The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?"
In this passage Paul calls out members of the church in Corinth. He calls them "Brothers and sisters" because they are, in fact, believers. These are ones who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, they have been redeemed, they have had all of their sins forgiven and they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. However, they are living in an aberrant state: as though they were still a part of the world. They are not a part of the world but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. Paul claims they are "still worldly."
As Paul does so, he points to the dissension within the fellowship, something that should never take place there. He says, "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings?" Verse 4. He also points out that he has had to address them as "infants in Christ" since at this time they are "still worldly" and having to be fed like an infant that lives on milk, not ready yet for solid food. They are immature believers, retarded in their growth in Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews makes a similar observation about his readers, "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:12-14.
The Lord has an expectation of us that we grow and mature as his people. We come out of the world, with its ways of thinking and doing and being, and once born again, are expected to grow out of that "worldliness" into a spiritual maturity he has designed for us. Paul describes that in Romans 8:29 as he speaks of what God has in mind for us, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." Living in dissention is not what that looks like.
A good picture of what that does look like is found in Colossians 3:12-14, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
It is incumbent upon me to ensure I am on that path of being conformed to the image of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
In this passage Paul calls out members of the church in Corinth. He calls them "Brothers and sisters" because they are, in fact, believers. These are ones who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, they have been redeemed, they have had all of their sins forgiven and they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. However, they are living in an aberrant state: as though they were still a part of the world. They are not a part of the world but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. Paul claims they are "still worldly."
As Paul does so, he points to the dissension within the fellowship, something that should never take place there. He says, "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not mere human beings?" Verse 4. He also points out that he has had to address them as "infants in Christ" since at this time they are "still worldly" and having to be fed like an infant that lives on milk, not ready yet for solid food. They are immature believers, retarded in their growth in Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews makes a similar observation about his readers, "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:12-14.
The Lord has an expectation of us that we grow and mature as his people. We come out of the world, with its ways of thinking and doing and being, and once born again, are expected to grow out of that "worldliness" into a spiritual maturity he has designed for us. Paul describes that in Romans 8:29 as he speaks of what God has in mind for us, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." Living in dissention is not what that looks like.
A good picture of what that does look like is found in Colossians 3:12-14, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
It is incumbent upon me to ensure I am on that path of being conformed to the image of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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