Growth: The By-Product of God in You

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Multiple times as a kid, my dad had to remind me to stop hurrying so much to grow up. I am 6 years younger than my brothers and would do anything to be on their level. I never hung myself upside down to try and grow taller (I never needed to worry about that, though), but I really wanted to be as big as and as old as my brothers. I would have been happy to skip some sections of growing up so that I could catch up to them, but I was missing the point.

Growing up is a difficult journey, where we actively have to deal with an endless supply of problems and challenges. Puberty alone is one of the most daunting things we face in our lives. So much so that I have never heard anyone say if they could go back, it would be back to that time of puberty. Dealing with the realities and challenges of growth is a very real thing, but have you ever stopped to think that the act of growing is actually passive, not active? You cannot consciously grow. Growth is a by-product – hear this – we are a project being worked on by God and need to let Him work.

Growth is Consistent

The main idea of 1 Corinthians focuses on how to grow together in a church body and reach unity with Christ and others. In it, Paul goes over 5 main sections that the church was struggling with at the time – one of those sections was about dealing with divisions in the church. We can see this in the context of ch3. Even though Paul and Apollos had completely different roles in the church, some people would play the comparison game and turn that into one-ups-manship and emnity.

The Corinthian church had become divided between Team Apollos and Team Paul because they were comparing their intellectual knowledge to each other. Who knows more about God? Who is a better Christian? The problem with this is that the correct answer is no one. No one has reached the apex or “gotten it”. Because growth never stops. It is a consistent, life-long process. My old youth pastor once told me that the moment you stop growing is the moment you die—think about that for a moment. It’s biologically accurate; our brains are constantly taking in new information and processing it for our survival and benefit. The moment that your brain stops processing information (LEARNING) is literally the moment you die. Growth is consistent and constant throughout our lives and the growth doesn’t come from others; it comes from God. He may use others, but Paul is emphatically clear – it wasn’t he who caused it, or Apollos, but only God. Because growth comes only from God as a consistent part of our life, it is His work, making it a passive reception from us. We cannot consciously grow.

Growth is Passive

Growth is an unconscious by-product of what we bring into our lives. Now, there can be multiple different kinds of growth – healthy growth, fat growth, cancerous growth, etc. so how one is growing matters. But again, we cannot grow on purpose, and we don’t choose to grow – we choose what we want or like and that leads us on a growth path (whether healthy or unhealthy). No one tries to get a big belly, but if you sit down and each a whole package of cheese, what do you think will happen? Growth is a by-product of our choices, not an intentional effort.

This is the power behind Jesus’ words in Matt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If you seek after riches, you will grow—envious and selfish. If you seek after pleasure you will grow—fat and cancerous. But, as Jesus said, if you seek after God, the rest will be added to you. You will grow—healthy and strong in faith and in fruit. Talk about the church and our growth strategy – not to try to grow, but to be disciple-making disciples after Christ’s heart. If we focus on Christ, here’s the key – we will grow – in exactly the way He wants us to and will bear fruit in accordance with that. And it works the same on an individual level.

Next Steps

Growth—healthy spiritual growth—is a by-product of God’s work in you. V9 solidifies this – we are God’s building, God’s project, God’s work. We seek Him and He grows us into who He wants us to be. Stop trying to be what you think you should be and just seek Him; let Him build you.

1. Seek a deeper relationship with God through the spiritual disciplines such as study, tithing, fasting, prayer, etc.
2. Engage in 1-1 discipleship. Find one of each of these three people in your life – Paul (a mentor), Barnabas (a trusted accountability parter), Timothy (one you can mentor).
3. Submit to the work God is doing in you – let Him build you–complete that good work in you (Phil 1:6).

Of all biblical individuals, I wanted to be Paul – being the brightest and smartest – the one people looked up to for all the right answers. But I’m not Paul and trying to be him is just like me trying to be my brothers—folly. Be your best self by letting God work in you. Seek Him; the rest will take care of itself.