DAY 7
BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:5
How many kinds of Christians can you think of? There are loving Christians, happy Christians, growing Christians, Bible-believing Christians, and praying Christians. On the other hand, there can be unloving Christians, critical Christians, stunted Christians, Christians who never pray and who never read their Bible. How does all this go together?
Paul helps us to understand this problem by pointing out that there are really three classes of people in the world. First there is the natural man mentioned in chapter 2:14. He is simply man as he is by nature, before he comes to Christ. As Jesus said in John 3 'that which is born of the flesh is' flesh'. He is a man without God, however good he may be.
Then there is the spiritual man mentioned in chapter 2:15 and chapter 3:1. A spiritual man is one who has been born again-into whose life, the life of God has come. God's plan is that just as we grew naturally from being a baby to being an adult so we should grow in our spiritual life also.
But there is a third group. These are Christians who have not grown. Paul speaks about them in the first three verses of chapter 3. Paul calls them 'brethren', but says they are still babes in Christ. They were still baby Christians when they should have been adult Christians.
One reason they had not grown is that they had allowed jealousy and strife to creep into their lives and into their church. No one can grow while these sins are present.
A Christian like this cannot take strong spiritual food. He is still a baby wanting milk and not meat.
How can such a Christian begin to grow? There needs to be confession of things in your life which have prevented your spiritual growth. There needs to be a desire to go on with Christ. There needs to be a determination to do this no matter what the cost. Say it. Do it now.
Begin to grow. You will find it will be the greatest step forward you could ever take in Christ.
沒有留言:
張貼留言