When I was a child

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul’s appeal is still the same: grow up
into the love of God. He uses this illustration of ordinary
growing up. When I was a child, I talked, thought and
reasoned like a child. My tongue, my soulish awareness
and my logical understanding, were childish. Therefore, I
uttered the words of a child. This of course is absolutely
necessary for babies, but we don’t continue our baby
speech as we grow up, unless of course we are saying
‘coochy coo’ to a tiny baby. We shouldn’t exercise the
same sentiments when we are mature Christians as we do
when we are childish and worldly. There are of course
times when we need to see from a younger or even childish
perspective, so that we can uplift and encourage, but they
should not be the place of our dwelling. Sometimes we
hold on to things and cannot let go in order to move on, but
this is not the way of the mature. The writer of Hebrews
points out in chapter 5 that those who are mature should not
be learning, (recipients only of the benefit of the gift), but
should become teachers. Anyone who lives on milk is not
acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But
solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have
trained themselves to discern good from evil.
Earlier, in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 1, Paul has already spoken
of these things.
“Brothers, I could not address you as Spiritual, but
as worldly, as mere infants in Christ. I gave you
milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.
Indeed, you are still not ready, you are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling
amongst you, are you not worldly? Are you not
acting like mere men?”
Childishness and worldliness is demonstrated by their
jealousy and quarrelling and lack of love towards one
another. Obviously from the text, the subject of the quarrel
was who ought to speak. I have seen the “whose turn is it
to preach?” argument amongst leaders. It can be very
destructive.
In 1 Corinthians 3 verse 16, Paul questions their ignorance
about the fact that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Here he issues a challenge to believers. He says that
anyone who destroys this temple will be destroyed by God.
Here Paul is not speaking of an individual being the temple,
but rather the body of believers, those drawn together,
baptised by the one Spirit and unified in the love of God.
The destruction which Paul speaks of is the destruction of
the unity of the Spirit, which has already been given to
those who are in Christ. This is our unity, where we
worship together as partakers of the one loaf, eating of the
flesh of Jesus and drinking of His blood, where we worship
in Spirit and in truth, not with arguments about whether we
should sing hymns or choruses, but sharing in the genuine
love of God. This is the temple, the household of faith, the
living stones which are built together in love. It is that for
which Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 verses 20 to 25:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for
those who will believe in me through their
message, that they may be one, Father, just as you
are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us
that the world might believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that
they may be one as we are one. I in them, and you
in me. May they be brought to complete unity to
let the world know that you sent me and have loved
them, even as you have loved me. Father, I want
those you have given me to be where I am and to
see my glory, the glory you have given me because
you loved me, before the creation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world does not know you, I
know you and they know that you have sent me. I
have revealed you to them, and will continue to
make you known in order that the love you have
for me may be theirs and that I myself may be in
them.”
Those who seek by their quarrelling to destroy this temple
are in danger of being destroyed themselves. You may
well say that you don’t seek to destroy the temple of God,
but if we remain in our infancy of thinking, our childish
reason, which is based on the wisdom of men, holding onto
logical argument which stands contrary to the knowledge
of God, then we become weapons of destruction in the
body of Christ and protectors of a stronghold of the enemy.
To this, Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 2 to 5,
“Some people think that we live by the standards of
the world. But though we live in the world, we do
not wage war as the world does. The weapons we
fight with are not the weapons of the world. On
the contrary they have divine power to demolish
strong holds. We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge
of God and we take captive every thought to make
it obedient to Christ.”
Divine Spiritual weapons wage war against the childish,
argumentative pretensions, which can be the drive of our
tongue, our emotional revelation, our pouting right to air
our knowledge.
In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 4, after we are encouraged to
give up our childish ways, the consequences of our refusal
are evident. Verses 4 to 6 show us that those who fall away
from the goodness of God are, “crucifying the Son of God
all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
Disunity and childish quarrelling demonstrate our infancy.
The Holy Spirit’s working of the power and love of God is
not demonstrated in gifts alone but in the growing maturity
of God’s people. Paul points out that our childish ways are
rendered inactive, katargeka, by our adulthood. On this
occasion katargeo is translated as “I put away” childish
things. To be mature does not mean that childish things
never occur again. We know that most men are at some
time capable of them. Paul says that he puts them away.
He exerts personal, mature, Holy Spirit restraint over the
things which are contrary to the knowledge of God. He
acknowledges that tongues can edify the individual (1
Corinthians 14 verse 4) and that he speaks in tongues more
than anyone, according to verse 18, and is thankful to God
for it. Paul’s personal prayer life in tongues edifies him
and builds him up in the spirit of God as he speaks to God
and to his own spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 13 verse 11 Paul said, “when I was a
child…. But when I became a man.” A vital change has
taken place. He has a different outlook. The, logismos of
the child in stock taking every situation is the same as that
in 2 Corinthians 10, which is taken down and brought
captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. It is the same
logic which keeps record of wrong. It carries a logic of
justice which says I will pay you back. It records what
humanly is fair, especially for its own sake if it feels to be
treated unfairly. The mature Christian does not, in love,
keep a record for such competitive, so-called ministry.
At school, children say, “I’ll get you at playtime.” They
show off how clever they are and one only needs to see
children playing football to see how selfish they can be; a
swarm of small bodies kicking wildly at whatever is before
them. The ball shoots out from the pack and the swarm
follows it, usually leaving one small body laid on the
ground crying and holding a hurt leg. The chances are that
he was kicked by a member of his own team eager to get
the ball from anyone who had it. Occasionally the ball is
with a winger and somewhere in the centre is someone in a
striking position screaming at the top of his voice, “To me,
to me!” The person in that striking position may also be
the full back, who has wandered down the pitch to talk to
the goalkeeper for the other side. The winger at this point
has a choice to make. He knows that the one in the striking
position should not be there. He should be a full back
because he’s not very good and was the last person left
when they were picking the team. They didn’t really want
him but the teacher just pointed to him: “Right Percy, you
are on their team.” Now, will the winger pass? He pauses.
If he passes, Percy will mess it up. Besides, if he can get
there, he could score and be a hero. Too late! The swarm
descends and the ball flies out again. Another body rolls in
pain on the grass. The cries of “Foul ref!” are ignored. A
couple of players look appealingly at the referee, pointing
at the heap of injured footballer, but the game keeps going.
So the appellants run to join the swarm.
This is childhood. Paul asks for adulthood. The mature
may possess individual skill but they can be flattened when
the swarm descends. Paul is looking for a team, a unit, a
body. With real love we can do that which is so hard for
infants to learn and yet is the most progressive skill:
passing the ball. Selfishly keeping hold will most often
cause us to miss the goal. Make love your goal.
We find in Romans 12 verse 9, that after Paul has spoken to
a group of Christians about spiritual gifts, and about how
we ought to allow ministries of gifts in the local Church, he
goes on to speak about how gifts ought to operate in mature
love.
“Love must be sincere, unassuming and without
hypocrisy, shrinking from evil, but cleaving to
what is good. Taking the positive lead in making
active steps to give preference to another with
warm affectionate love. Do this with a burning
passionate zeal, which never lets up. Strive for it,
promote it, earnestly desire it amongst the brethren,
never for a moment let the fire lower from white
heat in pursuit of it, this is your service to the Lord.
Let the joy of the Lord which is the very strength
of your salvation, characterise your every action to
demonstrate where your hope really lies. If you are
afflicted, endure with patience knowing that the
death of human strife even against affliction,
promotes the life of the Holy Spirit in you.
Continue to steadfastly seek and find that deeper
place of prayer, discovering the things of eternity,
that they might by faith be brought into being on
the earth. Be open hearted and open handed to
those who are poor, believing that God who is no
man’s debtor will provide for your every need, and
if some one persecutes you, or curses you then
bless them, because when men curse you, Jesus
counteracts the curse with blessing.”
Some of this may sound impossible, but at the end of
asking many such things of His disciples in His sermon on
the mount, Jesus finishes with these words in Matthew 5
verse 48, “Be perfect, (teleioi) therefore, as your heavenly
Father is perfect (teleios).”
Paul says, “I was a child, therefore I spoke and thought and
reasoned like a child.” When we were children our every
unreasonable action made perfect sense to us at the time.
Growing up requires training, learning, understanding, and
sometimes discipline in order that our lives be shaped for
mature adulthood. We have to be shaped spiritually to
grow spiritually and quite often it takes a long time for God
to form in us a different relationship which is not selfish or
childish. If I asked, “Are you childish?” you would
probably answer, “No of course not!” Or maybe you
would come up with one of those Christian answers which
we learn so well that it falls off the tongue, but has never
changed our life. The truth is that I reason like a child. I
don’t think that I do, but then I wouldn’t, because I think
like a child. What my life needs is the pure, wise sacrificial
love of God which is not selfish, but is able to lay down its
life.
Paul’s words also speak to us about personal responsibility
for ensuring our own growth. Have you ever heard
someone speaking of the fellowship to which they belong
saying, “We speak in tongues in our church,” or “We have
a prophetic ministry in our fellowship?” When Paul says,
“I was a child,” he speaks of his own personal life and his
own personal responsibility. The fact that we are part of
the body gives to us a corporate love and accountability,
but we still have the need for individual growth.
We come into God’s kingdom at different times, each with
different needs which are met in our personal relationship
with the Lord, which is why Paul tells us that it is God who
gives growth. We must, if we are to grow, be developing
in personal relationship with Jesus, and learning his will.
We cannot presume that because we are in a good
fellowship that we are growing automatically. Nor can we
believe that because in our opinion, our fellowship might
be lacking, that we have therefore a reasonable excuse to
stay as we are. Take the positive first step towards
maturity. Seek personally the higher and more excellent
way and become mature. Parts of the body don’t mature in
the same way or at the same time. Eyes come immediately,
but teeth come later and have to change along the way.
Take the first step of loving. If it is genuine then you will
continue when it’s difficult. Don’t learn by your mistakes.
When you do get it wrong, apologise, repent, go to the
Lord and let Him be your teacher. Commend those who
love and if they respond by saying, “Praise the Lord,” then
let the Lord be praised but be sure that while God takes the
Glory, they take the encouragement.
In 1 Corinthians 14 verse 20, Paul, still seeking a loving
ordered fellowship, uses these words, “Brothers stop
thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in
your thinking be perfect (teleioi) mature, fully grown,
adult, men.” We are to give up childish ways. Giving up
is our repentant responsibility before God. It is not
sufficient for a Church member of thirty years standing, to
claim maturity on that basis alone. Many deacon and key
worker positions in Churches are filled by people who were
given office because they were there for such a long time.
Such offices are not long service medals, for older may not
mean wiser, except in the world’s wisdom. Wiser, in 1
Corinthians chapter 2, is maturity which has the mind of
Christ.
Therefore, as we aim for maturity, we have a responsibility
to allow God to transform and renew our minds so that we
can put aside childish ways and develop our personal
relationship with Jesus. In mature love, we can, as God
does, show favour to the less mature, less honourable parts
of the church body so that we can all move forward
together, towards that perfection of love and unity.