A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY
December 4🌷🌷
“For the preaching of the cross is… unto us which are saved… the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
God greatly desires to cause all of us to live a victorious life in Christ. He has made every provision for every one of us to live such a life; but this we can do only if we understand our relationship to the Lord, and our union with Him in His death, burial and resurrection: otherwise a triumphant life will not be possible. Therefore it is necessary for us to make sure by every possible means that we are united with the Lord Jesus Christ in this threefold manner. Baptism is a symbolic expression of our spiritual union with our Lord; and that is why the testimony of Baptism is very important.
With all the advantages at their disposal the believers at Corinth should have grown spiritually and become mature Christians. Instead, they still remained babes, and were not ready to receive the strong meat which Paul, the apostle, wished to give them. So, Paul had to reprove them, “You are still babes, and can digest only milk.” Something had gone wrong with their spiritual growth. Though God’s Word had once come to them with power, now they were not in a position to understand it. There was strife amongst them both about spiritual, as well as temporal things. There was envy, there were divisions, there was fornication (1 Cor. 3:3; 5:1; 6:1). They began well, but they continued to remain babes spiritually. This is the condition of many believers today. They remain full of shortcomings and failures, spiritually barren, and unable to understand the hidden things in the Word of God. Consequently they are easily deceived by the enemy, and fall into his subtle temptations and wrong teachings. As it was with the Corinthians, so it is with believers today. Lack of proper understanding of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the cause of spiritual weakness and barren and unfruitful life.
If you want to grow spiritually and be strong, then you too must have a proper understanding of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, remember, you will remain a spiritual babe, stunted and barren. It does not matter how hard you work, how long you pray, or how much Bible knowledge you have. You may have all these, and yet not be growing spiritually. God’s power can be manifested fully only in those who are willing to be fully identified with the cross of the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul repeats this truth, again and again in different words (1 Cor.1:18,23,24; Phil.3:10).
