BABES IN CHRIST *By MARVIN DUNCAN

BABES IN CHRIST *
*By MARVIN DUNCAN,*
*
Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 3:1
There are a number of conditions that the Apostle Paul connects with our
being "IN CHRIST." Our salvation is "IN CHRIST." Our standing is "IN
CHRIST," and in I Corinthians 3:1, Paul speaks of a condition every
believer experiences at his salvation, our being "BABES IN CHRIST."
To understand this condition we must recognize that salvation is spoken
of as A NEW BIRTH. We are born physically into the family of Adam and
upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we experienced a
SPIRITUAL BIRTH. Paul speaks of our being "A NEW CREATION" in II
Corinthians 5:17. Just as in our physical life, so it is with our
spiritual life. We all start at birth as babies and develop through
stages, to maturity; first a babe, then a child and on to maturity
through feeding on spiritual food and exercising the spiritual man.
One of the mistakes many Christians make is to expect the newly saved
individual to be able to handle life's trials and the old habits as if
he were a mature spiritual individual, without ever having been taught
the Word of God or experiencing the faithfulness of God to strengthen
and convict him in his daily walk. None of the men in Scripture
automatically changed overnight from their worldly attitudes to
spiritual attitudes.
Abraham is a good example of spiritual growth over a number of years.
Early in his spiritual life he made many errors and failed to trust God
completely, yet in his later life, after seeing God's faithfulness in
doing what He promised, Abraham was able to trust God even to the point
of being willing to sacrifice his only son.
It is this progressive growth toward maturity that Paul is speaking of
in our text verse. These Corinthians had been born into God's family
some five years earlier, but they had not grown They were still "BABES."

*The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but*
*that we will hear Him.*
*-- William McGill*