“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1)
We all know what a babe is. Here in this verse, it refers to an infant. We know that an infant is totally helpless. He cannot feed Himself. He cannot walk nor talk. He cannot make decisions on his own. Likewise, a new Christian or a Christian who hasn’t grown in the Lord is the same. He is a baby in Christ. He cannot eat solid food. In other words, he cannot digest the deep truths of God. He must be fed Bible Truths that are simple and in small amounts. These Truths are given in baby steps. Paul wrote to the Corinthians telling them they were not able to understand the deep truths of the Gospel and that he had to speak to them as unbelievers because they were babies in Christ.
A baby Christian cannot speak the Word yet and is not able to walk in righteousness. There is lots of error that the world has fed him. He must renew his mind by reading the Word of God and the power of the Word of God can begin to change him. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
How did Paul know they were carnal and still babies in Christ? “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1Corinthians 3:3) They acted and lived like carnal men. When we receive Jesus, there is a change in our nature. Yes, we may still act like the old man, and live and talk like the old man. We don’t have enough of the Word of God in us to transform us. But immediately, we know the things that are sinful and that displease God. The Holy Spirit will help us by the Word of God teach us what not to do and what to do. We must read the Word of God to miraculously be transformed by the power of the Word of God. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The word quick means it’s alive and able to perform what it says.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians telling them in other words the same thing. “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) If you just came to Christ and are struggling with the old man, don’t despair when you keep falling into sin. It’s not something that you can strive to do, but something that you must surrender to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to change. It’s a spiritual battle and has to be dealt spiritually, not by human might. Our part is to repent. That means to make a decision not to do it again. Then we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us. It’s with the help of the Holy Spirit that the acts of the old man will be a thing of the past. This will become a lifelong process as sin is revealed to us. And each time sin is revealed we must repent and surrender ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit. It may be a small thing such as a negative word we have a habit of saying or a character flaw we have developed in the world such as being self-reliant.
Yes, in the kingdom of God, we are to be reliant only on Jesus, not in our own strength, our own knowledge and our own influence. This is a biggie because to be self-reliant is to own your own destiny and lives which we have now surrendered to the Lord. His wisdom and knowledge are not like the world’s. The world’s wisdom is foolishness in God’s kingdom. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” (1Corinthians 3:19) Notice that in this verse we read, “...it is written...” That means it’s a surety, written and sealed as Truth.
As mature children in Christ we must be patient with the babies in Christ. Just as babies in the natural are spoon fed baby food, baby Christians must be fed milk and not solid meat. “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” (1Corinthians 3:2) New Christians do not have a total grasp of God’s Truths. And they still have lots of the world to shed. But the Lord will take care of it. We are not the Holy Spirit. If we demand they say or do certain things or not do certain things, it does not have the power to change them. Only the Holy Spirit anointing has the power to convince and change man’s hearts through the Word of God.
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