Note 1 at 1Co 3:1: Paul's preaching was dictated by the condition of these people's hearts. Since carnal people cannot receive spiritual truth (1Co 2:14), Paul could not share the real meat of the Gospel with these Corinthians.

All the responsibility of ministry does not rest on the ministers. The condition of the people they minister to also governs what and how they minister.

Note 2 at 1Co 3:1: What is a spiritual Christian? Very simply put, spiritual Christians are believers who are being governed by the Spirit of God (see note 4 at 1Co 2:15). This is not to say that their actions are perfect, but they are controlled more by the Spirit of God than they are by their flesh (see note 3 at Ro 7:18).

Through this verse, we can see that spiritual people are the opposite of carnal people. Carnal people are living their lives (whether good or bad) through their own ability (see note 16 at Ro 8:7). Thus, spiritual people would be the ones who are depending on God's ability instead of their own.

Carnal (see note 13 at Ro 8:6) people are those who are dominated by their physical senses: what they can see, taste, hear, smell, and feel. Spiritual people are more dominated by God's Word than by their own feelings.

It is incorrect to judge spirituality by some of the religious standards that are so prevalent today. True spirituality will eventually affect every area of our lives, but we must be sure that we are not using our personal convictions to judge another's spirituality.

In context, the issue that Paul was using to evaluate spirituality is people's ability to discern spiritual truth (1Co 2:14-16) and what their relationships with others are like (1Co 3:3-4). It doesn't matter how often people go to church or what their dress code is--if they are contentious and not able to discern spiritual truth, they aren't spiritual (see note 13 at Joh 6:63).

Note 3 at 1Cor 3:1: The Greek word that was translated "babes" in this verse is the word "NEPIOS," and it means "not speaking, i.e. an infant (minor)" (Strong's Concordance). This is comparing our spiritual condition to the stages of development that we go through in our physical bodies.

This has led some people to believe that our born-again spirits start out as infants and must grow or mature in Christ. This thinking has birthed such ideas as "trying to educate our spirits" or "get the Word into our spirits." However, that is an incorrect understanding of what a babe in Christ is.

Col 2:9-10 says that our born-again (see note 5 at Joh 3:7) spirits are complete. Some have interpreted this to mean complete in the sense that infants are complete. They have all their fingers, toes, etc., but they have to grow. Yet that is not what God's Word teaches.

As Christians, our spirits are completely mature at the time of salvation (see note 3 at Mt 26:41). The rest of the Christian life is not to try to mature our spirits but rather to mature our souls (see note 2 at Mt 22:37) through the renewing of our minds (see note 9 at Ro 12:2) so that they will allow our born-again spirits to function.

Our new spirits already have the mind of Christ. We are now in the process of educating our minds to the truths of God's Word that are already present in our spirits (see note 6 at 1Co 2:16).

We already have the same kind and amount of faith that Christ has. This faith is in our spirits (Ga 5:22-23). We don't need more faith; we just need to renew our minds with the Word of God so that we can use the faith of Christ that is already present in us (see note 3 at Lu 17:5 and note 16 at Ro 12:3).

So it is not our spirits that are babes in Christ; it is our souls. Our souls (see note 2 at Mt 22:37) are the part of us that is growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

This is evident by observation. If people were born again with infant spirits that had to grow, then that would prevent them from receiving any great miracles until a certain period of time had elapsed. However, that is certainly not true. Some of the greatest miracles are experienced very close in time to salvation.

This is because a born-again spirit is complete and capable of all things through Christ instantly at salvation. The only limitation is people's thinking (Pr 23:7 and Ro 8:6). When people are first born again, they believe they are forgiven and that whatever they ask of the Lord, He will do for them. That's childlike faith, and miracles happen.

However, sad to say, religion places so many conditions on people receiving from God that Christians lose that simple faith and degenerate into unbelief. So, many Christians actually experience more miracles in the beginning than they do as time goes on. This dispels the myth of our spirits having to mature.

Our born-again spirits are as complete now as they will ever be in eternity. We are in the process of subduing the flesh (see note 3 at Ro 7:18) through the renewing of our minds. Those of us who are successful at this are mature Christians, while those of us who have minds that are not subject to Christ are babes in Christ.