When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside. 1 Corinth.13:11 (AMP).
Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men] 1 Corinth. 14:20 ( AMP).
From our opening scripture Apostle Paul wrote that he once reasoned like a child (the word child here means: unskilled, untaught, a minor,immature christian) but he had now put childish ways behind him . He was referring to the spiritual maturity process, whereby a believer’s self-centered ideas are replaced by a healthier perspective.
Maturity is —a process—so some immature thinking may linger with the Christian.
Paul here did not give us any specific time at which he put away childish things, but he means that “manhood” is a state is which childishness should have become impossible.
Let’s Look At This Analysis Together
From verse 11: When … a child I spake –alluding to “tongues”.
Understood- or, “had the sentiments of”. Alluding to Prophecy.
I thought- Greek “reasoned” or “judged”; alluding to Knowledge”.
When I became… I put away – rather, “now that I am become a man, I have done away with the childish things”.
As a child we might have wrongly believed so many lies, due to our state of immaturity, but there is good news and this good news is for us to grow up by constantly feeding on the engraving word of God.
3 Basic Childhood Lies That We Have grown Up With
- Acceptance by others has to do with performance, not who we are. With this mindset, we constantly try to please other people. But we can rest in the truth that God has adopted every believer into His family; we are fully accepted.
- Our security rests in social status, material things, or some other worldly prize. This leads to anxiety and manipulation as we attempt to acquire what we lack. The truth is we’ll experience peace when we realize Christ is our true source of security.
- God’s love for us depends on how good we are. We act as if our behaviour can positively or negatively impact His affection for us. But Scripture tells us that the Lord’s love is constant; it never varies.
These erroneous ideas represent a “hidden enemy of love,” because godly affection can’t flourish with immature attitudes. We must replace such beliefs with biblical truth.
Paul calls us to move toward maturity in our thinking and behavior. Clinging to immature ways can interfere with our sense of peace, security, and joy. But knowing the truth about God’s acceptance and recognizing that our security is in Him alone will lead to relationships characterized by His love. May the Lord Jesus cause us to grow up to spiritual maturity in Jesus name. Amen!
