Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Corinthians 12-14.
When the disciples tried to prevent children from being brought to Jesus, the Lord said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). There are certain characteristics common in children that disciples must have (innocence, trust, etc.). Yet Jesus did not teach that His followers must be like children in all things. Notice what Paul told the brethren in Corinth:
“Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20).
While there are certain characteristics of children that are to be emulated, there are others that are not. In this passage, Paul said that in the realm of thinking, Christians are not to be like children, but are to be mature.
Just as children are inherently innocent, they are also naturally ignorant. They need to be taught because they are not born with understanding. They need to learn truth, acquire skills, and grow in wisdom. Christians are not to remain in an immature state of ignorance. We must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
In regard to spiritual matters, all of us begin in a state of immaturity. New converts are “like newborn babies” who are expected to “long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it [they] may grow” (1 Peter 2:2). One is not wrong for beginning in a state of immaturity. However, one is wrong for remaining in a state of immaturity. Notice how the Hebrew writer rebuked his readers:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Those who are infants in the faith are not “accustomed to the word” (Hebrews 5:13). Yet we are to mature to the point where we can “be teachers” (Hebrews 5:12). We must learn how to “accurately [handle] the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This takes diligent effort in studying, learning, and applying the Scriptures.
Each one of us has room for growth in our knowledge and handling of the Scriptures. Let us not be content with the level of understanding we currently have. “Let us press on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1) so that we can please the Lord and be prepared to defend the truth against attacks.
Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Corinthians 15-16
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
