Controlled

We are making our way through a letter Paul wrote to Jesus followers in Corinth. Today, Paul asks an important question.


1 Corinthians 3
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?


Controlled. In yesterday’s passage, Paul discussed a layer of Christianity that goes beyond accepting God’s grace (and receiving God’s Spirit). It is a level of spirituality that involves taking time to intentionally drown out the distractions of this world so we can “hear” God’s Spirit. In today’s passage, Paul alludes to another layer that goes beyond listening to God’s Spirit. It is a level of maturity that involves acting on the “promptings” God’s Spirit gives you ... to the point of letting God’s Spirit control you. You can hear it in Paul’s writings ... he wanted the Corinthians to aspire to that level of maturity. I long for that level in my own life ... and I pray for it in your life. We need to ask ourselves the same question Paul asked them ... what is controlling our lives ... our desires or God’s desires?