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We must come to God with a childlike faith. But we must grow in knowledge like an adult.
The New Testament writers speak about being fed milk and meat. They use these as metaphors for knowledge of God that we feed on for growth. As new “baby” Christians we understand God’s love and our need for him to rescue us from our sin. And that’s about it. As a child of God our relationship begins with faith. We first must believe that God is and that he is found of those that seek him (Heb. 11:6). As we grow that faith is strengthened by experience and the knowledge of God’s character and who he is. And just as a child, we grow, we speak, we walk, we mature.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).
Just like today the members of the early church had to deal with lots of different teachers and ideas, sometimes in direct conflict with the teachings that established them in their faith in the beginning. Paul addresses this in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 & Galatians 1:6-9. He refers to a gospel message that is so perverted that it is really a different gospel message. He warns against teachers teaching another gospel, preaching another Jesus, and another Spirit.
It is important then to know what we believe, to understand the basics of who Jesus is, the gospel message, and the nature of the Spirit of God, and our faith. “For God so loved the world” is a simple message at its core, but God is incredibly complex. Our goal is to grow in an intimate knowledge of who God is. Colossians 3:10 tells us to “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”
We gain knowledge of God primarily from his word and by the leading of the Spirit (John 16:13). Whenever we listen to a teacher, read a book, a blog, or listen to a “Christian” song, we would be wise to take a lesson from the Berean Jews Paul came in contact with as described in Acts 17:10-12, which says in part, “Now the Berean Jews… received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
How do you examine the scriptures? How easily do you believe what you hear and read? How do we balance being led by the Spirit into truth and being a follower of a teacher, pastor, or mentor?
I once heard that agents of the treasury learn to spot counterfeit money, not by studying fake money, but by studying real money in detail, until they know it so well that they can spot counterfeit by what is not there or by what is not supposed to be there. As sincere followers of Christ we need to study the truth. So we become students of Jesus. We study the word of God so that we might know truth from error. You must know what is true, so that you can say: This is outside of the truth. This is counterfeit.
My hope is that we grow in knowledge together from week to week. For me, I believe my calling is to teach. My passion is to talk about God’s word, about Jesus, about “theology” and doctrine, and to really help people understand who God is and what his heart is as I am lead by his Spirit.
This week take some time to think about how you have grown in the knowledge of God. Do you feel like there are areas of your life where could be more like Jesus?
Great post, Ben! I work at MRA with your wife who directed to your website. Looking forward to reading more of your posts. It seems we have like passions. Many blessings!
Thanks Justin, Like you I have not been steady with my posts and had taken a long hiatus. However, I’ve set myself a goal to post three times per week. Thanks for reading and your comments. Feel free to send me a friend’s request on Facebook.