BABES IN CHRIST
1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Our perception of the world will undergo drastic alterations as we learn to live our lives under the direct guidance of the Spirit of God. We have lived with such limited vision pertaining to spiritual realities that it is almost shocking to have our vision expanded. What we once thought and believed falls so far short of that which in fact is truth, that one day we will look back and marvel that we could have ever thought that way. Yet it was (and is) the accepted norm, and few ever question that there could be more. We are full of the teachings of men, the interpretations of the imagination of men, and the forms and traditions that have been handed down to us through the ages. "What" you may be asking, "am I talking about?"
I am talking about how ignorant today's believer is spiritually speaking. How little we have been properly taught and comprehend of the message of the Gospel of Christ. How easily we allow complacent attitudes to govern our approach to all that is holy. Forbid that anyone should come along and rock the boat. We are just like the people of old. We freely use the name of Jesus to merchandise our own agenda's. When we read the scriptures, we are pre-conditioned to interpret them in support of our pet doctrines. Few read the entire message. It is much more convenient to pick out what is pleasing, and skip over what opposes the flesh of man. The apostle Paul wrote a great part of the New Testament. In his epistles to the believers he eloquently lays out what is expected of believers, as well as what we as believers can expect from God.
Our first misconception is found in man's concept of "church". When one speaks of the church, one's mind is immediately drawn to the building; the denomination one belongs to; the organized religious institutions men have built in the name of God. Catholic or protestant; Pentecostal or Fundamentalist. One could fill pages with all the divisions men have established pertaining to their belief systems and approaches to spiritual things. One of the first things Paul said to the Corinthian church is found in 1:10 Now I beseech you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Well, we certainly can't claim to be living in compliance with that order, now can we? So what is the church?
It is difficult for us to grasp the intended concept of church, due to the fact that we look upon it with carnal eyes. We look at the church the same way that unbelievers do, as a building; an edifice; a mode of traditions, practices, forms and rituals. What does the Word say concerning the church?
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Notice that the Lord did not say when you walk in the doors of the big church on the corner I am there.
Throughout the scriptures knowing God is a personal revelation. God is no more impressed with the edifices we labor to construct today than He was with the temples people took such great pride in.... in the days of old. We are the temple of God. Our heart is His abiding place. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. These verses show us that God desires to indwell our very hearts. Both the Father and the son will come and live within us. Despite all the statements that tell us that we are the temple of God, our human nature still looks for something made with hands.
The church is made up of many members. The Concordance translation for church is - called out ones. As born again believers (called out one's) let us seek to KNOW the one who called us. Col. 1:16-18 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Does Christ have the preeminence in your heart and life?
Does your belief go beyond lip service?
Do you understand what it means to live by the Spirit, and to put down the flesh?
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
All of our religious works are just that, religious works, outside of the direct guidance of the Spirit of God. We have already established that we are the temple which God inhabits. If we have been born again, then we should be aware that Jesus Christ is supposed to be LORD of our lives, as well as our Savior. We are no longer to live our lives according to the dictates of our fleshly wants and desires, but to put them down, subdue them and learn to live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The second great misconception that believers today hold is that they are living righteously, when in reality we are living to please men more than to please God. We are so comfortable with our religious facade, that most are wholly unaware that there is a difference between pleasing men and pleasing God. The same warnings and admonitions apply to the church today that Paul applied to the church at Corinth.
1 Corinthians 4:8 (Ampl.)[You behave as if] you are already filled and think you have enough (you are full and content, felling no need of anything more]! Already you have become rich in spiritual gifts and graces]! [Without any counsel or instruction from us, in your conceit], you have ascended your thrones and come into your kingdom without including us! And would that it were true and that you did reign, so that we might be sharing the kingdom with you!
Just within the first few chapters of 1 Corinthians we will find a number of warnings and admonitions to believers. How do we determine whether our approach to God is carnal or spiritual? Look at some of these determining factors.
1 Corinthians 1:9 ....that ye all speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you. That ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 2:4,5....my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:3 For ye are yet carnal: whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye yet carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 3:10,11 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in the own craftiness.
1 Corinthians 3:21, 23 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
1 Corinthians 4:18-20 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
These are but a few examples of how we know if we are walking in our flesh (carnally) or in the Spirit of God. When we are separated and divided one from another due to differences of doctrinal interpretation, we are carnal. When we are trusting in the wisdom of men we are carnal. When we start with the foundation of Jesus Christ, and then build the doctrines of men upon it we are carnal. When we give the honor and glory that belongs to God alone, to a man we are carnal. Yet we blindly think that we have all that there is, that we already possess the kingdom of God. Man has not changed down through the centuries of time. From the children of Israel of old through today, we strive to bring God down to our level; all the while God is calling us to rise up in holiness.
There is an acceptable way to serve God, and it is found throughout the scriptures. Yet it is hidden from the wisdom of this world, and revealed only by the Spirit of God. Today, when we want men to lead and guide us rather than come into the personal relationship with God that He is calling us to, we are doing the same thing the Israelites of old did.
1 Samuel 8:7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be King over them. Samuel had been the prophet of God and led the people for many years, but as he aged, his sons took over leading the people. His sons did not walk with God, and took bribes and perverted justice. So the people came to Samuel and asked him to appoint a king over them, like all the nations around them had.
They rejected having God lead them.
They wanted to be like the rest of the world.
It is very sobering to realize that we are doing the very same thing today, when we prefer our comfortable church buildings with all the outer trappings of religion to a personal relationship with God. When we would rather remain in our carnal state, than die to our flesh and grow in holiness. When we would rather listen to a man tell us what God says, than hear Him for ourselves.
1 Cor. 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. We must decide, for ourselves, whether we will remain a babe in Christ or whether we want to grow up.
Our God is a consuming fire, and He is coming to judge His Church. We can go through the purging process (dying to our carnal nature) now, before He comes, or we can remain complacent and face the fire when He comes.
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" 1 Cor. 3:13-15. The choice is ours. The time is very short. Even now judgment is at the door.
Because the time is so short deception has never been greater. Know that there are those who would literally rob you of your righteousness, with their deceptions. We can no longer afford to remain complacent and lukewarm regarding the condition of our souls. We can no longer afford to disregard the warnings God is sending to His Church. It's time to wake up. It's time to grow up in Christ Jesus. He is the only refuge from the storm. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. Everything that God is not the author of will fall.
May we all be stirred to press in and know, firsthand, our Lord and Savior. May we all lay down our lives willingly, that He may raise us up as Sons and Daughters of the Most High. Only then will we do the works that Jesus did, and greater works, because Christ abides within. Seek Him and you will find Him.
Amen and Amen
Cathy Morris
03/31/03
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