1 Corinthians 4-5

One of the “byproducts” of spiritual immaturity(1Cor:2:6-7) is arrogance.Paul addresses this in a few different ways,including the use of irony & sarcasm in 1Cor:4&5,to describe actual attitudes and/or personal beliefs among the “churched” in Corinth.He actually addresses one of the initial “symptoms” of immaturity in chapters 1&2 when he calls the believers out for honoring teachers&preachers (what they say,teach,&write) above what God says in His Word,& above what Christ testified to via His Life,His Words,His Sufferings,His Resurrection,& His Ascension!So! The first “detour” away from spiritual maturity to be aware of,is giving more honor to what anyone may say or write,than the honor we give what The Lord says in His Word.In other words,we need to be prepared to “True Up” everything we hear/see/read/think,etc., with The Word of God & His Spirit that lives in the heart of every true believer(1Cor:4:6”....Do not go beyond what is written(God’s Word).Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.”&1Cor4:20,”For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power”-(The Holy Spirit guiding us through the Discernment&Wisdom in God’s Word).In 1Cor5:6-8 Paul gives us direct teaching on how to protect ourselves from this root of arrogance when he says,”Your boasting is not good(boasting about who they read/watch/follow other than The Lord). Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch-as you really are(The Blood of Christ washes us of all sin/leaven!)For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread(Jesus says in Matthew4:4,”...man does not live by bread alone,but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”(~unleavened bread/sustenance for life)).The bottom line is that our regular “diet” of God’s Word in our life is imperative for our spiritual wellbeing.Without this being the foundation on which we build every thought&action throughout our day,we run the risk of the kind of arrogance Paul talks about creeping into our lives,which leads us away from spiritual maturity!In fact,a telltale sing to look out for in our lives is when we begin to wane in our time with The Lord in His Word...an early sign of the kind of arrogance Paul is warning us about is when we don’t feel like it is imperative(not just important!)to spend time in God’s Word.Dear Lord,help me to know the “imperativeness” of a regular “diet” of Your Word in my life.And make me aware of the early signs of the kind of arrogance these verses describe...creeping into my life.