2,000 years ago. We also walk through a powerful discipleship framework called the Spiritual Growth Wheel, outlining five stages of spiritual development: Dead, Infant, Child, Young Adult, and Parent. Using real-life phrases and examples from each stage, this tool helps you accurately identify where you are in your spiritual journey — and more importantly, what it looks like to keep moving forward. Whether you're brand new to faith or have been walking with Jesus for decades, this message challenges every one of us to stop making excuses, stop living in the flesh, and turn our focus back to the only One who can truly grow us — God himself. If you've been stuck in the same stage for years, this message is for you.