"You weren't ready to hear it yet," Paul told the Corinthians, "and you aren't ready yet."
"I've told you some, but there's more to this Christianity stuff than you are able to grasp."
It may be disconcerting to us moderns to consider the basis for his diagnosis of immaturity--jealousy and quarreling among the church members.
Background information: The word "flesh" in Greek is "sarx." According to Carl R. Halladay in Preaching through the Christian Year A, sarx in the New Testament almost always has a negative connotation, "signifying an outlook that is essentially centered on the self and pursues one's own interests."
How many of the quarrels that we have in our congregations are based on our needs and interests and how many of the needs and interests of what Christ would have us think more important? Are we ready to hear more of what Paul had felt the Corinthians were not yet ready to hear? Are we ready to get ready?
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