Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 3:1-9
In chapter three of 1 Corinthians there are many precious things and many unusual expressions. This chapter is unique; no chapter in the Bible can replace it.
In verse 1 Paul says, “And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshy, as to infants in Christ.” Here Paul speaks a very strong word. He refers to the Corinthians not merely as fleshly (v. 3), but even as fleshy. Fleshy is a stronger expression than fleshly, and refers to aspects of the flesh that are more gross. Fleshy denotes being made of flesh; fleshly denotes being influenced by the nature of the flesh and partaking of the character of the flesh. Paul could not speak to them as to spiritual, but as to those who were fleshy, infants in Christ. He was very strong with the believers at Corinth. If we were to speak such a strong word to the saints today, many would no doubt be offended and refuse to listen any further.
My burden in this message is to cover several crucial expressions used by Paul in this chapter. In verse 2 he says, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.” To give milk to drink or food to eat is to feed others. The King James Version renders the first part of verse 2 this way: “I have fed you with milk.” Feeding refers to the matter of life and differs from teaching, which refers to knowledge. Paul seemed to be teaching the Corinthians; actually he was feeding them. The first crucial expression in this chapter is feeding. To feed others is very pleasant. A mother, for example, is pleased to feed her children. Likewise, Paul’s desire was to feed the Corinthian believers not only with milk, but also with solid food.
In verse 2, milk is for drinking and solid food is for eating. Hence, the thought of feeding expressed here automatically implies drinking and eating. Before you came into the church life, you may have been a Christian for years, yet you had never heard a message on drinking. If we would be proper Christians, we must be drinking Christians. Drinking is a basic thought in the book of 1 Corinthians. In 12:13 Paul says that we have all been made to drink of one Spirit. This concept of drinking was not invented by Paul. The Lord Jesus speaks of drinking in John 4 and also in John 7. In John 4:14 He says to the Samaritan woman, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life.” According to John 7:37, the Lord Jesus, on the last day of the feast of tabernacles, stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” Thus, Christ speaks of drinking, and Paul also speaks of drinking. All Christians should be those who enjoy spiritual drinking.
Which is more vital to maintaining human life, eating or drinking? The answer is that drinking is even more important than eating. We can go several days without eating, but we cannot go nearly as long without drinking. Furthermore, during the course of a day, we drink more often than we eat. We may eat just three times a day, but we may drink twelve times a day. Medical doctors advise us to drink a glass of water many times a day. Although spiritual drinking is vital to the Christian life, this matter is almost wholly neglected by Christians today.
Paul’s reference to solid food in verse 2 surely implies eating. Therefore, along with feeding and drinking, Paul stresses the importance of eating.
In verses 6, 7, and 8 Paul speaks of planting. In particular, he says of himself, “I planted.” Paul was not only a feeder; he was also a planter. We are told that Paul fed the saints, giving them something to eat and drink, and that he also planted, but we are not told in this chapter that Paul was a teacher.
With the planting we have the watering and the growth. Verses 6 and 7 say, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God made to grow; so that neither is the one who plants anything nor the one who waters, but the One Who makes to grow, God.” Thus, in the first seven verses of this chapter, we have six wonderful matters: feeding, drinking, eating, planting, watering, and growing. What a marvelous chapter! Can you find any other chapter in the Word which covers these six matters? I do not believe that there is another chapter in the whole Bible which covers these six things. Regarding this, 1 Corinthians 3 is unique. In a very brief way, in the span of just seven verses, Paul covers six wonderful matters. In a practical and experiential way, he refers to feeding, drinking, eating, planting, watering, and growing.
Have you been feeding others in the church life? In order to feed others, we must first be fed ourselves. The church is a place not primarily for teaching, but for feeding. Hence, we should not regard the church as a school, but as a dining hall, even as a restaurant. If others are bothered by the fact that you attend so many church meetings each week and wonder what you do in the meetings, you could say, “The church is a restaurant, and I go there so often because I need to eat.” In the church restaurant, we should feed others and be fed ourselves.
As I give messages in the ministry, I do not have the feeling that I am teaching others or preaching. It is not my intention to be a preacher or teacher. On the contrary, my desire is to be a steward, a waiter. I want to wait on the saints and serve them with Christ. I am not the cook, for the heavenly cook, the Lord Himself, is behind the scene. I am simply a serving one who takes one delicious dish after another and serves it to the saints.
The church meetings should be like a Chinese feast of many courses. If a friend invites you to a Chinese restaurant for a feast, be prepared to enjoy one course after another. In some feasts there may be as many as twenty different courses including various meats, fish, fowl, vegetables, and soups. The church should be a restaurant where we continually feast on Christ. Christ is the unique diet served in the church restaurant. In this restaurant we enjoy the best food, for every dish is an aspect of Christ Himself.
The way to drink is to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. By calling on the Lord’s name, we both drink of Him and breathe Him in. Calling on the Lord includes both breathing and drinking. The water we drink is in the air we breathe. The spiritual humidity in the church life is very high, for there is no dryness in the church. Whenever we breathe in the spiritual air by calling, “O Lord Jesus,” we also partake of the water that is in the air. Thus, our breathing eventually becomes our drinking. This means that whenever we breathe, we also drink.
Much of the time there is no need to call aloud in order to drink. Very quietly we can say, “O Lord Jesus.” Sometimes it is sufficient simply to say, “Lord,” and at other times just to say, “O.” Some may regard this as superstitious. However, from years of experience, I can testify that by calling on the name of the Lord I am refreshed, strengthened, and comforted. If I did not breathe and drink the Lord in this way, I would be very dry and thirsty. Furthermore, my daily life would be quite boring, altogether lacking in refreshment. But simply by saying, “O Lord Jesus,” I am refreshed.
Those who are well educated or who are professional people may think that calling on the name of the Lord is not for them, but only for those who are young, inexperienced, or uneducated. But drinking is for everyone. If you do not drink in the Lord by calling on Him, you will experience dryness and boredom. Oh, we all need to drink of the Lord Jesus day by day!
As an elderly person, I have passed through a great many different experiences in human life. Many unpleasant things have happened to me. There is no such thing as a life without difficulties. As the line from a hymn says, “God hath not promised skies always blue” (Hymns, #720). But although I have passed through many situations of unhappiness and unpleasantness, I have been a happy person because I have the Lord Jesus. Even the demons can testify that I am happy in the Lord. I do not have the Lord Jesus merely in an objective way as the One in the heavens. My Christ is both in the heavens and also in me. Hallelujah, Christ lives in me, and I can breathe Him, drink of Him, and feast upon Him! Daily I enjoy the best breathing, drinking, and eating.
If you breathe in the Lord, drink of Him, and eat Him, you will not only be nourished, but you will also be healed. Yes, partaking of the Lord in this way can actually heal us. This can even make us stronger physically, for the happiness and joy we experience by calling on the Lord can affect our health positively. Many doctors recognize that it is healthy to be joyful. Thus, we all need to be breathing, drinking, and eating Christians. We should be Christians who feed on the Lord and who also feed others with Him.
As believers, we should also be those who plant and water. From reading verses 6 and 7, we may get the impression that only certain ones like Paul and Apollos can plant and water. But we should not think that only the leading ones or those who share in the ministry of the Word can do the planting and the watering. No, everyone of us should both plant and water.
Some saints may have the concept that we are either planters or waterers, but not both planters and waterers. A brother who does the work of planting may feel that he should not water what he has planted, regarding that as the work of another brother. He may think of himself as the planter and suppose that someone else should do the watering. To view the matter of planting and watering this way is to be according to our natural concept. If we turn to our spirit and exercise our spirit, we shall not care whether we are a planter or a waterer. Instead, we shall simply carry on the work of planting and watering.
Some may not water other believers because they are afraid that they will damage them by watering them too much. However, it is better to make a mistake and cause some damage than to not water others at all. Although you may make some mistakes, you will help many others to grow in the Lord. I encourage you all both to plant and to water.
Although feeding, drinking, eating, planting, and watering are all important, the greatest need is growth. We can plant and water, but God alone makes to grow. As far as the growth in life is concerned, God is everything. Because only God can make to grow, in our feeding, planting, and watering, we must be one with the Triune God. This means that we need to carry on the feeding, the planting, and the watering in the organic union with the Lord. Then, whenever we feed, He will also feed. He will feed in our feeding. The same should be true of our planting and watering. Before I give a message, I desperately pray, “Lord, speak in my speaking. Lord, cause me to be one spirit with You in my speaking in a very practical way.” Then I can have the full assurance that while I am speaking, He is speaking also. I have the boldness to declare that I am one spirit with the Lord and that He is now one spirit with me. Without Him, whatever I speak will amount to nothing.
I may plant and water, but I have neither the ability nor the substance to cause others to grow. Growth comes from God alone. Whenever He comes in, He causes us to grow. Although only God can make to grow, He Himself will do neither the planting nor the watering. He will not plant or water apart from us, just as He will not appear and speak to the saints directly. Instead, He speaks to others in our speaking. This means that God must have a man to cooperate with Him for speaking, planting, and watering. When we plant and water, He will also plant and water. How wonderful that we are not serving a dumb idol, but are serving the living God! In our service, He serves the saints.
I do not trust in my speaking. My speaking in itself does not carry any weight. However, I often have the assurance that when I open my mouth to speak, He speaks also. Through my speaking, He flows forth into the saints. My trust is altogether in the Lord’s speaking in my speaking. My only secret is the Triune God Himself. Apart from the Triune God, I am nothing. If it were not for Him, I would die.
We all first need to enjoy the Lord by breathing, drinking, and eating. There are many ways to drink of Him and also many ways to eat Him. We can partake of the Lord by pray-reading, by attending the meetings, and by having fellowship with the saints. We can also receive the life supply by reading certain spiritual books. There are many ways to enjoy the Lord. The more we enjoy Him, the more we shall be saturated with Him. Then we shall have the burden to feed others, to plant, and to water. If we are one with the Lord in our feeding, planting, and the watering, the Lord will come in spontaneously to cause others to grow in life.
