Babe in Christ Growing while walking with the Lord

How is your library coming? Metaphorically, every serious believer needs to be in the weight room, downing protein shakes and watching his carb intake. Having stated that, all passages of Scripture contain milk and meat and are capable of ministering to the needs of all who are intent on listening to the Word no matter their level of spiritual maturity. It is incumbent on both the teacher and the pupil to ascertain what God wants each person to learn from the passage under study.

Those believers who sponsored the National Prayer Breakfast, should be canceling it instead. So why would believers sponsor an event historically characterized by religious syncretism that hurts rather than helps the propagation of singular saving faith in Christ alone? Generally speaking the above present day, relevant admonition illustrates my point: Babes in Christ tend to avoid strong doses of the Word because they know the Word will convict them of their wrongdoing, and their consciences will prod them to change.

Believers who shrink from studying the Word telegraph their spiritual immaturity.

The body of Christ experiences growth

Infants may even attempt to discredit the Word in their desires to rationalize and justify self-serving actions. This is grossly abnormal for any Christian. What are the desires of the flesh?

They are evident in 1John 2: Elsewhere Paul states similarly, do not quench the [Holy] Spirit 1Thes. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer that secures the victory over respective to 1John 2: The power of the ministry of the Holy Spirit parallels the degree to which believers allow the Word of God to richly dwell within them cf.

It is biblically infantile for anyone to name the name of Christ, and yet continue to display spiritual immaturity and latent insurgency toward God by refusing to adhere to the precepts of His Word. Throwing protein-rich food from the high-chair is unacceptable.

It is rank rebellion. Notice the progression here relative to the first three characteristics: Where jealousy exists attitudinally, strife will result visibly. The former is a sinful, immature emotional feeling and the latter is a manifestation of selfishness and provocation. Accordingly, immature believers cause division in the body of Christ.

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2. Märchen und Spukgeschichten (German Edition)?
3. Spiritual Maturity: Steps to Growing as a Disciple of Christ?

The babe in Christ has difficulty in putting away the old self cf. But in truth, as Paul said of himself in Galatians 2: So why all the quest for personal glory? Accordingly, when faced with a decision regarding personal interests over those of the body of Christ, we are to choose the latter. Infants in Christ, states our passage, walk like mere men.

10 Signs You’re Maturing in Your Walk with God

Or said another way, they act like non-believers. This contrasting portion of the second verse in the introductory sidebar is easy to see and understand. Spiritually mature individuals, because of their regular diet of the Word, have the ability to discern truth from error. They are trained to see life through the lens of the Book penned by the Author of life. A parallel passage to this is 1John 2: I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Similar to Paul, the apostle John uses the analogy of physical maturation to depict spiritual growth although the Greek words to characterize these levels of growth are different. The young man and the father differ from the child in that they have overcome the evil one.

Much more can be learned from this passage, but in relation to this study and this sub point, what this similarly illustrates is that the spiritually mature believer can and will discern spiritual truth from error, wherein the infant does not. In other words, babes can get caught in the web of false doctrine or religion. The spiritually mature on the other hand have come to grips with the truth of 1Peter 5: Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Satan thrives at sidetracking young believers into false religious systems that seem to the spiritually less discerning to be similar to biblical Christianity.

But the spiritual adult can ascertain true saving faith from false religions and cults as is implied by the third passage in our original listing of passages:. As a result [they] are no longer. The child in the faith tends to go with the flow the wrong flow i. This could refer to following others who cause schisms in the Body of Christ. Furthermore they are doctrinally deceived. Notice Paul says in this regard, every wind of doctrine, i. They lack knowledge of the Word.

Babes in Christ - Walks With God Ministries

As I often have said in our studies, a common thread among all false religions is an unbiblical understanding of the person and work of Christ, often combined with extra-biblical revelation of some sort. As spiritual infants they lack the ability to discern error from truth. They lack training in the Word of God.

At the risk of sounding arrogant or self-righteous, I will say that the majority of believers today in the American Church are spiritual infants. Most are grossly under-taught in the Word of God due to the impact of the seeker-sensitive movement in many churches. Accordingly, they are headed for heaven but in the meantime their usage by God here on earth is quite limited. Now think of this unfortunate phenomenon as it relates to Public Servants who desire higher office: In few circumstances does a President or King appoint an infant to an important task.

First, the would-be servant must grow up and come to know the King personally and intimately, and in maturity earn his trust by living in accordance with his principles. It is only then that one could possibly think he or she would be appointed to an important position. In a similar sense, do not expect God to appoint you to a higher level of service prior to maturing in your relationship with Him.

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man. In this Ephesians passage, again contrasting teleion with nepios, yet another characteristic of a mature believer comes to light. Mature believers are critically sensitive to the unity of the body of Christ. They hold unity as a high priority because for one reason, the corporate unity of the body of Christ is the strongest form of evangelism to the secular world.

Jesus said this to God the Father in regards this point Jn. The unity of the body is extremely important and those who are mature in Christ and they will avoid disrupting it. In contrast the spiritually immature as previously seen, are characterized by jealousy, which leads to strife, which leads to disunity. As the believer grows closer to Christ through prayer and obedience to His Word, he becomes more and more like the One who saved him.

This is an ongoing process that is aided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. It should be noted again that perfection in Christlike behavior will never be fully attained in this life; not until we go to be with our Savior glorification is perfection achieved. It follows then that we must be gracious and patient with others in agape love — not self righteously thinking we have a lock on orthopraxy and orthodoxy. NET Bible So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English And I, my brethren, have not been able to speak with you as with spiritual ones but as with the carnal and as to babies in The Messiah. You were infants in your faith in Christ. New American Standard And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ.

Jubilee Bible And I, brothers, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. American King James Version And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, even as to babes in Christ. American Standard Version And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.

As unto little ones in Christ. Darby Bible Translation And I, brethren, have not been able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly; as to babes in Christ.

English Revised Version And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ. Webster's Bible Translation And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, even as to babes in Christ. Weymouth New Testament And as for myself, brethren, I found it impossible to speak to you as spiritual men. It had to be as to worldlings--mere babes in Christ. World English Bible Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.

Young's Literal Translation And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly -- as to babes in Christ;. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers.