We Are Called to Mature as Disciples of Christ

By Abba Jimmy (Theoloscience)

In I Corinthians 3:1–9, Saint Paul addresses his words to a specific community, the Christians who live in Corinth.

Corinth was a city-state (polis) on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow strip of land connecting the Peloponnese with the mainland of Greece, about halfway between Athens and Sparta.

The first letter of S. Paul to the Corinthians, probably written around 53–54 CE in Ephesus, Asia Minor, deals with the problems that arose in the first years after Paul’s initial missionary visit (c. 50–51) to Corinth and his establishment there of a Christian community.

Not all Christian communities are identical. At the same time, each person in the neighborhoods or outside the communities is in a different place. For example, many people do not know the Gospel in-depth and therefore are not prepared to listen and understand what it requires of mature Christian discipleship. On the other hand, some people know the Gospel, have studied it, have internalized it, and have incorporated it into their lifestyle. — Saint Paul frequently refers to the new man who has embraced the faith in Jesus Christ. They have been transformed internally by changing their way of thinking, acting, and speaking. In the past, they followed the world’s criteria. Now, they have the Gospel as their guide, striving to make it come alive in their lives.

When a family or a person receives the Gospel and lives in a civil and religious community, there will be a culture shock.

However, a Christian grows as a mature disciple when following Christ and when he know-how and can navigate with faith in Jesus Christ through the stormy sea of ​​multiple cultures (ways of thinking) surrounding him.

In this brief passage (I Corinthians 3:1–9), Saint Paul puts his finger on the line and touches the heart of the matter: Maturity.

There is reverse maturity and direct maturity. A reversely mature person publicly acknowledges in her way of thinking and acting that faith in Jesus Christ is unimportant to her. A reverse mature person is honest and sincere in openly by his words and actions that religion is not a part of her life. However, we cannot be sure if the person knows and understands the eternal consequences of that personal decision. Sometimes reverse maturity may not result from a personal decision but from moral blindness and an unconscious state of bondage to sin. The power of the Gospel can free captives from living in that condition of slavery to sin and moral blindness.

Saint Paul speaks of an intermediate condition. The problems surrounding the Christian community in Corinth are like the difficulties that Christian communities worldwide are experiencing today. The parable of the Sower (See Matthew 13:1–23) can shed light on this situation. Many people who receive the Gospel are not ready to let the Gospel take root, grow and bear fruit in their lives. As a result, very few Christians go beyond the first encounter with Christ and move on to maturity as disciples. Above, we’ve talked briefly about reverse maturity; now, let’s talk about direct maturity. Christians who are maturing as disciples of Christ know that growth in faith demands change, adjustment, calibration, selection, options, renunciations, and sacrifices. — here, the word sacrifice refers to the oblation or offering to God of all our human acts, thoughts, words, and actions (public and private). Those who grow as disciples of Christ are experiencing direct maturity. They know, understand, and recognize that following the Way of Christ entails spiritual warfare. They are aware that every minute is a spiritual battle. They know that every day puts them on a battlefield in which they must choose which side they are on: with Jesus or against Jesus.

Saint Paul is a visionary of mature Christian discipleship. Saint Paul knows where direct maturity is as disciples of Christ. Therefore, let us study the first and second letters of Saint Paul to the Corinthians carefully and attentively to participate in the vision and understanding that God has granted Saint Paul and so advance towards full maturity as disciples of Christ.