When You Grow Up, You Stop the Fighting | 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.

You can know the verses.
You can show up every Sunday.
You can love the right teachers.

And still act spiritually immature.

That’s the sting of Paul’s words here. He doesn’t confront their theology—He confronts their behavior.

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? — 1 Corinthians 3:1–4

Paul calls them “infants in Christ,” but not because they’re new believers—because their actions don’t match their knowledge.

First | Spiritual immaturity always leaks into relationships.

The evidence? Things like: Jealousy. Quarreling. Sides. Comparison.
People pretending to be grown adults with playground reactions.

Paul says their arguments proved they were being driven by the flesh—by insecurity, pride, and ego—not the Spirit.

Second | You can be saved and still stay small.

Their tribalism wasn’t loyalty—it was immaturity wrapped in religious language.

“Paul is my teacher.”
“No, Apollos is my teacher.”

We still do this today. Church Camps. Christian Labels. Believing Tribes. Spiritual Comparison.

But spiritual maturity sounds different.

Third | Mature believers stop asking, “Whose side am I on?” and start asking, “Where do I need to grow?”

When you are actively growing in Christ, you stop fueling unneeded fights. You stop competing for the sake of competing. You stop needing validation for your position and side. You become the stable one—the person who brings peace into tension.

That is what maturity and growth look like. Focus on how to strengthen your faith instead of creating unnecessary division.

DO THIS:

Think of a conflict you’ve been pulled toward. Step back today and choose unity over taking a side.

ASK THIS:

1. Where do jealousy or comparison show up in your relationships?
2. Do your reactions look fleshly or Spirit-led when tension rises?
3. What does maturity look like for you right now?

PRAY THIS:

Jesus, grow me into maturity. Silence pride, kill comparison, and help me choose unity wherever I go. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Build My Life”